Indoor cats

We're looking at possible liveaboards, well in advance. We won't be able to move in for a good three years but I want to know what I'm doing by then.

Problem: we have three cats who have never gone outdoors (on purpose, at least) and freak out when they get out accidentally. I can't trust them to be safe on a boat unless they're kept as they are now: full-time indoors. And almost every boat I've seen that's designed for full time living is also, unsurprisingly, designed to optimize for indoor-outdoor living and deliberate blurring of the lines.

Do there exist boats where it's easier to separate indoor and outdoor space all the time, keeping the inside closed off unless someone's actually going through a door? What should I look for to find one? Or is this the kind of thing I would need to handle by getting my own boat's interior redesigned from the hull on up, in order to make it work for us? (We may have to do that anyhow eventually, because we're not young and might need to reconfigure for accessibility down the line, but that's not a short term problem. If we have to get the accessibility handled by a refit in a decade or so, we'll worry about it then.)

Your cat will go where it wants, no need for you to do anything

Thankfully, our cats have not yet figured out how to evolve opposable thumbs. So doors with doorknobs can actually keep them locked in. We've learned not to use doors with lever handles, though... those, they can operate. I'm not sure about sliders.

We have two cats that we (mostly) keep on board, inside or on deck. It’s very easy when we’re on anchor! Sometimes at a berth one cat jumps off and tries to go exploring! At marinas where we stay, if cats are permitted, they’re supposed to stay onboard, so we watch them closely. We keep them inside when we’re not around or when it gets dark, but we let them on deck during the day when we’re onboard. We didn’t change the boat to suit the cats and they roam freely inside, except the engine room.

Pam, your cats are adorable! That's the way I would like to do it with ours, but they've never been outdoors before except when they escaped by mistake and then they REALLY hate it -- they get frantic and run around looking desperately for somewhere to hide. The Big Blue Room, as my kid calls the outdoors from the cats' point of view, is pretty terrifying to them.

If we can teach them that the deck areas of the boat are still their space and it's okay, that they don't need to be afraid of wind or spray or similar strange sensations they've never felt before, it would be great to be able to let them out on deck. But I'm worried that we'll need to introduce them to it very carefully or they might lose it completely and fall in while they're scrambling around trying to find their way back to safety the first time they feel an outdoor breeze.

Our cat Spanky of course, has the run of the boat. He plops wherever he want to.

We just put ours on board and let her sort it out.
If she wants to go outside , chase swallows and roll in the sun she does
If she wants to hide in a cupboard she does that to.

So I have been told that it is easier on you and your cat if you train them to be on the boat starting as kittens. True?

I have seen "boat cats" which behave very much like dogs. They jump off the boat when docked, go exploring and visiting, do their business ashore and return pretty much when they feel like it or when they hear the engine start up.

I have also see "boat cats" which never leave the boat.

The choice is pretty much up to you, or maybe the cats.

pete

Pete Meisinger said:

I have seen "boat cats" which behave very much like dogs. They jump off the boat when docked, go exploring and visiting, do their business ashore and return pretty much when they feel like it or when they hear the engine start up.

I have also see "boat cats" which never leave the boat.

The choice is pretty much up to you, or maybe the cats.

pete

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LOL cats are kings of their domain!! Good post Pete made me laugh.

We had 2 cats and a dog on board. Dog was more trouble. Cats just find a place..they hide in rough weather and look out the windows and sun themselves when all is calm.


Wife was always paranoid they would jump off the boat when docked so were always careful. We did see occasional posters for a missing cat up the Inside Passage about the rare cat that jumped ship.

I had an 18yr old cat that lived with me on the boat while I was tearing down my house and building another one. She was completely cool with the boat. Litter box in the fwd bunk room. She would come and go from the boat, but when heavy construction was going on, I closed her in the boat. I had her from tiny kitten size.

