Toronto’s subway cat has a story both adorable and sad
Leslie Noel is the kind of guy who stands out on the subway. Not because of what he wears or what he does, but because he’s invariably traveling with a fluffy ginger tabby cat called McLovin’.
The cat, named for the hapless, fake-ID-wielding Superbad character, is an underground Toronto legend and a big deal on social media. Regular subway riders know him as the “subway cat,” whose protective owner is always close.
McLovin’ attracts so much attention because, by feline standards, he’s almost preternaturally calm. Crowded spaces don’t seem to phase him. Mostly without incident, Noel takes him on transit, into stores (he rides in shopping carts) and even to Yonge-Dundas Square, where the cat’s tiny-sized sweaters, of which he has a wardrobe of 30, make him a magnet for spare change from passers-by. As we talked, on an overcast day at Yonge-Dundas, the cat sat patiently on his owner’s lap, eyeing pigeons. He (that is, McLovin’) was wearing a red-and-blue knit hoodie with a number seven on the back, accented with a velcro tie.
There's a kitty cat wearing a tie busking for change on Yonge Street. Naturally, I gave him my life's savings. pic.twitter.com/uSebmhz3Dq
— Lauren O'Neil (@laurenonizzle) July 11, 2014
McLovin’ has fans, regulars who sometimes travel to see him, and even a website, with a video of his favourite song: “Happy” by Pharell Williams. When Noel busks for change, that’s what he plays on his cell phone.
People often ask why McLovin’ doesn’t run away. “It’s a bond,” Noel said. He used a leash at first, but it started to feel wrong. “No cat really likes to be tied down. He just stuck by me.”
Noel seems not to like speaking about his past. When asked, he said he was born in Brockville, Ontario, but moved around a lot as a child. His father sold assistive equipment for the blind and deaf and later worked for an aerospace company. There was a disagreement when Noel was 15 that resulted in him moving out.
Sixteen years ago, Noel made the leap from Ottawa to Toronto. Things are difficult. On the night we spoke, he and McLovin’ were sleeping on a friend’s couch. Although money is tight, McLovin’ is up to date on his shots and receives regular veterinary check-ups. Noel cleans homes when he’s not busking.
“He’s the only thing I have. No, he’s not a pet,” Noel said.
“He’s my baby, he’s like my child. When I’m crying he licks my tears, when I have bad dreams he wakes me up, I kid you not. He’s a miracle cat. He’s like a fallen angel.”
According to Noel, the pair met three years ago when he was looking for a place to live near St. Clair and Silverthorn. The landlord offered him a room for $500, but it was too small. He asked if there was anything bigger.
“He goes, ‘Yeah, but don’t worry about the smell and the mess, it’ll be cleaned up by the time you get in there.’ He unbolts this door and inside was four dead kittens and McLovin’.”
“I said, ‘I’m not going to take this room, I’m going to take this cat,’ and the rest is history. He’s my baby. He was so small, he was so little. I had to bottle feed him every two hours for two weeks straight.”
Noel and McLovin’ have a close relationship. They found each other when they were both at their most vulnerable. At the time, Noel said, he was still reeling from the deaths of his parents, who passed away within months of each other three years ago.
“I prayed to God. I just wanted not to be alone any more,” he said. “What I meant was a girl, but the exact next day I found him. And he’s in my life ever since.”
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/city/toronto-subway-cat-has-adorable-sad-story/&title=Toronto’s subway cat has a story both adorable and sad&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/leslie-mclovin-624x395.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_296135" align="alignnone" width="656"] (Image: Chris Bateman)[/caption]
Leslie Noel is the kind of guy who stands out on the subway. Not because of what he wears or what he does, but because he's invariably traveling with a fluffy ginger tabby cat called McLovin'.
The cat, named for the hapless, fake-ID-wielding Superbad character, is an underground Toronto legend and a big deal on social media. Regular subway riders know him as the “subway cat,” whose protective owner is always close.
McLovin' attracts so much attention because, by feline standards, he's almost preternaturally calm. Crowded spaces don't seem to phase him. Mostly without incident, Noel takes him on transit, into stores (he rides in shopping carts) and even to Yonge-Dundas Square, where the cat's tiny-sized sweaters, of which he has a wardrobe of 30, make him a magnet for spare change from passers-by. As we talked, on an overcast day at Yonge-Dundas, the cat sat patiently on his owner's lap, eyeing pigeons. He (that is, McLovin') was wearing a red-and-blue knit hoodie with a number seven on the back, accented with a velcro tie.
https://twitter.com/laurenonizzle/status/487690619003756544
McLovin' has fans, regulars who sometimes travel to see him, and even a website, with a video of his favourite song: “Happy” by Pharell Williams. When Noel busks for change, that's what he plays on his cell phone.
