We hear about famous and heroic dogs all the time; cats, not so often. I think it's because cats are not braggarts like dogs. Sure, there are many, many exemplary cats out there - they just shun publicity.
Here are the stories of some very unusual kitties:
Oscar a.k.a. "
Unsinkable Sam"
The black and white patched cat had been owned by an unknown crewman of the German battleship
Bismarck. He was on board the ship on 18 May 1941 when it set sail on Operation Rheinübung,
Bismarck's first and only mission.
Bismarck was sunk after a fierce sea-battle on 27 May, from which only 115 from its crew of over 2,200 survived. Hours later, the cat was found floating on a board and picked from the water, the only survivor to be rescued by the homeward-bound British destroyer
HMS Cossack. Unaware of what his name had been on
Bismarck, the crew of
Cossack named their new mascot "Oscar".
About five months later,
Cossack was hit and destroyed by a German submarine, and Oscar was again among the survivors.
The cat was then brought aboard the famous aircraft carrier
HMS Ark Royal, but only three weeks later, this ship, too, was torpedoed by a submarine.
This luckily ended the cat's naval career. He was transferred first to the offices of the Governor in Gibraltar, and then sent back to the UK, where he saw out the remainder of the war living in a seamen's home in Belfast.
Sam died in 1955.
SimonSimon served on the Royal Navy sloop HMS Amethyst 1948 through November 1949.
Simon received the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross for gallantry after he protected food stores on the HMS Amethyst from an infestation of rats, despite being badly injured in shelling by Chinese Communist forces during the country’s civil war.
He was later posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery, instituted in 1943 by Maria Dickin CBE, the founder of veterinary charity the PDSA, and was given the rank of "Able Seaman". Simon is the only cat among 62 animals to be awarded the Dickin Medal.
Ms. Ruby LeGatoRuby patrolled the Alamo in Texas from 1981 through 1985. Ruby was awarded a certificate of completion of the Basic Security Officer Training course from San Antonio College.
In 1988 Ruby was immortalized in Rita Kerr's book, "
The Alamo Cat
". A bronze plaque marks her final resting place on the grounds of the Alamo.
FredHe came from the streets of Brooklyn, a cool customer on four legs, the perfect bait for a sting on a fake veterinarian. In February 2006, Fred was enlisted by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office as an undercover secret agent, posing as a would-be patient to help the NYPD apprehend Steven Vassall, a Brooklyn man suspected of acting as a veterinarian without proper license or training.
On 18 May 2006, Fred was presented with a Law Enforcement Appreciation Award by Brooklyn district attorney Charles J. Hynes. Fred was later honored on July 8, 2006, at "Broadway Barks 8!", the New York City Theater District’s dog and cat adopt-a-thon benefit hosted by Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters. He was presented with the Mayor’s Alliance Award, which is given to remarkable animals.
Fred died on 10 August 2006 when he escaped from his home in Queens, New York and was struck and killed by a car. Fred was 15 months old.
TamaBecause of budget cuts, the only stationmaster the Kishigawa Train Line in Japan can afford is Tama, a nine-year-old cat.
The railway company formally appointed her as "stationmaster" in January 2007. Happy with her successful job as stationmaster, the company promoted Tama to "super-stationmaster" in January this year, making her "the only female in a managerial position" in the company's 36-strong workforce. The company feeds her in lieu of salary.
WizzoFighting the war on rodent infestation, the 95th Mission Support Group is using a "military working cat" to help reduce the amount of damage to equipment caused by rodents living in the supply warehouse.
The cat, named Wizzo, calls the 95th Mission Support Group's supply warehouse his home. The feline lives and works around the clock as a mobility rodent deterrent.
So far, Wizzo has caught a bird, a rat and three mice, which officially makes him an ace. The supply team keeps his kill count posted on a board for him.
Felix , or was it Félicette?France launched a black and white stray tomcat of the Paris streets on October 18, 1963, on Veronique AGI sounding rocket No. 47 from the Hammaguir test range in Algeria. Was it a male named Felix. Or a female named Félicette?
