cats just like
to piss you off. Can’t see bringing one anywhere. Love 'em but leave 'em alone.
hmmmm
How would your cat like to try a few rolls?
I can think of a list of reasons not to take a cat on your kayak. Personally I think a cat would be happier left home alone. It’s probably much safer too.
Shouldn’t be a problem.
Any cat will fit just fine in either hatch.
I had one that loved paddling
You definitely have to be aware of predators. My cat was good on a leash and that’s where he was unless he was in the tent or in my boat. I glued a piece of neoprene to the hull of my boat to give him something to hold onto. He knew that when I put the skirt on that rough seas were ahead and it was time to cozy up. He had all his claws and would use them to dig into the neoprene if necessary. I also recommend using a cheap or old tent that you never need to be truly waterproof. If it’s bug season, you’ll find your cat clawing up the side of the tent chasing a bug. The best way to start is with a kitten. I can’t imagine having any luck with an older cat. If you have trouble training your cat to do other things, then you probably won’t have any luck with camping. Cats are just like dogs, there are well trained ones, and absolutely crazy ones. The thing is, very few people take the time to train a cat. It was a great day when mine was finally toilet trained, as in the actual toilet, not a litter box.
cat paddling?
I would not do that! VF
Kayaking
maybe. But how the heck would you camp with one? Value the mosquito netting in your tent? I do. If you can’t leave 'em out (for the many reasons mentioned) and you can’t bring them in, what’s left? Other than leave 'em home?
My cat is always outside
My cat is good at being outside. I would not have it in the tent. On a small island the cat can have some fun exploring, won’t get lost, should come back to eat. If it gets killed by a predator on the island that would be sad but it won’t be any sadder than being killed by predator while outside during the night (which is what my cat does a lot.)
Walking a cat
I wouldn’t try to put any of our cats in a kayak, but our last Maine Coon was the best cat on a harness we’ve ever had. We could even walk him at highway rest stops, near the dog area, and he’d not bat an eye. he was also bigger than many of the dogs. He he never coordinated peeing with that timing though. We used to have to pull over when he started yelling loudly for that.
I trying to imagine
how this would be accomplished. Maybe a cat carrier bungied to the deck? You’d need a bombproof roll and can you imagine how freaked a cat would be if you did roll? It’d probably run away as soon as you hit land.
Pagayeur
Check
out Amazon for “Camping with Kitty”, by author Claude Balls.
love cats & love water but do not mix
Years ago when I was married we took our Siamese with us camping. He didn’t like it, woke up the whole campground with his enormous voice.
The cats I have now would be really pissed off and terrorized to go camping with me, let alone try kayaking with one.
So they stay home, which is a good thing for them.
I should have stayed home myself yesterday.
tip
put kitty litter in the day hatch… they can poop right in there… don’t even need to put the hatch cover back on for rolling practice… 
mail the collar to the owner
…with a note that the pet was found trespassing and killing wildlife.
Seriously I’d live trap it and call the owner the first time. But no second chances. The world is not a big playpen and litter box for your cat.
Hi, I wanted to reply because I am seeing a lot of negative responses but most of them have never tried and they don’t know your cat so it’s not very helpful. Lets start by saying I have more than 30 years experience with rescue cats. Each with their own personality, troubled past, and preferences. Their safety is my main concern and I’ve never lost a cat except from serious natural illness (kidney disease, cancer, etc) and the last cat I lost was 2 months short of her 21st bday. My cats have always gone outside, these are urban areas primarily in ON, QC and AB but when I was in small town AB, there were coyotes regularly blocks away. So saying that I am reckless with cat’s safety or taking excessive risks will not hold water.
Yes, I have taken a cat kayaking more than once and on a river with waves, wind, and paddling against well moving current. I have also taken him on a quieter section of the river for a more relaxed outing. I will also note that I did not have to drag my cat along, he walked of his own free will down to the river off leash from our house a couple blocks away. He was spooked by a large dog and vehicles at the main boat launch and I sent him home but he came back looking for me and we launched from a quieter area upstream of the main launch which was easier for him. Try, learn, adapt, like everything else in life right!!
It is a new experience for the cat and same as any human or other animal there will be some acclimation time but he enjoyed the adventure overall and was not in any danger. I have him clipped with a bungee line to my life vest and he has a harness on. I have life jackets for my cats but they don’t like them, for my cat, he’s adventurous and trusts me enough that it’s not necessary IMO.
I have also taken two cats camping and slept in the tent and they were free to roam in the tent. This was an expensive and nice tent that I did not want ruined. I did trim their nails before the trip but because I was in the tent with them at night, they did not want to go anywhere. I had a litter box and left the fly off so they could out in all directions. I woke to find them excitedly watching activity in the trees and chipmunks running round.
Neither cat made any effort to scratch or escape and no tent damage happened.
I was in a camp site where I wasn’t allowed to let them off a leash that time so I wasn’t too concerned about trimming their nails.
I now have 3 cats and am hoping to either canoe or kayak camp with one of them in next couple weeks.
I have no issue with letting cats off leash. My three rescue cats all have temperaments from their previous lives, one tabby/siamese (flighty female), norwegian forest cat (more timid female), maine coon (unflappable male), but they have become more calm and confident since joining the family. They have their own cat door and generally free to go in and out all year with some exceptions. I monitor them on remote security system when I’m away for the day etc but have not had any issues, even when raccoon came in for the night, they all got along amicably for 5+ hrs and I have the video to prove it!
My cats also come over to my partners yard 5+ km away and are free to roam. They always come when I call or at the end of the day when they want to go home.
I also take the cats to my parents place and again have not had problems with taking them off leash.
I did have one time where I tried to grab the nervous cat not long after I adopted her and she took off into neighbours yard to hide and I had to go get her. I have marco polo collars tracking system and a tile for one of them. I almost never use marco polo and the blue tooth is ok for around home to find one of them if I need to. If I was going back country, I would take the marco polo system just case to be on the safe side but wouldn’t expect to need it. (FYI: the marco polo system was the best technology I could find that was reliable enough for me https://www.vancatmeow.com/willow/)
I would happily go camping with them off leash if they were away from major roads and other ppl etc. I know they will explore and not go far and come when I call pretty reliably.
Again, tent camping not an issue even with 3 cats except I will bring larger tent and a couple soft side carriers because two of the cats are not best of friends…
I also take the male maine coon cross country skiing and hiking on leash and it’s slower but he walks better than many dogs on leash.
In short, I think it’s wrong to assume some (and many more than we think) cats are not as interested in adventure and spending time with us in the outdoors experiencing new things. (See also: https://www.adventurecats.org/)
Only you know your cats and your personality and abilities etc but in my experience love, trust, and common sense and preparation are enough to keep everyone safe. I might also take glow collars so I could see them at night but might put them on leash or in their mesh cat day tent after their dinner at least for the first while so they don’t get off on some hunt or run into an animal they aren’t prepared for. Depends on the area and risk, if you are an outdoors person, you can probably use your judgement.
Hope that helps and encourages you to get your kitty out exploring. Happy to chat about any of my experiences that might help 
I was happy when I realized those were old posts and coffee had not been resurrected.
Agreed! 
Amen - seeing that name gave me the heebie-jeebies…
And here I thought people went camping to give their cats some space. 
Redardless of if you’re at home or camping, cats are a highly invasive species that kill between 1.4 and 3.7 BILLION birds a year. Please keep them inside or supervised at all times for the good of nature. Outdoor cats a a mammalian plague upon most native animals.
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Gators, pythons and 'yotes might be ok with cats.