Liveaboard cats!

[Starcoaster]

How many of you who liveaboard have a cat/ cats?

I am plannning my move to living aboard, and I have four of them...

How did your cats adjust? Do you have any thoughts or comments on it?

Also does anyone CC with cats, or do you think it's only really viable on a permanant mooring?

Thanks!

[Cosmic]

Hi,

 

I'm a CCer, living on a sailaway with a cat. On the whole, she seems perfectly happy with it, although I usually keep her in her box when I'm on the move. I've tried letting her loose on the boat while moving, but she has a habit of jumping out at lock landings, finding interesting bits of engine to inspect etc., etc.

 

Whenever we arrive at a new destination, she's always keen to get out and see where we are, but she very quickly settles in. When we were out in the sticks, she was much more confident on the tow path - she'd send all but the biggest of dogs packing - but in and around London she's quite wary. I think it's the number of cyclists that bothers her, although she's starting to show her age a bit as well (she's 14).

 

She's been swimming three times now. The first time really scared me, but she just swam straight to the back end and climbed out. I didn't see the second one, but she found her own way out. The last time was a few days ago, when I opened the rear door a bit too briskly and heard a splash - whoops, sorry!!

 

I know a few people with cats on board. They all seem to manage, and I'm sure yours will too.

[Smelly]

We travel a fair bit with our two and other than the Tom going walkabout every now and again they seem fine, however it's fair to say they were both brought up onboard.

 

If there'd been a "houseworld" forum a few years ago I think I'd've been posting "I've raised two cats on my boat but have to move to bricks and mortar. How will they cope?"

[NB Willawaw]

We don't liveaboard permanently, but do make extended cruises for months at a time.

 

We tend to leave them at home with family now.

 

They mostly adapt well, although it depends on the personality of the cat - with four you might find that not all of them like it.

 

The problems are:

 

1. Losing them over the side (but they swim and we always used to leave a method for them to climb back on board - some cats have drowned because they can't drag themselves out on high banks and hulls)

2. Them going walkabouts and not coming back - it was quite common to delay sailing for them, only to have them swagger back an hour or day later, like drunken sailors returning from a night ashore.

3. Moorings are often near busy roads - a few cats have been run over due to this (just as they do with houses near roads). We used to avoid these.

 

The good thing is they tend to keep mice and rats off the boat.

 

I think there are some stories about them in our blog somewhere.

 

Good luck..

[bizzard]

At first all is fine until you start the engine up,then panic.My cat Satchidanander still dislikes this but gets used to it after a while. Also dogs on the towpath with no lead freaks them out. bizzard

[DeanS]

We lived ashore and made the move onto a boat a few months ago. The cat has grown to know the sound of the engine (a loud Lister SR3) and stays in the front areas while cruising (normally sleeps , except once when it decided to jump out the open engine room hatch and landed in the water). Normally when we stop cruising we put some crisscross wooden doors into the hatch openings. Luckily they were the exact size we needed when we bought them. They lock in place with the top hatch cover, and a piece of bendy metal I made as a lower fastener. The cat can have the full run of the boat when these doors are in place. I have one at the far front and back of the boat, so we can still hace airflow and the view, without having to close all the doors up worrying about the cat. We have one of those extendable leashes and often put a bodysuit on him , connected to the leash, and tie him to the base of a tree...he's happy to explore, and now knows that he can go so far an no further. In the past month we've gotten less worried about him. We leave his body suit on, and at least if he gets lost, he wont look like any normal street cat which people would just ignore. He has tags etc. He's escaped a few times, but always comes back...so we're less stressed now when he does find a way out (we leave doors open by mistake and then have to go walking around calling for him....one time we thought he was onboard, and discovered an hour later he wasnt around. We retraced our steps and found he had been jumping onto various boats looking for us. We also have a packet of Dreamies which is just as the advert shows. You shake it and they come running. When we lived on shore, he would disappear at times... Last time we were in Manchester...Castlefield, he got off the boat, jumped through the houses fences, walked from one garden to the other, and finally rolled over and went to sleep under someones garden furniture. I looked a right nutter trying to call him back...but he finally did.

[Starcoaster]

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

I have four cats (yes, don't start...) all aged 5 or 6 and all have been indoor/ outdoor all their lives. Two were feral kittens who came around to me in their own time.

 

They have all managed ok with me moving house three times in their lifetimes (I have of course been very conscious when I moved, that the new place had safe outdoor access and was cat friendly) so I think they will take to a move ok, but being on a boat will be very different for them, particularly when I have to move the boat.

