In Liege, Belgium in 1879, 37 cats were employed to carry bundles of letters to villages, though the cats proved pretty undisciplined and the service didn't last long.

It's believed that cats played a big role during the infamous Black Plague in Europe. Because it was believed that people with cats were witches, all the cats were gathered together, caged and burned. Unfortunately, this removed a natural host for fleas and left rats to run free and multiply. Many of the survivors of the Black Plague were actually people who harbored cats.

Survivors of the Titanic included two dogs: a Pekingese belonging to Henry Sleeper Harper and a Pomeranian belonging to Miss Margaret Hays.

In 1945, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte -- the last surviving member of the famous Bonaparte family -- died from injuries sustained while tripping over his dog's leash.

Laikia, a dog, was the world's first ever space astronaut. She was sent into space in an artificial earth satellite in 1957 by the Russian government.

At his Key West, Florida home, Ernest Hemingway was famous for keeping cats, lots of them, and many of which had six toes on their front paws!

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