The Sailing Cat Who Traveled Around Australia with Its Master 🐱⛵

Around 1799, a kitten named Trim was born aboard a British Royal Navy ship. As a ship's cat, Trim wasn't just responsible for catching mice; it adapted remarkably well to life at sea, skillfully navigating the ship by climbing ropes. Later, it accompanied its master, the navigator Matthew Flinders, on a surveying expedition of the Australian coast and completed a circumnavigation of Australia by sea, becoming the first recorded cat to do so 🐱🌏 Think that's legendary enough? After the voyage, Trim and its master survived a shipwreck. After narrowly escaping, their master was detained by the French in Mauritius during the Napoleonic Wars while en route back to England. Trim: 'Alright, I'll go too.' 🐱 Tragically, Trim later went missing in Mauritius and never returned. Flinders missed the cat dearly and even wrote a biographical eulogy specifically for Trim, diligently documenting the little companion's personality. It even fairly pointed out Trim's flaws— It was extremely proud of its appearance. ...The owner even recorded a cat's narcissism in history 🤣 Today, a bronze statue of Trim stands outside the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney. Born on a ship, circumnavigated Australia, survived a shipwreck and detention, and ultimately got its own biography and statue. This cat's life was more extraordinary than many humans' 🐱⛵