Ship's cats

A DigitalNZ Story by squiggle_top

Inspired by the New Zealand Maritime Museum's collection story, Ship's Cats - Unlikely Heroes, here is a selection of cats at sea on ships.

ship cat, cats at sea, cats

Ship's cats

From pest control to companionship aboard sea-faring vessels, cats have been part of ocean life for centuries.

Source:

'Ship's Cats - Unlikely Heroes' collection story. URL: https://www.maritimemuseum.co.nz/collections/ships-cats-unlikely-heroes New Zealand Maritime Museum [n.d.]

Image: [Side-view of a cat standing in front of a ship's porthole window]

[Side-view of a cat standing in front of a ship's porthole window]

Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira

Image: Nurses and Medical Services in Egypt and Gallipoli

Nurses and Medical Services in Egypt and Gallipoli

National Army Museum

Image: Crew (and ships cat) of Partridge II

Crew (and ships cat) of Partridge II

Tauranga City Libraries

Image: Cats in captivity

Cats in captivity

Auckland Libraries

Image: All safely ashore including the ship's cat: further photographs of the rescue of the Kaponga's crew at Greymouth

All safely ashore including the ship's cat: further photographs of the rescue of the Kaponga's crew at Greymouth

Auckland Libraries

Image: Auckland Sea Scouts in training: Christmas holidays aboard the barque Guy C Goss

Auckland Sea Scouts in training: Christmas holidays aboard the barque Guy C Goss

Auckland Libraries

Image: Unidentified man, labelled as the Bosun, holds a cat on deck of unidentified ship.

Unidentified man, labelled as the Bosun, holds a cat on deck of unidentified ship.

Te Ūaka The Lyttelton Museum

Image: Officers of the ill-fated steamer Aparima, including some who were lost when the vessel was torpedoed in the English Channel

Officers of the ill-fated steamer Aparima, including some who were lost when the vessel was torpedoed in the English Channel

Auckland Libraries

Image: Training and Troopship Journey

Training and Troopship Journey

National Army Museum

Image: Group of 14 sailors, two hold buckets and a third has a wooden cask on his knees and holds a cat in his hands. The ship name on the sailors' hats is hard to read but is possibly the HMS 'Chatham'.

Group of 14 sailors, two hold buckets and a third has a wooden cask on his knees and holds a cat in his hands. The ship name on the sailors' hats i...

Te Ūaka The Lyttelton Museum

Newspaper

Many large ocean liners had multiple cats, and staff to care for them.

SEA-FARING CATS. (Southland Times, 28 February 1903)

National Library of New Zealand

Newspaper

Seldom seen by passengers, cats have important pest control duties on large ocean steamers.

CATS OH OCEAN STEAMERS. (Bruce Herald, 05 August 1904)

National Library of New Zealand

Newspaper

Cats appear in the ration books for each vessel.

SHIPS' CATS. (Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette, 24 January 1912)

National Library of New Zealand

Newspaper

What did the cat know?

The tale of a cat who refused to return to a ship, which later sank.

STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF SHIP'S CAT. (Colonist, 10 September 1914)

National Library of New Zealand

Newspaper

The cat who came back

The cat who jumped ship in Melbourne was re-united with her crew in Lyttelton.

TALE OF A CAT. (Evening Post, 24 May 1924)

National Library of New Zealand

This DigitalNZ story was compiled in June 2023.