Mrs. Chippy..

This was the tabby cat who went to the Antarctic with Sir Ernest Shackleton on The Endeavour in 1914, which eventually was crushed by the pack ice and sank in the frigid Antarctic waters.  Shackleton shot  poor Mrs. Chippy (who was actually a tom cat, but was so called for his habit of following Harry MacNeish the ships carpenter around like a wife)  when they had to make a dash across the ice for their lives... Apparently MacNeish never forgave Shackleton for killing Mrs. Chippy and reportedly said "Shackleton killed my cat" or words to that effect on his death bed. He's pictured with the ships  stowaway! on the books cover.
Anyway, like most cats, he was a total individual and seemingly one of the heroes of the whole saga. In this little book, there's so much more going on than just a story about "A Ships Cat"... So, I recommend that you read the book "Mrs Chippy's Last Expedition - 1914-1915". It may change all of our sad human existences, and teach us something about ourselves, I hope.