paddling with a cat
Thanks everyone for your replies. My cat has no fear of water and I think the kayaking experience will be a great one for him. I do have to say that I was disappointed by the response of some who felt the need to make sarcastic comments rather then offering assistance. Anyway thanks to those who offered assistance.
Maine Coons
I have 2 Maine Coon brother littermate cats. Coons are water cats. I was looking forward to kayaking with them along with my Newfie. I trained them with harnesses and leashes early as kittens but they are spooked easily, scaredy cats, and do not enjoy being taken to new places as much as I thought they would.
Will not be kayaking with them, simply because if they don’t like something, I get long scars.
Really, take photos
Maybe submit them to the weekly contest on Pnet. That oughta shut up the critics.
Cats aren’t my favorite critter, but I don’t get why most people view them as categorically untrainable or unsuitable for taking anywhere.
I’ve seen people walking a rabbit on harness.
Give them a chance to try new things!
unless he is a Manx,
carry LOTS of bandaids and iodine!
Does your cat
Drink adult beverages?
Seriously…
– Last Updated: Mar-13-12 6:18 PM EST –
We are the crazy old people who travel with cats. We took a couple of our cats even on weekend trips as their health was failing, visiting the overhead on my husband's parents and anyone else who had us stay. The current two are healthier and so far have only gone on vacation with us. We have found leashes and harnesses work best, but we are still very, very careful when it comes to rest stops etc.
We carry them last from the house to the car when we leave and first to the cabin when we get there, and except for one they have been more interested in dark corners than open doors while they are settling in. That exception has given us heart attacks a couple of times - there are fox and coyotes that hang around where we stay and he has shown an inclination to visit the neighboring cabin the couple of times he has gotten out.
I would never take a cat on a paddling trip, pretty much for the reasons that we don't like them wandering when we are there. Between the critters that see them as dinner and the awful possibility of one bolting and ending up in parts unknown, it just does not seem like a great idea.
I am sure there are exceptions, like the cat mentioned above, but I'd not trust that any of ours was one of them. That includes the one that could be walked on a leash and go to the bathroom in the dog area - we could still easily have lost him if he caught the scent of a predator.
Seriously, again …
We are cat people, despite the joke responses I posted above. Our cats (3 of them) would never tolerate a trip in/on a kayak. Maybe a few of the cats out there would. But in general it is not a good idea. At best you will find a cat that tolerates the idea (e.g., sleeps) but it simply is not a part of a most cats’ psyche to enjoy water sports. I would never force it on them for my own purposes. Even camping is stressful since the cat it outside its own territory. So I think you (OP) should consider whether you are satisfying your own needs at the expense of your cat.
get him the right pfd
– Last Updated: Mar-13-12 9:55 PM EST –
or the birds might be attracted to him
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2364/1790655244_defd620802.jpg
(just a joke and an apology. my first response was mean)
One really good point there
For the most part, cats do NOT enjoy new surroundings. Being someplace new really puts them on-edge and they feel stressed, so the best part of the previous post is “don’t put the cat through something because you have a notion that it will make you (the owner) happy”. Keep the cat happy instead. The owner is better-able to tolerate the stress of missing their pet more than the cat can tolerate being on high alert in strange surroundings. Of course, this is in addition to all the other good points that have been made!
kayaking with cat
Again I want to thank everyone for their input especially the folks that replied more then once and many good points have been raised. I would not want to stress him out either. We thought we would try him in the canoe first on a very short paddle and see how he does. If I find he does not enjoy it then we will bring him home. My reason for even thinking of doing so is that he always wants to be a part of what ever we are doing and seems to have an endless attraction to doing new things and discovering new things. But the last thing I would want to do would to stress him out. Again thanks for all the good input from everyone
Yeah
Cats love water sports, good luck with the PFD. If its not declawed bring lots of band-aids, or possibly a spare litre of plasma.
More about George…
The few times I was around George on the water there were some things I noticed that indicated he was enjoying it.
His ears were up - never back.
He usually got in the boat on his own.
He stood up in/on the bow looking forward much if not most of the time.
He never looked stressed or frightened.
He never clawed anyone.
He wasn’t in a big hurry to get out of the boat.
My understanding is that he didn’t “learn to like it”, but was always that way.
If your cat isn’t showing the same signs, I would call the experiment a bust.
Paddling with cat
Your question started with "I would love to take my cat out in the kayak with me. Has anyone had any experience with this?
I have never taken your cat out in my kayak.
That’s really neat.
How could anyone not like such a cat?
George was kind of a local celebrity.
You’d have to be a hidebound curmudgeon
…not to like a cat with such a positive attitude.
Paddling with a cat . . .
– Last Updated: Mar-16-12 11:53 AM EST –
I've done it I'll try to copy a picture but so far I'm not having much luck.
I don't seem able to copy it (any advice it's in my PC's picture file).
Anyhoo, I tried it on three occasions last year.
Initially I took him in the cockpit with me.
Paddle drips kept landing on his head but he didn't get too fussy about that.
I was wearing bicycling shorts, a wife beater and a PFD.
I got zero scratches but even though he's young (six last year) no problems and he was sitting uh, you know between my legs.
Second time I took him out same thing.
In the cockpit between my legs.
The third time I put a towel under my foredeck bungees to give him traction on the fiberglass/kevlar hull.
I let him ride up there and he explored forward of the towel on his own - ears up.
Eventually he worked his way back to me and finished the ride in the cockpit drips on the head and all.
Still I never got the feeling he liked it, so I let the practice die out.
Point is with the right cat - no problem.
paddling with a cat…
as bait or recreation?
There is an . . .
old German saying that translates into English something like this: “Men who get along with cats tend to get along with women.”
I’ve never understood the antipathy toward cats some “macho” men feel the need to display, maybe it has to do with that German saying.
Cat-roll
Cat-roll possible?