What's the Best Pet on a Boat ?

[Nostrodamus]

There are a lot of sailors who have pets aboard their boats.

Yesterday I saw Sailor Blowfelt jumping off his boat with a cat on a lead. Now this surprised me as I am sure that on board he would have had a plastic bag and something heavy. (Come on, cats are a waste of perfectly good DNA).

A lot of people have dogs which I can understand.

I can understand a hamster in a wheel which is attached to charge your batteries.

What would be the ideal pet? I was thinking of a tortoise as once round the deck would take a year, they don’t eat much and in winter they make good door stops!

What is the ideal pet for a boat besides a Swedish au pair?

[dpons]

Well, you already mention my first choices (turtle and au pair ), so I'd say a gecko. It doesn't bark, yet it will eat cockroaches.

[Matt sachs]

Even though I make my living working with little furry creatures, I really really dont want to clean up poo at home. So I will vote for a teddy bear

[svcambria]

Stuffed animal toy, this looks to fit the bill:

Fluffee the White Cat - 9" by Aurora - 10451-AR

No rabies testing, vaccinations, food - easy care...

Michael

[Dockhead]

I would say that the best pet on board is a diesel engine. The care and feeding will keep you from being bored and lonely on board. Rewarding you with a pleasant purr when you treat it right. And you only have to take out the waste (oil) every 100 hours or so.

[zeehag]

my cat is perfect on board critter-- he finds anything not wanted on board that is also alive and gets rid of it, he warns SILENTLY about approaching unwelcome guests, and lets me know before the storm arrives that we wilol be having one. excellent critter. when at a dock, unwanted critters approach boats-- he makes sure they do no t board.
wasted dna???? i dont think so.
there is an old tradition of having a ships cat-- kept rodents and roaches off the boat or to a minimum.
dogs, on the other hand, make great stew not to mention messes to clean and need walking. cats entertain themselves.

[svcambria]

"dogs, on the other hand, make great stew"

Reminiscent of W.C Fields,

"Do I like children?
Sure I do!
Boiled, broiled,
or in a stew."

Michael

[Geoduck]

My Border Collie, "Boots" She loves sailing!

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by svcambria

Stuffed animal toy, this looks to fit the bill:

Fluffee the White Cat - 9" by Aurora - 10451-AR

No rabies testing, vaccinations, food - easy care...

Michael

You can get them battery powered, and the purr. But I wuv my cats and they have adapted extremely well to onboard life.

[Cheechako]

If you seriously want a pet, then I would vote a cat. Must be raised from a kitten aboard though. I love dogs, but they are more needy for sure. You can leave cats for a week and they're fine. Or a parrot is good!

[capn_billl]

A fish;easy to care for, your surrounded by resources for it's basic needs, and no worries about your beloved pet if you sink.

[mbianka]

First rule of financial planning if you want to make your money last is:

"Never be responsible for anything that eats"

I say no pets on board except maybe the fish around the boat. Then if you want to feed them place it on the end of a hook and everybody wins.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

If you seriously want a pet, then I would vote a cat. Must be raised from a kitten aboard though. I love dogs, but they are more needy for sure. You can leave cats for a week and they're fine. Or a parrot is good!

They don't have to be raised from a kitten. Mine were both 4 years old when we moved aboard and they have adapted beautifully.

[sdowney717]

at our marina if its a pet, its a cat for those who are living aboard. No one there has a dog aboard.
One of the old house boats has a live in cat, no boat owner and the marina owner takes care of it.
That cat is very friendly and hops from boat to boat to dock, jumps pretty far. I picked it up to put it on the swim platform and and it definitely is water savvy, instantly tried to claw back up onto the deck. Cats are easy to take care of sort of low maintenance.

Slip neighbor has had to rescue bedragled soaked cats clinging to wood pilings where somehow they fell into the water. easiest way is to use a fish net cause those cats will dig their claws in deep when stressed.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by sdowney717

at our marina if its a pet, its a cat for those who are living aboard. No one there has a dog aboard.
One of the old house boats has a live in cat, no boat owner and the marina owner takes care of it.
That cat is very friendly and hops from boat to boat to dock, jumps pretty far. I picked it up to put it on the swim platform and and it definitely is water savvy, instantly tried to claw back up onto the deck. Cats are easy to take care of sort of low maintenance.

Slip neighbor has had to rescue bedragled soaked cats clinging to wood pilings where somehow they fell into the water. easiest way is to use a fish net cause those cats will dig their claws in deep when stressed.

I don't know if it will work for all cats, but a new cat owner here in the marina had her 12 week old kitten go overboard. She put out a swim noodle. The kitten immediately saw it as something she could climb on and climbed right back into the boat.