From Napoleon Bonaparte’s pet ferret to Benito Mussolini’s boa constrictor, pets have been a part of human history since the beginning of time. Such is the case with John Moisant, an accomplished aviator who was never without his beloved cat Mademoiselle Fifi, earning him the nickname of Captain Kitty.

On August 23, 1910 Mademoiselle Fifi became the first cat to fly across the English Channel.

Mademoiselle was taken on fourteen documented flights and shredded the leather seats on the first five flights she was taken on. Moisant corrected this by wrapping the seats with sisal rope for her to scratch on. Fifi has her paws all over the record books when it comes to cats in flight. One of her greatest accomplishments is that she was the first cat to undergo multiple gees while relieving itself, although ancient historians argue that this distinction is held by the flaming kitties that were catapulted into fortresses by the Normans.

John Moisant cared deeply for his cat and made sure that she was comfortable during flights. Her litter box was secured to the floor in front of the passenger’s seat. The litter box was never moved to make room for a passenger, they simply had to live with it during the flight – it was, after all, Fifi’s plane.

On December 30, 1910 Fifi and Captain Kitty were performing aerial maneuvers over New Orleans when Fifi began to feel neglected. As most cats often do she began to rub up against Moisant but to no avail. Next, she tried to meow to get his attention over the roaring engine – still nothing. In an act of desperation for attention she leapt onto Moisant’s shoulder, began to circle around and wag her tail into his face. He instinctively batted her down, throwing her into the cockpit controls. Moisant over-corrected and crashed, killing both pilot and pet.