Many of us have boat dogs but since most boats have limited living space,? a cat makes a more reasonable boat pet. Cats are generally quiet, self? tending, chase away rats and roosting gulls, and, if you are lucky, are warm and? cosy. We have had dogs and cats aboard. While I admit that dogs are admirable? creatures and certainly more intelligent than cats, they can't be trained to use? a litter box. Better for a house and yard than a boat. We have fond memories of our Norwegian Fishing Cat. It loved to swim and was? hard to keep out of the water. These cats were bred in Norway and Iceland and? were trained to help fishermen capture the "one that got away." When a fish? slipped off the hook, the cat would leap off the boat and with its webbed feet,? "pounce" on the escaped cod or mackerel and bring it back. As a reward, the? cat would get to eat an occasional fish. Olaf, our Norwegian Fishing Cat, spent his younger years aboard a cod fishing? smack, diving in to retrieve the one that "almost" got away. In a typical day he? would catch a dozen or more fish, bringing them back to the boat. He more? than earned his keep. But the cold water takes its toll. Olaf was retired after ten years of honorable service. Cat fishing is a? young feline's game. My wife's uncle sent Olaf to us to live out his remaining? years. He had developed arthritis and was retired to the balmy climes of? upstate New York. Most of the fish he ate came out of cans. Olaf spent his summers? paddling around our pond with an occasional jump into the Hudson River from our? boat. Every few days we would throw him a couple of herring so he would feel? at home. Olaf passed away quietly in has sleep, aged 21, after consuming 3 cans of? brisling sardines. He had a smile on his whiskers and his breath smelled like a? cannery. I can picture him today in Feline Valhalla attended by 70 nubile? female kitties gorging on smoked salmon with a cream cheese chaser. It would be? hard to find a more suitable boat pet. Larry Z

Though dog lovers, we recognized the difficulties of cruising with a dog aboard. I happen to be allergic to cat fur, so we pondered the alternatives. My wife and I were waiting for the multiplex film to start and spied a pet store. We were immediately attracted to the large open-top cage of young ferrets. They were playful, soft, adorable, small and easy to care for (care is very similar to cats). I rubbed several of the squirming ferrets over my face to test for allergic reactions. The next day we came back and bought Penelope, our boat companion for a two year cruise and home companion for 4 years after the cruise. Ferrets make an excellent boat pet. We trained Penelope to use a stainless cake pan lined with newspapers for her toilet. We would often walk around town with her on a shoulder or snuggled in a coat pocket; she always attracted attention. At 2-5 lbs, they don't take much space and don't eat a lot. Females have less odor than males, and bathing Penelope once a week was easy, unlike with cats. Mark Richter Building 21' displacement power catamaran. Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 19, 2015, at 2:47 AM, lrzeitlin--- via Trawlers-and-Trawlering <trawlers@lists.trawlering.com> wrote: > > Many of us have boat dogs but since most boats have limited living space,? > a cat makes a more reasonable boat pet. Cats are generally quiet, self? > tending, chase away rats and roosting gulls, and, if you are lucky, are warm and? > cosy. We have had dogs and cats aboard. While I admit that dogs are admirable? > creatures and certainly more intelligent than cats, they can't be trained to use? > a litter box. Better for a house and yard than a boat. >

An alternative cat could be a sphynx. Like Dr. Evil's cat. No hair, no hair balls, and a dog like personality but kinda ugly. My wife brought home 2 of em and they have grown on me. Just a thought. Robert On Thursday, February 19, 2015, Mark Richter via Trawlers-and-Trawlering < trawlers@lists.trawlering.com> wrote: > Though dog lovers, we recognized the difficulties of cruising with a dog > aboard. I happen to be allergic to cat fur, so we pondered the > alternatives. My wife and I were waiting for the multiplex film to start > and spied a pet store. We were immediately attracted to the large open-top > cage of young ferrets. They were playful, soft, adorable, small and easy to > care for (care is very similar to cats). I rubbed several of the squirming > ferrets over my face to test for allergic reactions. The next day we came > back and bought Penelope, our boat companion for a two year cruise and home > companion for 4 years after the cruise. > > Ferrets make an excellent boat pet. We trained Penelope to use a stainless > cake pan lined with newspapers for her toilet. We would often walk around > town with her on a shoulder or snuggled in a coat pocket; she always > attracted attention. At 2-5 lbs, they don't take much space and don't eat a > lot. Females have less odor than males, and bathing Penelope once a week > was easy, unlike with cats. > > Mark Richter > Building 21' displacement power catamaran. > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Feb 19, 2015, at 2:47 AM, lrzeitlin--- via Trawlers-and-Trawlering < > trawlers@lists.trawlering.com <javascript:;>> wrote: > > > > Many of us have boat dogs but since most boats have limited living > space,? > > a cat makes a more reasonable boat pet. Cats are generally quiet, self? > > tending, chase away rats and roosting gulls, and, if you are lucky, are > warm and? > > cosy. We have had dogs and cats aboard. While I admit that dogs are > admirable? > > creatures and certainly more intelligent than cats, they can't be > trained to use? > > a litter box. Better for a house and yard than a boat. > > > > _______________________________________________ > http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers_lists.trawlering.com > > To unsubscribe or modify your subscription options (get password, change > email address, etc) go to: > http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers_lists.trawlering.com > Trawlers & Trawlering and T&T are trademarks of Water World > Productions. Unauthorized use is prohibited. >