Keeping a Cat On Your Boat While Docked

[Chotu]

I’ve had a cat aboard a couple times now.

All fun and games until you have to use a dock.

Cats absolutely love the deck, levels to jump from/to and the outdoors when at anchor and underway. They are completely safe on the boat as well. No traffic, no dogs, etc.

What do you cat owners do when you are at a dock? Just confine the cat to the inside of the boat? Let the cat run free?

My cats have always been ex girlfriend cats or cats I’ve fostered for a bit for people.

Might be time to pull the trigger on one because I don’t want rats/mice aboard. (That’s a good excuse, right?)

But how do you deal with being at a dock with cats?

[Matt Johnson]

We keep ours either on a leash or inside at the dock. The few times she's gotten out, she goes on other people's boats to hide, and I worry that she'll stowaway when they sail off.

[flightlead404]

I cruised with two, for 1.5 seasons. A couple years ago my lil buddy Biggles got off the boat in Stock Island Marina, never to be seen again. I was devastated.

My lil girl Silva still cruises with us, we're pushing off again next week.

Silva will get off onto the dock, but doesn't go far. I keep an eye on her and she has an Apple airtag on her collar. She likes to do a patrol in the morning and evening, but doesn't go far. After Biggles left us, I make sure Silva is in the boat at night before we go to sleep.

FWIW I find a vertical litter tray to make a huge difference wrt cutting down litter tracking and kicking out of the box.

[Stingo]

Originally Posted by flightlead404

....
FWIW I find a vertical litter tray to make a huge difference wrt cutting down litter tracking and kicking out of the box.

Please tell us more about the vertical litter tray. It sounds interesting.

[fxykty]

We have had two cats for the past year, acquired when they were 8 weeks old. One loves to wander and explore, while the other prefers to stay close to his food bowl. Both swim and hunt birds for fun and food. They are most active at night and often spend the day laying around.

When we approach a dock we close them below. If staying at a marina or on the hard we check whether they’re allowed out and whether any nearby dock/hardstand neighbours object. If objections, we keep them inside or on short leashes so they can find their preferred spot in the cockpit or on deck. If no objections, we let them free overnight. The exploring one loves nooks and crannies on other boats and will settle onto a cushion above decks or below if he can get in. They both love hiding in mainsail covers and ambushing birds. But they’re always back home sometime during the night and eager for their breakfast.

At the yard where we’re at we’ve had to keep them confined as the second night we were here he was spotted by a super yacht’s CCTV making himself comfortable on the fly bridge helm chair.

What is a vertical litter tray?

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Chotu

What do you cat owners do when you are at a dock? Just confine the cat to the inside of the boat?

Our (remaining) cat stays "indoors" on the boat all the time, not just at the dock. As did her "sister" when she was still living. Ditto at our home. She has no clue there's an "outside" to aspire to.

-Chris

[Cheechako]

Many are lost at the dock. They misjudge and in the cold water they go. Some docks have no way for them to get out.
When I lived aboard at the dock my big tabby would greet me as I returned from my workday sitting on the bowsprit. He disappeared for like 4 days one time. I walked the other docks looking for him or his body to no avail. By chance I noticed a head portlight open on a non live aboard boat two docks over. Sure enough, he had got over there somehow and climbed into that portlite, jumped down and couldn't get out. I had to get the marina office to notify the owner so I could get him out. The owner was not too happy about it, but it worked out well.

[Chotu]

Ok, so just to be a good neighbor, it’s pretty essential to keep them indoors when at a dock.

Such a bummer to be going to a dock. I truly hate not being at anchor.

I wonder how much a local harbor/marine cops would yell at you if you wintered over at anchor.

I asked one guy in a potential harbor where I was thinking of doing it and he was saying it’s impossible (with no reason) and said they had someone last year trying it and it ended up in disaster. What disaster, I didn’t pry.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Ok, so just to be a good neighbor, it’s pretty essential to keep them indoors when at a dock.

Such a bummer to be going to a dock. I truly hate not being at anchor.

I wonder how much a local harbor/marine cops would yell at you if you wintered over at anchor.

I asked one guy in a potential harbor where I was thinking of doing it and he was saying it’s impossible (with no reason) and said they had someone last year trying it and it ended up in disaster. What disaster, I didn’t pry.

I don't think it's so much that it can't be done at anchor, but in a cold/snowy/icy climate, all of the things that make living aboard in the winter challenging get that much harder when you're at anchor. Getting off the boat requires dinghy rides in frequently un-friendly conditions. If ice is a concern, it's harder to manage at anchor (can't just put out some bubblers to keep a clear spot around the boat), stuff like that.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

I don't think it's so much that it can't be done at anchor, but in a cold/snowy/icy climate, all of the things that make living aboard in the winter challenging get that much harder when you're at anchor. Getting off the boat requires dinghy rides in frequently un-friendly conditions. If ice is a concern, it's harder to manage at anchor (can't just put out some bubblers to keep a clear spot around the boat), stuff like that.

That’s just it. It’s much more safe for the boat at anchor.