Once the house was done, my lady and I thought we should try the cat out on the moving boat. Did a little test run, five miles or so, and the cat was absolutely fine. Settled on the chart table and napped, sometimes watching the world go by. Big wakes or chop, she would go into the bunk rooms and settle there.

We took her on a four day run to Beaufort and back, stayed two nights in a slip. Just kept the salon door shut, she was fine every time we came back from our adventures.

If we had guests, we would close up the cat in the fwd bunk room, then the rest of the boat could stay open.

Cat was remarkably adaptive to boat life. Age caught up to her and for her comfort we left her at the house, she passed at age about 20.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

So I have been told that it is easier on you and your cat if you train them to be on the boat starting as kittens. True?

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Ours was two years old when she moved aboard
Been off the boat twice in 4.5 years
Once on a sandbank
Once when boat was on the hard

Gatos del mar (cats who sail/navigate) on FB could be worth a look for some
Cats have been sailing the oceans and eating fish for hundreds of years.

Pics of Simi doing her thing

What the cat needs most is a method of self rescuing should it go overboard.

We use a rolled up tube of carpet that goes from the water at the stern up higher than the deck, by a couple of inches.

Our cats have enjoyed riding in our rowing dink and by approaching from the stern the cat quickly learns the carpet is her express way to get aboard before us.

At least twice I have seen the cat go overboard and self rescue .

Works great , but rinsing the cat with fresh water is required, but usually is not understood or appreciated by the cat. Warm water is best.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

So I have been told that it is easier on you and your cat if you train them to be on the boat starting as kittens. True?

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Probably, but our cat took her first ride on the boat when she was 18yr old, and was fine. Absolutely hated the car, but was fine on the boat. Strange. Guess she knew a car ride meant the vet!!

You might be able to train your cats to do this. Seriously. There are books on it. Just search in Amazon. We taught ours at ~6 months of age.

Curious:

PamLeatch said:

At marinas where we stay, if cats are permitted, they’re supposed to stay onboard, so we watch them closely.

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Are there marinas that don't allow cats at all?
Maybe just not be able to take them on the dock?

We lost our boat dog Sadie Lady (may she rest in peace) last summer, and are thinking of getting a boat cat.
I'd hate to pull in somewhere and get refused because we had a cat.

We really miss a dog, but looking on the bright side, it has been nice sometimes to not even have to put the dinghy in the water when we're out on the hook.

Of course the Admiral and I have been in discussions as to where to put the litter box (forward cabin), but then we'd have to move it when we have guests...more discussion...
I like ScottC's idea, but we may not find a younger cat to train as we are going to get a rescue if we decide to get one.

FF said:

What the cat needs most is a method of self rescuing should it go overboard.

We use a rolled up tube of carpet that goes from the water at the stern up higher than the deck, by a couple of inches.

Our cats have enjoyed riding in our rowing dink and by approaching from the stern the cat quickly learns the carpet is her express way to get aboard before us.

At least twice I have seen the cat go overboard and self rescue .

Works great , but rinsing the cat with fresh water is required, but usually is not understood or appreciated by the cat. Warm water is best.

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THANK YOU!! I have been wondering a lot about whether there was some way to create a means for the cat to self rescue if it falls overboard. Our cats are, like most, pretty good climbers; but at least one of them has been known to miss his aim occasionally when he jumps, especially if he's trying to chase a bird. I don't dare assume that he'll never fall overboard. I'm really grateful for the suggestion for how to give him a chance to get himself out again. ��

Ours went over once very early on chasing swallows on the top level
Scooped her out with a landing net after she had done a lap of the boat
Smart enough to have learned and not done it again.

PocketNaomi said:

Problem: we have three cats who have never gone outdoors (on purpose, at least) and freak out when they get out accidentally. I can't trust them to be safe on a boat unless they're kept as they are now: full-time indoors. And almost every boat I've seen that's designed for full time living is also, unsurprisingly, designed to optimize for indoor-outdoor living and deliberate blurring of the lines.