 

I am aware that even on a residential mooring the boat will need to move sometimes due to marina needs and boat maintenance etc, but think I will try to minimise this, and at the mo much as I love the idea of cc'ing, I can't see that it would be the way to go, for them, certainly not at first.

 

They will still have to be indoor/ outdoor as they have always had free run and I don't agree with turning them into indoor only cats. (I accept I will need to keep them shut in upon first moving and for a bit after any subsequent moves.)

 

They're all fit, healthy and active and used to going outside, and I wouldn't want to try and change that.

 

 

I have started trying to go the way of 'Pavlov's dogs' cat style, and ringing a bell for food to get them to come in when I want...

As the shyest, most skittish of them all would sell his own soul for a whiff of tuna, that may work...

Edited September 11, 2011 by Starcoaster

[Jim Batty]

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

I have four cats (yes, don't start...) all aged 5 or 6 and all have been indoor/ outdoor all their lives. Two were feral kittens who came around to me in their own time.

 

They have all managed ok with me moving house three times in their lifetimes (I have of course been very conscious when I moved, that the new place had safe outdoor access and was cat friendly) so I think they will take to a move ok, but being on a boat will be very different for them, particularly when I have to move the boat.

 

I am aware that even on a residential mooring the boat will need to move sometimes due to marina needs and boat maintenance etc, but think I will try to minimise this, and at the mo much as I love the idea of cc'ing, I can't see that it would be the way to go, for them, certainly not at first.

 

They will still have to be indoor/ outdoor as they have always had free run and I don't agree with turning them into indoor only cats. (I accept I will need to keep them shut in upon first moving and for a bit after any subsequent moves.)

 

They're all fit, healthy and active and used to going outside, and I wouldn't want to try and change that.

 

 

I have started trying to go the way of 'Pavlov's dogs' cat style, and ringing a bell for food to get them to come in when I want...

As the shyest, most skittish of them all would sell his own soul for a whiff of tuna, that may work...

 

Our cat Hobbes is 13, lived his first 11 years pretty much as an indoor cat in a flat, and has been aboard CCing with us for last 2 years. He gets on well. When the engine starts he goes under his blanket (a corner of an old duvet we converted for him) and sleeps. But if we're just running it to top up batteries, curiosity gets the better of him and he's happy to walk across the top of it on the semi-trad stern ... even sleep on the engine hatch when its running if its sunny.

 

At first, being an indoor pussy, he simply didn't register anything more than about five feet away - and he never looked around as nothing had ever attacked him from behind! (He'd be too busy eating grass) But now he's wary of cyclists and will usually jump back aboard when they come whizzing along. Dogs are the same, which he usually stares down from the comfort of the bow. He's slowly expanding his ownership over the whole boat. This year he's started prowling along the roof and watching the world from there. Last year he sort of discovered his place in the stern. He's always felt the bow was his.

 

I think for every cat out there on the cut there's a different lifestyle. All owners seem to have different experiences and stories to tell. Some wander, some don't.

 

I was amazed a couple of weeks back, in Kintbury, that a couple with two 'Burma cats' walked them on leads up and down the towpath, just like dogs. All four of them were splendidly happy and used to it.

[Myself]

Normally when we stop cruising we put some crisscross wooden doors into the hatch openings. Luckily they were the exact size we needed when we bought them. They lock in place with the top hatch cover, and a piece of bendy metal I made as a lower fastener. The cat can have the full run of the boat when these doors are in place. I have one at the far front and back of the boat, so we can still hace airflow and the view, without having to close all the doors up worrying about the cat.

 

Thank you for this, it is a great idea and will help. I have 3 cats, 2 are mother and daughter and were feral. The daughter will come with me but the mother has never taken to living indoors so I will need to rehouse her.

My biggest worry is my "rescue" cat. He has a degenerative brain disorder, and due to being used as a football by some yobs, is deaf and has further brain damage. A stair gate kind of arrangement will work well for him as he isn't able to jump. I couldn't even think of re-homing him as his behaviours would mean he would be put down, so will be looking into this idea.

 

Joy x

[nbfiresprite]

How many of you who liveaboard have a cat/ cats?

I am plannning my move to living aboard, and I have four of them...

How did your cats adjust? Do you have any thoughts or comments on it?

Also does anyone CC with cats, or do you think it's only really viable on a permanant mooring?

Thanks!

Only thing I would add is to fit rope fenders to whatever boat you have so that they have some thing to

climb up out of the water. As you have four cat you need to rate one of them Leading Sea cat`.