The ice in a harbor or any body of water forms on the sides first where the docks are. It doesn’t even form in the middle. There is no need for a bubbler if you’re not at a dock. Not to mention, the boat is continuously moving so it will keep a patch clear even if it did ice over a little.

When it comes to me, I can take it. I don’t think anything is much more difficult at anchor than it is at a dock.

I still have to haul the same amount of diesel and walk to go get it.

And if there’s a storm it’s just like it is in the summer. Just stay on the boat until the storm is over. That’s what I usually do. Sometimes you get stuck on the boat. It’s a little boring. But you find things to do. Thankfully there is an Internet these days for that.

When Ophelia and whatever went by over the last few weeks, I was stuck on the boat for about a week straight. Nothing I’m not used to. That’s what it’s like when you live on a boat. You have to plan your life around the weather. sometimes the dinghy ride is just going to be too wet and annoying. So you don’t go. You go on the calm days.

Truly I think the dock is actually worse for the winter.

There is only one benefit and that is shore power. Which I don’t have on my boat. I can run an extension cord. That’s it. But still that is an advantage because I won’t have to shovel/sweep my solar panels off.

Other than that, I don’t see any advantages at all.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Chotu

That’s just it. It’s much more safe for the boat at anchor.

The ice in a harbor or any body of water forms on the sides first where the docks are. It doesn’t even form in the middle. There is no need for a bubbler if you’re not at a dock. Not to mention, the boat is continuously moving so it will keep a patch clear even if it did ice over a little.

When it comes to me, I can take it. I don’t think anything is much more difficult at anchor than it is at a dock.

I still have to haul the same amount of diesel and walk to go get it.

And if there’s a storm it’s just like it is in the summer. Just stay on the boat until the storm is over. That’s what I usually do. Sometimes you get stuck on the boat. It’s a little boring. But you find things to do. Thankfully there is an Internet these days for that.

When Ophelia and whatever went by over the last few weeks, I was stuck on the boat for about a week straight. Nothing I’m not used to. That’s what it’s like when you live on a boat. You have to plan your life around the weather. sometimes the dinghy ride is just going to be too wet and annoying. So you don’t go. You go on the calm days.

Truly I think the dock is actually worse for the winter.

There is only one benefit and that is shore power. Which I don’t have on my boat. I can run an extension cord. That’s it. But still that is an advantage because I won’t have to shovel/sweep my solar panels off.

Other than that, I don’t see any advantages at all.

Shore power and dinghy rides through cold, potentially icy water are likely 2 of the biggest challenges. Safety wise, dinghy rides vs dock walks in the winter is probably the biggest difference. For the ice around boat situation, the ideal in any case is to be in a spot that doesn't ice up enough to be a problem. But if you're somewhere that does get ice, at anchor has less options for dealing with it (although as you said, it's less likely to be a problem in the first place).

[Chotu]

I completely disagree. I grew up snowboarding. With the right clothing, not boating clothing, you can handle any temperatures. It doesn’t get rough until it gets to a -10 or -20F.

I don’t think using a dinghy and cold weather is any problem whatsoever. I have done it many times. Even wintering over other times at docks I had my dinghy ready and used it when convenient.

Being at anchor you have 1000 times more options on how to deal with ice. Not only that your boat will be preventing ice from forming because it moves, but you can just leave if you don’t like the looks of ice forming.

Docks are located where ice forms to begin with. At the edges. Worst possible location.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I completely disagree. I grew up snowboarding. With the right clothing, not boating clothing, you can handle any temperatures. It doesn’t get rough until it gets to a -10 or -20F.

I don’t think using a dinghy and cold weather is any problem whatsoever. I have done it many times.

It's not the being out in the cold that worries me, it's the "if something goes wrong on a dinghy ride and I end up in the water" concern. Unless you're prepped for cold water immersion, you don't have a lot of time, and getting yourself out of the water is much harder when wearing heavy cold weather clothes.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

It's not the being out in the cold that worries me, it's the "if something goes wrong on a dinghy ride and I end up in the water" concern. Unless you're prepped for cold water immersion, you don't have a lot of time, and getting yourself out of the water is much harder when wearing heavy cold weather clothes.

I see.

Well, I have been at this for about 30 years now, spending more nights at anchor than on land sleeping for my adult years… and have never fallen off a dinghy before. I don’t know how anyone could. So that’s why I haven’t considered this point.

In any case, if I die doing that I don’t really care. No big deal. The chance is basically zero of that happening if it hasn’t in all these years. I’m not really the fall off a dinghy type of person.

I don’t even have life lines on the main boat. I go around the boat with no life jacket on and have done thousands of miles now this way. Risky? Maybe. But I don’t really care. I’m not one to fall easily. Might have something to do with all those years snowboarding and skateboarding and mountain biking and stuff. I don’t fall when I’m snowboarding. I longboarded to the hardware store yesterday too. No helmet, no safety gear at all. I don’t fall doing that either. Falling just really isn’t my thing I guess lol

So if I don’t fall standing up and moving along on things, I don’t typically just fall when I’m sitting on my ass in a dinghy. Lol

[Orion33]

https://www.chewy.com/iris-usa-round...BoCTVMQAvD_BwE


Vertical litter box