View source for Ship's cat

{{short description|Cat that lives aboard a ship at sea}}
{{for|children's book by Richard Adams|The Ship's Cat{{!}}''The Ship's Cat''}}
{{Expand German|date=July 2019}}
[[File:A cat on HMAS Encounter.jpg|thumb|Ship's cat on {{HMAS|Encounter|1902|6}} during [[World War I]]]]
[[File:Captain A. J. Hailey in uniform with a cat on the first C.P. R.M.S. Empress of Canada.jpg|thumb|upright|Captain AJ Hailey with his cat on {{RMS|Empress of Canada|1920|6}}, 1920s]]

The '''ship's cat''' has been a common feature on many [[Merchant vessel|trading]], [[History of research ships|exploration]], and [[naval ship]]s dating to [[ancient times]]. [[Cat]]s have been carried 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. They are also a [[Vector (epidemiology)|source of disease]], which is dangerous for ships that are at sea for long periods of time. [[Oriental rat flea|Rat flea]]s are carriers of [[Plague (disease)|plague]], and rats on ships were believed{{efn|Recent studies suggest this might not be true.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Greshko |first1=Michael |title=Maybe Rats Aren't to Blame for the Black Death |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/01/rats-plague-black-death-humans-lice-health-science/ |website=National Geographic News |access-date=19 October 2020 |language=en |date=15 January 2018}}</ref>}} to be a primary [[Vector (epidemiology)|vector]] of the [[Black Death]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Black Death |url=http://hosted.lib.uiowa.edu/histmed/plague/ |website=John Martin Rare Book Room |publisher=Hardin Library for the Health Sciences |access-date=19 October 2020}}</ref>

Cats naturally attack and kill rodents<ref name="bruzelius">{{Cite web |last=Bruzelius |first=Lars |title=Sailing Ships |work=Stevens: ‘Vermin’, 1894 |publisher=The Maritime History Virtual Archives |year=2005 |url= http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Seamanship/Stevens%281894%29_S1156.html |access-date=April 20, 2010}}</ref> 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.

==History==
The [[African wildcat]] was probably first [[tamed]] in the [[Fertile Crescent]] during the [[first agricultural revolution]] that started about 10,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Driscoll |first1=CA |last2=Menotti-Raymond |first2=M |last3=Roca |first3=AL |last4=Hupe |first4=K |last5=Johnson |first5=WE |last6=Geffen |first6=E |last7=Harley |first7=EH |last8=Delibes |first8=M |last9=Pontier |first9=D |last10=Kitchener |first10=AC |last11=Yamaguchi |first11=N |last12=O'Brien |first12=SJ |last13=Macdonald |first13=D. W. |date=2007 |title=The Near Eastern Origin of Cat Domestication |journal=Science |volume=317 |issue=5837 |pages=519–523 |doi=10.1126/science.1139518 |pmc=5612713 |bibcode=2007Sci...317..519D |pmid=17600185}}</ref>
Small cat bones [[Excavation (archaeology)|excavated]] on [[Mediterranean islands]] indicate that cats were [[Introduced species|introduced]] around the beginning of the first millennium.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vigne |first1=J.-D. |title=Zooarchaeology and the biogeographical history of the mammals of Corsica and Sardinia since the last Ice Age |year=1992 |journal=Mammal Review |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=87–96 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2907.1992.tb00124.x |url=https://www.academia.edu/download/46314275/Zooarchaeology_and_the_Biogeographical_h20160607-30777-1e6lk2e.pdf}}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
Analysis of [[mitochondrial DNA]] of archaeological cat specimens revealed that [[ancient Egypt]]ian cats started spreading in the 8th century [[Before Christian Era|BCE]] along Mediterranean trading routes and reached a [[Viking]] port at the [[Baltic Sea]] by the 7th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ottoni, C. |last2=Van Neer, W. |last3=De Cupere, B. |last4=Daligault, J. |last5=Guimaraes, S. |last6=Peters, J. |last7=Spassov, N. |last8=Prendergast, M. E. |last9=Boivin, N. |last10=Morales-Muñiz, A. |last11=Bălăşescu, A. |name-list-style=amp |date=2017 |title=The palaeogenetics of cat dispersal in the ancient world |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |volume=1 |issue=7 |pages=0139 |doi=10.1038/s41559-017-0139}}</ref> The study suggests that viking sailors took cats with them on their voyages.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Persson |first1=Charlotte Price |title=Viking sailors took their cats with them |url=https://sciencenordic.com/ancient-dna-denmark-society--culture/viking-sailors-took-their-cats-with-them/1437679 |website=sciencenordic.com |access-date=4 February 2021 |language=no |date=22 September 2016}}</ref>  During the [[Age 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.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Mason, I. L. |title=Evolution of Domesticated Animals |date=1984 |publisher=Longman |place=London |isbn=0-582-46046-8 |page=223 }}</ref>