In the cats eyes` they are the officers and you are the crew.

 

Firesprite

 

In the windy Fens

[Starcoaster]

I will indeed make sure I have plenty of fenders made of easily grabbable materials all around the boat.

 

I already have the Leading Sea Cat lined up.

She likes to sleep in the sink, plays with any form of running water until she is soaked, and will actually climb into the bath and sit on me when I am in it, with her tail right in the water.

She's also not adverse to bringing me large-ish goldfish and frogs from neighbour's ponds.

I think the day we get a boat and move onboard is going to be the happiest day of her life!

Edited September 14, 2011 by Starcoaster

[Wiggins]

All cats are eccentric, but a bathing cat is rather odd - goodness me.

 

Ours just likes the shower after use...

[Starcoaster]

Oh yes she likes the water alright! She has been fascinated by it ever since she was a kitten.

 

My neighbour has several cats too, and as we all know, cats have absolutely no idea of boundaries.If they like something, it's theirs, and thats the end of the story.

Two of their cats are always in and out pf here and have even commandeered their own beds...

I have caught one of them drinking from the toilet on more than one occasion, he has to literally climb inside the bowl and wedge himself across it to do it.

And just to be clear, there are two waterbowls down at all times that I clean and refill (with bottled water I might add!) twice a day, as well as a water fountain of running water too for those that prefer that.

A good reminder to keep the lid down!

Edited September 14, 2011 by Starcoaster

[larkshall]

Oh yes she likes the water alright! She has been fascinated by it ever since she was a kitten.

 

My neighbour has several cats too, and as we all know, cats have absolutely no idea of boundaries.If they like something, it's theirs, and thats the end of the story.

Two of their cats are always in and out pf here and have even commandeered their own beds...

I have caught one of them drinking from the toilet on more than one occasion, he has to literally climb inside the bowl and wedge himself across it to do it.

And just to be clear, there are two waterbowls down at all times that I clean and refill (with bottled water I might add!) twice a day, as well as a water fountain of running water too for those that prefer that.

A good reminder to keep the lid down!

 

 

Therein lies your problem, both of my cats HATE bottles water, and I havr tried several brands. Plain old tap is best for them.

[nbfiresprite]

Therein lies your problem, both of my cats HATE bottles water, and I havr tried several brands. Plain old tap is best for them.

 

I have the same problem with able seacat `Tigger` (Who sees himself as Großadmiral `Tigger`) who demands

cream.

 

Firesprite

 

Back in the office

[bizzard]

Satchidanander,my cat will only drink rain water which i catch in a bowl on the roof,he won't go near tap water,the chlorine smell i expect. Also a fishermans landing net is handy for rescue work. bizzard.

[Leonie]

This question comes up regularly doesn't it?

 

I now have two cats, well one cat (the hyena) and one kitten (the tiger) and I continuously cruise. If you know anything about cats, you know they are territorial and this serves you well in that the boat becomes their territory and they will always return to it. My hyena was born on a continuously cruising boat so she's good boaty stock.

 

I feel really sorry for Dean's cat not being allowed outside unless it's lashed to a tree, and with the amount of dogs roaming about on towpaths, there is no way I'd want my cat tethered to anything without being able to escape freely if need be.

 

Regarding the poster who is going to 'have to rehome' her cat that doesn't like being indoors, I ask why? My little hyena Lola, hates indoors with a violent passion and is most happy prowling up and down the towpath or rummaging in the hedgerows.

 

My only advice would be to make sure they are chipped and labelled as much as possible. I often have to trudge around to people's houses who've 'rescued' my cat from the towapth even though she has a bright collar with my phone number printed on it stating she lives on a boat, a tag with the boat's name, her name and my phone number.

 

p.s. I was trying to lure both cats onto the bed last night as it was so cold I didn't think the water bottle alone was going to cut it in the warmth stakes.

[Kristian]

Ive got two cats from Braunston from "diesel Dave RIP", who thought he had a male cat until he finished work one night and found 6 kittens on his boat!

Heres what I do, try and keep them inside the boat for a long a you can whilst feeding them inside, that way they start to associate the boat as "home".

Keep them locked inside whilst on the move, just to keep you happy and know their safe and when you do let them out dont feed them prior, they wont go far as they will be hungry.

When you do moor up somewhere new try and put a large scoop of used cat litter from THEIR tray into the hedge bottom, cat work on smell and will be able to find their way back.

Last keep all the doors open when your moored up, so if they get chased or spooked by a dog they can get aboard quickly, dont forget they will see the boat as

home and safety. You just got to think like a cat!!!

