Cats on board

My wife and I are "cat people". Some are "dog people" and some "cat people" and we all have our reasons. But you can't help but notice that most pets on board are dogs. We just lost one of our two cats to cancer about a month ago and she was my wife's favorite one. When we went to the boat (an Ericson E-32 III) for a few days she would always say, "I miss my cats."

Don't know if she said she missed me when I went to the boat by myself for a few days but that's for another posting in the future. Anyway, we both knew that we just couldn't bring one of the little fur balls to the boat with us because they would have probably freaked out and either jumped off while we were under way, at anchor or at the dock. Or they would have hid someplace aboard where we would have never found them. I know a 32 footer is a small boat but you'd be surprised where they could squeeze themselves into.

So know we're thinking of getting another cat (but not till after the holidays) and I was wondering how many of you out there bring cats aboard. What do you do with them? I've seen people with there dogs aboard wearing little like jackets but do ya do that with a cat too?? The litter box thing is easy to figure out and, in a way, better then a dog. I've seen, more then once, a sailor wrestle a 100 pound lab into a little dingy to row ashore so that the animal (the dog and sometimes the sailor too) can do his "duty".

Oh yes! And we've actually been considering a "little white dog" too because , as most cat owners know, cats give you their attention on their own terms. But even rowing a little white dog ashore (or taking them for a walk on a cold winter night at home) dose not appeal to us too much.

So, cats aboard, what can you tell me? Thanks!

We have been sailing with our 2 cats for years with no real problems. Sunny our large male Maine Coon adjusts to the boat much faster than Angle our female Turkish Van. But the female is very timid so that is to be expected. I carry a large fishing which I have never used just in case I have to go fishing for “catfish” also since neither cat is de-clawed I hang a piece of carpet over the rail to the water just in case. Our cats are indoor only at home and have never tried to get off of the boat. The have explored every inch of the boat and never gotten stuck. We have a litter box on board so here is the biggest advantage to cats on the boat, no trips ashore to walk the cat are necessary.

What about shedding? What about litter particles that inevitably get tracked outside the litter box? Are you constantly sweeping that up?

If you are a cat person used to having indoor cats then shedding shouldn't present a problem. We deal with it the same way on the boat as we do at home with a battery operated vacuum for the upholstery and a lint brush for cloths. As for litter we use a very high sided box and find that the non-clumping litter best. It doesn't seem to stick on their paws near as much as the clumping kind. For some reason we their is very little escaped litter during the day any that gets out does so primarily at night. So first thing in the morning we do a quick wipe down of the sole with a damp paper towel.

cats aboard

We were live aboards for years, one of our neighbors lived aboard as well over 15 years with a cat and bird, the wife cleaned the litter box and used the clumping litter, they also had screens on windows and a screen "door". They never had any problems even when away from the dock.

Tom Plummer said:

We have been sailing with our 2 cats for years with no real problems. Sunny our large male Maine Coon adjusts to the boat much faster than Angle our female Turkish Van. <snip> We have a litter box on board so here is the biggest advantage to cats on the boat, no trips ashore to walk the cat are necessary.

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We have a large male Maine Coon (Jerry), also. He's like a dog that uses a litter box. Super-friendly cat, follows us from room to room, always shows up at the door even if we've only been gone 20 minutes. The shedding and scratching is tough. We are thinking about taking he and his brother, Ben, on the boat, but haven't done it yet. We have some family who are allergic and want to keep the boat as clean as possible. Once we retire, we will get a puppy or a young dog and he/she will be a boat dog.

We were stern-tied next to an Islander 28 one night and they had two cats aboard. The couple was preparing dinner and suddenly there was a crashing sound, a shout, and then some muttering. One of the cats made a leap and tipped over a cookie sheet of raw biscuits that was waiting to be put in the oven. The sheet was balanced on the steps. They seemed to enjoy the cats, though. We heard a Dust Buster in use a few times.

Whatever pet you love can probably adapt to the boat, with patience and time.

I am as well a cat person and I have two (Buck & Dharma) that have never been aboard my boat. They were already 3 years old when I got my Ericson 27 and I don't live aboard so I just didn't want two submit them to that kind of a change. God knows they don't like cars because it usually means a trip to the vet.

I have seen a fair amount of cruising cats on board boats at Catalina Island though. Even fearless cats that almost seemed to want to jump in my dink as I putted past. I also noticed a couple of boats at Catalina that had carpet hanging over the gunwales. I talked to the owner of one such boat that had her cat fall over a couple of times and that's what the carpets for. I wonder if a dog could claw his way back on board.

Heaven forbid when ever my furry friends pass away, I would get a new kitten and start sailing with it right away. Has anyone seen the movie or read the book "The Dove" about Robin Lee Graham? He had a couple of cats during his circumnavigation, one of which was napping in the foot of the main when the boat jibed and sling shot the cat over board. The cat was immediately gulped up by a shark. That scene broke my heart.

