Animals in the trenches...........

[janecavell]

Oh, Chester, you remind me of a very dear old Airedale called Charlie, who once used to take me for walks. Perhaps she was a distant cousin of yours? She disliked baths very much indeed, especially when she had just gone to the trouble of finding a new perfume. Her favourite was a very rotten fish abandoned by an angler.

I miss her very much, so it was lovely to see that we have an Airedale on the Forum.

[centurion]

Cats are very good at having more than one home. We had one long ago that we used to worry about as he was frequently off his food and stayed out sometimes on very cold winter nights; then we found him on the lawn munching his way through a roast chicken leg. Convinced that he'd stolen it we called on the house that lay to our back to apologise - "oh we thought he was our cat - we took him in as a stray" - further investigation proved that he was free loading off at least two other families all convinced that they were doing the poor stray a kindness (the poor stray was actually some what portly - a real Bustopher Jones). That cat was a consummate actor - had Oliver been casting we'd have sent him for an audition.

I wonder if there were any WW1 cats meowing in English and German?

[Ron Clifton]

"There was a young curate from Kew

Who kept a tom cat in a pew.

He taught it to speak

Alphabetical Greek

But it never got further than mu."

Ron

[janecavell]

". . . But it never got further than mu."

[charlesmessenger]

My favourite WW1 cat is Dublin, who was acquired as a kitten from a pub in Leeds by 5 Battery RFA shortly after the outbreak of war. He went to Farnce with the battery and served with 8th Division throughout the war. Sidney Rogerson described him as 'large, black and plebeian, and what he did not know about trench warfare was not worthg knowing. Could he not tell which way a a shell was coming, and to watch him was to have a shrewd idea of whether it was likely to close close by or not. If he did not move there was no need to worry.' He ended his days in Ireland, having been taken there by one of 8 Div's veterinary officers.

Charles M

[centurion]

The Amethyst's ships cat is said to have possessed similar talents. Not WW1 I know.

[centurion]

Thinking about this a cat's whiskers have been proven to be remarkably sensitive to minute variations in air pressure and flow (which allows a moggie to avoid bumping into things in a completely blacked out room) I wonder if an incoming shell has a 'bow wave' that an experienced Felix can 'read'. After all cats are inherently bone idle and why move if its not coming near.

[Dragon]

Ernst Jünger recalls cats. In the fourth chapter of 'Storm of Steel', he mentions cats who are drawn to the trenches from destroyed villages. "A large white tom-cat, with one paw shot off, was a frequent ghostly visitant of No-man's-land, and seemed to be on terms with both sides."* He thought they wanted human company.

Gwyn

*My copy is a translation to English.

PS

I wonder if there were any WW1 cats meowing in English and German?

I remember once taking someone's dog for a walk and finding that it didn't understand French, it didn't understand German, it certainly didn't understand English. It only understood Alsacien. Which I do not speak. Especially when the damn sweet creature was romping off over the cornfields happily pursuing its own doggy agenda.

[CarylW]

Here's another one. The caption reads "The homely "tabby" installed in a British front line trench

Caryl

[CarylW]

Thinking about this a cat's whiskers have been proven to be remarkably sensitive to minute variations in air pressure and flow (which allows a moggie to avoid bumping into things in a completely blacked out room) I wonder if an incoming shell has a 'bow wave' that an experienced Felix can 'read'. After all cats are inherently bone idle and why move if its not coming near.

I've wondered about this because they, along with other animals though, can sense earthquakes.

One theory regarding the sensing of earthquakes is that wild and domestic animals feel the ground vibrate before humans. Other ideas suggest they detect electrical changes in the air

Are there any reports of trench cats leaving the area altogether just before a major offensive?

Wonderful snippets Charles M and Gwyn, thanks for posting.

Hadn't thought of the possibility of cats moving from one side to the other having homes in both - mind you loyalty is not something I'd associate with cats, mine often had a couple of homes!

Chester Messenger dog, it is good to see you posting. We haven't seen you for a while

Here is another moggie/cat for you, this time a ship's cat from the Queen Elizabeth

Now that gun would be a nice warm place to sleep when the sun warmed it up but I bet once 'red hot' in action that cat soon scarpered!

