Pet Safety on boats...

[minerva]

One of the boaters cat somewhow fell(unseen) into the canal basin at our marina a couple of nights back and the next day was found drowned. The family are in a right state, the poor lad was unable to climb out as the marina basin walls are made of concrete and that obviously made it impossible for him to get himself out.

 

My thoughts are, how can we make it safer for pets? cats? dogs? if they fall in when no one is about?.....

 

We have been throwing a few ideas about, hopefully to stop this happening again....

 

Any good ideas will be greatly received...

 

Min...

 

[Sue1946]

I'd suggest -check and/or know where the cat is when the door(s) are open. Then close the door.

[Barry]

One of the boaters cat somewhow fell(unseen) into the canal basin at our marina a couple of nights back and the next day was found drowned. The family are in a right state, the poor lad was unable to climb out as the marina basin walls are made of concrete and that obviously made it impossible for him to get himself out.

 

My thoughts are, how can we make it safer for pets? cats? dogs? if they fall in when no one is about?.....

 

We have been throwing a few ideas about, hopefully to stop this happening again....

 

Any good ideas will be greatly received...

 

Min...

 

 

Somebody suggested suspending a milk crate or similar alongside the boat so the cat can climb out onto something - just in case - apparently it worked very well on more than one occasion

[Blue_skies]

Somebody suggested suspending a milk crate or similar alongside the boat so the cat can climb out onto something - just in case - apparently it worked very well on more than one occasion

Sounds like a good idea. You can buy buoyancy jackets / life jackets for pets on-line. They range from about £19 to £50. I'm thinking of getting one for my dog as I'm taking him on a sailing barge next weekend.

 

I should imagine some kind of collar with an alarm that goes off if the collar becomes submerged in water shouldn't be too hard to design.

[Knotty]

Sounds like a good idea. You can buy buoyancy jackets / life jackets for pets on-line. They range from about £19 to £50. I'm thinking of getting one for my dog as I'm taking him on a sailing barge next weekend.

 

we were thinking of getting some for ours when we first move on, I think also I may scrounge a coupleof milk crates sounds a good idea there.

I found some LifeJackets for pets on ebay which seem resonable..the same make as some of the on-line stores.. and for under £10!

.............after all preventon is better than cure

 

Sorry to hear about you neighbours cat minerva...must of been awful for them.. I know how I would feel if happened to us xx

 

I'd suggest -check and/or know where the cat is when the door(s) are open. Then close the door.

 

This in theroy sounds easy... if it were a dog. Cats can scuttle of in the blink of an eye...and certainley ' do as they please' !

[Sandra F]

It's easy to get complacent - my labrador swims every day in warmer months in the canal at the end of our garden, but one day, when out cruising, misjudged the gap between our narrowboat and bank and fell in. Problem was it was a piled bank, and getting a 32kg dog (when dry!) hauled out of the canal was a real problem.

 

We are going on the Thames in a few months and will definitely be investing on a dog bouyancy aid with a lifting handle on the back.

[Barry]

It's easy to get complacent - my labrador swims every day in warmer months in the canal at the end of our garden, but one day, when out cruising, misjudged the gap between our narrowboat and bank and fell in. Problem was it was a piled bank, and getting a 32kg dog (when dry!) hauled out of the canal was a real problem.

 

We are going on the Thames in a few months and will definitely be investing on a dog bouyancy aid with a lifting handle on the back.

 

Crikey 32kg - that's 71lbs - that's the weight of a child!!!

 

Must have been hard to pick up by the scruff of the neck one handed - you'd want the grip of a professional tennis player!!!

 

I can see where a handle would be useful

[Sandra F]

Crikey 32kg - that's 71lbs - that's the weight of a child!!!

 

Must have been hard to pick up by the scruff of the neck one handed - you'd want the grip of a professional tennis player!!!

 

I can see where a handle would be useful

My husband did the lifting and wrote the item - can't seem to get his membership working right - he sort of dragged/rolled the front end of the dog up and then pulled up the back end. I knew nothing of his getting soaked in the process as I was still half asleep in bed!

