Cats - how long till they get used to boating?

[Doorman]

We're seriously considering getting a GPS tracker for the cat, but here are some concerns that we're considering (and you might like to consider too):

 

1. Does your cat wear a collar? Does it regularly get hung up on things? Can it carry weight around its neck? with our cat, the escape artistry extends to collars, and the GPS trackers are still heavy and bulky - enough so that I wouldn't want one around my neck. So we would put her in a harness with the tracking module strapped to the belly or the back. Also note: a breakaway collar or harness, as most of them are, will probably get pulled off if the cat gets into a sticky situation - you'll find it since the GPS will be attached, but you'll be back at Square No Cat.

 

2. Is it a visibly purebred or desirable cat? Strapping a £100+ device to a cat that has a perceived market value might not be a good idea.

 

3. How will you receive the tracking information? The device that @bigste linked above is a perfectly good one - but it works by sending a text of the pet's coordinates to your cell phone. You will need a topped-up SIM card on your pet GPS, a turned-on working phone with consistent service, and presumably another GPS to input the coordinates into once you get them - otherwise you'll just be like "Ah well, Fluffy's not lost, she's at Latitude: -11.33320, Longitude: 162.74560 and has possibly just boarded a train."

 

Other devices require a smartphone, such as an iPhone, that can handle apps - and their output is a map with a pin on it, assuming that you will be navigating along clearly marked streets to find an animal that is a block away, not crashing around an unmarked farmer's field in the dark.

 

 

tl;dr yes they are magic, but your cat is still a cat and you are still you.

 

Good points and worth considering before spending so much on such a device.

 

By the way, what's the weather like across the pond?

[FidoDido]

all food for thought.. Complicated in our case by having an 8 yr old boy and a dog too... Dog often manages to open the doors and escape at locks, and the boy likes to be overly freindly to the pets, so they want to get the heck out of his way!!

 

Probably a recipe for disaster, but might try the cat on the boat moored up for a weekend first, and see how it goes.

[Jamboat]

Our 2 cats wear locator tags, have always managed to find them when we need to, often not very far away but 'hiding' in undergrowth. The tag the cats wear on their collar beeps when you are 'locating' them & Sid usually appears not long after, figure he hears the beep & knows it's home time

[Smelly]

I promote getting in young. Gertrude was 8 weeks old when she moved onboard. Albie was born here, he was a bit confused when I moved into a house, I still remember his looking puzzled at the foot of the stairs

[churchward]

all food for thought.. Complicated in our case by having an 8 yr old boy and a dog too... Dog often manages to open the doors and escape at locks, and the boy likes to be overly freindly to the pets, so they want to get the heck out of his way!!

 

Probably a recipe for disaster, but might try the cat on the boat moored up for a weekend first, and see how it goes.

I think that is all you can do . Take the cat to the boat and see how it reacts. many people do have cats on a boat as a live aboard and also holiday boats but it really depends on the cat in question. There are many things you can say about cats (or dogs) in general but this kind of thing depends on the individual animal.

 

I spoke to a boat owner once who had a cat and he never knew how long he was going to moor in one place as it depended on when the cat came back!

 

Our cat seemed to like the boat. He was a little out of the ordinary in that he didn't like going out and a comfy chair in front of the stove was what he wanted. We had to take him outside on a lead as although quite calm inside when outside anything could make him panic. Folk used to find it amusing that I was taking a cat for a walk!

 

[Tinhare]

all food for thought.. Complicated in our case by having an 8 yr old boy and a dog too... Dog often manages to open the doors and escape at locks, and the boy likes to be overly freindly to the pets, so they want to get the heck out of his way!!

 

Probably a recipe for disaster, but might try the cat on the boat moored up for a weekend first, and see how it goes.

You may only need the weekend but it would probably take longer. Even when moving house cats need a few days to get used to the place, sometimes longer.

[Doorman]

 

Our cat seemed to like the boat. He was a little out of the ordinary in that he didn't like going out and a comfy chair in front of the stove was what he wanted. We had to take him outside on a lead as although quite calm inside when outside anything could make him panic. Folk used to find it amusing that I was taking a cat for a walk!

 

We have friends who live on a fat boat oop Norf and they only let their cat out on a lead too. If it works what does it matter?

 

It's big business for some and not just cities either - the boarding kennel I referred to is located in the countryside on a farm.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2311450/Dog-thieves-daubing-letter-K-driveways-identify-victims-stealing-pets.html

 

We had a spate recently in our area which is fairly semi-rural. The perpetrators were using similar tactics referred to in the article above to identify suitable targets.

I've just read this article again and it beggars belief that some people will stoop to these levels to make money. What's wrong in getting a bloody job like the rest of us do to make a living? (Can't find angry emotion on my IPad)

Edited June 25, 2013 by Doorman