Before cats ruled the internet, one striped tabby quietly became a war hero.
Pooli was born in 1944 at the Pearl Harbor naval base, less than three years after the devastating attack that pulled the United States into World War II. Sailors stationed there found the tiny tabby kitten wandering the base and eventually brought her aboard the USS Fremont, a Navy attack transport ship preparing for operations across the Pacific.
Like many wartime ship cats, Pooli quickly became part mascot, part therapist, and part crew member.
Life Aboard USS Fremont
Life aboard a Navy transport ship during WWII was loud, cramped, and dangerous. The USS Fremont carried troops, supplies, and landing forces into some of the fiercest battles in the Pacific theater. Sailors slept in tight quarters surrounded by the constant groan of engines, the smell of saltwater and fuel, and the ever-present possibility of attack. Somewhere among all of it padded Pooli, weaving between boots and duffel bags, curling up beside exhausted sailors whenever she could.
USS Fremont circa 1945
Accounts from crew members described her as calm under pressure and unusually attached to the men aboard the ship. In the middle of long deployments, homesickness, and combat stress, Pooli became a small reminder of normal life back home.
And the places she sailed into were anything but normal.
Action at Sea
The USS Fremont participated in major Pacific operations including the invasions of Saipan and Guam in the Mariana Islands campaign, battles that became crucial turning points in the war. The ship later supported operations during the Philippines campaign and Okinawa, one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific theater.
At Okinawa especially, conditions were brutal. Japanese kamikaze attacks constantly threatened American ships offshore. Sailors spent days and nights at battle stations, scanning the skies for incoming aircraft. Air raid alarms became part of daily life. Through it all, Pooli reportedly stayed aboard with the crew.
One story often repeated by sailors claimed Pooli could sense incoming danger before alarms sounded. Men aboard the ship said she would suddenly become tense or hide moments before incoming attacks or rough weather. Whether it was instinct, coincidence, or simply the sharp senses cats always seem to have, the crew came to trust her reactions.
By the end of the war, Pooli had crossed thousands of miles through active combat zones and survived multiple campaigns in the Pacific. Her service became so well known among the crew that she was officially recognized alongside the men she sailed with.
A Memorable Legacy
Pooli earned three service ribbons and four battle stars for her time aboard the USS Fremont. Not many cats can say they left WWII with military decorations.
Pooli, the decorated WWII ship’s cat of the USS Fremont, photographed on her 15th birthday in 1959.
But what makes Pooli’s story memorable is not just the medals.
It is the image of a small striped tabby existing in the middle of something enormous and terrifying. While history books focus on admirals, invasions, and battle maps, sailors often remembered smaller things years later: a cup of coffee during a night watch, letters from home, and a cat curling up beside them after a hard day at sea.
Animals served quietly throughout World War II. Dogs carried messages. Pigeons delivered intelligence. Horses transported supplies. Cats like Pooli controlled rats aboard ships and boosted morale in ways impossible to measure.
For many sailors, she was more than a mascot. She was comfort. Routine. A little piece of peace carried through chaos.
We must always remember those who served and sacrificed and Pooli’s story feels worth telling too. Not because she fought battles herself, but because she shared those dangerous journeys alongside the people who did.
And somehow, in the middle of war, a striped tabby from Pearl Harbor became part of American history.
Still covered in cat hair,
Elizabeth - human, controlled by cats.
P.s Any heroic cat stories we'd love to cover them? Let us know in the comments
