Nin, a dreamy-eyed black and white cat who patrolled the Northeast's highest peak as the Mount Washington Observatory's mascot for a dozen years and was the subject of a children's book, has died.

Observatory executive director Scot Henley says Nin died on July 14. He had retired in 2007 as top cat  and was estimated to be about 19 or 20 years old.

A rescued stray from Vermont, Nin was popular. In a Web site posting, Henley wrote summit visitors "undoubtedly scratched their heads with bewilderment when they noticed a rotund white cat patrolling the top of the tallest mountain in New England."

The Boston Globe wrote, "Nin spent a dozen years at the facility. Within its cold, concrete walls, he 'brought a little piece of home' to lonely staff members, interns, and visiting researchers, said executive director Scot Henley. Undeterred by harsh weather, he would follow them around, purring helplessly if they walked too fast for him to keep up. "

He was the kitty in the children's book, The Cat in the Clouds, by Eric Pinder, a former weather observer on the mountain. The book was published in May.

Nin was euthanized due to failing health. According to the Globe, his burial site overlooks the Northern Presidentials, "peaks he saw from the mountain home he loved."