Image Credits
Cat (Felis catus), Anselmus Boëtius de Boodt, 1596 - 1610
Object Type(s)
Description
Dutch trading ships, like trading ships since Viking times, had at least 1 and mostly 2 ship's cats that were in charge of killing vermin. Rats and mice on board a ship can damage goods, chew on ropes, and therefore damage the rigging necessary to the function of the ship.
Read more here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship%27s_cat#cite_note-9