'There has got to be more to this story': More than 30 cats found aboard abandoned from boat eerily floating off Washington beach with no humans in sight

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Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Aug 10, 2026 6:15 PM EDT

This isn't your average campfire ghost story.

On a foggy Sunday meowrning, everything was quiet and the water was still. Not a mouse stirred anywhere in sight, and one other thing was noticeably missing…

Hoomans.

Washington authorities boarded an abandoned ship floating off the coast of a beach this weekend, and found a colony of cats on board. It took them time to understand how many were on board, as the ship was by no means small and there were many cracks and crevices for the kitties to hide in. With many hiding underneath the floorboards, their early estimation jumped from 10 to more than 30. After spending hours corralling all of them into safe containers, we're pawsitively happy to report that all 31 cats and kittens were rescued from the boat.

But how did they get there in the first place? And why?

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    TACOMA POLICE DEPARTMENT HSTPC FOSTER www VILK
    via Tacoma Police Department
  • 02
    Dexerto @Dexerto Subscribe An abandoned boat discovered off a beach in Washington state was found with no humans aboard but more than 30 cats and kittens living inside Authorities managed to rescue them all, with some found hiding beneath the boat's floorboards
    via @Dexerto

  • Unfurtunately, we don't currently know why and how they got on the boat in the furst place. The authorities are contacting the registered owner of the boat, but we don't have any updates (yet) about its status. Our guess ranges from anything from smuggling to attempting to start one's own pirate crew filled with paws and claws. Purrhaps the hoomans abandoned ship for whatever reason, or the cats were supposed to be picked up by someone else, who never showed. Only time will tell the truth.

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    00
    via @Dexerto
  • 04
    Bro Im Slow @BroImSlow ... God forbid some cats trying to go on a cruise
    via @BroImSlow
  • 05
    Jehangeer H❤ @jehangeer_hasan. The real ghost ship was the friends (cats) we made along the way
    via @jehangeer_hasan
  • 06
    TACOMA POLICE DEPARTMENT
    via Tacoma Police Department
  • 07
    @ginomobbsdeep Gino So what would they have been eating?
    via @ginomobbsdeep
  • 08
    PrimitiveAK X @PrimitiveAK Cat delivery system finally exposed.
    via @PrimitiveAK

  • We have a very in-depth relationship with the Cat Distribution System, and we can safely say that there is now way it delivers all of its cats and kittens by boat. For one thing, it's far too inefficient as a transport system, and secondly, it can't reach anywhere inland for all the future cat pawrent deliveries not connected to a body of water. 

    The CDS must be able to make split-second decisions, delivering all the kitties where they need to go with rocket-like precision, so there is only one  pawssible way the CDS could be making its deliveries: by stork. Obviously.

  • 09
    Dexerto @Dexerto Rescuers used "cat math" to determine how many were aboard:
    via @Dexerto
  • 10
    MIKE @mike6tn 0 ... Just a bunch of cats living their life on the boat, no humans required ✶✶ II GIF
    via @mike6tn
  • 11
    Wyld Syntax ❤ @wyldsyntax Cat people be like: Gonna need a bigger boat II GIF
    via @wyldsyntax
  • 12
    CloutFiend @CloutfiendVT ... Discovering a cat civilization I AM THE CAPTAIN NOW VIDEO
    via @CloutfiendVT
  • 13
    bottom boy @umbasdrac we know who saved them
    via @umbasdrac
  • 14
    @imabookwyrm Poor kitties. I'm glad to see them rescued. Hopefully they can all be adopted into good families.
    via @imabookwyrm
  • 15
    500 Casino @500Casino who leaves 30 cats on a boat ...
    via @500Casino
  • 16
    Chloe Kilgore @chloekilgorePSN It wasn't abandoned. The orange was in charge of the entire operation and the tuxedo provided the entertainment.
    via @chloekilgorePSN

  • Well, honestly, that would explain everything. Never put an orange cat in charge of anything, they're meant to be the goofy, comedic sidekick - not the captain.

  • 17
    Reihu @RizaannP The cat distribution service had some trouble with customs
    via @RizaannP
  • 18
    MercifulAce333 @MercifulAce Sounds like a kids cartoon, cats on a boat. Being pirates. Cat Thieves
    via @MercifulAce
  • 19
    Drea Fox @Dreaafox How do you abandon a boat and accidentally leave behind an entire cat civilization..And the kittens hiding under the floorboards?? those poor little things were probably terrified
    via @Dreaafox
  • 20
    MaggieLo1018 @MaggieLo1870 There has got to be more to this story!
    via @MaggieLo1870
  • 21
    AJ_Guy @justasidechara5 "We've been busted, everyone act natural"
    via @justasidechara5
  • 22
    Gilbert @ReflectiveGils imagine finding an abandoned boat and realizing the actual passengers are 30+ cats
    via @ReflectiveGils

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abandoned ship washington cat rescue ghost stories
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