==Cats and superstition==
Sometimes [[Cats in ancient Egypt|worshipped as deities]], cats have long had a reputation as [[Magic (paranormal)|magical]] animals and numerous [[myth]]s and [[superstition]]s sprang up among the unusually superstitious seafaring community.<ref>{{cite book |last=Eyers |first=Jonathan |year=2011 |title=Don't Shoot the Albatross!: Nautical Myths and Superstitions |place=London |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-4081-3131-2 }}{{page needed|date=December 2020}}</ref> They were considered to be intelligent and lucky animals, and a high level of care was devoted to keeping them happy. Some sailors believed that [[polydactyl cat]]s were better at catching pests, possibly connected with the suggestion that extra digits give a polydactyl cat better balance, important when at sea.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moss |first1=Laura |title=11 things you didn't know about polydactyl cats |url=https://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/11-thing-didnt-know-polydactyl-cats |website=MNN |publisher=Mother Nature Network |quote= [Polydactyl cat's] large feet were thought to make them superior mousers, as well as provide better balance on the high seas. |language=en |date=September 16, 2015}}</ref> In some places polydactyl cats became known as "ship's cats".<ref>{{cite web |first=Dr Jane, DVM |last=MacLellan |title=Polydactyl Cats |url= https://petfocus.ca/petworks/polydactyl-cats/ |website=PetWorks Veterinary Hospital |access-date=29 March 2019 |date=25 June 2018}}</ref>

Cats were believed to have miraculous powers that could protect ships from dangerous weather. Sometimes, fishermen's wives would keep [[black cat]]s 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 a [[hail]] [[storm]] 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. Low [[atmospheric pressure]], a common precursor of stormy weather, often makes cats nervous and restless.<ref>{{cite web |last=Freeman |first=Margot |title=How Do Cats React to Barometric Pressure? |url= http://pets.thenest.com/cats-react-barometric-pressure-12401.html |website=The Nest |publisher=XO Group Inc |access-date=2 October 2017}}</ref> Cats naturally react to barometric pressure changes, through which a keen observer can detect unusual behavior and predict an incoming storm.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://pets.thenest.com/cats-react-barometric-pressure-12401.html |title=How Do Cats React to Barometric Pressure? |last=Freeman |first=Margot |website=pets.thenest.com |language=en |access-date=2019-10-10}}</ref> The tradition that every ship needs a mascot made cats very welcome among sailors.
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==Notable examples==
The prevalence of cats on ships has led to them being reported on by a number of noted seafarers. The outbreak of the [[Second 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.<ref name="Famous ships cats and their lives">{{Citation |url= http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/featuring/war02.html |title=Famous ships cats and their lives |publisher=Purr’n’fur |place=UK}}</ref>

