CATS THAT ADOPTED SHIPS AS THEIR HOMES: Feline Sailors of the Seas

(Updated August 5th, 2024)

How did the Siberian cat, and other cats get here? One is by air, two is by sea!  Cats have been “employed” and accompanied sailors on ships for hundreds of years. The first records of feline sailors dates back to ancient times.  Cats have been aboard ships for a few reasons, but their most important job was rodent control.  Rats and mice could wreck havoc to the ships’ stores, the crews’ foodstuff, food cargo and destroy grains. They would chew through ropes, ruin wood work, and in modern times chew electrical wiring.  Economic damage from rodents would be something that could not be recouped. Vermin are also a source of disease.  Rat fleas were the carriers of plague, and this could have been devastating to the crew on their journeys.

Most cats readily adapt to their new homes, even at sea. The fact that they kill rodents made them a welcomed and cherished crew member aboard ships.  The crew not only enjoyed their service, but their warm companionship and playfulness as well.

Analysis of DNA of found cat specimens show that ancient Egyptian cats started to spread along routes in the Mediterranean area in the 8th century BCE.  Through these analysis, they reached a Baltic sea Viking port in the 7th century. The study suggests that Vikings took cats with them on their voyages. This union of sailors, ships, and cats was the norm from the 15th through the 18th  century, during the Age of Discovery throughout the world.

Cats have a long history associated with the belief they hold magical powers. Myths and superstitions have surfaced through the ages in the seafaring community with cats.  They were considered intelligent and also a lucky charm. The sailors took pride in caring for them and were devoted  to keeping the cats happy and comfortable. They believed that a polydactyl cat was better at catching rats, and had better balance at sea. They were highly prized and eventually became known as the “ship’s cats”.

Among some of their believed powers, one was that they could protect a ship from dangerous weather.  Some fishermens' wives kept black cats at home, believing they had the power to protect their husbands at sea.  If a cat approached a sailor on deck, luck would be with you. But if it came halfway and retreated, bad luck would follow. Another belief was in the cats’ tail. The cat could start storms with the power within the tail.  If a cat fell or was thrown overboard, the sailors believed the cat to have the power to conjure up a horrific storm to sink the ship.  If the ship survived, a curse of bad luck would follow for 9 years. Watch for a cat licking its fur against the grain, a hail storm is soon to follow. A sneeze would bring rain, and if they were in a frisky mood, the winds would soon kick up.

Some beliefs actually have some truth behind them. They are sensitive enough in their inner ears to feel the slightest changes in weather. This also is what allows them to land upright when falling. When the atmospheric pressure drops, this means a storm is brewing. Cats will feel this and become a bit nervous and restless. If you watch and observe your cats’ behavior closely, you will see that they are able to predict a falling barometric pressure and an incoming storm.  This helped to make the tradition that every ship needs its’ cat, and the sailors welcomed them with open arms.

With the outbreak of the WWII, and a much larger participation of the world’s navies involved, better records were being kept in regards to all of the ship’s cats. Some were legends in their own right.  Some had books written on them, and some were written about in the newspapers and periodicals.  A few were honored with metals and ribbons, others had ill-fated endings.  Some retired with celebrity status, while others retired quietly in a comfortable home after their active duties.

Aussie Among the crew on the RMS Niagara, was a cat named Aussie. He was a gray and white long-haired cat.  Aussie’s mother was once the cat of the Niagara, and Aussie was born at Suva in Fiji.  His father was a Persian cat from Vancouver, BC.  At the time when Aussie was 5 years old, the Niagara was off the coast of New Zealand in 1940 when it was mined. Some of the crew put Aussie in a life boat, but he decided to jump off, and back on board the Niagara.  In Horahora, Whangarei, days later, a few people from the area claimed to have seen a cat fitting his description coming ashore on a piece of driftwood.  One person took him in, but he got out and no one has seen him since.

