A Disneyland feral cat who hunted for mice and rats at night and hung out with annual passholders at a members-only club by day has died after years as a fan-favorite feline with thousands of social media followers.
Nutmeg the feral cat who patrolled Disney California Adventure for rodents and visited die-hard Disneylanders at the Magic Key Terrace has passed away, according to WDW News Today.
“Nutmeg was one of Disneyland Resort’s feral cats, tasked with keeping the rat population down around the parks and ensuring the only rodents guests see are Mickey and Minnie Mouse,” according to WDW News Today. “Nutmeg roamed the park quite often, but had an affinity for the Magic Key Terrace lounge at Disney California Adventure.”
Nutmeg the Magic Key Terrace Cat Passes Away at Disney California Adventurehttps://t.co/whWGQ9PVXR
— Disneyland News Today (@dlnt) May 7, 2023
The legend of Nutmeg grew as Magic Key Terrace drink masters named a secret menu cocktail in the cat’s honor and Walt Disney Imagineering drew design inspiration from Nutmeg and other feral cats for the annual passholder hideaway.
The Magic Key Terrace secret menu drink was made for the passholder “in crowd” that knows and loves Nutmeg, according to Disney California Adventure culinary director Jeremiah Balogh.
“We have lots of friends that like to visit us and some of them are four-legged friends,” Balogh told Southern California News Group in 2021. “We have a resident cat that will come and visit guests and cast members whenever he or she feels lonely.”
The Nutmeg cocktail is made with Myers dark rum, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Frangelico hazelnut liqueur and apricot liqueur.
“This is definitely a dessert drink,” according to the Disney Food Blog. “If you’re a rum fan, a sucker for dessert cocktails or a secret menu hunter, it may be worth a try. Especially if you love Disneyland cats.”
Imagineering had custom Mexican tile made with cat designs that line the columns of the terrace interspersed with other accent tiles for a 2022 makeover of the Magic Key Terrace.
SEE ALSO: Inside Disneyland’s mouse kingdom is a hidden world of cats
Nutmeg was a friendly cat who often wandered down from Grizzly Peak to interact with diners and drinkers at the outdoor patio bar.
Nutmeg belonged to a mostly hidden colony of feral cats that hunt rats at the Anaheim theme parks. The well-fed cats make rare daytime appearances in the parks, but are out in force during the overnight graveyard shift.
Disneyland provides feeding stations, neutering and medical care for the feral felines that provide an invaluable service — even if their mere presence might make Mickey and Minnie a little nervous.
The Cats of Disneyland have legions of fans with 112,000 followers on Instagram and 17,000 more on Twitter.