===Aussie===
Aussie was the last ship's cat of the [[Transpacific crossing|transpacific]] liner {{RMS|Niagara}}. He was a five-year-old grey-and-white long-haired tom. His mother had been ''Niagara''{{'}}s cat before him; his father was a [[Persian cat]] in [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]]. Aussie was born at [[Suva]] in [[Fiji]].<ref name=NZH>{{cite news |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19400702.2.49 |title=The Niagara's cat |newspaper=The New Zealand Herald |page=6 |via=Papers Past |date=2 July 1940 |access-date=19 December 2020}}</ref>

When ''Niagara'' was [[Naval mine|mined]] off the coast of [[New Zealand]] in 1940, Aussie was put in one of the lifeboats, but he jumped back aboard ship. A few days later, residents of [[Horahora, 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.<ref name=NZH/>

===Blackie===
[[File:Blackie and Churchill (cropped).jpg|thumb|280px|[[Winston Churchill]] restrains Blackie, the ship's cat of {{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|6}}, from boarding {{USS|McDougal|DD-358|6}} during a 1941 ceremonial visit|alt=Atlantic Conference August 1941: Churchill restrains 'Blackie' the cat, the mascot of HMS ''Prince of Wales'', from joining USS ''McDougal'', an American destroyer, while the ship's company stand to attention during the playing of the National Anthem]]
Blackie was {{HMS|Prince of Wales|53|6}}'s ship's cat. During the Second World War, he achieved worldwide fame after ''Prince of Wales'' carried [[Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]] across the Atlantic to [[Naval Station Argentia|NS Argentia]], [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]], in August 1941, where he secretly met with the [[United States President]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] for several days in a secure anchorage. This meeting resulted in the declaration of the [[Atlantic Charter]].

As Churchill prepared to step off ''Prince 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rjerrard.co.uk/royalnavy/rnbooks/rncats.htm |work=Royal Navy |title=Cats |publisher=R Jerrard |place=UK |type=book |access-date=2008-01-04 |archive-date=2007-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071110094657/http://www.rjerrard.co.uk/royalnavy/rnbooks/rncats.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Blackie survived the [[Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse|sinking of ''Prince of Wales'']] by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service]] later that year, and was taken to [[Singapore]] with the survivors. He could not be found when Singapore was evacuated the following year and his fate is unknown.<ref>{{cite web|title=Churchill's Feline Menagerie|author1=Fred Glueckstein|url=http://www.winstonchurchill.org/support/the-churchill-centre/publications/finest-hour/issues-109-to-144/no-139/837-churchills-feline-menagerie|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100429121822/http://www.winstonchurchill.org/support/the-churchill-centre/publications/finest-hour/issues-109-to-144/no-139/837-churchills-feline-menagerie|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 April 2010|publisher=The Churchill Centre|access-date=19 July 2014}}</ref>

===Camouflage===
Camouflage was the ship's cat aboard a US Coast Guard [[Landing Ship, Tank|LST]] in the Pacific theater, WWII. He was known for chasing enemy [[Tracer ammunition|tracer rounds]] across the deck.<ref name="USCG mascots">{{cite web |url= http://www.uscg.mil/history/uscghist/Mascots_2.asp |place=US |publisher=US Coast Guard |work=History |title=Mascots |archive-url= https://archive.today/20140523024141/http://www.uscg.mil/history/uscghist/Mascots_2.asp |archive-date=23 May 2014}}</ref>

===Chibley===
Chibley was the ship's cat aboard the [[tall ship]] [[Barque]] {{ship||Picton Castle|ship|2}}. She was rescued from an animal shelter and [[circumnavigated]] 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, in [[Lunenburg, Nova Scotia]]. She had sailed over 180,000 miles at sea.<ref>{{cite web |first=Captain Daniel |last=Moreland |title=Captain's Log |url= http://www.picton-castle.com/captains_log/category/chibley/|website=www.picton-castle.com |access-date=23 April 2018 |place=Archive for the 'Chibley' Category |language=en |date=11 November 2011}}</ref>

