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Anyone have experience of cat liveaboard


Simon clarke

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Zebby trying to figure out what the eco-fan is

 

http://s1020.photobucket.com/user/Bettie-Boo/media/photo_zps47d98479.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

 

Gabby & Zebby trying to figure out if they should investigate the sound coming from the cratch (the sound is a goose :))

 

http://s1020.photobucket.com/user/Bettie-Boo/media/photo_zps3f4aaf85.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

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Zebby trying to figure out what the eco-fan is

 

http://s1020.photobucket.com/user/Bettie-Boo/media/photo_zps47d98479.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

 

Gabby & Zebby trying to figure out if they should investigate the sound coming from the cratch (the sound is a goose smile.png)

 

http://s1020.photobucket.com/user/Bettie-Boo/media/photo_zps3f4aaf85.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

Aww glad they are settling in!

 

We went for water with Thea on board for the first time yesterday. She hid from the sound so well that we were genuinely convinced we'd lost her... Thankfully she showed up eventually, panic over! She's still quite fearful of the rest of the boat (has only left the bedroom where we have installed her about 3 times. She and Lyra are getting on OK mostly because they avoid each other but there have been no massive fight or anything. Just hoping Thea will gain more confidence slowly.

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Dunno, had two on board for a few years, but they both, at seperate times a year or so apart, just went out one night and never returned. Haven't got any now. They were great fun though, and I do miss them, but am not intending to replace them any time soon. Niether of them were at all pleased when the engine was running and we were cruising, and it was certainly quite a lot of trouble when cruising single handed. Cat's pulling a Houdini at the lock when one is on route to a time-scale, and having to moor up for 3 days waiting for a cat to return can be rather frustrating.

 

Also not sure about the praise thing regarding mice. My youngster - a 2 year old male - would regularly bring a mouse in undamaged, and proceed to drop it on the floor and watch as it shot under the fridge. He would wait patiently for about half an hour for it to come out, eventually give up, and saunter off to find another and repeat the excercise. At one stage I had more mice than a pet-shop!!!

 

He would also bring dead ones in and drop them at my feet. One evening, as I was about to sit down to my tea of stew, he came in with an enormous expired rat and dropped it in front of me. It had obvioulsy put up a fierce struggle, 'cause he had got himself a tatty ear. Well, he turned round and stuck his face in his food bowl, and while he was doing that, I flung the rat and settled down to my dinner. Tiger came back, looked at the floor where he had dropped the rat, then looked at me. I had a face full of stew and was munching away contentedly. He looked again at the floor, then at me, and I swear he grew an inch with pride!!!! He marched out his cat flap with a look of great determination - and I didn't see him for 3 days! Reckon he was after a buffalo or giraffe, or something somewhat more challenging than a mere cat sized rat! He eventually returned home somewhat worse for wear, and humiliatingly empty handed. After a good feed and sleep in front of the fire, he got up and decided to take the short-cut out of the side hatch instead of going all the way to the back to use the cat-flap. Unfortunately I had turned the boat round while he was on his hunting escape, and he ended up taking a flying leap into the middle of the cut. He immediately came straight back in, gave up on the world and just decided to stay in bed for a few days.

 

Yep, I DO miss them..............

  • Greenie 4
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  • 2 weeks later...

Well Zebby, who is the more confident of the two discovered yesterday the cratch (kitty litter tray location) also leads to the big wide world. He sat on top of the gunnel a couple of times yesterday but didn't make any attempt to go onto the pontoon. Today, he made the leap, walked about 5 foot down the pontoon, scared himself somehow and came bolting back into the boat. Now when we lived in bricks & mortar, we would leave the back bedroom window open for them to come and go as they pleased from spring to fall (back garden was not over looked so quite safe), and in the winter they would either sit at the front door to be let out or if one of us was on the pc in the back bedroom would jump up on the window sill to be let out and then tap the outside of the window and give a little meow when they wanted back in.

 

So this evening Zebby decided he wanted some fresh air, out through the cratch he goes, walks down the pontoon till he reaches the kitchen window, sees me sitting at the table on the pc and starts tapping the window meowing to get back in. Dave goes to the cratch calls him, he comes running in, looks up at me with a face that could easily say "so why didn't you open the window to let me in?, don't you love me anymore?" This exact process is repeated 4 more times, till Dave has had enough, goes out and shuts the cratch cover. Zebby is now sitting in the cratch every so often giving a wee meow to be let out so he can walk 15 feet down the boat to tap on the window to be let back in !! Gotta love them frusty.gif

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In the summer, I take out my hoppers and put up mesh held in with velcro round the frame. Marmite the troublemaker/chief faller-in/epical breaker of all things valuable has realised that she can just rip the mesh right out on any one edge with her claws, to climb back in whichever window suits her, rather than walking ten feet back to the stern to come through the open hatch or the cat flap.

Edited by Starcoaster
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  • 3 weeks later...

Great thread. Laughing so much that my face hurts!

 

Thankfully our cat has turned into a stay-at-home most of the time. He's a scaredycat anyway, doesn't like strange noises, but will run up to greet the car when we get home. Has run away from more animals than he's ever caught, and has taken to guarding the next door neighbour's rabbit since our guinea pigs passed away.

 

All in all, I think he'll take rather well to living on a boat. There are nooks for him too explore, people for him to meow at, various vantage points for him to safely survey the passing world, and very few cats to contest his ownership of the boat. 'cause he's a complete wuss!!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well Zebby went for his second swim today. Had the sliding window open in the kitchen, he thought he'd come back on the boat via the open kitchen sliding window rather than the cratch; Dave shooed him away from the window and he lost his footing and went right in the water....loads of running about, calling "kitty kitty" from me, and Dave on his hands and knees with the retrieval net to try and scoop him up - problem was Zebby had secured himself quite securely to the underside of the wooden floating pontoon with all his claws on front paws and was not of the persuasion to let go of his own accord.

 

Dave untied the back of the boat and pushed it away from the pontoon, laying flat on his belly and hanging over the edge of the pontoon he was able to get Zebby into the retrieval net and get him back on the top side of the pontoon - where he made a mad dash for the back of my new "cloth" sofa :)

 

3 tea towels later and a nice fire in the stove and we are almost dry again. Thanks to the bearded boated who ran over to assist as he thought it was a person who had gone in. http://rs1020.pbsrc.com/albums/af325/Bettie-Boo/zebbywetApril2214016_zps78ce82a9.jpg~320x480?t=1398188656 and http://rs1020.pbsrc.com/albums/af325/Bettie-Boo/zebbywetApril2214009_zps0709bf00.jpg~320x480?t=1398188655

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Pyke seems to be taking the holiday cruise in her stride. I am so glad i gave her a half sensible name. That way when i walk up and down the towpath shouting her i only look half stupid! But i do wish she would remember where the boat was, had to go into

farmers field to retrieve her yesterday. He was impressed she had murdered so many mice overnight! even wearing a bell.

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Well Zebby went for his second swim today.

 

3 tea towels later and a nice fire in the stove and we are almost dry again.

 

 

You might want to invest in a microfibre towel, you can get one specially for pets where it you can put your hands in and looks like large oven gloves.

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  • 5 months later...

Girlfriend's cat (years ago) thoroughly enjoyed being on boats till the day he thought a mat of duckweed was dry land and jumped down on it. Hated it from then on, always seemed to know that's where we were going and kicked up a hell of a fuss!

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