The goat (from the Falkland Islands) is the mascot of H.M.S. Canopus

Caryl

[Dragon]

The body language in the 'Homely tabby' one says a lot. He's looking at the cat with the same enthusiasm Cherie Blair showed for Humphrey the Downing Street cat. The cat looks there for the duration.

This is probably a stupid question, but did they wear hats like that in the actual trenches? (If it's a truly stupid question, I'll delete it.)

The gun cat - typical. Sauntering round with a cool air of ownership.

[BIFFO]

THERE`S A DEVIL IN THE DRUM

page 329 4th line up from bottom right hand side sorry I cant be more acurate

the major then fished out his pet from his british warm

a tiny mewing kitten,this accompanied him everywhere and was allways in a blown up condition from drinking to much milk

[centurion]

This is probably a stupid question, but did they wear hats like that in the actual trenches? (If it's a truly stupid question, I'll delete it.)

Yes (the hats not the question)

At the beginning until the Brodie 'tin hat' was introduced although it wasn't long before many loosened or removed the stiffening wires

[Dragon]

Thanks!

[janecavell]

Here's a reference to a kitten at the Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1914 (see postscript).

[Ken S.]

Ernest Garside Black in his book "I Want One Volunteer" recounts how a slumbering kitty straddling the barrel of a field gun for warmth got a rude awakening one day...

[At Home Dad]

Sorry to change the tone somewhat, and not to divert the discussion

in any way but there was a popular music hall hit, pre-War, entitled

Meat! Meat! by Fred Earle. The joke of the song, which must have been

quite common on the streets at the time, was that the meat sold on his

barrow was actually cat meat.

Equally, I was reliably informed by a Blitz survivor that during WW2

in London, cat meat, when used in a pie, was colloquially known as

'roof rabbit'...

Being, therefore, that it wasn't unknown to soldiers from certain areas

that in time of extreme poverty or depravation cat meat was acceptable

to consume I wonder if there are any recorded instances of cats being

kept in the trenches for this purpose, as a change from the often moaned

about rations, or even purely as an 'emergency supply'?

There's a short sample of the song here

(Apologies to the cat lovers, it's just an observation!)

[truthergw]

Sorry to change the tone somewhat, and not to divert the discussion

in any way but there was a popular music hall hit, pre-War, entitled

Meat! Meat! by Fred Earle. The joke of the song, which must have been

quite common on the streets at the time, was that the meat sold on his

barrow was actually cat meat.......................

(Apologies to the cat lovers, it's just an observation!)

There was always an ambiguity in references to the Cats Meat Man. Hugh Lofting was aware of this. Rearing, killing and preparing a cat in the trenches, would entail quite a lot of trouble and I wonder if it would have been worth the trouble. Men did not normally go hungry in the trenches, even if there was a lack of variety.

[CarylW]

I would have thought that rats would be a better choice if they were that hungry considering the trenches were overrun with them They were always hunting the things, apparently, but then again I haven't come across any mention of rat eating. Except by the cats and according to John Masefield in his book The Old Front line there were cats who feasted on other things I better hadn't mention. That was just his opinion though

Thanks for posting the link to the letter Poppy, it was a very moving one. Another example of a cat (kitten) not being scared of gunfire/shellfire

Found this painting in War Illustrated

Caryl

,

[At Home Dad]

Perhaps interestingly, wiki shows quite an abundance of cultures worldwide eating cats.

It even has its own page, 'cat meat' , while 'rat meat' doesn't get much of a mention anywhere.

Clearly, cats are tastier than rats. Roof Rabbit apparently even has it's own German equivalent

with the word 'Dachhase' and the practise was most widespread in Central Europe between Ww1

and Ww2.

This leads me to believe that you didn't have to be especially hungry to eat it. If, that is, you liked it.

Being 'a change' from the normal rations could be precisely what it was. If you came from an especially

poor area of the country it may even have been a sentimental taste and smell of home.

In the trenches, I can only imagine cats as constantly flea ridden and potentially mangy.

And not much of a counter attack to the unlimited rat resident hoardes.

But, by thinking of them as food, I can clearly see why the men cared for them so much

and preened over them, made every effort for their comfort and fattening them up.

all the best

I would have thought that rats would be a better choice if they were that hungry considering the trenches were overrun with them

They were always hunting the things, apparently, but then again I haven't come across any mention of rat eating.