Blackie The HMS Prince of Wales’s ship’s cat was a mostly black cat, with white paws and chest; a  male tom named Blackie. His claim to fame came during the Second World War when Prime Minister Winston Churchill was on board traveling across the Atlantic on his way to Newfoundland in August 1941, to meet privately with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.  When Churchill was getting ready to step off the ship, Blackie walked up to him.  Churchill stopped, and stooped down to say his goodbyes to him.  This was photographed and made world news.  Later, in honor of the successful visit, Blackie’s name was changed to Churchill.

Chibley The Picton Castle, was a tall ship originally built as a fishing trawler in Wales, before being requisitioned in August 1939, by the Royal Navy as a minesweeper. Later in years, The Picton Castle became an educational training vessel and had its’ own ship’s cat named Chibley. She came from an animal shelter, and records indicate that she sailed around the world five times!  When the ship became a training vessel, Chibley got accustomed to seeing quite a few visitors, and became very well known. Chibley died November 10, 2011 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and had sailed on board that ship for a total of 180,000 miles.

 Convoy  Convoy belonged to the ship, HMS Hermoine. His name came about because of the many times he was on board for convoy escort duties.  He came on board with a full kit that even included a cat sized hammock for his sleeping quarters, and was registered in the ships’ book. Unfortunately, 87 men perished, along with Convoy, when they were hit by a German submarine torpedo and sunk on June 16, 1942 in the Mediterranean Sea.

 Emmy The ship’s cat on RMS Empress of Ireland, was a female orange tabby named Emmy.  She was noted to have never missed a voyage. One day, while the ship was in port in Quebec City, she jumped ship. That was May, 28, 1914.  She was found by the crew and returned to the ship. She had a litter of kittens at the time, and decided to leave again, and leave her kittens behind.  This was thought by the crew to be a terrible omen, but the ship sailed out of port leaving her behind. The crew was right.  The next morning, in dense fog, The Empress was struck by a steam cargo ship, the Storstad, near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River.  The Empress sank rapidly, and more than 1000 people lost their lives.

Felix The Mayflower II, was a replica of the original Mayflower that sailed to the New World in 1620. She was built in Devon, England, 1955-1956. When she set sail from Devon en route to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1957, Felix was the cat on board. He even had his own life jacket.  Felix suffered an injury to his paw on the ship, which the ship’s doctor set.  Felix appeared in National Geographic, Life and Yankee magazines. With the arrival of the ship and crew, including Felix, they were given a parade and toured the East Coast.  He was adopted out to Ann Berry, and was at home in Waltham, Massachusetts.   There was a children’s book written about him called “Felix and his Mayflower II Adventures” by a former captain of the ship.  It was published during the ship’s fiftieth anniversary celebration at Plimoth Plantation, Massachusetts.

Jenny Jenny was originally from the ship Olympic, which was the sister ship to the infamous Titanic, which she was transferred to.   A week before the Titanic was to sail her maiden voyage in 1912 from Southampton, she gave birth to a litter of kittens. Jenny and her kittens normally lived in the galley area, where the staff cared for them and fed them scraps from the kitchen.  Several accounts are noted and documented of her and her kittens by crew members lucky enough to survive the demise of the ship.

Kiddo When the airship America left port in Atlantic City NJ in 1910, there appeared to be a stowed away cat on board.  Kiddo became the weather forecaster.  He was excellent at predicting the arrival of bad weather.  While en route, the engines failed the ship. The crew along with Kiddo abandoned for lifeboats, and spotted by the RMS Trent near Bermuda.  Saved, Kiddo retired to the home of Edith Wellman Ainsworth.

 Mrs. Chippy, who was actually a tiger striped male, was the ship’s cat to the Endurance.  He was owned by Harry “Chippy” McNish who was a crew member on board the Endurance. The ship was used for Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, which became lost and packed in ice in 1915.  Shackleton ordered the sled dogs on board, along with Mrs. Chippy shot. He believed they could not endure, or be kept for the journey ahead of them.

