As those reading our logs already know (links below for the lists
where this note is going but to which I've not been putting up my
logs), we've acquired a guest.

Lydia's original thought (well, excuse, anyway, which allowed her
aboard) had been that the kitten, now named Portia, would go to my
brother. However, he's sworn off cats for now, having had them for
the last 40 or so years but wishing to be petless for a while.

Of course, she's worming her way into our lives, and all the resolve
that Lydia had previously about why pets aboard wouldn't make sense
for us is turning to mush.

Practical concerns have to do with our leaving the boat, as well as
entry/departure from various foreign countries, assuming we ever do
something different than cruise the US (we had expected to start in
the Bahamas and work our way south, spending, essentially, the rest of
our lives in the Eastern Caribbean).

These are the concerns we see:

Leaving the boat, whether for a day trip, or for an extended period,
even with cats being pretty self-reliant, would be a problem in that
we'd have to close up the boat, which, in hot climates, could be
deadly over time, inside heat building as it would.

Additionally, if we were to try to do side trips, we'd have to
provide, somehow, for her care, if no more than someone to come check
on her and replenish the water and food.

She's young enough that she might become acclimated to the motion of
the boat, but our seeing various pets on other boats, in their misery,
convinced Lydia that having a pet aboard would be selfish at best.

We assume she can be toilet trained, as many cats are, very
successfully, but there's the accumulated stuff which must be aboard
for her care to consider, and, if we can deal with the being-gone bits
such that we can, indeed, leave the boat, we'll have to figure out a
litter arrangement.

So, please, responses from those who have successfully dealt with the
above, and, as well, if there are other issues which we've overlooked
or about which we are ignorant.

Thanks...

L8R

Skip and Lydia

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery !
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"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to
make it come true. You may have to work for it however."
(and)
"There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its
hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts."
(Richard Bach, in The Reluctant Messiah)

On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:35:34 -0000, Skip Gundlach
wrote:

Leaving the boat, whether for a day trip, or for an extended period,
even with cats being pretty self-reliant, would be a problem in that
we'd have to close up the boat, which, in hot climates, could be
deadly over time, inside heat building as it would.

You could leave the cat on deck with some sort of shelter and an
automatic feeder. That's not to say the cat will be entirely happy
with your absence but they are versatile at adapting.

Do a Google search on: automatic cat feeder

They work well, just do a test while you are still onboard.

Skip Gundlach wrote in
oups.com:

we've acquired a guest.


I'm still amazed you don't have a certain black dog.....(c;

Larry
--

Skip Gundlach wrote:
snip
Practical concerns have to do with our leaving the boat, as well as
entry/departure from various foreign countries, assuming we ever do
something different than cruise the US (we had expected to start in
the Bahamas and work our way south, spending, essentially, the rest of
our lives in the Eastern Caribbean).

There is a problem for animals in almost all English colonies - I no
longer remember exactly which ones.

These are the concerns we see:

Leaving the boat, whether for a day trip, or for an extended period,
even with cats being pretty self-reliant, would be a problem in that
we'd have to close up the boat, which, in hot climates, could be
deadly over time, inside heat building as it would.

Friends have got iron bars welded across the hatches, and this would
prevent people coming in and allowed them to leave the hatches open
for air when they were just going to be away for the day.

On Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:38:39 -0400, Rosalie B.
wrote:



There is a problem for animals in almost all English colonies - I no
longer remember exactly which ones.

I do hope that you are not referring to EX English "colonies" such as
Australia (independent 1900), New Zealand (1908), Malaysia (1957) and
so on. I do believe that the English have very few "colonies" today.
As the great English comedian said "The British Empire ends at Charing
Cross Station"

In fact, the US empire has more colonial possesions that Britain even
if you exclude Iraq.

Sorry to burn, but some of the bloody English still refer to us
Antipodeans patronisingly as "colonials"

regards

Herodotus wrote:

On Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:38:39 -0400, Rosalie B.
wrote:

There is a problem for animals in almost all English colonies - I no
longer remember exactly which ones.

I do hope that you are not referring to EX English "colonies" such as
Australia (independent 1900), New Zealand (1908), Malaysia (1957) and
so on. I do believe that the English have very few "colonies" today.
As the great English comedian said "The British Empire ends at Charing
Cross Station"

I should have said former English colonies, but I wasn't thinking of
Australia or the Pacific, or Indian Ocean locations, but the Caribbean
island like the BVI, and Barbados, and also the Bahamas and Bermuda
and other places like that. And also of course the parts of Great
Britain - Scotland, Wales, northern Ireland and non-UK closeby
places.

In fact, the US empire has more colonial possesions that Britain even
if you exclude Iraq.

Sorry to burn, but some of the bloody English still refer to us
Antipodeans patronisingly as "colonials"

regards

On Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:38:39 -0400, Rosalie B.
wrote:

Skip Gundlach wrote:
snip
Practical concerns have to do with our leaving the boat, as well as
entry/departure from various foreign countries, assuming we ever do
something different than cruise the US (we had expected to start in
the Bahamas and work our way south, spending, essentially, the rest of
our lives in the Eastern Caribbean).

There is a problem for animals in almost all English colonies - I no
longer remember exactly which ones.

