Nautical and Pirate Cat Names: Ship's Cats, Sea Words, and Sea Dogs
Cats have sailed with sailors for thousands of years as ratters and good-luck mascots, which makes the sea an honest, well-stocked place to find a name for the cat at home. This guide is built on real ship's cats: Simon of HMS Amethyst, the only feline ever awarded the Dickin Medal; Unsinkable Sam, who is said to have survived three sinkings in 1941; Trim, who circumnavigated Australia with Matthew Flinders; and Mrs. Chippy, the tomcat from Shackleton's Endurance expedition. From there it ranges across weather and water words, the gear that runs a working ship, golden-age pirate captains and their loot, ports, seas and explorers, and creatures of the deep. A whole section matches names to coat color the way old sailors did, and there is a pairs section for two cats plus a note on prized polydactyl Hemingway cats. Every entry comes with a plain reason it suits a real cat.