Cat Lovers: Moving Kitty Cat onboard?

[djelle]

Pheromone spray is available at veterinary offices that can help to calm kitty when moving and before a passage. We have found if we use them and bring our kitty up to the cockpit with us before leaving it helps to reduce seasickness. If your cat is healthy and can jump it can be trained to use the toilet...if YOU have the patience. We enjoy the company and entertainment of having our cat on board. It’s definitely with a try!

[zeehag]

robert..your kitty will be at home if you are at home..come talk with bubba daboatkat in his clowder. there are over 2500 cat members willing to consult with ye on this topic..we love ye..
btw where have you been .. we missed ye..
when you move kitty on board make sure you bring stinky dirty clothing with your smell on em, and his favorite toys and accoutrements.
bubba said it sounds like a good thing to bring pretty kitty with ye. he has many jobs he performs on board-- vermin chaser, birdee watcher, noise identifier, stranger approach warning, and general lazy boy about boat...he said to pm his momma for info....oh! i guess thats me..hahahahhaa

[Tom and Maje]

[QUOTE=Mare Nostrum;3204733]Hello All Cat lovers,
I have a 14 year-old Siamese that has never even been outside of our land home. I am now seriously thinking about cruising full time and selling my home. I am wondering if anyone on the CF has thoughts and/or suggestions about moving an older feline from land to permanently aboard a sailing vessel? Is adaptation possible?

It is. I brought my 14 year old cat on board. At first, she poked her head up from her carrier, turned in my direction with a look that said, "You've really gone around the bed this time. I'll just wait here until we leave." Well, we didn't leave, and I had to take her out of her carrier. I showed her where her toilet was and where she'd eat. To be honest, she never loved the boat. But she put up with it because of me. She had kidney disease and died two years later.

Maje

[jszymona]

Find on the Internet some books by Andrew Urbanczyk, who sailed alone round the world with his cat "Myszolow" (Mousehunter"). Unfortunately I can't link you to these books. Or even better, write to him -- I'm sure he will be ready to answer your questions.
J. Szymona

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Mare Nostrum

Hello All Cat lovers,
I have a 14 year-old Siamese that has never even been outside of our land home. I am now seriously thinking about cruising full time and selling my home. I am wondering if anyone on the CF has thoughts and/or suggestions about moving an older feline from land to permanently aboard a sailing vessel? Is adaptation possible?

Many thanks for your much appreciated feedback!

Roberto
s/v Mare Nostrum
Acapulco

Generally I would say it won't work. Tried that twice. My big tabby who was very mellow would start freaking out whenever I started the engine. He would barf once we started moving. He lived aboard at the dock and was fine until we moved. He was normally comfortable and sitting on the bow sprit when I came home from work. Eventually grama had to spoil him for a couple years for us.

[marthahenrici]

We just moved aboard with our 14 y/o cat and were also worried about how he would adapt. He was indoor/outdoor. He has done fine. Probably would rather be in a house and able to go out but he's doing better than I thought. I switched to using the Tidy Cats Breeze system for litter which was a good move. It uses ceramic beads instead of litter so much cleaner in the boat plus less space intensive without having to store litter. The urine goes through the beads to a pad which I change every 3-4 days (my cat pees a LOT!). You just scoop out the poop.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by marthahenrici

We just moved aboard with our 14 y/o cat and were also worried about how he would adapt. He was indoor/outdoor. He has done fine. Probably would rather be in a house and able to go out but he's doing better than I thought. I switched to using the Tidy Cats Breeze system for litter which was a good move. It uses ceramic beads instead of litter so much cleaner in the boat plus less space intensive without having to store litter. The urine goes through the beads to a pad which I change every 3-4 days (my cat pees a LOT!). You just scoop out the poop.

some of gdm members have played with cleaning the beads as they are not available in many areas, therefore cannot be replaced easily.
cleaning em makes sense as cleaning removes the pee from the beads replacing with water which will dry.

[Nickodemus]

Our cat came aboard at about 2 years old, so can't predict how an older cat will do. Couple of things you might find helpful though:


1. I highly recommend the Breeze system also. I tried regular clumping litter for the first three years aboard, but it just got everywhere, including granules in the bilge. Three 7 lb bags of Breeze pellets last six months - much smaller than a 6 month supply of clumping litter. I buy the "knock-off" pads through Amazon. Also, be aware that litter can be very difficult to get in some places - most cats in the Caribbean and the Bahamas just do their business outside, so it's not only hard to get, but extremely expensive.



2. Not sure if you're planning to live at anchor or at a marina. If you're going to live at a marina, you should try to harness train him before you leave. Put the harness on at home and just leave it on. Give treats periodically. When he seems to be somewhat used to it, attach the leash. Then walk him around the house with the leash, throwing his favorite treat (like cooked chicken) ahead of him, so he has to walk with the harness and leash on. Repeat regularly. Even if you are going to live at anchor, the cat will enjoy going ashore once in a while, and leash training will be important then too. When we stay at a marina, our cat's harness stays on almost all the time until we lock up at night (no roaming around the cockpit while we sleep!). We tether him on a long lead that lets him sit on the combing but not jump ashore.



3. Our cat doesn't like the engine noise either. Thought he would be used to it after four years of living aboard, but he still runs to his hiding place when it gets turned on. When it gets rough, we bring him up top and put him in a little beehive shaped bed, and then put a small towel over the opening. Sees to help that he can't see what's going on around him. He stays in there and will accept his food and treats as we go along. He usually does not need his litter box while we are underway.



4. Again, not sure where you are planning on going, but if you are going to be somewhere very warm, you must be able to leave open the hatches for breeze. If you are in a place that is not safe (as in risk of being boarded and burglarized) and you can't lock up everything, then it can be an issue. We haven't had to deal with this issue yet, since we winter in the Bahamas and summer on the East coast of the US.



5. Cat food can be expensive, so bring lots. Also, you may want to ask your vet for some basic prescriptions in case of something like a urinary tract infection or an insect bite. Make sure you have the right shots and permits for wherever you're headed. Many of the Caribbean islands require Titer rabies shots before arrival.



Wouldn't give up having our cat on board - a great stress reliever and a wonderful source of entertainment!

[Mare Nostrum]

Hola!!It is so great to hear from you & Bubba!! Are you still in Mazatlan?? Thank you so much for your suggestions---I hope to see you soon!!
Roberto

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Mare Nostrum

Hola!!It is so great to hear from you & Bubba!! Are you still in Mazatlan?? Thank you so much for your suggestions---I hope to see you soon!!
Roberto

yup still here almost done repairing patriciacane damages to mizzen and wiill maintain mainmast after mizzen is restepped... come up here to visit...we do miss you kids.. bubba rns gatos del mar group and i watch him suffer with the posts hahahahaha he hasnt thumbs sois difficult fo rhim to typo better than me..hahahahaha
bubba sends purrs and i send hugs..

[Freedom45]

We trained our cat to use head, no litter box now.
Kits are made for this purpose.
This is with young cat, not sure about older ones......

No, she doesn’t flush.

Cheers