Trim was born in 1799 aboard the ship HMS Reliance, on a voyage from the Cape of Good Hope to Botany Bay.

[1] The kitten fell overboard, but managed to swim back to the vessel and climb aboard by scaling a rope; taking note of his strong survival instinct and intelligence, Flinders and the crew made him their favourite.

[2] During his imprisonment, Flinders wrote a biographical tribute to Trim in which he described him as "one of the finest animals I ever saw... [his] robe was a clear jet black, with the exception of his four feet, which seemed to have been dipped in snow and his under lip, which rivaled them in whiteness.

The best and most illustrious of his race The most affectionate of friends, faithful of servants, and best of creatures He made the tour of the globe, and a voyage to Australia, which he circumnavigated, and was ever the delight and pleasure of his fellow voyagers Written by Matthew Flinders in memory of his cat Memorial donated by the North Shore Historical Society which is a part of the epitaph that Flinders had promised Trim.

In addition, a large bronze statue of Matthew and Trim[11] stands at Euston Railway Station in London, near where he was originally buried.