People often ask why McLovin' doesn't run away. “It's a bond,” Noel said. He used a leash at first, but it started to feel wrong. “No cat really likes to be tied down. He just stuck by me.”
Noel seems not to like speaking about his past. When asked, he said he was born in Brockville, Ontario, but moved around a lot as a child. His father sold assistive equipment for the blind and deaf and later worked for an aerospace company. There was a disagreement when Noel was 15 that resulted in him moving out.
Sixteen years ago, Noel made the leap from Ottawa to Toronto. Things are difficult. On the night we spoke, he and McLovin' were sleeping on a friend's couch. Although money is tight, McLovin' is up to date on his shots and receives regular veterinary check-ups. Noel cleans homes when he's not busking.
“He's the only thing I have. No, he's not a pet,” Noel said.
“He's my baby, he's like my child. When I'm crying he licks my tears, when I have bad dreams he wakes me up, I kid you not. He's a miracle cat. He's like a fallen angel.”
According to Noel, the pair met three years ago when he was looking for a place to live near St. Clair and Silverthorn. The landlord offered him a room for $500, but it was too small. He asked if there was anything bigger.
“He goes, 'Yeah, but don't worry about the smell and the mess, it'll be cleaned up by the time you get in there.' He unbolts this door and inside was four dead kittens and McLovin'.”
“I said, 'I'm not going to take this room, I'm going to take this cat,' and the rest is history. He's my baby. He was so small, he was so little. I had to bottle feed him every two hours for two weeks straight.”
Noel and McLovin' have a close relationship. They found each other when they were both at their most vulnerable. At the time, Noel said, he was still reeling from the deaths of his parents, who passed away within months of each other three years ago.
“I prayed to God. I just wanted not to be alone any more,” he said. “What I meant was a girl, but the exact next day I found him. And he's in my life ever since.”){kind=link}
WAY TO MAKE ME CRY AT WORK.
God damn all these onions! Who put all these onions here!!!
I want to marry this man.
Sounds like he’s single and available, so…
I’ve seen Leslie around the Indian Bazaar late-ish at night, he seems to be doing ok! McLovin’ was wearing a little Leafs jersey last time I saw him.
Careful, this guy has threatened to “bash my face in” after I asked him to stop screaming at my friend when she tried to take a picture of his cat.
Something similar happened to me. I was walking on Bloor and I took out my phone to text my friend about the cat i had just seen. He came after me asking for money and shouting that I had taken a picture and not paid him. But I had not taken a picture. Be very cautious when you approach him!
i think Mclovin needs a good publicist, this cat can go very far… like bob the cat who has his own endorsements and is making a six figure income.
Know anyone
first he needs to get a like page on facebook
get a mclovin twitter handle
post vids of mclovin on youtube travelling on the TTC
it all starts with social media
Great cat, my mom saw him a few times at dundas square. Two haters spreading rumors the guy is violent, i’m guessing they set him off and tried to twist it around. Perhaps they tried to take the cat and he came to the defensive side? Pretty much sums it up. Some people..
Doubt he’s violent or aggressive.
The same people were saying that about toronto zanta, and he’s nothing like that at all.
I shared a true account of exactly what happened. Maybe he was having a bad day, but I was scared and wanted to warn people. I had met him once before at the Eaton Centre and he was very friendly and we had a nice conversation about the cat. So I was shocked when he acted this way the next time. All I did was smile at the cat as I was passing by (I didn’t even stop to pet him) and he asked me for money. When I answered ‘sorry, I don’t have any’ he became angry and started to walk after me shouting that I had taken a picture of the cat and not paid.
You got it bro, I’m running around TO stealing cats and slandering their owners. You’re on to me.
I made the tie for McLovin!!
Just because he’s never been violent to you personally doesn’t mean he’s never been violent to anyone else. No one here is slandering him or saying he’s a bad person. They’re saying he’s unpredictable.
Last time I saw Zanta a few years ago, he was pretty bad. Ranting on the subway about something that barely made sense aside from the fact that it was related to child molestation. He scared the shit out of me then. Not to say that means he’s necessarily violent or dangerous, but fuck, I’d seen him around him for years, talked to him every few months, and I hadn’t seen that side of him at all. I’d be curious to hear what other people’s experiences were?
Aww! Do you sell them locally?
I don’t think this is a haters thing. I’m not diagnosing him, only speaking for myself here, but I’m bipolar and can seem scary as shit sometimes. I’m not violent or aggressive, but I certainly wouldn’t fault someone for warning people about me based on my behaviour. I’m not reading this as judgment or condemnation, just fact.
yes, kristal i want them for my male kitty cats!!
