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Salty Dog
Sailing Master
Posts: 10060



191991 Gold -

PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 2:39 am    Post subject: Cats Reply with quote

Cats:

Seafarers were a superstitious lot. During the Golden Age of Piracy (and still today in some circles) Seafarers, considered the possession of black cats good luck. It was a common practice for the loved ones of a merchant marine to keep a black cat in the house while he was at sea. It was believed that so long as the cat was well fed and kept safe from harm, nothing would happen to the mariner.

Sailors also kept cats on board ships to bring them luck. Some of the superstitions involving sailors and cats claimed if the ship's cat approached a sailor, it meant good luck. If the cat approached halfway and turned away, bad luck would surely follow. If a cat was thrown overboard, a storm would rise and very bad luck would follow.
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Salty Dog
Sailing Master
Posts: 10060



191991 Gold -

PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 2:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Polydactyl cats (cats with extra toes) were always a good thing on board ships. Sailors were long-known to especially value polydactyl cats for their extraordinary climbing and hunting abilities as an aid in controlling shipboard rodents. Some sailors also considered them to be extremely good luck when at sea. Today, such cats are found throughout England and the Eastern Seaboard of the United States!

If other seafarers believed this then there is no reason to doubt that a pirate or his lover would not hold the same beliefs.

On a more practical note, the cat would help keep down the rodent population. The cat on a ship is usually referred to as the "Ship's Cat".
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fleetp
Boatswain
Posts: 3689



35857 Gold -

PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 3:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If I remember correctly, at Ernest Hemingway's house in Key West, Florida, (I believe it is now a museum) there are a number of cats, all with extra toes.
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Salty Dog
Sailing Master
Posts: 10060



191991 Gold -

PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 3:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, I visited his place in November and saw a whole bunch of them there. It is a fun place to go. I visited Sloppy Joe's Bar and bought two T-Shirts there. The shirts have a big painting of Hemingway on them.
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