MAPS Minute: The Remarkable Story of Trench Cats in World War I

Pamela Holley of the Montserrat Animal Protection Society (MAPS) delivered an engaging MAPS Minute on Montserrat Radio Echo this past Saturday, sharing a remarkable piece of history about cats and their life-saving abilities during wartime.

Holley recounted the incredible story of "trench cats" during World War I on the Western Front. These were mostly stray cats that survived bombardment and eventually made their way into soldiers' dugouts. While soldiers initially kept them for practical reasons like controlling rats, the cats demonstrated an extraordinary ability that would save countless lives.

According to Holley, military diaries from different regiments independently described the same remarkable pattern: when incoming artillery was approaching, the cats would retreat to the deepest part of the trench before anything was audible to human ears. The soldiers, observing this behaviour across different units and years, began watching the cats closely as if they were "reliable pieces of warning equipment."

Holley noted that letters sent home frequently described cats in almost functional terms, with phrases like "she always knows" appearing repeatedly in accounts from different units and fronts. Records preserved by institutions like the Imperial War Museum include photographs and military notes documenting this repeated behaviour.

Modern science now suggests a possible explanation: feline inner ear sensitivity. Cats can detect infrasound—low-frequency vibrations beneath human hearing range—produced by distant explosions long before the sound itself arrives. In theory, a cat could sense the disturbance of an incoming shell before any human warning signs were present. Approximately 500,000 cats served in World War I.

Holley also shared MAPS updates, thanking volunteers Scott and Candace Brandt and Walker for helping expand walking hours to Wednesdays and Fridays. She reminded listeners of the Sunday morning dog walk at 8 a.m., where shelter manager Gus Vigilante matches volunteers with dogs suited to their walking style.

Source: Montserrat Radio Echo - MAPS Minute