Yeah just trust this poorly-researched article. I’ve actually met this guy and he was super aggressive, yelling and threatening to beat me up using profanities because i happened to be walking towards his cat from 6 feet away to get a picture.
I am at WeejeeTails & Co on Facebook.
karen and loliversacks, I am at Weejee Tails & Co on Facebook.
Les says he made the tie. He tells everyone that he was the one to have made it.
I’m concerned about the appropriateness of this article. This individual’s story is extremely saddening but at the same time from the one instance I’ve interacted with him he threatened to assault me and a friend. My friend was just asking questions about the cat and he said she was trying to make the cat run away/steal the cat…
This man obviously has some sort of temperament problem or even an undiagnosed or diagnosed mental disorder. It’s extremely saddening that a news paper would then try to entice people to interact with the said individual. A) You could be putting bystanders in harms way and B) more interactions/stimulus can exacerbate Mr. Noel’s “condition”.
It’s actually plainly, just bad journalism without the appropriate fact checking.
I just wanted to warn people to be cautious about approaching this individual since the article failed to do this!
It is unfortunate that he is saying that. I work hard on my part time sewing gig. However, to make this tie, one needs a pattern and a sewing machine. And, how can I have pictures of my cat in the same tie on my FB page before the pics of McLovin wearing the tie showed up? I don’t know Les’ back story and not sure I want to know it. All I care about is that McLovin is taken care of properly.
i had a similar experience. he didn’t approach me because I was on a subway car and he was on the platform, but i snuck a picture of the cat and he clearly saw me because he picked him up right away and walked off quickly. it is an adorable story though, and its amazing what the bond between animal and human can be.
I was sent this article to read by someone I know and later she stumbled upon this man and cat on her way to class and he was fine with her taking a picture. People please spay/neuter your pets and don’t allow them to roam freely.
Just got this comment (DISQUUUUUS! <— please read in tone of "Skiiinnneeeerrr!") now! However, I found it at the right time… to say that half of the people on my shopping list are cat people would be a VERY conservative estimate.
Someone should just smash this tards face and kill that stupid cat.
He’s a nut job you fucking moron.
He’s a nut job u fuking moron.
Are you fucking kidding? My dog is calm like that and the only drug he does is some weed
He has social issues because of his psychological problem. He is a heavy crack addict spread the word out. Don’t support him. Warn people about him.
He uses the money people give him to support his alcohol and crack addiction. Do not support his crack addiction and let him find a real job to contribute to society not con or scam people.
This mam has sever rage psychological science issues. Spends all His money on crack. Do not support him!!!
He is very violent and con artist and scams people. He uses all the money to smoke hundreds of dollars towards CRACK.
He is a heavy crack smoker. Do not support his addiction.
I know him personally. He is very violent and abuses substances. Crack and alcohol. Do not support him.
Who Cares who made his cats tie! He is a violent crack head that spends all His daily earnings on Crack!!! Do not support him!
He is a fucking CRACK HEAD. I know him very well.
He is a fucking crack head. I know him very well. Do not support His crack addiction!!
He is violent with people and likes to intimidate people and start fights with them. Stay away because he is very psychologically unstable and spends all of his “daily earnings” on alcohol and crack. I know him very well we went to school together. DO NOT SUPPORT HIS CRACK ADDICTION.
Do cry for a schizophrenic crack head. He is violent towards people. Women in particular.
Chris Bateman you are a fucking misinformed retard
Or I’m upset about the cat?
It’s also disgusting the amount of people who are like “eww schizophrenic crack head” rather than being horrified that our society and especially Toronto utterly fails at providing mental health care and combatting the stigma attached to drug abuse. Instead of sympathizing at all at how horrible it would be to battle mental health issues and drug abuse issues, or thinking of a productive way to help someone in that situation you just blame them. I also wonder how this man’s life is going to be affected by these people increasing fear and stigma around him? What good do you think that will do? If someone battling those issues is further isolated and stigmatized do you think that will decrease or increase alleged violent outbursts? You’re just making a bad situation worse and showing you have no humanity and are unable to even try to comprehend complex issues. If you’re actually legitimately worried about stuff like this, why not spend your time volunteering with or donating towards an organization aimed at rehabilitating people or providing mental health services to marginalized people? You’d just rather laugh and fan the flames?
The only place in this article that I see any reference to crack or schizophrenia is this comment, which means either that this writer is (a) making stuff up, or (b) violating the right to privacy of the subject to the article. In either case, the comment is inappropriate and I am reporting it as such.
someone should do that you too ……..you are a waste of precious oxygen!