Pets on board

[gonzo]

What's your experience with pets on board? I have a cat that loves boating of any kind; from canoes to sailboats. My friends at the marina tease me that there is nothing so gay as a sailor with a cat on a leash. However he has a great time and is alway a topic of conversation.

[Wellydeckhand]

Animals on board ( as long as it is not livestock) ,pet I mean, do fill in the emptiness and bitter of vast ocean, it give companionship without nagging or compained.

I find having a pet at my lap while in a river vessel can be soothing. If the pet is fur type, it will give warm to the owner and a touch of warm.

Well sorry, I like DOGs and not the hairy type....... lousy asthma quick starter.
word of advise..... do not bring along cute but dangerous pet

[Wellydeckhand]

My pet............ landlocked

[Thors Hammer]

I had a cat as well that enjoyed the thrill of being on boats. I also have many freinds with cats that like to boat. So don't let the teasing bother you and let your feline freind have fun with you on your boat.

[longliner45]

had a buddy on fishing boat Southern gale, he had a retriever, they would stay a wk to 10 days at a time, on the way in the dog would be on the bow ,,,about 50 miles out ,sniffing the air,,,,,,,,,nothing to smell for him offshore I guess,longliner

[gonzo]

I've heard tales of dogs used to find land.

[Wellydeckhand]

Dogs dont have good eye sight ( color-blind) But can smell the land wind blowing the smell of brown land.

[longliner45]

welly that is one ugly dog,,,,,,,,,,,longliner

[hansp77]

Originally Posted by longliner45

welly that is one ugly dog,,,,,,,,,,,longliner

I don't think it is the dog so much, but rather those nasty growths protruding from its stomach...

[Wellydeckhand]

Heh.......... give the dog a chance or i call in the SPCA

[MikeJohns]

We had a large parrot, it was like having a small child. It fretted, cried out when left alone, destroyed things (in a good natured way) it could fly and would fly up into the rigging and get knocked of when we tacked. When it destroyed the mast top VHF antennae we tried having its wings clipped to limit its ability but it just followed people around all day on deck. Finally we gave it away ... a sad loss, I missed that cussed bird.

But never again.

[SeaSpark]

A friend of mine had a cat on his boat and i sailed with him often.

The cat,a siamese, seemed to like sailing although it was seasick on a regular basis. It was a great help fishing, kept a good eye on the fishing line trolling behind the boat and started making funny noises and jumping up and down as soon as a fish was hooked. Funny thing was it would not touch the fish when not cut up into tinned catfood sized cubes.

On a boat animals can be a great companion, you seem to attach to them even more than on land when you like animals. This is a bit of a warning, the biggest worry of the owner of the boat was his cat. He sometimes jumped up in his sleep and shouted "where's Sara!!!". I know of one story of someone quitting his circumnavigation after loosing his cat overboard.

Puke and cat loo grid are not always appreciated by crew.

Did the cat really like it?

Best clue to answer this question:

After returning from a two month voyage along the european coasts we were about four miles from our homeport. Suddenly the cat ran out of the cabin and jumped on deck. This while it was strictly forbidden for her to leave the cockpit when under way, something she learned after a long training. She put her nose in the air and her body was completely rigid for about 20 seconds. Then she started jumping and making loopings in the air, she was all over the boat.

Still don't know if she liked the sailing, sure as hell know she liked returning home.

[Wellydeckhand]

All pet will inherint human owner habit, but we some time look worse than our pet

[marshmat]

Never been able to keep the dogs out of the boat, myself.... especially the little 14' aluminum boats, I think they like the cold metal on a hot summer's day.