(This story was originally written and recorded for Retrocast #33, released on April 16, 2025.)

On January 2, 1937, The Atlanta Journal ran a front-page story that turned quite a few heads: a Persian cat named Jackie Lou had landed in the Hapeville Jail, just south of Atlanta.

So, what crime had Jackie Lou committed? Surprisingly, none at all. In fact, there was even some doubt as to whether the feline in question was truly Jackie Lou.

Let me explain: The saga began a few days earlier when Jackie Lou vanished from the Rosser Street home of her owner, Mrs. H. S. Berry. After a determined search, Mrs. Berry tracked her missing pet to a nearby tourist camp, where she found the cat in the company of a man named Herman Reed, a traveler from Salina, Ohio.

Mrs. Berry demanded the return of her beloved pet, but Reed refused, insisting the cat was his. The disagreement quickly escalated, prompting the arrival of Policeman Tom Clontz, who admitted he was at a loss. “I don’t know whose cat she is,” he told a reporter.

At that point, Mrs. Berry offered a key piece of evidence: her cat had recently given birth to kittens. Reed countered that his cat had never had kittens. To settle the dispute, a veterinarian was called in to examine the cat.

While that investigation was underway, Mrs. Berry pressed charges against Reed for disorderly conduct, leading to a hearing before Police Court Recorder Neill Leach at 6 PM the same day.

When the vet’s findings were finally revealed, the truth came out: the cat had never had kittens. With that, the charge against Reed was dismissed, and the judge ruled in his favor. The cat, whether Jackie Lou or not, legally belonged to Herman Reed after all.