===Convoy===
[[File:Convoy cat.jpg|thumb|Convoy asleep in a hammock aboard HMS ''Hermione'']]
Convoy was the ship's cat aboard {{HMS|Hermione|74|6}}. He was so named because of the number of times he accompanied the ship on [[Escort Group|convoy escort]] duties. Convoy was listed in the ship's book and provided with a full kit, including a tiny [[hammock]] in which he slept. He was killed along with 87 of his crew mates when ''Hermione'' was torpedoed and sunk on 16 June 1942 by {{GS|U-205}}.{{cn|date=March 2022}}

===Emmy===
Emmy was the ship's cat on {{RMS|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.<ref>{{cite news |last=Blatchford |first=Andy |title=Empress of Ireland, 'Canada's Titanic,' finally getting its due after 100 years |url= https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/empress-of-ireland-canadas-titanic-finally-getting-its-due-after-100-years/article18819164/?page=all |access-date=7 January 2015|work=The Globe and Mail|publisher=The Canadian Press|date=23 May 2014}}</ref> Early the next morning ''Empress of Ireland'' was struck by {{SS|Storstad||2}} while steaming through fog near the mouth of the [[Saint Lawrence River]] and rapidly sank, killing more than 1,000 people.<ref>{{cite web |title=ARCHIVED - Investigating the Empress of Ireland - Inland Waters - Shipwreck Investigations |url= https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/sos/shipwrecks/002031-4100-e.html |website=Library and Archives Canada |access-date=31 August 2020}}</ref>

===Felix===
Felix was the ship's cat aboard ''[[Mayflower II]]'' when she set sail from Devon, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1957 to symbolize 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 in ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'', ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'', and ''[[Yankee (magazine)|Yankee]]'' magazine after his arrival in the US. The cat and the rest of the crew marched in a New York [[ticker tape parade]] and toured the East Coast that summer. He was eventually adopted by the cabin boy's girlfriend, Ann Berry, and settled in [[Waltham, Massachusetts|Waltham]], [[Massachusetts]]. The current captain of the ''Mayflower II'' wrote a children's book about Felix entitled ''Felix and his Mayflower II Adventures''.<ref>{{Cite book |isbn=978-0979334818 |title=Felix and His Mayflower II Adventures |last=Arenstam |first=Peter |year=2007}}</ref> The book was published during the celebration of the ship's fiftieth anniversary at [[Plimoth Plantation]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.plimoth.org/features/mayflower-2/journey/felix.php |work=The Journey of the Mayflower II |title=Felix |publisher=Plimoth}}</ref>

===Halifax===
Halifax was the name given to Alvah and Diana Simon's ship's cat who was found in the Canadian port of [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], on their way to winter at Tay Bay in 1994, on ''Roger 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 book ''North To The Night''<ref>{{cite book |last=Simon |first=Alvah |title=North to the Night: A Year in the Arctic Ice |date=1998 |publisher=McGraw-Hill [u.a.] |place=Camden, ME |isbn=0-07-058052-9 |url= https://archive.org/details/northtonightyear00simo}}</ref> describes his adventure in the ice with Halifax the cat, who ended up losing half an ear to frostbite.

