Theship's cat has been a common feature on manytrading,exploration, andnaval ships dating toancient times.Cats have been brought on ships for many reasons, most importantly to control rodents.Vermin aboard a ship can cause damage to ropes, woodwork, and more recently, electrical wiring. In addition, rodents threaten ships' stores, devour crews' foodstuff, and can cause economic damage to ships' cargo, such as grain. Vermin are also asource of disease, which is dangerous for ships that are at sea for long periods of time.Rat fleas are carriers ofplague, and rats on ships were believed[a] to be a primaryvector of theBlack Death.[2]
Cats naturally attack and kill rodents[3] and adapt to new surroundings, which makes them suitable for service on a ship. In addition, they offer companionship and a sense of home, security and camaraderie to sailors away from home. The tradition that every ship needs a mascot made cats very welcome among sailors.
TheAfrican wildcat was probably firsttamed in theFertile Crescent during thefirst agricultural revolution that started about 10,000 years ago.[4]Small cat bonesexcavated onMediterranean islands indicate that cats wereintroduced around the beginning of the first millennium.[5]Analysis ofmitochondrial DNA of archaeological cat specimens revealed thatancient Egyptian cats started spreading in the 8th centuryBCE along Mediterranean trading routes and had reached aViking port at theBaltic Sea by the 7th centuryCE.[6] The study suggests that Viking sailors took cats with them on their voyages.[7] During theAge of Discovery from the 15th through the 18th centuries, explorers and traders took them on board their ships to much of the rest of the world.[8]
TheRoyal Navy banned cats and other pet animals from all ships on the ocean in 1975 onhygiene grounds.[9]However, cats are still common on many private ships. One notable example is "Toolbox" (a feral kitten born in a toolbox), the senior ship's cat, official warrant officer and "Captain's Assistant" aboardthe modernKalmar Nyckel. A celebrity in her own right, she is the subject of two books.[10][11] Bug Naked, CaptainKate McCue'ssphynx cat, sailed with her aboard the mega cruise shipCelebrity Beyond until her death in December 2024.[12][13]
Sometimesworshipped as deities, cats have long had a reputation asmagical animals and numerousmyths andsuperstitions sprang up among the unusually superstitious seafaring community.[14] They were considered to be intelligent and lucky animals, and a high level of care was devoted to keeping them happy. Some sailors believed thatpolydactyl cats were better at catching pests, possibly connected with the suggestion that extra digits give a polydactyl cat better balance, important when at sea.[15] In some places polydactyl cats became known as "ship's cats".[16]
Cats were believed to have miraculous powers that could protect ships from dangerous weather. Sometimes, fishermen's wives would keepblack cats at home too, in the hope that they would be able to use their influence to protect their husbands at sea. It was believed to be lucky if a cat approached a sailor on deck, but unlucky if it only came halfway, and then retreated. Another popular belief was that cats could start storms through magic stored in their tails. If a ship's cat fell or was thrown overboard, it was thought that it would summon a terrible storm to sink the ship and that if the ship was able to survive, it would be cursed with nine years of bad luck. Other beliefs included that if a cat licked its fur against the grain, it meant ahailstorm was coming; if it sneezed it meant rain; and if it was frisky it meant wind.
Some of these beliefs are rooted in reality. Cats are able to detect slight changes in the weather, as a result of their very sensitive inner ears, which also allow them to land upright when falling. Lowatmospheric pressure, a common precursor of stormy weather, often makes cats nervous and restless.[17] Cats naturally react to barometric pressure changes, through which a keen observer can detect unusual behavior and predict an incoming storm.[17]
The prevalence of cats on ships has led to them being reported on by a number of noted seafarers. The outbreak of theSecond World War, with the spread of mass communication and the active nature of the world's navies, also led to a number of ship's cats becoming celebrities in their own right.[9]
Aussie was the last ship's cat of thetranspacific linerRMS Niagara. He was a five-year-old grey-and-white long-haired tom. His mother had beenNiagara's cat before him; his father was aPersian cat inVancouver,British Columbia. Aussie was born atSuva inFiji.[18]
WhenNiagara wasmined off the coast ofNew Zealand in 1940, Aussie was put in one of the lifeboats, but he jumped back aboard ship. A few days later, residents ofHorahora, Whangarei, claimed that a cat answering Aussie's description came ashore on a piece of driftwood, and that one of them had taken him in, but the cat escaped and had not been seen since.[18]
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Blackie wasHMS Prince of Wales's ship's cat. During the Second World War, he achieved worldwide fame afterPrince of Wales carriedPrime MinisterWinston Churchill across the Atlantic toNS Argentia,Newfoundland, in August 1941. There he secretly met with theUnited States PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt for several days in a secure anchorage resulting in the declaration of theAtlantic Charter.