I have actually read several non fiction books that featured cats on board, including "My Old Man & The Sea".

I think cats make great companions on board because of their sure footedness and no need for a tree or fire hydrant, but I think the trick is if you are going to cruise or live aboard start with a kitten and not a land raised cat.:meow::meow::meow:

One of our two sailing cats started his sailing adventures as a kitten and the other was an adult cat Both cats hate the car but love the boat and the RV so I think you might be spot on about the trip to the Vet syndrome but I really don’t think the age of the cat makes major difference Now that jumping into the dink thing well let me tell you we learned fast that if we didn’t want the cats leaping into the dingy we had to have it on a really long painter and keep it well away from the boat The cats just seem to like jumping into and out of it. Now the jumping didn’t bother me much I just couldn’t shake the vision of hissing dink tube caused by cat claws. All in all having the cats onboard is great fun. On time I didn’t realize that the Main Coon had gotten up into the flakes of the main sail and decided it was a good place for a nap. I don’t know who was more startled when I raised the main

Cats on board - again

I wrote the original posting asking about bring a cat on board and my wife and I have now got to the point where we have a new cat since our other two "very old" cats went to that litter box in the sky this past winter. So with our new cat we feel like we have a clean slate and can start to train her to becoming a "boat cat". I've started to put a harness, not a collar, on her everyday for an hour or so to get her used to wearing it. She was de-clawed (front paws only) and my biggest fear is to have her jump or fall over-board. So I'm going to tether her when she's in the cockpit with us. Assuming she'll want to be. Thanks to all of you who answered my first posting on this subject.

You should get her used to being in a carrier. Then take her to the boat in the carrier. Leave her in the carrier, in the cabin, until she calms down and sees that you and your wife are going about normal activities for a while. Cats are curious, once she has calmed down and realizes that she is safe, open the carrier door. You'll probably want to have the companionway closed at this point. Let her come out when she is ready and explore on her own. When she seems comfortable with the interior of the boat, open the companionway and let her venture out on her own. This is pretty much the way I have introduced my cats to new homes. They need to have time to feel secure and then they will get out on their own to check things out. The harness is a good idea, too.

Cat overboard!

Not a cat person myself, but check Sailnet.com archives:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/cruising-articles/20173-cruising-cats.html

A cruising couple talks about training cats for life on board. They cover many issues, including a way to train cats to self-rescue in case of falling overboard. They are full-time cruisers; you probably do not need to go to extremes of that magnitude. Also, articles are about 10 years old; I am sure someone invented something better then dragging nets behind the stern since then .

Regards,
Stan

Thanks for that Stan.

Very informative and very, very entertaining. Great stories. Made me smile.

:meow::meow::meow:

We are currently trying to acclimate our daughter's cat to the boat so we can take her cruising with us. One thing we haven't quite figured out is how to handle her while we are gone for a day while at anchor. Ordinarily, we would lock up the boat if we were going to be ashore for the day in a populated area. However, seems to me that if we closed her up in the boat, she would get awful hot down below. The Florida summer sun can be brutal. We could leave her tied with her harness and leash in the cockpit but that could have its own problems, also, such as her not being able to go below in a thunderstorm and possible "kitty overboard" issues. At dock is no big deal because we can run the AC. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.

Land loving cat

I started this original thread when we were thinking about bring our, then new kitten, "Matte" aboard. Well, I'm sorry to say that our attempt was a complete failure. Poor Matte just could not adapt to sailing or even being on the boat at dock. She was always agitated every time we brought her aboard to the point where she would hyper-ventilate and even throw up. All of our efforts in making her feel comfortable and safe aboard just didn't meet with her approval. The few times we did go out, with her below deck (she was scared to death to be in the cockpit while we sailed or motored), she meowed so much that it was distracting to the point where I wasn't paying enough attention to where I was steering.

So we decided that Matte needs to stay home and "guard" the house while we're away sailing. My wife and I were disappointed but it really comes down to what is best for Matte and not us missing her while were away. She seems to have "recovered" from all our attempts to make her a "sailing feline".

sailor cats

Our cat Zoe is a grreat sailor. we have an enclosed catbox,By the way we have an E27, on some out door carpet in the Quarter Bert, she does great, and we took her on our 10 day sail to the ericson ron day vue in portownsend she was no prob.

Our cats are getting used to the liveaboard lifestyle. They seem to have adapted fairly well. We got them each a harness with a leash for now. They also both have PFDs of their own. Leia, our Bengal, was just up in the cockpit yesterday.

Beautiful Cat!

I think you need a catamaran...

Good looking cat. Is it a Savannah?

Thank you. She's a Bengal. We also have a Siamese who is starting to get more adventurous on the boat.