===Jenny===
Jenny was the name of the ship's cat aboard ''[[Titanic]]'' and was mentioned in the accounts of several of the crew members who survived the ocean liner's [[Sinking of the RMS Titanic|fateful 1912 maiden voyage]]. She was transferred from ''Titanic''{{'}}s sister ship {{RMS|Olympic|3=2}} and gave birth in the week before ''Titanic'' left Southampton. The galley is where Jenny and her kittens normally lived, cared for by the [[victualling]] staff who fed them kitchen scraps.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eaton |first1=John P |last2=Haas |first2=Charles A |others=foreword by William MacQuitty |title=Titanic: A Journey Through Time |year=1999 |publisher=Patrick Stephens |place=Sparkford |isbn=1-85260-575-8 |page=234}}</ref> Stewardess [[Violet Jessop]] later wrote in her memoir that the cat "laid her family near Jim, the [[wikt:scullion|scullion]], whose approval she always sought and who always gave her warm devotion".<ref>{{cite book |last=Pellegrino |first=Charles |author-link=Charles R. Pellegrino |title=Farewell, Titanic : her final legacy |year=2012 |publisher=Wiley |place=Hoboken |isbn=978-0-470-87387-8 |page=29}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Titanic survivor: the newly discovered memoirs of Violet Jessop who survived both the Titanic and Britannic disasters |first=Violet |last=Jessop |editor-first=John |editor-last=Maxtone-Graham |year=2004 |publisher=Sheridan House |place=Dobbs-Ferry, NY |isbn=1-57409-184-0 |edition=first}}</ref>

===Kiddo===
[[File:M. Vaniman and cat.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Melvin Vaniman]] and Kiddo]]
Kiddo seemed to have stowed away on the [[airship]] [[America (airship)|''America'']], when it left [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]], in 1910 to cross the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. Initially, Kiddo was so upset by the experience, the cat had to be placed in a [[gunny sack]] and suspended beneath the airship's gondola. He eventually settled in and, evidently, was better at predicting bad weather than the [[barometer]]. The airship's engines eventually failed, and the small crew and Kiddo abandoned the ''America'' for [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboats]] when they sighted the [[Royal Mail Ship]] {{SS|Trent||2}} near [[Bermuda]]. Kiddo then was retired from being a ship's cat and was taken care of by Edith Wellman Ainsworth, the daughter of the American [[journalist]], [[explorer]], and [[aviator]] [[Walter Wellman]] who made the daring attempt.<ref>{{cite book |last=Janus |first=A |title=Animals Aloft: Photographs from the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum |publisher=Bunker Hill Publishing |date=2005 |isbn=1-59373-048-9}}</ref>

===Mrs Chippy===
{{Main|Mrs Chippy}}
[[File:Mrschippy.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Mrs Chippy]], a tiger-striped male [[tabby]] ship's cat]]
Mrs Chippy (actually a male) was the ship's cat aboard [[Endurance (1912 ship)|''Endurance'']], the ship used by Sir [[Ernest Shackleton]] for his [[Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition]]. When the ship was lost, having become trapped and eventually crushed in pack ice, Shackleton ordered five sled dogs and Mrs Chippy shot, as Shackleton had decided that the animals could not be kept during the arduous journey ahead.

===Nansen===
Nansen (actually a female)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sancton |first1=Julian |title=Madhouse at the End of the Earth |date=2021 |publisher=Crown |location=New York |isbn=978-1-9848-2433-2 |page=59 |edition=First}}</ref> was the ship's cat on {{ship|RV|Belgica|1884|2}}, which was used for the [[Belgian Antarctic Expedition]]. She was brought on board by cabin boy Johan Koren, and was named after [[Fridtjof Nansen]]. She died on 22 June 1898,<ref name=Lewis>{{cite book |title=Ship's Cats in War and Peace |last=Lewis |first=Val |year=2002 |publisher= Nauticalia |place=Shepperton |isbn=0-9530458-1-1 |pages=59–60}}</ref> and was buried in the [[Antarctic]].<ref name=Cool>{{citation |url= http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/antarctic_whos_who_belgica.htm |first=Adrien |last=de Gerlache |title=Belgica Belgian Antarctic Expedition 1897–1899 |publisher=Cool Antarctica |access-date=5 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101009092129/http://coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/antarctic_whos_who_belgica.htm |archive-date=9 October 2010}}</ref>

===Peebles===
[[File:Peebles the cat.jpg|thumb|left|Lieutenant Commander R H Palmer plays with Peebles, the ship's cat, who leaps through his clasped arms on board HMS ''Western Isles'' at [[Tobermory, Mull]]]]
Peebles was the ship's cat aboard {{HMS|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 the [[wardroom]].{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

