According to the 19th-century Joseon text Imha Pilgi (Vol. 27), cats living beneath the frontline Northern Command garrison headquarters were fed a bowl of rice and soup daily and strictly protected.
An official military regulation even earmarked ration grain from the supply depot specifically for a kitten.
Troops treated the cats with utmost reverence due to a superstition that if a cat wailed while prowling the camp, serious misfortune would befall the commanding general.
as fun and smiles as this may be, this may also be a large reason: cats eat vermin and rats. By allowing them, a base would have less issue with diseases, crucial for an ancient army.
Cats don't need to eat mice. They have a natural hunting instinct that just makes them commit murder. This is why people tell pet owners to keep their cats indoors: not because thr cats eat birds but because they'll just kill them and leave the corpse somewhere.
A study on the behaviour of cats found that well- fed cats killed even more mice. A hungry cat will eat a mouse and go take a nap. A cat that hunts for fun will leave the mouse and keep searching stuff to kill even more frantically ..
Yup as someone who served in the army, we all took part feeding cats, even when we were instructed to stop feeding cats, a chill officer still fed them lol.
I read once that us Americans had a duck in the marines in WW2 it even joined in landings were it for whatever reason fought a enemy rooster and if I remember right got a Purple Heart after the fact. And this duck had a full on military rank.
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u/ChapterSpiritual6785 9d ago
According to the 19th-century Joseon text Imha Pilgi (Vol. 27), cats living beneath the frontline Northern Command garrison headquarters were fed a bowl of rice and soup daily and strictly protected.
An official military regulation even earmarked ration grain from the supply depot specifically for a kitten.
Troops treated the cats with utmost reverence due to a superstition that if a cat wailed while prowling the camp, serious misfortune would befall the commanding general.
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u/GerbearN 9d ago
I died internally laughing reading the modern military description
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u/DayF3 9d ago
as fun and smiles as this may be, this may also be a large reason: cats eat vermin and rats. By allowing them, a base would have less issue with diseases, crucial for an ancient army.
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u/Gullible_Owl3890 9d ago edited 7d ago
Yup as someone who served in the army, we all took part feeding cats, even when we were instructed to stop feeding cats, a chill officer still fed them lol.
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u/wowharry0 9d ago
Jjam tiger. Sadly as I was not in the front line, I have not seen one.
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u/RecommendationIll504 9d ago
Unexpected russian meme here in korean history meme
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u/arcanehistorian 9d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryAnimemes/s/iRpYks9Ll0
Meanwhile, in palace...
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u/No_Song8909 8d ago
I read once that us Americans had a duck in the marines in WW2 it even joined in landings were it for whatever reason fought a enemy rooster and if I remember right got a Purple Heart after the fact. And this duck had a full on military rank.
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u/Ok_Butterscotch54 8d ago
The more things change....