Cats in General

[IdoraKeeper]

Originally Posted by zeehag

have you tried the harness with the tether under cat not on cats back- they tolerate the leash under their chest better than on their backs.
bubba has been leashed and harnessed for 8 years.. walks on leash. is a good boy. he wont go out without his leash anymore after he tried to die in middle of night when he was pushed off boat by a night heron....(his story...he was hunting and fell into lagoon here in barra in darkness. i didnt notice fro hours that he was even missing--i was sleeping , and he was sitting in the junction of anchor chain and snubber bridle. COLD. he barely made it to the transom of my side tied dinghy so i could drag his unprotesting body out of the cold water. took half hour of tight warming hugs before he started to purr again. now i am goddess. this happened in may and i am still goddess.. wow. he was skeereded baaad... eyes were wiiiide open..

That is one big ol lazy Boat Kat! He needs a good daily workout to include plenty bite making and scratch making. Imagine Bubba in fighting trim. No more being pushed around by birds!

[zeehag]

that jacket thing looks awesome cool, but bubba likes his leash grabbable in his teeth so he can monitor it. he is excellent harness and leash cat. do they make em with hook under cat??
he is a bit nervous of birds with really loooonnng necks. his preferred method of kill is grab birdee by head, it kills self twisting and stuff;; herons dotn DO that... lol they fight back hard....

[zeehag]

oh... did i mention bubba took kill number 13 and gobbled it down ... lol gooood kitty!!!
and he does have one seagull to his credit, in mazatlan.....

[triciarob]

This is my sweetie, sleepin' in the shade

[angelfish2]

Zee, those pictures of Bubba are wonderful. He is a fine looking fellow and I'm sure he gives you much happiness. I'm not sure if you can turn the Walking Jackets upside down. I use them with the leash connected on top and my kitties do fine with it. They do have to get used to it but there is so much to look at up tops, they don't seem bothered.

triciarob, your sweetie is adorable. Kitties are special, there's no doubt about it.

[NancGrace]

My husband and I are preparing for our first ICW adventure, and taking our elder cat on her first boating adventure. I'm pretty nervous about her being attracted to the moving water and jumping or about her being totally unhappy or ill. Any helpful hints and or assurances about elder cats on board will be much appreciated. NancGrace

[angelfish2]

Originally Posted by NancGrace

My husband and I are preparing for our first ICW adventure, and taking our elder cat on her first boating adventure. I'm pretty nervous about her being attracted to the moving water and jumping or about her being totally unhappy or ill. Any helpful hints and or assurances about elder cats on board will be much appreciated. NancGrace

I sure appreciate your concerns, but generally kitties do very well on boats. Do y'all have a sailboat? If you are motoring down the Intercoastal, just keep your kitty below. If you would like to have her up on deck, simply put a Walking Jacket on her along with a long leash tied to the helm. She can sit safely in the cockpit. I would not let her walk around on deck without being on a leash. They really don't know that there is water down there, so they might jump or slide off.

Smart Move sails with an elderly kitty, so you could PM her and ask her any questions you have. Please let us all know how y'all do.

[zeehag]

kitties get seasoick when kept below..is a good idea to have em up with you until you learn what happens with kat in motion. i use a harness and a leash for cat safety. works well.
older cat wil lhave adaptation time of about 2 weeks. goodluck an dhave a good trip.
please post pictures.

[4archsmate]

We have a 5 year old cat who failed her first sea trial last year. She did ok with motoring and some sailing but when we got into chop she "exploaded" from both ends. We would like to take her cruising. Any suggestions?
She also has a melt down on the 5 minute car ride to the vets. I think she is sincerely that prone to motion sickness. She hated the life vest I gave her and would not condesend to wear a harness or walking jacket--although I think it looks like a good idea.

As for other info--she is a "marmalade" which is an orange domestic short hair or mutt. Has claws (we simply accept we will never have nice furniture), and is spayed. We feed her RX kidney food and she is not food motivated so treats do not tempt her.

[rgscpat]

Cozy nook on board sprayed with Feliway?
Too bad treat rewards don't work, but does cuddling or something else?
Does she respond to catnip?

[jacob30]

Unfortunately it will take at least a few days of acclimation. Start slowly and build up to more motion. Like anyone it takes a little while to get your sea legs.


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[SmartMove]

Originally Posted by NancGrace

My husband and I are preparing for our first ICW adventure, and taking our elder cat on her first boating adventure. I'm pretty nervous about her being attracted to the moving water and jumping or about her being totally unhappy or ill. Any helpful hints and or assurances about elder cats on board will be much appreciated. NancGrace

NancGrace how are things going? We sail with an 18 y.o. that sometimes gets seasick, a little over two years into it she is doing really well. Let me know if I can answer some questions.

Robyn


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[SmartMove]

Originally Posted by 4archsmate

We have a 5 year old cat who failed her first sea trial last year. She did ok with motoring and some sailing but when we got into chop she "exploaded" from both ends. We would like to take her cruising. Any suggestions?
She also has a melt down on the 5 minute car ride to the vets. I think she is sincerely that prone to motion sickness. She hated the life vest I gave her and would not condesend to wear a harness or walking jacket--although I think it looks like a good idea.

As for other info--she is a "marmalade" which is an orange domestic short hair or mutt. Has claws (we simply accept we will never have nice furniture), and is spayed. We feed her RX kidney food and she is not food motivated so treats do not tempt her.

Our vet prescribed a medication for Lilly's seasickness. It basically knocks her out for a bit. We found that once she was in the boat for awhile she was fine. Our younger cat Chloe gets nervous, so wants to be close to us on passages. We have found that putting her under a pillow or beach towel helps her feel calm -- I think one of those compression shirts they sell for dogs would work well also.

BTW, Lilly also exploded on both ends on her first sail. On her second sail she didn't explode but we were so concerned we called our vet in the US. Also, both cats would carry on in the car to the vets, but the behavior seemed to stay ashore with the car. PM me if you have questions.

Robyn


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[Capt Phil]

Having cruised with a big orange cat called HobieCat for about 12 years, it is heartwarming to read about so many folks including these wonderful creatures in their lives afloat. We lost Hobie' to cancer a few years ago but looking over the photos from when he was with us still brings back great memories. He was more at home aboard than ashore and grew up offshore starting his sea going life around 5 weeks and became one with the boat at a very early age. Phil

[triciarob]

We've had a couple more sails with Mouse, and she has been so great. Our trip from Labuan to Miri, a distance of just under 100nm, took us FOUR days. We had the most horrendous weather, constant squalls and winds of up to 35knts against us. I was seasick the whole time which is most unusual, normally I might be a bit seasick for the first day or so, then I'm better. Mouse wasn't sick at all, but she spent a lot of time sleeping, only getting up to eat and drink.

Our return from Miri to Labuan took 29 hours, but at around 4am we had a tremendous thunder and lightning storm with lightning hitting the water around the boat. Mouse was terrified. She laid on the cabin sole crying and crying. I wrapped her up in a blanket, snuggled pillows around her, then a bit later laid down in the quarter berth with her. I must admit it was quite scary and I felt better for the furry cuddles as well. This incident has left her really frightened by electrical storms and, although she doesn't cry, she flattens herself on the cabin sole and wants to be really close to me for the duration.

She has also learned that when we put the first washboard in place she isn't allowed into the cockpit.