===Pooli===
[[File:Pooli (cat).jpg|thumb|upright|Pooli in uniform on July 4, 1959, her 15th birthday]]
Pooli served aboard a United States [[attack transport]] during the Second World War.<ref>{{Citation |url= http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz0002qbjp |title=Changing Times: Los Angeles in Photographs, 1920–1990 (Pooli, cat who served aboard a United States attack transport during World War II celebrates 15th birthday) |type=photograph |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |date=July 4, 1959 |publisher=UCLA}}</ref> She was awarded three [[service ribbon]]s and four [[battle star]]s.<ref name="USNI">{{cite web |title=Cats in the Sea Services |url=https://www.usni.org/news-and-features/cats-and-the-sea-services |website=www.usni.org |publisher=US Naval Institute}}</ref>

===Rinda===
Rinda was the ship's cat on the Norwegian cargo ship {{SS|Rinda||2}}, which was torpedoed and sunk during World War II. When the surviving crew realized 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, the [[Trawlers of the Royal Navy|British armed naval trawler]] {{HMT|Pict|FY132|6}}, and was given the name Rinda after the previous ship.<ref name=Rinda>{{cite web |url= http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/rinda.html |title=D/S Rinda |publisher=War sailors |access-date=7 February 2012}}</ref>

===Simon===
{{Main|Simon (cat)}}
Simon was the ship's cat of {{HMS|Amethyst|F116|6}} during the [[Yangtze Incident]] in 1949, and was wounded in the bombardment of the ship which killed 25 of ''Amethyst''<nowiki/>'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 a [[celebrity]] after the ship escaped the Yangtze and returned to Britain. He later contracted an infection and died shortly after. Tributes poured in and his [[obituary]] appeared in ''[[The Times]]''. He was posthumously awarded the [[Dickin Medal]], the only cat ever to earn the award, and was buried with full naval honours.

===Tarawa===
Tarawa was a kitten rescued from a [[Pillbox (military)|pillbox]] during the [[Battle of Tarawa]] by the [[United States Coast Guard]]. She was a mascot aboard an [[Landing Ship, Tank|LST]], but did not get along with the LST's other mascot, a dog named Kodiak, and jumped ship ashore.<ref name="USCG mascots"/>

===Tiddles===
[[File:Tiddles cat.jpg|thumb|upright|Tiddles at his station aboard HMS ''Victorious''. Despite a long tradition, there are no longer ships' cats aboard Royal Navy vessels]]
Tiddles was the ship's cat on a number of [[Royal Navy]] [[aircraft carrier]]s. He was born aboard {{HMS |Argus|I49|6}}, and later joined {{HMS|Victorious|R38|6}}. He was often seen at his favourite station, on the aft [[capstan (nautical)|capstan]], where he would play with the bell-rope. He eventually travelled over {{convert |30000|mi|km}} during his time in service.

===Togo===
Togo was the ship's cat on {{HMS|Dreadnought|1906|6}}. A Persian cat, Togo was known for resting in the barrels of the ship's main battery.<ref>{{cite book |last=Davies |first=Owen |title=A Supernatural War: Magic, Divination, and Faith During the First World War |year=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |place=Oxford |isbn=9780198794554 |page=154}}</ref>

===Trim===
{{Main|Trim (cat)}}
Trim was the ship's cat on a number of the ships under the command of [[Matthew 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 window sill at the [[State Library of New South Wales]] in Sydney.

