Whiskered delivery: how the Belgians tried to make postmen out of cats
Everyone knows about pigeon mail. It is also easy to remember stories when letters and parcels were delivered by dogs, horses and even reindeer. In 1879, the Belgian postal department decided that cats could also be entrusted with this important work. Rolling up their sleeves, they set about organizing a hitherto unprecedented postal service.
Cats and mail have been linked by inextricable ties for centuries. Animals were actively used to combat rodents that destroyed mail. In 1868, three cats were even officially registered as employees of the London Post Office. Like other workers, they were paid a salary of one shilling a week.
But in 1879, in the Belgian city of Liege, they decided to carefully study the talents of cats and find a more worthy use for them than just catching mice and rats. For this purpose, they organized the Belgian Society for the Improvement of the Condition of Domestic Cats, where they began to seriously consider the possible uses of whiskered cats.
In the end, members of a respected society decided that mail delivery was an activity worthy of a cat's high intelligence. 37 pets were selected for a bold experiment. They were given the proud title of “postal cats.” The animals were put on collars with waterproof capsules, into which test correspondence was placed. The cats were taken 30 km from Liege. They had to find their way home and deliver the letters.
We must pay tribute to the mustachioed postmen - they all delivered mail to their owners. But only one of the cats arrived home after 5 hours. For the rest it took more than a day. It must be said that the delivery efficiency was very mediocre. Nevertheless, the cat employment society recognized the result as satisfactory. Soon courier delivery between the nearest cities began to operate in full force.
But the cat mail only worked for a short time. Why? It's simple - human postmen were more reliable and efficient than animals. There were very few clients who were ready to entrust their letters to cats and hope that they, imbued with responsibility, would go home.
Although cats have proven to be dubious postmen, this does not mean that they are only suitable for the position of rat catcher. There are animals that occupy quite responsible positions and cope well with their duties.