Kristian.

[nbfiresprite]

T

p.s. I was trying to lure both cats onto the bed last night as it was so cold I didn't think the water bottle alone was going to cut it in the warmth stakes.

Try rubbing a kipper on your neck, They soon jump in to bed. Downside is smell of kippers.

 

Firesprite

 

In the office

[bizzard]

Ive got two cats from Braunston from "diesel Dave RIP", who thought he had a male cat until he finished work one night and found 6 kittens on his boat!

Heres what I do, try and keep them inside the boat for a long a you can whilst feeding them inside, that way they start to associate the boat as "home".

Keep them locked inside whilst on the move, just to keep you happy and know their safe and when you do let them out dont feed them prior, they wont go far as they will be hungry.

When you do moor up somewhere new try and put a large scoop of used cat litter from THEIR tray into the hedge bottom, cat work on smell and will be able to find their way back.

Last keep all the doors open when your moored up, so if they get chased or spooked by a dog they can get aboard quickly, dont forget they will see the boat as

home and safety. You just got to think like a cat!!!

Kristian.

I find not feeding them before going out doesn't always work as they sometimes wander further if hungry to hunt for food.

Also i rarely get out of the boat to look for my cat as i have found that whilst you may not be able to see them,they can usually see you and so wander further,thus by not showing yourself they keep closer to the boat,mine does anyway. He also usually comes to my blowing a ref's whistle.

[Pretty Funked Up]

Also dogs on the towpath with no lead freaks them out. bizzard

 

Its the biggest obstacle by far, also a regular cause for them to go wandering off (safety).

Mine gets about 10mins outside at most before a stray dog comes galloping over. One even jumped on my boat to keep the chase going, needless to say I made it take a dive in the cut!

 

Its bliss when you find a place where dog walkers dont go!

 

(side point: what are the rules about self defense from dogs off leads?)

Edited September 14, 2011 by Pretty Funked Up

[Starcoaster]

The water fountain I have is tap water, so they have every choice in what to drink lol!

 

I had a fecking dog chase after one of my cats once and come bombing into the house through the catflap behind it, taking out the whole catflap and nearly ending my cat... I got the little b*** by the neck and dragged it back out an put it's owners to rights, I can tell you.

 

Not sure what the law is in terms of self defense if a dog attacks a person... Protect yourself by any means necessary, I would think!

In terms of them attacking animals, I know it's different.

For instance, where my parents live, they had ducks loose in the yard, and also a pet cat. This one ignorant woman whose dog was want to come in and chase after the cat and or/ ducks simply refused to put it on a lead to stop this.

My Father is into shooting and has licenced guns etc, and he found out that he would be permitted to shoot the dog for going for the ducks, as they are 'livestock' but if it went for the cat and he shot it, there is no such cover in law as it's not 'livestock.'

My parents were actually planning to get rid of the ducks but hung onto them after that so there would be a leg to stand on if the little b***ard did come in and look seriously in danger of getting the cat.

 

That all assumes that it happens out in the open, albeit on private land that the dog is essentially 'trespassing' on, but if it came say, into your home or in this case onto your boat, I am not sure if that would give you more rights to act.

[Pretty Funked Up]

he would be permitted to shoot the dog for going for the ducks, as they are 'livestock'

 

Get some ducks and a renew my old gun license it is then

 

Wonder if the wild ducks would count, the owners actively encourage their dogs to chase the ducks when theyre sleeping or resting on the bank.

Edited September 15, 2011 by Pretty Funked Up

[Starcoaster]

Wonder if the wild ducks would count, the owners actively encourage their dogs to chase the ducks when theyre sleeping or resting on the bank

 

Arghhh what is wrong with people!

I would go for it lol... It only says 'livestock,' it doesn't say the livestock has to be yours!

[Lesd]

We have two cats, both have been aboard since a few weeks old. When we go cruising we normally leave first thing in the morning, we've always fed our cats their favorite wet food in the morning and only dry in the evening so they are always on the boat first thing waiting for breakfast. We then pop them in the bedroom with food and water and off we go, they just eat up and curl up to sleep. They never seem to go far in a new spot for a few days so if your only stopping for a night or two they are usually within earshot.

 

We hang the ends of our mooring ropes over the side into the water at both ends of the boat to enable a climb out option and also hang an old hessian bag/sack over the side at the stern so they can climb up any high banks. A landing net stays on the roof. Each of our cats has only even fell in once, they seem to learn fast !

 

Les