Why cats were in WWI trenches.

The Great War was such a difficult time, some soldiers sought out the assistance and comfort of four-legged friends — including cats, who were used in the trenches to boost morale. Dogs, homing pigeons, foxes, goats, lion cubs, and even raccoons also served their countries as pets and mascots throughout the “war to end all wars,” and some even carried out official duties. Cats did a bit of both: Though most kitties simply kept their compatriots in good spirits by providing them with loyal companionship (and fending off rats), some also used their heightened sense of atmospheric pressure to detect bombs in advance.

Not all feline soldiers’ deeds have gone unnoticed. Among the 75 animals who have received the PDSA Dickin Medal, which was established in 1943 to honor the military service of animals, is a cat named Simon. He served aboard the HMS Amethyst from 1948 to 1949 and received the medal for “disposing of many rats though wounded by shell blast. Throughout the incident his behavior was of the highest order, although the blast was capable of making a hole over a foot in diameter in a steel plate.” In a newsreel of the ship returning home, Simon is rightly referred to as “a hero in his own right.”

Cats who served in World War I
500,000

Animals who served in World War I
16 million

Kittens produced by Dusty, a tabby cat born in 1935
420

Age of Creme Puff, the oldest known cat
38

Did you know?

Calico cats are considered good luck.
That’s the reason maneki-neko are so often depicted as calicos. The “beckoning cat” figurines found throughout Japan and at Japanese and Chinese establishments around the world are intended as tokens of good fortune, with one of their paws raised high in a waving motion. This dates back to the tradition of Japanese sailors traveling with calicos to bring about safe passage — the multicolored cats were believed to be able to chase away storms and ancestral ghosts. In the United States and England, meanwhile, male calicos are considered especially lucky because of their rarity.

What can cats see that humans can't?

Cats can see UV light, which is invisible to humans.
Cats can do a lot of things their human friends can’t: They can purr, sleep all day without consequence, and jump up to six times their own height in a single leap. But perhaps most impressive of all is their ability to see ultraviolet light thanks to UV-transparent lenses in their eyes that allow UV light to reach their retinas. This will come as little surprise to anyone who’s ever noticed their cat staring at seemingly nothing for minutes at a time, but it’s a fascinating insight into how our feline friends view the world all the same. In fact, their UV vision actually allows them to see their prey’s urine trail while hunting and distinguish between their prey and a similarly colored background.

This ability may not help your housecat in any practical ways on a daily basis, as being fed from a can doesn’t require much in the way of hunting, but it’s still a cool evolutionary trick. And cats aren’t the only animals with this ability. Bees, birds, reindeer, and mice have this enhanced vision as well, though for some of them it comes with the trade-off of not being able to see the color red.


Humans have kept cats as pets for at least 9,500 years.

When we think of cats in the ancient world, Egypt tends to come to mind first. Egyptians considered felines sacred and some even mummified their pets, but they weren’t the first to hold cats in such high regard. There’s evidence to suggest they were beaten to the punch by at least 4,000 years: A grave in Cyprus dating back some 9,500 years contained the remains of a human and cat alongside decorative objects such as seashells and polished stones. Cats aren’t native to the island, meaning they must have been brought there by humans — perhaps “on a kind of Noah’s ark,” as archaeologist Melinda Zeder told National Geographic, theorizing that a number of non-native animals were transported to Cyprus.
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