===Unsinkable Sam===
{{Main|Unsinkable Sam}}
Previously named Oscar, he was the ship's cat of the {{ship|German battleship|Bismarck}}. When she was sunk on 27 May 1941, only 116 out of a crew of over 2,200 survived. Oscar was picked up by the destroyer {{HMS|Cossack|F03|6}}, one of the ships responsible for destroying ''Bismarck''. ''Cossack'' herself was torpedoed and sunk a few months later, on 24 October, killing 159 of her crew, but Oscar again survived to be rescued, and was taken to [[Gibraltar]]. He became the ship's cat of {{HMS|Ark Royal|91|6}}, 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".<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://explorethearchive.com/curious-history-of-ship-cats |title=The Long and Curious History of Ship Cats |website=The Archive}}</ref> 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 the [[National Maritime Museum]] in [[Greenwich]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Baker |first=Georgina Shaw |title=Item #PAJ2744: ''Oscar, Cat From the German Battleship Bismarck'' - Private Collections of the National Maritime Museum |url= http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/203480.html |website=Royal Museums Greenwich |place=London |format=Framed drawing in pastel, 785 x 610 mm}}</ref>

==Today==

The [[Royal Navy]] banned cats and other pet animals from all ships on the ocean in 1975 on [[hygiene]] grounds;<ref name="Famous ships cats and their lives"/> 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" aboard [[Kalmar Nyckel#The modern Kalmar Nyckel|the modern ''Kalmar Nyckel'']]. A celebrity in her own right, she is the subject of two books.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mayers |first=Barbara |title=Toolbox: Ship's Cat on the Kalmar Nyckel |year=2007 |publisher=Bay Oak Publishers, Ltd |isbn=978-0974171395 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=q3LvHwAACAAJ|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Charles E, Jr |last=Ireland |title=Toolbox |year=2006 |publisher=Cedar Tree Books |url= http://cedartreebooks.com/catalog/1-books/29-toolbox |language=en-us}}</ref> A number of ship's cats were included in the chronicles for the ''[[National Geographic Magazine]]'' (1968–1970) and detailed in the 1972 book ''Dove'' by [[Robin Lee Graham]], which was adapted into the 1974 film ''[[The Dove (1974 film)|The Dove]]''.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} Bug Naked, Captain [[Kate McCue]]'s [[sphynx cat]], sails with her aboard the mega cruise ship ''[[Celebrity Beyond]]''. <ref>{{cite web |last1=Quindara |first1=Henry |title=Cruise kitty makes the cutest first mate |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/animalkind/2021/07/16/celebrity-edge-ship-has-unique-passenger-aboard-hairless-cat/7980518002/ |website=usatoday.com |publisher=USA Today |access-date=17 July 2021}}</ref>

==In fiction==
There are at least two books called ''The Ship's Cat'': [[The Ship's Cat|a 1977 children's book]] by [[Richard Adams]] and [[Alan Aldridge]],<ref>{{Cite book |isbn=978-0-224-01441-0 |title=The Adventures & Brave Deeds of the Ship's Cat on the Spanish Maine: Together with the Most Lamentable Losse of the Alcestis & Triumphant Firing of the Port of Chagres |year=1977}}</ref> and a 2000 novel by [[Jock Brandis]].<ref>{{Cite book |isbn=978-0595129973 |title=The Ship's Cat |last=Brandis |first=Jock |date=September 2000}}</ref> ''[[Matthew Flinders' Cat]]'' is a 2002 novel by [[Bryce Courtenay]] featuring tales about [[Trim (cat)|Trim]], the ship's cat that circumnavigated Australia. In ''Fish Head'', a 1954 children's book by [[Jean Fritz]], the eponymous cat unwittingly becomes a ship's cat.<ref>{{Citation |last=Fritz |first=Jean |title=Fish head |url= https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jean-fritz/fish-head/ |journal=Kirkus Reviews}}</ref>

