From time to time, cats were highly useful in wartime scenarios. For example, they could fit through small openings and scale various walls using their nimble footwork and sharp claws. Other times, they might serve as stealthy messengers when enemy surveillance was high. They didn’t always wear armor, of course, but sometimes it was appropriate to the situation.
“Pinky” modeling an historic suit:
The duke De Boer (1481 - 1544) of what was called “The Low Countries” (modern day Netherlands) was particularly fond of such “battle cats,” employing a small contingent of specially-trained kitties to help him across various operations, sometimes ranging from open battle, or at other times, stealth missions.
Lots more historic pics:
https://www.google.com/search?q=historic+cat+armour&udm=2
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NOPE! This was just something I’d meant to post here 7days ago on April Fools, but something came up last Wednesday, and I forgot. Mea culpa!
Actually, as I understand it, there really is a Jeff De Boer of Alberta who created a series of these suits, tapping in to his expertise as a medieval armorer. More info below, altho you’ll need to use whatever your favorite tool is to bypass the paywall. [here’s one]
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/cat-mouse-armor-jeff-deboer
Awesome!
I had not heard about those cats before, but it did remind me of one I did read about before, “Unsinkable Sam.” Supposedly he served on various ships during WWII, and three times(!) survived the sinking of his ship, clinging to wreckage and then later being rescued.
Now, chances seem high that at least part of Sam’s story is embellished, but on the whole, I think these scenarios help demonstrate how cats can indeed serve in military situations and can indeed survive various terrible predicaments.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsinkable_Sam