British Navy ships all sailed with a cat on board until the 1970s. In 1943, Herman the cat would officially be commissioned by the military as an “Expert Mouser.” His primary duty was to control and extirpate the rodent population aboard the vessel. Herman officially became a member of the U.S. Armed Forces at eight months old. Just like any other Coast Guardsman, Herman was issued an identification card for his hometown in Baltimore on January 12. His ID was as legit as anyone else’s, having a formal serial number of 05225058 authenticated by pertinent officials. According to the U.S. Naval Institute, the Egyptians were the first to realize the full value of having cats on ships. Are Cats Used in the Military? Although cats played a significant role on Navy ships at one point in time, most of the world’s naval forces banned cats and other pets from all vessels for hygiene purposes. That doesn’t mean the military completely stopped using cats to their advantage. As recently as 2019, the Barksdale Air Force Base Honor Guard made a cat named Captain the unit’s official mascot and mouser extraordinaire. The feline’s job originally consisted of hunting rats, but it soon became the unit’s emotional support pet. What Are Ship Cats Called? Ship cats came to become known as “polydactyl cats” due to the fact that polydactyl cats were the preferred feline. Polydactylism is a genetically inherited trait that causes an organism to develop extra toes or fingers. #Herman #HermantheCat #insidethemindofacat https://www.instagram.com/p/Cou6bmQvHgP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
