In 1876, the Belgian Society for the Elevation of the Domestic Cat trained 37 cats to deliver mail in Liège, Belgium. The cats successfully delivered the mail within 24 hours, but human delivery resumed shortly after. Other notable instances of cats in work roles include a cat in space, a cat managing a train station in Japan, and a cat serving as mayor of an Alaskan town.
Poor postal carriers: not only do dogs sometimes chase them, but in Liège, Belgium, they almost lost their jobs to cats. Though details are lacking, some facts are known about the short-lived attempt to see if felines could deliver mail.
In 1876, a group known as the Belgian Society for the Elevation of the Domestic Cat brought together 37 cats and trained them as postal carriers. They filled waterproof bags with letters addressed to the cat’s residence, tied the bags around the kittens’ necks and set them free in the Liège countryside. Each cat returned home – thus delivering the mail – within 24 hours, which the company hailed as a successful ordeal.
“Unless the criminal dog class commits to ambush and rob cats of mail, messages will be delivered quickly and safely,” wrote The New York Times. Yet despite the supposed success, the cats never took over the postal routes and mail reverted to normal human delivery. It could simply have been that, as every cat owner knows, they are better at training us than we are at training them.
Working with cats:
The first cat in space was a French feline named Félicette, who flew on a rocket ship in October 1963; she returned safely by parachute.
Kishi train station in Japan has been “managed” by a cat for years; the current station master is called Nitama.
A cat named Stubbs served as mayor of the Alaskan town of Talkeetna for 20 years, winning several uncontested elections along the way.
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