this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2025
33 points (100.0% liked)

HistoryPhotos

345 readers
401 users here now

HistoryPhotos is for photographs (or, if it can be found, film) of the past, recent or distant! Give us a little snapshot of history!

Rules

  1. Be respectful and inclusive.
  2. No harassment, hate speech, or trolling.
  3. Foster a continuous learning environment.
  4. No genocide or atrocity denialism.

Related Communities:

!militaryporn@lemmy.world

!forgottenweapons@lemmy.world

founded 2 months ago
MODERATORS
sga@piefed.social
PugJesus@piefed.social
Deceptichum@quokk.au
33
Two ship-mascot cats being held while their ships are repaired, WW1, 1918 (infosec.pub)
submitted 3 days ago by PugJesus@piefed.social to c/historyphotos@piefed.social
4 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Paradachshund@lemmy.today 2 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Wait do ships have mascot cats???

[–] tal@olio.cafe 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Wikipedia: Ship's cat

The ship's cat has been a common feature on many trading, exploration, and naval ships dating to ancient times. Cats have been brought 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. Vermin are also a source of disease, which is dangerous for ships that are at sea for long periods of time. Rat fleas are carriers of plague, and rats on ships were believed[a] to be a primary vector of the Black Death.[2]

[–] Paradachshund@lemmy.today 3 points 3 days ago

About time these cats started pulling their own weight 😏

[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 5 points 3 days ago

Not anymore, sadly, but it used to be common.