[kawaton]

One of my dogs weighs 41 kgs. i dread the day he goes in.

He has already fallen in twice on his first trip....but he was a scrawny pup then

[cheshire~rose]

My daughter and son-in-law have a staffy bull terrier. A breed that is not built to be a athlete in water! (or anywhere else for that matter!)

 

They have a life jacket for her (with a handle on the top) which they use when they take their yacht out with her on board. So far they have not had to use it thankfully but they also installed cargo netting around the yacht to stop her sliding off when the boat rolls!

 

I guess that is not usually such a problem on a narrow boat but it is the fact there everything is usually so very calm that means unexpected bump can dislodge a dog with the best of sea legs!

 

Also there seem to be a number of very lovely dogs who have limited ability in the brain department and they will very quickly be overcome by excitement at the thought they may be getting off for some reason and in their excitement completely misjudge the jump that is required of them to reach the towpath.

[Gary Peacock]

Get them a life jacket!

 

LINK

[RichardH]

My cat fell in last summer. The missus then got in to save the mog and then realised getting out was trickier than first thought.

 

Unless residential and not moving much I personally wouldn't have a pet on a boat unless they had been 'brought up with it'

[wrigglefingers]

My cat fell in last summer. The missus then got in to save the mog and then realised getting out was trickier than first thought.

 

Unless residential and not moving much I personally wouldn't have a pet on a boat unless they had been 'brought up with it'

 

Some of you will know that we have both a swimming and a non-swiming cat living on board with us. Astro will climb out using a extended rope fender quite happily, but has been seen sitting on floating tyres and a large piece of plywood. Be careful with the milk crate idea unless it's a fairly robust one as a good size cat will cause it to sink under it's weight. A platform needs to to be stable in the water as some cats can be very skittish and frankly, quite stupid, when they're wet; a revolving platform will cause more problems to a distressed cat as they try to clamber out. Thea has been known to try to sink her claws into the blacking but generally uses the fender exit route. All of us need a means of getting back on board after going in.

 

Jill

[minerva]

Hi Again,

 

We have been having a chat at the marina and we have come up with an idea for the basin sides...

There is wooden planking all round the edge about a foot out of the water, which is attached to the concrete sides, the idea is a simple one...

Some simple plastic mesh, of the sort you can use to make a small garden fence, nailed onto the planking and going down or slightly under the waterline so cats could use it as a scramble net...

The life jacket is a good idea also...

Not letting the cat out is another one, and buy it a harness to go for walks....

Cats are dim, there are about 3 down at the marina and all of them have fallen in a few times already, so if they had any sense you would think after the first time they would learn, but sadly it wouldn't seem to be the case...... cats have fallen in before , but on those occasions someone saw them and rescued them... poor Jasper didn't have that luxury, as we now think it was night time and no one saw or noticed him....

Poor lad.... he was lovely.... didn't deserve that......

 

:/

 

 

 

 

Get them a life jacket!

 

LINK

 

 

Indeed Gaz...

 

We were only laughing last night at the prospect of a cat having a life jacket on and ripping the cat flap out trying to get outside...

Joking aside.... for the sake of £20 or so, is it worth loosing your beloved much loved pet?....you can't turn the clock back once something like this happens....

We all make sure kids and adults have them and fail to think of pets...

Please all make sure your pets are safe.....

Its been a horrid few days down here.... after Jasper was drowned.....

 

Don't think about doing something....do it, before its too late....is my advice.

Edited March 26, 2007 by minerva

[Hairy-Neil]

Hi Again,

 

Welcome back Minerva......

[Chris Lingwood]

I made some cat ladders for my young pussy. Just a bit of carpet suspended slightly below the water level so she's got something to dig her claws into. Of course being a cat she doesn't use something provided for her and finds her own way out.

[minerva]

Thanks HN

 

Thats a good idea... like you say...but she doesn't use it!

I suppose if they have a way of geting out fine....

