Beeps, the Cat Who Wouldn't Leave RRS Discovery

Photos: RRS Discovery / Keystone Pictures USA/ZUMA Press Wire / Wikimedia Commons

September 19, 2026

Beeps, the Cat Who Wouldn't Leave RRS Discovery

Beeps had lived aboard the historic ship since he was a kitten. There was just one problem: he refused to set foot on land.

In 1968, the people on the RRS Discovery had a little problem. It was a big black cat named Beeps. Beeps was a huge black cat who had lived aboard the historic ship since he was a tiny kitten. He’d been living on the historic ship since he was just a little kitten, after a Sea Scout brought him on board. Over the years, Beeps had never set his paws on dry land. But now that the Sea Scouts were leaving the ship, Beeps had other plans in mind.

By the time Beeps came on board, RRS Discovery had already had quite the adventure. She was built in Dundee, Scotland, back in 1901 for Antarctic research and took Robert Falcon Scott and his crew on their famous expedition to Antarctica. After that, she served various purposes and eventually turned into a training ship for Sea Scouts while docked on the Thames in London.

When the time came for the Sea Scouts to leave, getting Beeps off the ship proved difficult enough to make the news. Chief Officer R. T. Coles mentioned that Beeps would only go halfway along the gangway before he’d refuse to move any further. Carrying him wasn’t an option either since, as Coles put it, “If we try to carry him ashore, he fights and scratches like a wild animal.” There’s an old photo of Coles holding the big black cat on board the ship, probably while Beeps was in a spot he found acceptable.

Beeps "The Problem Cat" and Chief Officer R.T. Coles Photo: Dundee Heritage Trust

They tried using food to get him to come ashore, but Beeps just wasn't having it. So, his meals had to be brought to him on the ship. A Sea Scout was assigned to come back every day with food and milk for him.

There was also a little detail about Beeps's life at sea. Even though he spent his whole life on a ship, he’d never actually seen a mouse or a rat. So, he was technically a ship's cat but didn’t really do any of the typical ship's cat stuff. His main job seemed to be just living on Discovery and refusing to leave.

What happened to Beeps later on is a bit of a mystery based on the photos and news articles we have. Even the people in charge of Discovery weren't quite sure how they were going to solve the problem. But for Beeps, it seemed pretty simple. He was brought onto the ship as a kitten, grew up there, never set foot on land, and only made it halfway down the gangway. Apparently, that was more than enough for him.