Tokyo, Japan. (December 15, 2024): In this photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ashley Cheesman, Cracker Jack the Sailor Cat proudly sports his Navy garb to celebrate International Cat Day. America’s Sailors have a long and mutually beneficial relationship with cats. Cracker Jack the Sailor Cat is a character celebrated by sailors for the historical role cats served on ships. Boxes of Cracker Jacks featured a Sailor and his dog in the 1920 and American mariners began calling their uniforms “cracker jacks.”

For centuries, Ships’ cats were a vital part of the crew by helping to keep their mutual home free of rats and other vermin. They were also known for their ability to sense changes in barometric pressure, helping crews predict storms. 

Rats can cause damage to ropes, woodwork, and electrical wiring and they were a threat to ships' stores, devouring crews' food, and cargo. They were also a source of disease as rat fleas carried plague and are believed to be the source of the ghastly Black Death.

Cats were also thought to have miraculous powers that could protect ships from dangerous weather. Cats are able to detect slight changes in the weather, as a result of their very sensitive inner ears. A drop in atmospheric pressure, common before a storm, makes cats nervous and this restless behavior can predict an incoming storm. Fishermen's wives would even keep black cats at home hoping that they would use their influence to protect their husbands at sea. Finally, cats offered companionship and a sense of home to Sailors far from home.

The party ended when the Royal Navy banned cats and other pet animals from all ships on the ocean in 1975 on hygiene grounds. Although no longer needed for pest control and there are many more sensitive ways to detect storms these days, Sailors continue to express gratitude to the noble cat each year.