--- title: Rocket Cat Manual by Franz Helm at University of Pennsylvania description: German artillery manual penned by Franz Helm suggests strapping rockets to cats. canonical: https://time.com/14212/rocket-cats-rocket-cats/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-06T17:16:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:48:47.585Z og:title: How to Make Your Cat Into a Weapon og:description: Note the dove, as well, which is ironic og:url: https://time.com/14212/rocket-cats-rocket-cats/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt301a72a027556fb2/69868437169ab0936e2781df/rocket-cat.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: rocket-cat og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Make Your Cat Into a Weapon twitter:description: Note the dove, as well, which is ironic twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt301a72a027556fb2/69868437169ab0936e2781df/rocket-cat.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rocket Cats? Rocket Cats > Sponsored content. 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Waxman Staff Writer Mar 6, 2014 5:16 PM UTC There is an a-_mew_sing illustration in a guide to artillery written around 1530 that appears to endorse strapping explosives to cats and doves and igniting the ammunition during a rebellion, the Associated Press [reports](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/16th-century-manual-shows-rocket-cat-weaponry).  Matt Rourke / AP  Matt Rourke / AP Digitized by the University of Pennsylvania and translated by researcher Mitch Fraas, the German manual penned by artillery master Franz Helm of Cologne — whose experience included fighting Turks in south-central Europe — appears to [say](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/16th-century-manual-shows-rocket-cat-weaponry): --- > “” --- Fraas said he has not found evidence that cats or birds were used in this way and [told the AP](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/16th-century-manual-shows-rocket-cat-weaponry) that it would be “very unlikely the animals would run back to where they came from. 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