Pyrate Kittys

[Patrick Hand]

I wasn't sure if I should post this in Capt. Twill or in Beyond Pyracy..... but decided that cats aboard ship were period, and no matter how bad Pyrates may have been, they still were human, and would give the ships cat a scratch behind the ear.....

I can't find exact documintation that Pyrate ships had cats aboard, but common sence would say that they did..... cats kill rats, and rats, distroy the food that a ships crew would want to eat..... I can't remember any bad superstitions (other than black cats ) that would keep cats off a ship....

SO.... I can see where this can get very "light hearted" and go off on funny cat storys..... OK... so what.... even themost hard core reenactors will give a kitty a scratch behind the ears.....

[kass]

Yeah, but common sense ain't that common...

I wouldn't necessarily jump to that conclusion, Pat. Remember that there were definite times in history when cats were considered evil creatures, minions of the devil, familiars of witches, and not just 'nice kitties'. To be honest, I don't know anything about the feeling towards cats in the late 17th/early 18th century. But keep in mind that they were not always seen as helpful fuzzy companions. Sometimes they were seen as pests.

There was this great program on TV a number of years ago about the cat's popularity in human society --from being worshipped as gods by the ancient Egyptians to being thought of as minions of Satan by... I can't remember who but it strikes me as something 17th century... It was a very interesting show.

Dogs, on the other hand, have always been beloved... :)

Kass

Cat Hater General

[jim hawkins]

Remember that there were definite times in history when cats were considered evil creatures, minions of the devil, familiars of witches, and not just 'nice kitties'.

yeah like right now.

jim hawkins

cat hater major

[The Doctor]

Kass, it's funny you should mention the fact that cats were worshipped as gods for centuries. They most certainly have not forgotten this fact.

Gotta run - our resident goddess just barfed up her breakfast.

[Dorian Lasseter]

Very Amusing....

Ships Cats do interest me, as a point of fact, there are certain breeds that are concidered to be excellent aboard, like the Mainecoone for one...

ANd as for the 'cursed black cat'... that is an American superstition, probably due to the Salem and other witch hunts/trials here...

Only in America is the black cat unlucky... as another point of fact, in europe if a white cat crossed you path, that was concidered unlucky...

Funny ol' world, innit?

I feel about cats that way they feel about me... loved by some, hated by others...

[Rumba Rue]

Though I'm a cat lover myself, I don't see them on board ships. Though perhaps a few might have been.

[The Doctor]

A perfect photo of the rare breed felis pyratis. I believe this one is of Armand le Chat, aka "Stumpy the Hookfoot". :)

[Red Maria]

Cats were aboard ships. Pirate or otherwise. So common they were rarely mentioned. Why? Rats! that's why! Praticality outwieghs some superstitions. (Scratch ship's aged kitty behind ears)

Edited May 30, 2006 by Red Maria

[Patrick Hand]

Kass's post got me wondering about if Cats were carried aboard ships diring the GAoP..... Drat... now I gotta find some documintation.....

I still think they would be..... but now I wanna find some proof.......

[kass]

I live to set you on quests, Pat...

Now, get to it!

[blackjohn]

Are they "good eatin'"??? If so, bring it aboard says I!!!

[Red Maria]

Are they "good eatin'"??? If so, bring it aboard says I!!!

There are things I could say right now regarding slang terms for cats and eating but I will be I will be a good girl.

[Gypsy Rose]

It would be benifical for some thing to be on board and kill the mice and rats that would get on board. Now I could see that cats have a natural advantage here. But remember there were breeds of dogs like the Terrier that were used to kill rodents also.

[kass]

Precisely! And although the justification that they were so common they were never mentioned could also be applied to dogs. But I wouldn't assert that dogs were kept onboard ships unless I had references to them either.

I have a couple references to cats in the GAoP and none of them are by what one would call cat lovers... But I know nothing about what would and would not be aboard a ship.

[blackjohn]

Why Maria, whatever do you mean??!?!?!

Ok, much later period, but I do know of a dog kept onboard a working sailing vessel (the Peking). In the famous b&w film of her sailing around the Horn there are a few shots of the dog scampering about the deck.

[The Doctor]

Rat Terriers were dogs bred specifically for catching vermin in small places. As a bonus, they're also rather football-shaped, which would give the crew something to pass the time with if they got bored. :)

[Red Maria]

I found 3 sites with information about cats on ships:

http://www.vividnet.com/~kattepus/catfact.html

http://www.pawsonline.info/facts/cats_at_sea.htm

http://www.wyrdology.com/cats/at-sea.html

There is some stuff in some old Mariner's Mirror I will look at too.

[Red Maria]

Here's another

http://www.moggies.co.uk/html/shipcat.html

[Matty Bottles]

Okay, this I'm sorting a period fictional source, and I don't even have the work in front of me, and I have no idea if this is even mentioned, but...

Didn't Defoe mention the ships dog and ships cats in "Robinson Crusoe?" And even though Defoe isn't necessarily Captain Johnson, didn't hehave some considerbale maritime experience?

[seagjoe]

Not GAoP certainly, but cats as mascots on some CG cutters (scroll down a little).

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/comrel/factfile/index.htm

[kass]

Okay, this I'm sorting a period fictional source, and I don't even have the work in front of me, and I have no idea if this is even mentioned, but...

Didn't Defoe mention the ships dog and ships cats in "Robinson Crusoe?" And even though Defoe isn't necessarily Captain Johnson, didn't hehave some considerbale maritime experience?

Hmmm. Now there's a source I would believe, Jack, even though it's fictional. Defoe is at least writing during the Golden Age of Piracy. These other assertions that "the sailor's bond with cats goes back to Ancient Egypt" just strikes me as being incredibly undocumented. But Defoe is writing in our period about real thing.

Of course he kinda loses me after Moll Flanders...

[Daniel]

It was a sailor's superstition at one time that drowning a cat would bring up a wind when the ship was becalmed. I don't know if that tale goes back to the Golden Age, though.

[Patrick Hand]

OK.... My cat made me post this in the first place..... right after he had me send a protest to PETA....... dang... I have (or it has me... we still debate that part of it...) Oh well whatever........

Anyway.... finding if cats aboard ship durring the GAoP is period or not, is not a top priority for me.... but I will keep looking..... Kinda funny how you look for something else... then the info you were originaly looking for... just kinda "pops-up"..... hopefully this will also happen with finding "documintation" about cats aboard ships during the GAoP.......

Common sence, and fokelore are one thing..... I still wanna find a period reference......

I really hope so.... or my cat will get really mad at me...........

[capnwilliam]

There's actually a breed of dog called the "Schipperkin", which means "Little Captain". They originated - or were heavily used as - shipboard ratters, and pets.

Or so the story goes.

My neighbor has one.

Capt. William

[Capt. Sterling]

It was a sailor's superstition at one time that drowning a cat would bring up a wind when the ship was becalmed. I don't know if that tale goes back to the Golden Age, though.

Oh then, by all means, one MUST have several aboard ship....

Considering that dogs and cats were destroyed by the hundreds during the plaque in the 1660s, one wonders if they were still thought suspect toward the end of the century? If they were, surely folks knew enough that illness spreads quickly in confined areas, so maybe cats and dogs were not favored until later? Just a thought....

Hector