Lethiathan - The Ship's cat
rating: 0+x
Item#: XXXX
Level2
Containment Class:
keter
Secondary Class:
none
Disruption Class:
vlam
Risk Class:
notice

Peebles_the_cat.jpg

SCP-XXXX in the arms of Captain Mossen of the HMS [REDACTED] - 1943

Special Containment Procedures:

SCP-XXXX is currently uncontainable. It is to be continuously tracked via the GPS tracker implanted onto the entity. Any ships affected by SCP-XXXX are to be decommissioned or purchased by the foundation and monitored until sinking. SCP-XXXX is to be fed 50g of tinned tuna daily, although this is not necessary for its survival.

Description:

SCP-XXXX is an entity resembling Felis catus1 with mostly black fur, aside from a small patch of white underneath the chin. It weighs 3.1kg and is marginally smaller than typical Felis catus, though not outside the standard range. It has not been observed to age since initial discovery, and it appears to possess unnatural reflexes that render it effectively immune to damage. When unable to avoid damage, SCP-XXXX will demanifest from it's current location and remanifest elsewhere on the same vessel. It is possible to sedate SCP-XXXX through food (See Addendum 3.).

The primary anomalous effect of SCP-XXXX is prediction of the sinking of naval vessels. It appears on ships that will to sink in roughly 6 months, with an average of 181 days, with the shortest recorded time being 163 days and the longest being 203 days. SCP-XXXX has only been known to manifest on a single ship at any time, which has led to the understanding that it is a single entity.

The sinking has no direct link to SCP-XXXX and appears to be purely causal. Each sinking was caused through non-anomalous means, such as strong winds, gunfire, collisions etc. None of the sinkings are noted to have any links, and are appropriate to the time period and location where the vessel was sunk. It is noted however that all sinkings have occured at sea, to date SCP-XXXX has not manifested on any lake or river going vessels.

The entity will demanifest when it comes into contact with the surface of the water once the ship begins to sink. It is unknown how it makes this distinction, as on normal contact with water it will remanifest upon the current target ship, rather than choosing a new target. It also must be the surface of the water, any water that splashes onto deck will not cause the entity to demanifest.

Addendum 1: Discovery and Initial Tracking

SCP-XXXX was initially discovered by The Right Honourable Commission on Unusual Cargo in 1795 after evidence placed SCP-XXXX on multiple ships belonging to the Royal Navy as well as privateer vessels which had sunk. A snippet from an example letter is included below.

"It was the strangest thing, I was sure I'd triple checked before we left Southampton, all accounted for, no stowaways and the manifest was perfectly up to date, but there it was, a cat! Black as the night sky with a small tuft of white fur like a moon dotting the inky blackness. It's a beautiful creature, but that doesn't explain where it came from. It must have been hiding amongst the stores somewhere I'm sure of it. Besides, they do say a cat is good luck. I've decided to name her Luna, and hopefully she shall be good company through the turbulent weather of the North Sea. "

- Quartermaster Bernard Fairbanks of the Good Fortune, a merchant vessel. 1832

Due to limitations of the time period, it was deemed impractical to contain.

Addendum 2: Suspected reports of SCP-XXXX

Below is a list of suspected SCP-XXXX manifestations.

Date Ship Name Cause of Sinking Sighting Confirmation
09/08/1942

USS Astroia, a New-Orleans class cruiser.

Sunk at Savo Island through Naval Gunfire Recovered letter from Ensign P. Bailey mentioning a new ships cat matching the description of SCP-XXXX
04/05/1945

USS Luce, a Fletcher class destroyer.

Sunk by Kamikaze near Okinowa. Note from officers meeting regarding when they acquired a new cat. Description unknown but given the context it is likely SCP-XXXX.
14/07/1836

HMS Victorious, a Ship of the Line.

Sunk in severe weather near Cape Matapan. Ship was commissioned by (Royal institute) who were aware of the entity and kept notes on it's behaviours.
20/12/1902

Old Glory, a Fishing Trawler.

Sunk in collision with another ship in the North Sea. Captain's diary mentions a ships cat matching SCP-XXXX's description. It is noted as the first time the entity is mentioned interacting with humans in a manner similar to a normal Felis catus
22/10/1961

MV Bianca C., A passenger liner

Explosion on board and subsequent fires before being towed out of harbour to sink, near to the Grenada. Most well recorded SCP-XXXX manifestation prior to SCPS Bonaventure. Entity was noted by more than 30 aboard the ship, although none are known to have questioned its presence.

Addendum 3: Incident XXXX-01
On 03/09/1997 SCP-XXXX manifested itself on the SCPS Bonaventure, a guided missile destroyer in the service of the Foundation. It was quickly identified by the crew and the SCP-XXXX research team was brought aboard in order to study the entity. They established much of the known description over the 4 months of time allotted to research before the SCPS Bonaventure was to be abandoned, with SCP-XXXX even showing a preference for certain members of research staff.

It was decided to attempt to monitor the entity through use of a GPS tracking chip implanted into the back of the collar. This was achieved through addition of a sedative into the food of the entity, before injecting the tracker.

Just under 2 months later, the unmanned SCPS Bonaventure was lost when it struck the SCPS Vanguard in strong winds in the mid-Atlantic. SCPS Vanguard had been stationed nearby in order to monitor the sinking, and only suffered minor damage, while the Bonaventure suffered catastrophic structural damage on the port side near the bow, shearing it off and causing the ship to sink.

Shortly after the engine deck had begun flooding, as confirmed by video surveillance, SCP-XXXX spontaneously demanifested upon contact with the water. The entity's GPS tracker notified researchers that it had remanifested in the Indian Ocean, approximately 200km south of Sri Lanka. This allowed for the identification of the new target of SCP-XXXX.

At this point, the current containment procedures were enacted, and to date there has only been a single loss of life on the part of SCP-XXXX, a maintenance technician who was installing cameras upon the trawler Queen's Catch when the effects of SCP-XXXX manifested unusually early (163 Days since manifestation). Containment procedures were updated accordingly.

Addendum 4: Interview XXXX-01