 

Some places are harder than others to get out of.... :/

[NB Alnwick]

Just got back from Wales and saw this painful subject. 'GC' has been in the cut several times and swims very well but once when it was extremely icy he was unable to get out because he couldn't get a purchase on the side of the boat or the steel pilings, bankside. with his claws - we heard his meows and were able to lend assistance but had he been left alone I am sure that the cold would have got to him and he would have drowned - nowadays we always put rope fenders over the side but as, has been stated already, cats do not readily agree to human ideas!

 

In these circumstances a pet lifebelt would not have helped and it is my believe that where the cat is a good swimmer then a life-belt may do more harm than good. A cat can only swim for so long before the cold water renders them unconscious so the important thing to do is to make sure that they always have a means of getting out . . .

 

For those who don't know, 'GC' is a rather special Ginger Cat - he has his own website:

 

The Internet home of 'GC'

[Oliver]

Both our dogs have life jackets - they are Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, so on the small side. Here's Tris in his.

 

 

When we were looking for the jackets we found a number which didn't have a chest strap. This meant that if you had lifted the animal out by the handle you would put a lot of strain on it's neck. The jackets should have a strap which goes under the neck and a strap which goes behind the front legs (as well as a strap to hold the rear end of the jacket down) the strap under the neck and the strap behind the front legs should have a further strap connecting the two - a chest strap.

 

The other thing we found was that some of the jackets for small animals had such tiny handles on the back as to be useless. Our boys have been 'in' several times, either because they misjudged distances or because one pushed the other in and the handle on the back has been very useful for getting them out. Plus it makes it easier to pass the dogs backwards and forwards between the bank and the boat if the distance is a bit too wide for them to jump.

 

Having the dogs in life jackets has been useful with the grandchildren because they know that if dogs have life jackets on, they have to have their jackets on as well and we've never had any arguments about it.

[nursegrowl]

Sounds like a good idea. You can buy buoyancy jackets / life jackets for pets on-line. They range from about £19 to £50. I'm thinking of getting one for my dog as I'm taking him on a sailing barge next weekend.

 

I should imagine some kind of collar with an alarm that goes off if the collar becomes submerged in water shouldn't be too hard to design.

 

 

I used these whe I have taken a trip on water with pets

http://www.safetyturtle.com/

 

These would also be handy (just a selection of life jackets, lots of different sites have different designs) http://marinestore.co.uk/page/mrst/PROD/do...jacket/PL18405/ http://www.doglifejacket.co.uk/

and http://www.scruffmacduff.co.uk/acatalog/Ru...er_Harness.html would help to pull out of water (designed for air lifting/lifting up deiifcult terrian)

I know its mostly dog based, but not had as much to do with cats on boats..............

[Blue_skies]

I've a "petfloat" too for my Rotty. Testing it out this weekend on the Thames. (I'd show you a pic, but don't know how to download a pic from PC into the message)

[carlt]

Whilst I know accidents and tragedies do happen. They are very rare and your pet is far safer falling in the cut, than crossing a road. It's no use worrying about your cat going out because he will do what he wants. Keeping him in is cruel (unless he chooses it).

 

I've had a couple of near misses with Tommy, being a skinny tripod, he's not well endowed in the floating department, but as long as you know where your dog is, he's not gonna be in the water for long, is he?

 

It's easy to become paranoid and over protective but remember, your cat/dog is far happier running up and down a car free mooring/towpath than stuck in a little house with a hanky sized garden.

[NB Alnwick]

I hadn't looked at it that way - Carl is quite right about canals being safer than roads . . .

[minerva]

I have found this.... http://www.skamper-ramp.com/topic.asp?pid=1

 

I reckon you could knock one up from an old pastic baker's tray, that loaves of bread come delivered on to the supermarket...in the video it says that it has to be made from white plastic, as that is the only colour cats and dogs and other animals can see at night...

 

That Turtle alarm looks good also....

 

No, you shouldn't become paranoid but at the same time you should make sure they can get out....

It aint been nice (the aftermath) of Jasper drowning, I can tell you.... :/

[Tullz]

I hadn't looked at it that way - Carl is quite right about canals being safer than roads . . .

 

 

Lost two of our cats within 3 months of each other to the road at the top of the street

 

But cats are cats and they go where the bunnies are!