Nansen The Belgica, a ship used for the Belgian Antarctic Expedition had its ship cat’s, a female named Nansen. Nansen was brought onboard by a cabin boy.  She passed away on June 22, 1898 and was buried in the Antarctic.

Pooli A big tabby named Pooli, served the US during the WWII aboard an attack transporter and earned herself 3 service ribbons, and four battle stars. She was born in Pearl Harbor on July 4, 1944, and served aboard the USS Fremont. During the many battles, including Iwo Jima, she would curl up in a mail sack until it was over. At one time she was thrown overboard in a sack so as not to be discovered.  However, she survived without being noticed when the ship got docked. She lived on after the war in peaceful retirement.

Rinda  Rinda was the name given to the ship’s cat aboard the Norwegian ship by the same name.  Unfortunately, during WWII, the ship was hit by a torpedo and sunk. Some of the crew that survived and lucky enough to get into lifeboats, besides being upset about what had just happened, knew they had lost their ship’s cat too. They searched during the night rowing around and heard a distant “mewing”.  They found her, got her into the lifeboat and she survived to become the ship’s cat on another ship, the HMT Pict, a British armed naval trawler, and maintained her name Rinda.

Simon  Simon started out in a Hong King port. A seaman, George Hickinbottom found him, brought him on board the ship HMS Amethyst, and nursed him back to good health. The ship was bombarded in 1949, and the commanding officer, along with 25 crew were killed.  The ship’s cat, Simon, suffered injuries, but survived. When he was well enough, he resumed his killing spree on rats, whiling keeping company with the crew.  After the ship returned to Britain from the Yangtze Incident, Simon actually got appointed to the rank of “able seacat”.  He became somewhat of a celebrity, but unfortunately, while in port and having to be quarantined, he contracted an infection from his wounds and soon died. His obituary appeared in “the Times”, and tributes poured in.  Posthumously he was awarded the Dickin Metal, the only cat ever to earn this award, and buried with full naval honors.

Tiddles A cat that had a long service was Tiddles.  He was born on the HMS Argus, and served on the HMS Victorius, as well as other ships of the Royal Navy.  During his years of service, he clocked in 30,000 miles at sea.

Tom The USS Maine navy ship, had its’ ship’s cat, a gray and black tabby named Tom in 1898. The ship sunk early that year in Havana Harbor, at the start to the Spanish-American War. A pug, 3 ship’s cats perished, along with 266 sailors. Tom survived with injuries and was featured in animal-rights material by the ASPCA, along with other organizations. Praise was given to the fine naval treatment and care of their ship’s cats.

Trim Under the command of Matthew Flinders, Trim sailed along side him on numerous ships. Trim was there to see the mapping of the Australian coastline in 1801-1803, and was the first cat to circumnavigate Australia. Trim remained Flinders cat until his death, and became the subject of literature, as well as his own statue in his honor at the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney.

Unsinkable Sam This cat started out with the name of Oscar, a black and white male cat, and was the ship’s cat aboard the German battleship Bismark. The Bismark met her match, May 27, 1941 and sunk. Out of 2200 crew, only 116 survived - plus one cat; Oscar. He was saved by the destroyer HMS Cossack, a ship responsible for the sinking of the Bismark. Later that year, the HMS Cossack was attacked and it too sunk, killing over 100 of her crew. Among the few that survived, Oscar was one. Rescued again, he then became the ship’s cat of HMS Ark Royal, later that same year, this ship too met her final destiny and was hit with a torpedo and sunk.

This was to be Oscar’s final time being rescued, and it was decided to keep him on dry land. By this point he earned the name Unsinkable Sam, by surviving 3 ships that sunk. On shore, he made his home in the governor general’s office in Gibraltar and given the title and job of mouse-catcher. Eventually he returned to the UK, and his last home was in Belfast, where he spent the rest of his life in a seamen's home. He passed away in 1955. A portrait of him hangs in the collections of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

Numerous books have been written about these ship’s cats and their journeys. One thing I’ve learned after doing my research, if I ever have a boat, and if I ever have a cat named Oscar, he will never be aboard my ship!