Except by the cats and according to John Masefield in his book The Old Front line there were cats who feasted on other things I better hadn't mention.

[At Home Dad]

Hallo Tom

In my ignorance, I dont see what trouble it would be to kill, skin and cook a cat in a Reserve or Support trench?

Or even a Front trench, really. It would be pointless if it was only one cat, yet each man who liked the taste of cat

perhaps had his own. Or else, perhaps the cats were a collective by the men who liked eating cat...

You'd get the fur too

all the best

Rearing, killing and preparing a cat in the trenches, would entail quite a lot of trouble and I wonder if it would have been worth the trouble. Men did not normally go hungry in the trenches, even if there was a lack of variety.

[CarylW]

I'm sorry but I just cant see it. We've been through all the reaons why men had cats for pets and why cats were attracted to the soldiers.

You are entitled to your opinion and I really don't wish to be involved in a heated debate on this subject but I just find this downright laughable

Because Wiki has a page on 'cat eating' doesn't mean that they kept cats and fattened them up in order to eat them in the front line

From what I have read and I'm certainly no expert, the soldiers in the trenches did have periods of hunger when rations were held up for whatever reasons but not long periods of starvation so that they had to resort to relying on cat meat for food. They were better fed than they were at home and while their diet would not be ideal, soldiers put on weight. Apparently the rations of the British army were envied by German soldiers.. Don't take my word for it, there are a couple of threads here "What did they eat in the trenches"

Caryl

[At Home Dad]

<< I'm sorry but I just cant see it. We've been through all the reaons why men had cats for pets and why cats were attracted to the soldiers.

>> Hallo Caryl. I'm not in any way disputing the fact that some soliders and cats shared an affection for each other.

I'm merely suggesting that perhaps not all soldiers kept cats for affectionate reasons, nor were they sentimentalists

<< You are entitled to your opinion and

>> That's very kind of you

<< I really don't wish to be involved in a heated debate on this subject but I just find this downright laughable

>> I wouldn't like any debate to get heated here neither, but I find this interesting now, especially since seeing

some of the photos included in the thread. All the soldiers illustrated with their cats seem to have a 'wry' smile...

Sort of an "if only you knew" look about them and the way they look at the cats.

<< Because Wiki has a page on 'cat eating' doesn't mean that they kept cats and fattened them up in order to eat them in the front line

>> It indicates to me that there's more of a possibility of it happening than not. I'm no expert on cat meat, and wouldn't trust research to

wiki alone, but from what info I've seen in the last couple of days there was clearly an acceptance of cats being eaten, especially in places

like the poorer parts of London and elsewhere and, because of that, there may have been men who actually liked the taste.

<< From what I have read and I'm certainly no expert, the soldiers in the trenches did have periods of hunger when rations were held up for whatever reasons but not long periods of starvation so that they had to resort to relying on cat meat for food. They were better fed than they were at home and while their diet would not be ideal, soldiers put on weight. Apparently the rations of the British army were envied by German soldiers.. Don't take my word for it, there are a couple of threads here "What did they eat in the trenches"

>> I wasn't suggesting cat meat as 'starvation rations', although I accept they could be kept as handy 'reserve rations'.

I eventually suggested that it was as a delicacy: a treat, a reminder of the tastes and flavours from home, for some men from certain

geographical areas, during a time period when eating catmeat was still acceptable and not uncommon or unknown (but in decline).

all the best to you

[centurion]

French POWs in Colditz in WW2 had a casseroled rabbit one Christmas which caused some dissension as it turned out to be the British prisoners' cat. It seems that it took a skilled chef to make cat tasty. Apart from some sieges (including that of Paris) I have seen no reference to cat eating - indeed some societies believed killing cats to be very unlucky.

[janecavell]

I have come across a "purveyor of cat meat" advertising in the local (Oxfordshire) press around a century ago. From the context I'm sure this was not meat from cats, but meat for cats. As to the origin of this meat, there's quite a big clue in the man's main job: he was a horse slaughterer.

I'm not sure about this idea that there was some sort of cat farming going on in the trenches. Having known a few cats in my time, I think it more likely that it was the cats who were exploiting the soldiers, not the other way round. If the cats had been unhappy, they would have moved out.