I do hope that you are not referring to EX English "colonies" such as
Australia (independent 1900), New Zealand (1908), Malaysia (1957) and
so on. I do believe that the English have very few "colonies" today.
As the great English comedian said "The British Empire ends at Charing
Cross Station"

In fact, the US empire has more colonial possesions that Britain even
if you exclude Iraq.

Sorry to burn, but some of the bloody English still refer to us
Antipodeans patronisingly as "colonials"

regards
Peter

"Skip Gundlach" wrote in message
oups.com...
As those reading our logs already know (links below for the lists
where this note is going but to which I've not been putting up my
logs), we've acquired a guest.

Lydia's original thought (well, excuse, anyway, which allowed her
aboard) had been that the kitten, now named Portia, would go to my
brother. However, he's sworn off cats for now, having had them for
the last 40 or so years but wishing to be petless for a while.

Of course, she's worming her way into our lives, and all the resolve
that Lydia had previously about why pets aboard wouldn't make sense
for us is turning to mush.

Practical concerns have to do with our leaving the boat, as well as
entry/departure from various foreign countries, assuming we ever do
something different than cruise the US (we had expected to start in
the Bahamas and work our way south, spending, essentially, the rest of
our lives in the Eastern Caribbean).

These are the concerns we see:

Leaving the boat, whether for a day trip, or for an extended period,
even with cats being pretty self-reliant, would be a problem in that
we'd have to close up the boat, which, in hot climates, could be
deadly over time, inside heat building as it would.

Additionally, if we were to try to do side trips, we'd have to
provide, somehow, for her care, if no more than someone to come check
on her and replenish the water and food.

She's young enough that she might become acclimated to the motion of
the boat, but our seeing various pets on other boats, in their misery,
convinced Lydia that having a pet aboard would be selfish at best.

We assume she can be toilet trained, as many cats are, very
successfully, but there's the accumulated stuff which must be aboard
for her care to consider, and, if we can deal with the being-gone bits
such that we can, indeed, leave the boat, we'll have to figure out a
litter arrangement.

So, please, responses from those who have successfully dealt with the
above, and, as well, if there are other issues which we've overlooked
or about which we are ignorant.


You have demonstrated time and time again that you two are ignorant
about almost everything about sailboats and, in particular, seamanship
and safety. I would advise against you two acquiring any pet if for no
other reason than the odds are great any pet would soon become a
drowning victim. Maybe a small, salt water aquarium with a couple
colorful salt water fish would be just the ticket? They, at least, might
have a chance when your boat founders.

Wilbur Hubbard

An article by Tania Aebi who sailed around the world with a cat

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/showpo...47&postcount=1

Jeannette
SV Con Ta Partiro
Mazatlan

Skip Gundlach wrote:

So, please, responses from those who have successfully dealt with the
above, and, as well, if there are other issues which we've overlooked
or about which we are ignorant.

Thanks...

L8R

Skip and Lydia

On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:51:26 -0700, Jeannette
wrote:

An article by Tania Aebi who sailed around the world with a cat

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/showpo...47&postcount=1

Jeannette
SV Con Ta Partiro
Mazatlan

Skip Gundlach wrote:

So, please, responses from those who have successfully dealt with the
above, and, as well, if there are other issues which we've overlooked
or about which we are ignorant.

Thanks...

L8R

Skip and Lydia


Hi,
We have had at least one cat aboard most of the 14 or so years we have
been cruising. If you like cats they are no problem at all. We have a
plastci enclosed kitty litter box with a persepex flag door that sits
at the stern and have used various types of kitty litter, the recycled
paper one being the worst.

To allow the cat (s) unimpeded access to the deck we installed a cat
flap door. After I got tired of lifting the washboards in and out
constantly, I made a rugged louvred twin door from hard Australian
jarrah which is backed by replaceable insect screens, the whole thing
being mounted in a frame that drops into the recess where the
washboards go. It is lockable so that we can leave it whilst away from
the boat and has a commercial vertically swinging cat door. Most of
the time at sea, the doors remain and only during extreme weather do
we take it out and stow it, replacing the original solid washboards.

For food, we carry bags of "Iams", a high grade cat biscuit that is
available most places in the civilised world. When flying fish abound,
the cats patrol the deck at intervals and pounce on them.

Only once did one of our cats fall overboard. She was a Chocolate
Point Siamese - known as rather dumb animals. She had a habit of
waling around the 1 inch tubular pushpit. Luckily for her, we were at
anchor and the hard nesting dinghy was lying astern. She managed to
scramble into that. Never happened again.

The best cat and possibly the best for a boat was my Turkish Van - the
original swimming cats from lake Van in Turkey. She loved the water
and would often go for a swim at the beach or off the dock if we were
so moored.

As to entry into countries, my wife was a breeder (yep! she gave birth
to our children, not me) and thus we travelled across the Tsman
between New Zealand and Australia with my Turkish Van and two
Orientals, one of which had 5 newly born kittens. We had to have them
all certified as healthy by a Vet. and pay some dollars for a permit
to import them into Australia. There, the Quarantine Vet. examined
them and we were home free.

Nowhere else did we experience any problems.

FYI, New Zealand and Australia both have strict laws controlling
importation of pets which usually involve lengthy quarantine periods.
I know of one American who had posted a monetary bond which allowed
his dog to remain on board in lieu of quarantine ashore. He last it
and was fined heavily when he was discovered with his dog on the
beach. They could have destroyed the animal. When in Rome.......

regards
Peter - a lowly colonial type