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Written by Trudy and Graham Norbury |
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Sylvester and Shadow are two short hair domestic cats who
moved aboard with us on October 12th , 2002. This is our top ten
list for making their (and our) lives as comfortable as possible. |
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- Cat bowls that will not self destruct when stood on.
- Food that is easily stowed, and gentle on the cat’s
digestive systems.
- A cat gym.
- A full set of claws, so that they can climb back aboard
after a “swim”.
- A toilet system that works.
- Ample pet medications.
- Identification tags with the boat name and a
current phone number.
- A large, sturdy fishing net to help the cats out of the
water.
- Grooming equipment to combat hair buildup in every
corner.
- A dustpan and brush for daily clean up, and a small
vacuum for bigger jobs.
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Within days of moving aboard we found that the cat bowls
which had survived for years on land were not strong enough for the job.
Shadow loves to move his bowls around the cabin floor, almost always
ensuring they end up right under our feet. These practical plastic
bowls which held both food and water were not designed to endure the full
weight of an adult human. Ceramic bowls looked like they might be
robust enough, but they also appeared capable of causing grievous bodily
harm if they flew across the cabin floor while underway. After a
little searching, we found some heavyweight round plastic bowls which seem
indestructible… at least so far! Before we head offshore, we plan to
apply beads of silicon corking to the underside of the bowls to stop them
sliding around and spilling their contents. |
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| Storage space is an issue for us on our rather narrow 35’
foot sail boat. Due to differing health needs, we ended up requiring separate
diets for our two cats; Shadow needs a high-fat prescription diet for his kidney
problems, and Sylvester requires food which won’t make his high cholesterol any
worse. Due to the varying shapes of the available lockers, we decided to go
with dried food for both our feline companions. Sylvester’s stomach took a
while to settle on the new diet, and for the first few weeks onboard, one of us
would have to get up between four and five in the morning to clean him up.
Thankfully, he now only suffers from an upset stomach if he binges on Shadow’s
food. |
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Due to the constraints of being confined to our boat the
whole time, we began having a problem with the boys using our cushions as cat
scratching posts. Not only was this destructive to the fabric, but it was rather
irritating considering we had already provided them with a commercially made
scratch-toy suspended from the saloon table. This time, the solution came in
the form of a 6’ carpet runner that fitted almost exactly around the interior
portion of our keel stepped mast. Almost instantaneously, the boys decided we
had provided them with a “cat gym”! Not only could it be clawed without fear of
being told off, but it could also be climbed like a tree! |
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| So far, neither of the boys has been for a swim, however we
figure this is inevitable if a fish, or other interesting object, attracts their
attention sufficiently. In the event we don’t notice they have a problem, they
should have a chance of climbing back aboard, and thus need to have their claws
intact. To limit the amount of scratching, we regularly manicure their front
paws with a set of pet nail clippers. We have seen cruisers with carpet, large
knotted ropes and fenders hanging overboard to provide their feline companions
an emergency boarding ladder. Although we don’t have either of these setups
yet, we have been using cat harnesses while offshore, and they boys are held
under “house arrest” in the cabin whenever we leave the boat. I am sure we’ll
fine tune our strategy as we gain more experience. |
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| For the bathroom, we chose go with a traditional litter
tray rather than expecting the boys to use astro-turf or figure out how to flush
the head. After discounting clay based clumping litters for fear they would
quickly dissolve into a sticky mess when subjected to the damp boating
environment, and crystal litters for their expense and ability to scratch the
cabin sole if stepped on, we were left with either pine or paper based
products. We chose biodegradable pine pellets for their ease of disposal
(overboard when offshore) and errant sawdust is also easily swept up. At first
the boys were a little annoyed to discover their litter tray had shrunk to about
one third its size, but we found this reduced the total potential mess, and
forced to clean it out on a regular basis. |
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| Along with the human first aid kit, there needs to be an
adequate supply of pet medication aboard for the trip. Shadow shares my
disposition to seasickness, and once he is actually sick, the best course of
action is to let him sleep without further disturbance until reaching our
destination. The vet we recently visited recommended we have Pepcid AC onboard
to help prevent seasickness; we will try this next time the opportunity rises.
We also try to ensure there is fresh water available at all times to prevent
dehydration now they are both eating dry food and reside away from the comforts
of an air conditioned building. |
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| On land, the boys’ collars were equipped with name tags
with their names, home telephone number and zip code. Now they live aboard they
have new tags stating their names, cellular telephone number and the boat name.
We are aware we will be traveling in areas where our phone may not work so
hopefully adding the boat name will provide extra information if necessary. |
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| While outfitting the boat with safety equipment we brought
a large, sturdy fishing net to be able to be able to land a cat that had fallen
overboard. We decided we’d definitely want some piece of equipment between our
bodies and theirs, as a pissed-off cat with sharp claws could do considerable
damage while trying to get back aboard! Other cruisers have reliably informed
us that a cat overboard will not go unnoticed due to the very loud cries it will
produce. As an added bonus we can now also use the net for its designed
purpose once we get an opportunity to try out our new fishing rods! |
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Boats are difficult to keep clean at the best of times due
to their tight spaces and many nooks and crannies. To try and reduce the build
up of stray hair, we regularly brush the cats in a futile attempt at collecting
the endless fur they always seem to be shedding. Now that we’ve moved aboard
and experienced some extreme temperature swings, they don’t seem to know whether
to shed their fur or to grow thicker coats. It has been suggested that shaving
the cats would be a solution to this issue but neither of us would be prepared
to explain this to fellow cruisers! |
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| Last but not least in our list of cat essentials, is the
need to have some efficient method of cleaning up the expected mess they
generate. Our two main tools are a dustpan and brush and a small vacuum cleaner
capable of running on our 1kW inverter. On occasions, a wild monster has been
known to temporarily inhabit the body of one of our cats. After the monster
departs and the cat litter, food, or other spill-able substance has been cleaned
away, nobody would believe our cute cuddly babies capable of making sure a big
mess! Inviting cats onboard will guarantee hours of entertainment. |
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Crew: Trudy and Graham Norbury, and their cats Sylvester and Shadow
Written November 25th 2002
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