They had a name, a uniform and functioned as “furry barometers”. More than just sailors’ talismans, cats have played a role in the history of the navy and have been at sea almost as long as humans.
They had names like Tom the Terror, Wockle, Bounce and Dirty Face. They traveled thousands of kilometers on the most famous warships. They were highly valued: they had custom uniforms in miniature and even your own networks lowercase.
Many have never set foot on dry land in their entire lives, says .
In Ancient Egypt, images of cats were painted on the walls on ships.and they may even be literal, and not one of his famous “animalizations” of gods — cats were certainly already roaming the high seas at that time. And why?
The answer lies in another species, responsible for the transmission of devastating diseases to Humanity: the rats.
Therefore, a cheap solution was needed to eliminate this feared species, and that is where felines come in.
The United States government, in an effort to also protect documents carried on ships from nesting rats, began to buying cat litters in the 19th century,supplying them to the United States Navy.
In the UK, one of the first and largest cat rescue programs took place during the First World War, when thousands of stray cats were rounded up in cities and given to the military.
Cats were supplied to the Royal Navy and even received a “food allowance” weekly to pay for your treats. And soon the sailors’ friends became more than just traveling companions: the Navy even began to attribute superstitions and superhuman characteristics to them.
For example, early sailors believed that cats could control the weather with their tails. — when they contorted a certain way, it was thought to mean that the cats were angry and were preparing to unleash a storm violence that would soon hit the ship.
Sailors noticed that cats twisted their tails when they were agitated by a sudden drop in atmospheric pressurewhich indicated that the ship was heading into unfavorable weather. They were then, in a way, “little furry barometers“, as National Geographic characterizes them.
It was also thought to be good luck when, before a ship set sail, a cat came on board. However, if you saw two cats fighting on the pier, it was believed to be a bad omen: an angel and a demon had already begun to fight for the souls of the crew.
And cats were actually a perfect companion for the high seas — they rarely got sick (unlike humans, who died by the dozens from scurvy), as they produce their own vitamin C and can survive on a diet made up of fish and mammals without needing to eat fruits and vegetables.
Some even went as far as lose your fear of water and venture into the sea to hunt for your favorite food. They even have an excellent internal filtration system that allows them to drink some seawater if necessary.
Cats actually had a kind of hierarchy on ships: the “smartest” ones ended up “claiming” the kitchen, became fatter and were the ones who received the most attention. AND cats, like humans, also got sick: They were then allowed to sleep in hammocks that reduced the rolling of the ships.
As cats, which sometimes numbered around 20 per vessel, were considered sailors’ mascots, they also They helped create bonds among the crew.
Animals are difficult to train to do tricks, but some sailors guarantee that they learned to “speak cat” and managed to make their mascots perform feats such as standing, saluting, walking on ropes and ringing bells.
This fact especially contributed to the U.S. Navy’s efforts in foreign ports, when locals were invited on ship tours that included a brief show with cats.
After the end of World War II, the special position that cats held on naval ships began to decline. quickly. Due to improvements in pest control, cats have become obsolete in their primary function of ridding vessels of parasites.
In the USA, Navy spending also began to be reduced. Members of Congress who defended deep cuts in defense They ridiculed the admirals, and even accused a ship of having used the resources of a three-man committee to organize the funeral of its mascot cat.
The costs of keeping cats, which also served to maintain morale, were nominal (and often paid by the crews themselves), but admirals began to feel embarrassed about giving the public the impression that the Navy was spending money unnecessarily.
Furthermore, laws enacted by most countries after the war prohibited cats from leaving a ship before undergoing a long period of quarantine. If local authorities caught a cat leaving the shipthe captain could be fined or even arrested.
Today, a special permit is required to take cats onto boats, and the practice has completely fallen into disuse — much to the regret of feline lovers, animals that could, perhaps, boost the morale of those who spend months away from Earth.
