Peripatectic Cats: Mrs. Chippy, Nigeraurak, and Trim

Image courtesy of Peggy Nelson’s Twitter novel Shackleton

“When Ernest Shackleton set out for Antarctica in 1914, his carpenter, Harry ‘Chippy’ McNish, brought along a tabby who was quickly named ‘Mrs. Chippy,’ though he proved to be a male. When the Endurance was crushed by pack ice, Shackleton ordered the ‘weakling’ cat to be shot, a decision for which McNish never forgave him. Cat and carpenter were reunited in 2004, when a life-size bronze statue of Mrs. Chippy was added to McNish’s grave in Wellington…"

Read the rest of the Futility Closet post here to learn about the cats Nigeraurak and Trim. An excellent little post from the Twitter novel Shackleton by artist Peggy Nelson can be found here.

I also recommend the slim volume, Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition: The Remarkable Journal of Shackleton's Polar-Bound Cat by Caroline Alexander.