As Churchill prepared to step offPrince of Wales, Blackie approached. Churchill stooped to bid farewell to Blackie, and the moment was photographed and reported in the world media. In honour of the success of the visit, Blackie was renamed Churchill.[19]
Blackie survived thesinking ofPrince of Wales by theImperial Japanese Navy Air Service later that year, and was taken toSingapore with the survivors. He could not be found when Singapore was evacuated the following year and his fate is unknown.[20]
Camouflage was the name of the ship's cat aboard a US Coast GuardLST in the Pacific theater, WWII. He was known for chasing enemytracer rounds across the deck.[21]
Chibley was the ship's cat aboard thetall shipbarquePicton Castle. She was rescued from an animal shelter andcircumnavigated the world five times.Picton Castle's role as a training ship resulted in Chibley being introduced to a large number of visitors and becoming a celebrity in her own right. Chibley died on November 10, 2011, inLunenburg, Nova Scotia. She had sailed over 180,000 miles at sea.[22]
Convoy was the ship's cat aboardHMS Hermione. He was named for his role inconvoy escort missions. He was listed in the ship's roster and had a special kit, including a tinyhammock.[23] He was killed along with 87 crew members whenHermione was torpedoed and sunk by theGerman submarine U-205 on June 16, 1942.[24]
Emmy was the ship's cat onRMS Empress of Ireland. She was an orange tabby cat who never missed a voyage. However, on 28 May 1914, Emmy jumped ship while in port in Quebec City. The crew returned her to the ship, but she left again, leaving her kittens behind.Empress of Ireland left without her, which was regarded as a terrible omen.[25] Early the next morningEmpress of Ireland was struck byStorstad while steaming through fog near the mouth of theSaint Lawrence River and rapidly sank, killing more than 1,000 people.[26]
Felix was the ship's cat aboardMayflower II when she set sail from Devon, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1957 to symbolise the solidarity between the UK and the US following World War II. He was given his own life jacket and once suffered a broken paw after a mishap. The paw was set by the ship's doctor. Photos and stories about Felix appeared inNational Geographic,Life, andYankee magazine after his arrival in the US. The cat and the rest of the crew marched in a New Yorkticker tape parade and toured the East Coast that summer. He was eventually adopted by the cabin boy's girlfriend, Ann Berry, and settled inWaltham,Massachusetts. A former captain of theMayflower II wrote a children's book about Felix entitledFelix and his Mayflower II Adventures.[27] The book was published during the celebration of the ship's fiftieth anniversary atPlimoth Plantation.[28]
Halifax was the name given to Alvah and Diana Simon's ship's cat who was found in the Canadian port ofHalifax, on their way to winter at Tay Bay in 1994, onRoger Henry. The cat spent all of the time iced in on the boat with Alvah, when Diana had to leave for family purposes. Alvah's bookNorth To The Night[29] describes his adventure in the ice with Halifax the cat, who ended up losing half an ear to frostbite.
Jenny was the name of the ship's cat aboardTitanic and was mentioned in the accounts of several of the crew members who survived the ocean liner'sfateful 1912 maiden voyage. She was transferred fromTitanic's sister shipOlympic and gave birth in the week beforeTitanic left Southampton. The galley is where Jenny and her kittens normally lived, cared for by thevictualling staff who fed them kitchen scraps.[30] StewardessViolet Jessop later wrote in her memoir that the cat "laid her family near Jim, thescullion, whose approval she always sought and who always gave her warm devotion".[31][32]
Kiddo the cat was apparently astowaway on theairshipAmerica, when it departedAtlantic City, New Jersey, in an attempt to cross theAtlantic Ocean in 1910. Initially, Kiddo found the experience of air travel quite unpleasant and raised such a ruckus, the cat had to be placed in agunny sack and suspended beneath the airship's gondola. He eventually settled in and evidently was better at predicting bad weather than the airship'sbarometer.America's engines failed and the small crew and Kiddo abandoned thedirigible forlifeboats and they sighted theRoyal Mail ShipTrent nearBermuda. After their rescue, Kiddo was retired from being a ship's cat and was cared for by Edith Wellman Ainsworth, the daughter of the Americanjournalist,explorer, andaviatorWalter Wellman who made the aborted ocean crossing in the airship.[33]
Mrs Chippy (actually a male) was the ship's cat aboardEndurance, the ship used by SirErnest Shackleton for hisImperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914.Endurance was destroyed in 1915 after becoming trapped in pack ice and sank; Shackleton then ordered four sled dogs and Mrs. Chippy shot, as he had decided that the animals could not be properly cared for during the arduous journey ahead and would likely not survive.
