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Cats Used in Warfare

Persians and Egyptians at War

2,500 years ago the Persians, knowing the Egyptians considered cats to be sacred took live cats to the front line of battle. The Egyptian soldiers would not attack in case they accidentally killed one of these animals.

Christopher of Hapsburg's Book

Recorded in the artillery officer, Christopher Of Hapsburg's book in 1535 is a report to the Council of One and Twenty at Strasbourg in which he describes cats being used to spread poison vapours by strapping bottles of poison to their backs, with the openings pointing towards their tails. They were sent running in total panic, towards the enemy.

World War l.

500 cats were sent to the front line trenches to be used as poison gas "detectors" acting as early warning systems. It is not known if any cats survived to return to England.

World War ll.

A cat named Mourka was used to carry messages across a street during the siege of Stalingrad in 1942. Mourka became a hero, and the Times of London in a leading article ended with the words: "he has shown himself worthy of Stalingrad, and whether for cat or man there can be no higher praise".

"Bomber"

During the blitz in England a cat nicknamed "Bomber" could tell the difference between the sounds of RAF and German aircraft at distance, and thus became a good early warning system for its human companions. There are several instances were cats have saved the lives of whole families. Seeing their cats dashing to shelters, people would follow, getting to safety just before the bombs started to fall. 

Cats at Sea

There was a very famous cat named Oscar who saw service with the German and the British Navy. He started out as a mascot on the German battleship Bismarck. When this ship was sunk in 1941 he was seen swimming among the wreckage by a British sailor who took him on board the destroyer, HMS Cossack. Five months later the Cossack was sunk, Oscar survived and was transferred to the aircraft-carrier Ark Royal. Ark Royal was torpedoed by a U-boat, and Oscar was rescued yet again! This time it was decided to retire him to a sailors home, where he lived out his much less stressful life.

Seafaring Simon - The cat awarded medals

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