Whichever, it was the first cat in space as the capsule in the rocket's nose cone separated at 120 miles altitude and descended by parachute. Electrodes in the cat's brain transmitted neurological impulses to a ground station. The cat was recovered.
Photo:
Cats in simulated spacesuits [NASA archive]Thanks to
LA Unleashed for tips to the Ruby and Tama stories.
It may not be kosher, but the Hoopoe was chosen Thursday as Israel's national bird.
Orlando police are at Universal Studios, looking for a bear seen taking a dip in the pool at the Hard Rock Hotel.
The title is misleading. Dog Park Wisdom
, by Lisa Wogan covers a lot more than just the dog park.
Dolphins are adored, whales revered, and seal pups make old Bond girls swoon. But walruses remain perversely, lumpishly obscure, known mostly for their sing-song linkage with a carpenter, an eggman and goo goo goo joob.
The small town of Osceola, NE is considering a breed ban that would ban American Pit Bull Terriers. The town has exactly one APBT, who has never caused any problems whatsoever and has no complaints registered against her.
Cooing softly in baby talk, German Viasus gently uses a toothbrush to bathe the little animal he has raised since infancy and then pampers it with a fresh meal of mango, bananas and melon. The object of his affection? A beetle the size of a hamster with a hard, shiny shell and 2-inch-long horns.
China's fauna exhibits a unique diversity of apes. Unfortunately, the apes are more seriously endangered by extinction in China than in any other country. A research team assembled by anthropologists of Zurich University now conclude that another ape species has just become extinct in China's Yunnan province.
Authorities in Swaziland have declared war on roosters in the capital city because the birds are disrupting people's sleep. Authorities are set to enforce a 40-year-old law that permits residents to raise up to 12 chickens with permission but no roosters.
Police thought they had a goat surrounded after it was spotted going the wrong way on the Cross Island Parkway. An ambulance and fire engine blocked traffic Monday while sheriff's deputies tried to corral the animal on the Charles E. Fraser Bridge, but she jumped.
21-year-old American Air Force Private First Class William A. Wynne, stationed in New Guinea during World War II, met and fell in love with with Smoky, a Yorkshire Terrier pup.
is the history of their experiences together in war, being smuggled through customs, military discharge, their return to America, Will's wedding, two inter-coastal automobile trips, performing in show business and much more.
The free-roamers with an aversion to humans have grabbed headlines this spring because of a bounty on their heads in Iowa, a threatened roundup and disposal in Fairfax County, Va., and other elimination plans across the country.
When sonar surveys spotted a vast pile of rubble in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam late last winter, officials suddenly worried part of the dam structure was eroding into the river.
Tired of your pet scratching the door to come in? Want to teach your dog or cat to tell you when it needs to go out? Then you're ready for the Pet Age Magazine product of the year: Pet Chime™.
There's a new addition to the preemie ward at Cypress Gardens, and keepers are giving it around-the-clock care. An albino wallaby named Bela gave birth to an albino baby about four months ago.
About a week and a half ago, a park employee found the new baby outside the pouch. Gardens officials are not sure what happened. They suspect that Bela may have been spooked, and threw the baby out. That's what wallaby moms do in the wild to save their own skins when they're threatened.
Like this beautiful bracelet, all of the octopus jewelry at the OctopusME! Store! has been made from REAL Sushi Grade Octopus and is SOLID Sterling silver with no Octopus remains in the jewelry.
Your pet could be the next Lee's Carpet spokespet!
Sergeant Stubby, a Bull Terrier mix, is the single most decorated dog in U.S. history.
"Blocked nose?"
The world’s smallest and rarest pig, which was once feared extinct, is ready to re-enter the wild again.
The crazy Rasberry ants are marching! Hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of them are coming in a near-unstoppable zig-zagging insect army intent on making Houston homes, yards and lives a living hill.
Chicago's City Council has repealed the foie gras ban. It legal once again for city restaurants to serve up the delicacy made from duck and goose liver.
Photo by Zoom Zoom
