The Important Role of Cats in WWI & WWII

Rachel Wells takes time to reflect on some special cats & the important roles they played during both World War I and World War II.

Cats in hammock aboard the HMAS Nizam in 1941. Photograph by George Silk, Australian War Memorial collection, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

I, along with millions of others watched the D-Day anniversary last week and as always it was humbling, emotional and we are full of gratitude for what so many did for us. I know that we shall never forget. Just the previous week I had been on a paddle steamboat with my son, near where we live along the North Devon coast going past the beaches that many of the soldiers trained on for D-Day. The same beaches we now get to sunbathe (OK, not often in North Devon), walk freely on, play on and swim from, were used to train to save lives and ultimately give us freedom. It’s another powerful and humbling thought.

I also have just returned from Amsterdam where I visited the Anne Frank House - again, the emotion that that conjured up was huge. Did you know that the Frank family had a cat and it was taken in by a neighbour when the family went into hiding? It was called Moortje.

All that got me to thinking about the role of animals in both the World Wars. I recently wrote a short piece on the famous WWI pigeon, Cher Ami - and that led me to researching the role of cats in the wars. In WWI it was reported that half a million cats were famously dispatched to the trenches. They had two jobs; their main one was to keep the rodent population down, which in turn protecting the food for the soldiers and secondly, they were used to detect mustard gas - due to their exceptional abilities to detect it before humans. It was also reported that due to this, cats became a solace and offered companionship for soldiers - which all of us cat lovers know makes perfect sense. Giving the soldiers their love was, I believe an important factor of cats in the wars. They were also deployed as messengers - famously during the Christmas ceasefire in 1914 they carried messages in their collars between Allied and German soldiers!

A famous cat of WWI was Pitouchi, who was adopted by Belgian Lieutenant Lekeux. He nursed the kitten back to health and then took him everywhere including close to the German front - it was there that Pitouchi saved the lieutenant’s life according to author Susan Bulanda - by distracting German soldiers who shot at - but missed the cat, and thought they’d got the solider so they moved on leaving both safe.

Susan Bulanda devoted a whole book to the animals that served in World War I - Allied Forces

In WWII, cats found jobs in military barracks as well as on ships. Their primary job was also to keep food safe from rodents, but it was also believed that cats had a sensitivity that could detect bombs which was used at home as well.

Cats have always had roles on ships, which was no different in the wars. At sea cats have often been seen as lucky - sailors believe they keep them safe, but their most important role was to control the rodent population and ensure that the food was safe.

Tiddles, the ship's cat of HMS VICTORIOUS, at his favourite station on the after capstan, where he can play with the bell-rope. Image by Royal Navy official photographer, Parnall, C H (Lt), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Tiddles the cat served Royal Navy ships in WW2 and clocked up an impressive 30,000 miles. And in the Blitz in 1940, Faith the church cat was seen to be psychic in how she saved her kittens from the bombing of St Augustine’s church, their home which was destroyed.

When we remember those who gave so much during the war, I always think we should save thoughts to the animals who served and when I look at my pampered cat, I also think of the cats who lived during the wars, and how much they also did for us. It’s such an interesting story - maybe there’s a fictional story that can come from it? Let me know what you think.