Nansen (actually a female)[34] was the ship's cat onBelgica, which was used for theBelgian Antarctic Expedition in 1897. She was brought on board by cabin boy Johan Koren and was named afterFridtjof Nansen. She died on 22 June 1898,[35] and was buried in theAntarctic.[36]
Peebles was the ship's cat aboardHMS Western Isles. Another cat who became a favourite of the ship's crew, he was known to be particularly intelligent and would shake the hands of strangers when they entered thewardroom.[citation needed]
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Pooli served aboard a United Statesattack transport during the Second World War.[37] She was awarded threeservice ribbons and fourbattle stars.[38]
Rinda was the ship's cat on the Norwegian cargo shipRinda, which was torpedoed and sunk during World War II. When the surviving crew realised that their beloved ship's cat was not on board the lifeboat, they rowed around in the night until they finally heard a pitiful "miauu" in the distance. "We rowed as hard as we could and laughed and cried when we lifted the sopping wet furball aboard". The cat became the ship's cat aboard the rescue ship, theBritish armed naval trawlerHMT Pict, and was given the name Rinda after the previous ship.[39]
Simon was the ship's cat ofHMS Amethyst during theYangtze Incident in 1949 and was wounded in the bombardment of the ship which killed 25 ofAmethyst's crew, including the commanding officer. He soon recovered and resumed killing rats and keeping up the crew's morale. He was appointed to the rank of 'Able Seacat' Simon and became acelebrity after the ship escaped the Yangtze and returned to Britain. He later contracted an infection and died shortly after. Tributes poured in and hisobituary appeared inThe Times. He was posthumously awarded theDickin Medal, the only cat ever to earn the award, and was buried with full naval honours.
Tarawa was a kitten rescued from apillbox during theBattle of Tarawa by theUnited States Coast Guard. She was a mascot aboard anLST but did not get along with the LST's other mascot, a dog named Kodiak, and jumped ship ashore.[21]
Tiddles was the ship's cat on a number ofRoyal Navyaircraft carriers. He was born aboardHMS Argus, and later joinedHMS Victorious. He was often seen at his favourite station, on the aftcapstan, where he would play with the bell-rope. He eventually travelled over 30,000 miles (48,000 km) during his time in service.
Togo was the ship's cat onHMS Dreadnought. A Persian cat, Togo was known for resting in the barrels of the ship's main battery.[40]
Tom, a grey and black tabby, was a ship's cat of the US Navy, aboard theUSS Maine (ACR-1) in 1898. When the ship was sunk inHavana Harbor on 15 February 1898 (an act which precipitated theSpanish–American War), 266 sailors, aPug mascot, and two of the three ship's cats died, but Tom survived (with injuries). Adopted by theMaine's executive officer, then-CommanderRichard Wainwright, Tom was subsequently featured inanimal-rights-related materials by theASPCA and otherhumane societies, who praised the naval treatment of ship's cats as cared-for, working companion animals.[41]
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Trim was the ship's cat on a number of the ships under the command ofMatthew Flinders during voyages to circumnavigate and map the coastline of Australia during 1801–1803. He became a favourite of the crew and was the first cat to circumnavigate Australia. He remained with Flinders until death. He has been the subject of a number of works of literature, and statues have been placed in his honour, including one that sits on a windowsill at theState Library of New South Wales in Sydney.
Previously named Oscar, he was the ship's cat of theGerman battleship Bismarck. When the ship was sunk on 27 May 1941, only 116 crew members of over 2,200 survived. Oscar was picked up by the destroyerHMS Cossack, one of the ships responsible for destroying theBismarck.Cossack herself was torpedoed and sunk on 24 October 1941, killing 159 of her crew; but Oscar again survived, was rescued and taken toGibraltar. He became the ship's cat ofHMS Ark Royal, which was torpedoed and sunk in November that year.Oscar was again rescued, but it was decided at that time to transfer him to a home on land. By now known as Unsinkable Sam because of surviving the three ship sinkings, he was given a new job as shore duty mouse-catcher in the office buildings of the Governor of Gibraltar because he still had "six lives to go".[42] He eventually was taken to the UK and spent the rest of his life at the 'Home for Sailors'. A portrait of him exists in the collections of theNational Maritime Museum inGreenwich.[43]
There are at least two books calledThe Ship's Cat:a 1977 children's book byRichard Adams andAlan Aldridge,[44] and a 2000 novel byJock Brandis.[45]Matthew Flinders' Cat is a 2002 novel byBryce Courtenay featuring tales aboutTrim, the ship's cat that circumnavigated Australia. InFish Head, a 1954 children's book byJean Fritz, the eponymous cat unwittingly becomes a ship's cat.[46]
Inscience fiction, the role of the ship's cat has been transferred to spaceships. Notable examples includeCordwainer Smith's 1955 short story "The Game of Rat and Dragon"[47] andAndre Norton's 1968 novelThe Zero Stone[48] featuring a telepathic mutant feline named Eet.Robert A. Heinlein'sThe Cat Who Walks Through Walls features a cat named Pixel who travels on various space adventures with the narrator.[49] On film,Alien (1979) and the sequelAliens (1986) featureJones ("Jonesy") aboardUSCSSNostromo.[50] In the UK science fiction comedy seriesRed Dwarf, a man called Lister was instasis for three million years on the spaceship Red Dwarf when all other living beings had died except his pregnant cat. The cats evolved over the three million years into a humanoid species and when Lister came out of stasis, he met the last of them that was calledCat.[51] OnStar Trek: The Next Generation,Data, second officer of theUSSEnterprise (NCC-1701-D), owned a cat named Spot who he unsuccessfully attempted to train. Spot was portrayed by six different feline actors during seven seasons of the show.[52]
Footnotes
Sources
[Polydactyl cats'] large feet were thought to make them superior mousers, as well as provide better balance on the high seas.
