to argue, so I haven’t said anything. However, Mary in Ohio did finally paraphrase my thinking on the subject with a post that said, in part, “I thought cats were considered good luck (or at least not bad luck) on boats/ships.”
I did some research. OK, so I did a search on Wikipedia. It turns out there is a lengthy entry entitled “Ship’s Cat.” In fact, the article begins: “The ship’s cat has been a common sight on many trading, exploration and naval ships and is a phenomenon that goes back to ancient times.” The article goes on to chronicle the actual biographies of notable ship’s cats.
No one is trying to embarrass you, Greg, but the weight of scholarly research is undeniable. Are you sure you’re not thinking about women? (Hey, hey! Back off! It’s a well-known fact women once were considered bad luck on a ship. It is, we’re happy to add, a superstition that largely has been debunked.)