Felix
Mayflower II was a replica of the vessel of the same name which brought the pilgrims to New England, built in the mid-1950s. When the ship was preparing to sail from Devon, England to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1957, Felix was assigned by the captain as ship’s cat.
Felix was provided with his own gear, including a life jacket (which he hated to be put on him), and appeared with the crew during photo opportunities and even during the ticker-tape parade they received in New York.
During the voyage, Felix became an accomplished rope climber and in general a good sailor. He became so popular that Yankee Magazine published his story, and he was featured in National Geographic, with another photo spread in Life Magazine.
To return to England Felix faced the strict quarantine laws in effect in that country, and his human companion decided not to subject him to the indignity. Felix remained in America in the care of Ann Barry. Felix became the subject of a children’s book which recounted his voyage on the Mayflower II, “Felix and his Mayflower II Adventures,” which was published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Mayflower II in 2007.