Do there exist boats where it's easier to separate indoor and outdoor space all the time, keeping the inside closed off unless someone's actually going through a door? What should I look for to find one?

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Yes, easy. Just look for boats with doors. Sometimes sliders, but whatever... doors of any sort mostly work pretty well.

Note that also means you'll want indoor climate control, which usually means AC in hot weather and heat in cool.

Our cat is an indoor-only cat, and she has no idea we had a cockpit or a flybridge or a foredeck... nor does she care.

-Chris

We are not liveaboard but when cruising our indoor cat stays inside, she is not much interested with the decks or flybridge and she really enjoys roaming inside all areas of the boat ( not the engine room indeed!!!) her favorite place is the wheelhouse as per the attached photo...

FF said:

What the cat needs most is a method of self rescuing should it go overboard.
We use a rolled up tube of carpet that goes from the water at the stern up higher than the deck, by a couple of inches.
Our cats have enjoyed riding in our rowing dink and by approaching from the stern the cat quickly learns the carpet is her express way to get aboard before us.
At least twice I have seen the cat go overboard and self rescue .
Works great , but rinsing the cat with fresh water is required, but usually is not understood or appreciated by the cat. Warm water is best.

Click to expand...

Bath is shortly followed by liberal use of Bacitracin and Bandaids!

CaptainSEA said:

We are not liveaboard but when cruising our indoor cat stays inside, she is not much interested with the decks or flybridge and she really enjoys roaming inside all areas of the boat ( not the engine room indeed!!!) her favorite place is the wheelhouse as per the attached photo...

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As soon as we start the engines, Spanky goes up to the flybridge and remains there until we are back in the slip.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

So I have been told that it is easier on you and your cat if you train them to be on the boat starting as kittens. True?

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Our “indoor only” cat took up boating at age 14. She loves it.

Donatello likes to go on deck when the weather’s nice.

Cats are happy to use their waste box, dogs need to be trained to go on a carpet or Astroturf , which is easiest with a young dog.

The carpet should have a couple of grommets installed so it can be dunked overboard .

A cat should be shown the rescue carpet tube , and its easiest to get them to go up from a dink.

A dog not trained to use his "spot" is a huge PIA as it will need to be taken ashore at least 2 times a day , rain or shine .

In many locations finding a daily landing spot is difficult as few home owners will welcome your pooch.

FF said:

A cat should be shown the rescue carpet tube , and its easiest to get them to go up from a dink.

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That's a great idea! A tube on both sides of the boat?

FF said:

A dog not trained to use his "spot" is a huge PIA as it will need to be taken ashore at least 2 times a day , rain or shine .

In many locations finding a daily landing spot is difficult as few home owners will welcome your pooch.

Click to expand...

Over here much of the land and islands outside of suburbia are national parks.
No dogs allowed.

I read years ago how some sailors when cruising the world with cats aboard would trail a long line behind the boat with a large monkey fist at the end. The fear was that a cat would go over board while underway in the middle of the ocean. They taught the cats that if they ever fell in to immediately swim behind the boat where they could at the very least hang on until rescued.

Our previous cat was about 8 yrs old when we moved aboard. She loved living on the boat and having the decks for sunning herself. Never attempted to get off the boat, even all winter long in the slip. She did, however, absolutely hate when the boat was underway (cat barf is not fun to clean up!).

After she passed a few years ago, we got a new cat at 6 mos of age. He, too, loves the liveaboard lifestyle. And fortunately, does not freak out when his house moves. However, he does occasionally like to go exploring on the dock. We try and dissuade him of that desire by scaring the beejesus out of him (sneak onto the dock behind him and clap and yell - he makes a bee line for the boat).

In the end, each cat will be different. But if your cat has a desire to explore, the only way to keep him from doing so is to keep the doors closed (no fun in nice weather) or anchor out...