Sea Cats

Sea Cats – Some Famous Cool Cats

Cats have been going to sea with humans for many thousands of years, and they appear in some of our earliest recorded histories. Many papyrus drawings and tomb paintings from Ancient Egypt show sea cats on boats, hunting birds and other creatures, and trading boats used cats to control the vermin population. In later centuries, the hunting skills of ship’s cats were still prized, but they were also valued for the companionship and entertainment they gave to sailors on long voyages. Many superstitions grew up around sea cats, such as the belief that they brought good luck to a ship, and that storms and bad luck would follow if a cat fell overboard. While many private boats still have ship’s cats, they were banned by the Royal Navy in 1975. Here are a few famous sea cats that are still remembered today.

Unsinkable Sam

Unsinkable Sam started life as a German sea cat and used up at least three of his nine lives at sea. His first lucky escape was from the Bismarck, a German battleship that was sunk by the British in 1941. Of a crew of over 2,000, only 117 survived; one of them Sam. The British took pity on him and he became ship’s cat for HMS Cossack, which was torpedoed after a few months. Sam was once again rescued and become ship’s cat for HMS Ark Royal, another ill-fated ship that was sunk that year. Unsinkable Sam survived again and was given a job ashore with the Governor-General of Gibraltar. He spent his retirement in a Home for Sailors in the UK.

Mrs Chippy

One of the unluckier sea cats, Mrs Chippy was actually a tom. He got his name as the companion of the carpenter, or ‘chippy,’ on Ernest Shackleton’s expedition boat, Endurance. Mrs Chippy spent many useful months sailing to Antarctica, but Shackleton ordered the cat killed when the ship made land there. Mrs Chippy’s owner never forgave his captain.

Able Seacat Simon

Simon served on HMS Amethyst, which came under fire on the Yangtze River in 1949 and was trapped behind enemy lines. Simon was injured by fire and shrapnel but spent 101 days catching rats and visiting wounded sailors. When the ship gained its freedom, Simon was given the rank of Able Seacat and a campaign ribbon, and later the Dickin Award. This is the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, and Simon is the only cat ever to receive it.

Mrs Chippy!

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