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catladythings:
tkohl:
War kitties in hammocks
I am so delighted by this. I cannot handle those tiny hammocks!!!
Holy shit that last one’s just a baby. Yes the tiny hammocks are adorbs. Carriers and other vessels got infested with rodents. So cats were not just moral boosters (which they very much were) they were also working members of the crew. Some have even been immortalized for surviving multiple attacks on their ships, etc. Military dogs have been recognized for the important roles they’ve played but I think cats kinda get lost in the shuffle of military animals sometimes.
Also, military working animals and military mascots can be given military rank. Most animals that belong to police departments and the military are considered materiel. Meaning—they’re property of whatever branch they belong to. They do not get cushy retirements when they are too old to work. They can be abandoned in the field (they may leave no man behind, but animals are considered tools and can be left) and when they are too old or too ill to perform their duties, they can just be put down, instead of being retired out of service and sent to a forever-home. A lot of people who work with these animals will personally adopt them, but if their handler is killed in battle, or is deployed and not in a position to take care of them, they can have a grim fate.
Giving an animal rank as a mascot means they’re given, by the military (not sure how police handle this) a stipend for their care and well-being. It also means they are no longer materiel, but are actual staff members and therefore are treated better at the end of their service. When I worked at Fort Leavenworth, the on-fort veterinary care facility had Major Cinnamon, a ginger cat that outranked everyone that actually worked in the vet center. He “oversaw" the taking care of military horses, horses belonging to military members who stabled them on-post, the pets that belonged to people living on post, and the animals that needed to find new homes (they also ran a shelter out of the clinic).
So there’re your fun facts for the day. A salute to all the working navy cats, and a special thank you to all the working navy cats that provided comfort to the crew and those that went down with their ships.