Do you know what happened in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912? That’s when the unsinkable ship, the RMS Titanic, sank. Information about this doomed vessel and many of its passengers is abundant. But there’s one story you may not yet have heard.
Jenny
Jenny the cat lived on the White Star Line’s ship, RMS Olympia. Then she transferred to Olympia’s sister ship, Titanic, as a mascot and a way to keep the rat population down.
Out of work, Jim Mulholland, joined the Titanic as a temporary crewman during the ship’s sailing trials. While onboard, he met the pregnant Jenny. During the voyage from the Irish Sea to Southampton, he supplemented her diet by sneaking her table scraps. He also made her a comfortable bed in a warm spot near the furnaces. Finally, a week before the ship reached Southampton, Jenny gave birth. Jim enjoyed taking care of Jenny and her kittens, and Jenny appeared comfortable and content in his care.
Jim’s temporary position changed when the company offered him a full-time job on the ship. He gladly accepted and prepared to sail on the Titanic’s maiden voyage to New York with Jenny and her kittens. Things couldn’t have looked brighter.
Then the Titanic docked in Southampton. To Jim’s surprise, Jenny investigated her surroundings and promptly began carrying her kittens down the gangplank and off the ship. One by one she moved them to a new home.
Jim decided Jenny knew something the rest of them didn’t. So, he packed his bag and left the ship, too.
Did You Know…
- As early as 1700 B.C., sailors handed rodent control on ancient voyages to their cats. This practice increased after the fifth century A.D.
- There were dogs, cats, chickens, other birds, and rats on the Titanic when it went down.
- Only three dogs (two Pomeranians and one Pekingese) survived the Titanic’s sinking.
Truth or Legend
After the ship sank, Jenny was presumed to have died because there had been no sign of her. But there wouldn’t have been if she got off in Southampton. What has been confirmed by Stewardess Violet Jessop, a Titanic survivor, is Jenny birthed her kittens before the ship sailed for New York. And, Jenny and Jim were devoted to each other.
A Joseph Mullholland (identified by some as Jim) also departed the Titanic before it sailed for New York. One of the reasons he later gave for his departure was the cat leaving.
Many years after the wreck, an elderly man told an Irish Times’ reporter Jenny’s story. Whether he was Jim Mulholland or not isn’t known.
When the Titanic sank, numerous humans and animals were lost. Hopefully, Jenny and her kittens weren’t part of that number, but we’ll never know for sure.
Last Thoughts
Cats (and other animals) have been known to predict earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and tornadoes. I experienced this “sixth sense” myself several years ago when both of my cats jumped on my bed and woke me about 4:30 one morning. A minute or two later I heard a “jingling.” When I turned on the news, I discovered we’d experienced a small earthquake. What I’d heard was the metal lamp “sleeves” of my wall lights, rattling against the metal shade frame. I hadn’t felt anything because the vibrations were too small. But my cats had known something was about to happen several minutes before the shaking started.
In cases of natural disasters, animals’ heightened sensitivity appears to detect subtle environmental changes before humans. However, the Titanic sinking because it hit an iceberg is not something Jenny could have sensed days before. But maybe, having spent time on the Olympia, she could hear or feel some type of vibration or something that was “off” about the ship and thus unsafe.
Whatever she sensed, Jennie saved her kittens and Jim with her decision not to remain on the Titanic.
Did You Know…
- Throughout time, cats have been seen as magical creatures.
- Before the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and resulting tsunami, dogs refused to go to the beach and elephants and other wild animals ran for higher ground.
- Scientists at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida tracked sharks swimming into deeper waters a day or so before Hurricane Charley in 2004.