In [[science fiction]], the role of the ship's cat has been transferred to spaceships. Notable examples include [[Cordwainer Smith]]'s 1955 short story "[[The Game of Rat and Dragon]]"<ref>{{Citation |url= http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29614/29614-h/29614-h.htm |last=Smith |first=Cordwainer |title=The game of Rat and Dragon |journal=Galaxy Science Fiction |date=October 1955 |publisher=Project Gutenberg}}</ref> and [[Andre Norton]]'s 1968 novel ''The Zero Stone''<ref>{{cite web|title=THE ZERO STONE by Andre Norton|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/andre-norton/the-zero-stone/|website=[[Kirkus Reviews]]|publisher=Kirkus Media|access-date=19 April 2018|language=en-us}}</ref> featuring a telepathic mutant feline named Eet.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Zero Stone (#1)|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1183868.The_Zero_Stone|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=19 April 2018}}</ref> [[Robert A. Heinlein]]{{'}}s ''[[The Cat Who Walks Through Walls]]'' features a cat named Pixel who travels on various space adventures with the narrator.<ref>{{cite web |first=Robert A. |last=Heinlein |author-link=Robert A. Heinlein |title=The cat who walks through walls: a comedy of manners |url= https://openlibrary.org/works/OL59700W/The_cat_who_walks_through_walls |work=[[Open Library]] |access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref> On film, ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]'' (1979) and the sequel ''[[Aliens (film)|Aliens]]'' (1986) feature Jones ("Jonesy") aboard {{abbr|USCSS|United States Commercial Star Ship}} ''Nostromo''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Burton |first=Bonnie |author-link=Bonnie Burton |title=Ripley and her cat make 'Aliens' look cuddly |url= https://www.cnet.com/news/ripley-cat-jonesy-aliens-alien-sci-fi-movie-sigourney-weaver/ |website=CNET |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=19 April 2018 |language=en |date=8 December 2016}}</ref> In the UK science fiction comedy series ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', a man called Lister was in [[Stasis (fiction)|stasis]] 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 called [[Cat (Red Dwarf)|Cat]].<ref>{{Cite episode |title=The End |episode-link=The End (Red Dwarf) |series=Red Dwarf |series-link=Red Dwarf |first=Rob |last=Grant |author-link=Rob Grant |first2=Doug (writers) |last2=Naylor |author-link2=Doug Naylor |first3=Ed (director) |last3=Bye |author-link3=Ed Bye |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC2]] |date=15 February 1988 |series-no=I |number=1}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Cats|Transport}}
* [[List of cats]]
{{clear}}

==References==
'''Footnotes'''
{{notelist}}
'''Sources'''
{{Reflist|30em}}
* {{Cite book |first=Val |last=Lewis |title=Ships' Cats in War and Peace |publisher=Nauticalia |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-9530458-1-5}}
* {{Cite web |first=Patrick |last= Roberts |publisher=Purr-n-Fur |work=Famous Felines |title= Simon |url= http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/famous/simon.html}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ships' cats}}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.wyrdology.com/cats/at-sea.html |website=Wyrdology |title=Cats: At sea |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080516082923/http://www.wyrdology.com/cats/at-sea.html |archive-date=2008-05-16}}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.usni.org/news-and-features/cats-and-the-sea-services |title=Cats in the sea services |website= USNI}}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/featuring/war02.html |title=Famous Naval Cats: War |website=Purr’n’fur |place=UK}}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.moggies.co.uk/html/shipcat.html |title= Ship's cats |website= Moggies |place=UK}}
* {{cite web |url= http://seafurrers.com/ |website= Seafurrers |title=The Ship's Cats that Lapped and Mapped the World |place=Australia}}
* {{cite book |last=Dunwoody |first=HHC |title=Signal Service Notes: Weather Proverbs |year=1883 |publisher=Office of the Chief Signal Office |place=Washington |pages=29–30 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ucolAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA29|language=en|chapter=Proverbs relating to animals}} – Collection of proverbs relating to cats predicting weather

{{Domestic cat}}

[[Category:Marine occupations]]
[[Category:Maritime history]]
[[Category:Cat mascots]]
[[Category:Working cats]]
[[Category:Mammal pest control]]
[[Category:Rodents and humans]]