The story of Herman, the cat who pioneered the service of the Navy for his hunting skills

The bone sailors and cats they have a close relationship that dates back thousands of years; It is believed that the ancient Egyptians were the first to realize the value of having a feline companion aboard their ships.

In addition to offering company to sailors on long voyages, jacks also served as keep various pests such as rats and mice away from boatsrodents that caused problems for crews as they carried disease, exhausted themselves and caused damage to infrastructure.

Navigators believed that the cats brought them luck and it would help them to orient themselves in case of sinking thanks to its incredible night vision.

The role played by sea cats, especially in times of world wars, was highlighted in the Netflix documentary In the mind of a cat by Andy Mitchell, specifically counting the story of Herman, who was called an “Expert Mouser” by the United States Coast Guard.

It was on January 12, 1943 that Herman cat was officially hired by the US Coast Guard as a “rat expert” to control and eliminate the rodent population aboard vessels participating in the Second World War.

The feline whose fur was gray in color and whose eyes were green, got the job when he was only eight months.

A video filmed by Paramount News captured the moment the Herman cat take the steps to obtain your identity card: In the clip, the cat is seen walking through the Coast Guard gate on the Baltimore waterfront, then two members take his fingerprints and later continue to take his official member photo.

In another of the images, a sailor is also seen feeding the cat, who drinks milk from a spoon held by his companion; and finally the cat is shown jumping between the ships. His ID had the serial number 05225058 and has been authenticated by the competent authorities.

Some of Herman’s advantages were that he could have Unlimited access to Maryland Harbor shoreline where he could freely hunt any rats or rodents he saw on board the ships, in order to also avoid future damage to the ships’ infrastructure caused by this plague.

The cat was also the protagonist of its own journalistic note in the local newspaper of Edwardsville, Illinois, where it was written: “He is the mascot on the pier, which is the base of operations for the Coast Guard patrol boats in the port. . and in the Chesapeake Bay.

Although these animals play an important rolethe truth is that in the 1970s naval forces were forbidden to have cats or any other pets on ships, claiming that there should be better hygiene.

However, in 2016, the Barksdale Air Force Base Honor Guard made a cat named “Captain” their official mascot, and he was also an extraordinary rat catcher.

It is said that the favorite cats, in addition to foreign felines, were the polydactylicthat these were specimens that had mistakenly developed extra genetic toes on their feet, as it was believed that they could climb higher.

In addition to Hermann, there are other cats that have become famous serving in armed forces around the world such as the following cases that have become famous:

In 1948, when the world kept its eyes fixed on the chinese civil war, A British sailor named George Hickinbottom found a malnourished and sick cat wandering around Stonecutters Island harbor in Hong Kong; Not thinking that this cat would later become the greatest hero of the crew, he hid it and put it on board the sloop. HMS Amethyst.

Simon, as he was called, the only one of his kind to have received a Dickin Medal, it was also an important factor in maintaining sailor morale when HMS Amethyst was attacked by the Communists on 20 April 1949 and ran aground on the Isle of Rosé, in the episode known as the River Incident Yangtze.

In this accident, Simon was injured with four shrapnel in his legs and back, but he fought against all odds. Upon his return to England, he was well liked and became a big celebrity.

From May to November 1941, the feline Oscar, also known as “Sam el insurmountable” managed to survive three shipwrecks. One of his portraits is exhibited at the National Maritime Museum.

This cat was a sailor on HMS Western Isles during the Second World War and was much appreciated by the crew. From what is said, Pebbles he was very intelligent and gave the paw to strangers when they entered the office of the officers in charge.

The British Royal Navy also had another feline mascot among its ships. It was about Tiddlesa cat that traveled in the HMS Argus and HMS Victorious. In 1940 he became Captain Gato and in his years of service he covered over 30,000 miles. He spent a lot of time at the stern winch fiddling with the bell rope.

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