Book Review: Seafurrers

Today we are pleased to bring you our short review of the fascinating book Seafurrers: The Ships’ Cats Who Lapped and Mapped the World, by Philippa Sandall and illustrated by Ad Long. This book covers the history of cats on ships from the very beginning, when cats took up duty stations on grain ships to feast on the rodents that ruined the cargo; to the years of exploration, when cats went along on the search for a route to the Pacific and on explorations of Antarctica; to stories of cats on warships; and finally to the end of cats and other live animal pets or mascots on Royal Navy ships in the 1970s.

First, let us tell you that this is not a boring old history book full of stuffy, dense prose. It is instead a thoroughly engaging read divided into short chapters called “incidents,” which include asides from a cat (“According to Bart”) and call-out boxes with additional interesting facts. Plus there are lots of photos of sailors and their cats and photo illustrations of cats on ships (our favorite of which is the cat coming up the gangplank wearing a sailor’s hat and with a pile of crates behind him marked “Cat”).

Second, let us tell you that, yes, Seafurrers is about cats, but it’s not just about cats. We learned about lots of other things too. Like how much grain a single rat or mouse can spoil, some particulars of voyages of discovery we didn’t know before…oh, and some stuff about squid. And of course we learned a lot about seafaring cats—for example, about cats catching flying fish, cats falling overboard and being rescued, the cat that survived the sinking of the USS Maine, and the cat who shared tent space with a pair of penguins.

We think if you have even a passing interest in ships’ cats and/or seafaring in general, you will love this book. It is well written, well designed, and a joy to read. When we got to the end, we wished it could have gone on a little longer. Thankfully, Bart also has an excellent blog that is worth a read.

The book and blog are both highly recommended!

A note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives either one or two paws up. One paw is for a good read; two paws is for a great read. She never gives three or four paws because that would require her to lie on her back...and Miss C does not do that!

The link below is an Amazon Associates link. If you make a purchase through this link, old SoLT and I could get some coin for our kibble account. Thank you!