McNessie
New member
We were thinking of getting a Pusscat for our future cruising liveaboard life in the Med. What sort of issues are we likely to find going from country to country with a cat?
Pusscat onboard in the Med
- Thread starter McNessie
- Start date
NornaBiron
New member
We've had Puss and Fluff on board for seven years, cruising mainly the eastern Med down to the Red Sea. The rules about moving from country to country are almost constantly evolving. We have had both cats micro-chipped, vaccinated for rabies (and usual other vaccs) and blood tested for rabies immunity (titre). They have 'Pet Passports' which we keep up to date with annual vaccinations. All this means that they are always ready to switch countries, even to the UK, which has the most stringent rules we have come across in Europe.
Travelling between most Med countries is not an issue, we occassionally take them for a health check and vet signature in their passports but the reality is that no-one is particularly interested when we arrive in a new country. The only place that has sent a vet to check their passports/chips is Cyprus.
The bigger problem is finding care for them if we both need to return to the UK.
McNessie
New member
Thank you
That's very useful info.
About living onboard with Puss & Fluff, do they have any falling overboard issues & how do you get them back onboard if they do? Would you take them for walks (on a lead) ashore?
That's very useful info.
About living onboard with Puss & Fluff, do they have any falling overboard issues & how do you get them back onboard if they do? Would you take them for walks (on a lead) ashore?
RichardS
N/A
NornaBiron
New member
We have a 9 inch high gunwhale all around the deck so they don't slip off. They have fallen overboard, but only when we've been on anchor. They can both climb the stern ladder but usually we notice them going or hear them yowling from the water. We do not take them ashore, except in their carriers when we go to the vet. We almost always anchor so they are not use to going ashore.
There is a facebook group which is full of useful information - Gatos del mar, worth a look if you use fb
sailaboutvic
Well-known member
The only thing captain Eddie as to add to Nornabiron posting is , " meow where my fish "I'm sure Captain Eddy will be along to enlighten us shortly.
Richard
I thing NornaBiron said it all , we too been sailing with a cat since 2010 we also had a dog upto two years ago. Never a problem except when we both want to go away together
jordanbasset
Well-known member
Last edited:
sailaboutvic
Well-known member
Or when you had difficult guests onboard
You know you realy like Eddie , you just make out that your eyes water for sympathy , although none of us give you any .
Are you missing us yet now we left Greece ?
jordanbasset
Well-known member
McNessie
New member
Thanks everyone for your advice.
mariadz
Member
Our cats live on board our boat but because of the restrictions on returning to the UK (commercial carrier only), we have not taken them sailing across the channel yet. However, we also have a motorhome and travel to the South of Italy each year via a combination of France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. Travelling within Europe with cats has been easy, in fact, we generally get surprise and pleasant comments when they see the cats.
We let the cats out, and sometimes walk them with leads too depending on the location. This almost undid us when Clyde decided to go for his own wine-tasting (or mouse-tasting) in a location wine warehouse in Chablis this year. But all ended well.
Final point is to be careful with local cats, especially wild ones. They carry some pretty nasty infections that knocked one of ours, Clyde again, for six. he's a big cat and so wasn't worried about the little ones but he has learnt his lesson.
We document our travels, adventures and occasional mishaps in our blog Mariadz.com. Hope this helps.
We let the cats out, and sometimes walk them with leads too depending on the location. This almost undid us when Clyde decided to go for his own wine-tasting (or mouse-tasting) in a location wine warehouse in Chablis this year. But all ended well.
Final point is to be careful with local cats, especially wild ones. They carry some pretty nasty infections that knocked one of ours, Clyde again, for six. he's a big cat and so wasn't worried about the little ones but he has learnt his lesson.
We document our travels, adventures and occasional mishaps in our blog Mariadz.com. Hope this helps.
McNessie
New member
Thanks Mariadz
Good tip about local cats - I hadn't thought of that! Also commercial carrier for back to UK? What would be the method to get puss back to UK?
Interesting blog!
Good tip about local cats - I hadn't thought of that! Also commercial carrier for back to UK? What would be the method to get puss back to UK?
Interesting blog!
mariadz
Member
You have to use a Ferry or the Eurotunnel. In the motorhome, we always travel via the Eurotunnel because we can stay with the cats for the journey (not that I think they would mind being in the van on their own). Our thought was that we would have to take the cats back in a carrier on the train if we crossed in the boat and that would also mean we would need crew for the return journey - single handing a Moody 54 would be interesting as you came in to berth
The shame is that we have been across the channel a number of times without the cats and have never been checked for our passports on either side. The cats are chipped, innoculated and have passports but it doesn't seem worth the risk of having them on board for the trip. I don't know whether the view changes if the cats are not landed during the trip though.
The shame is that we have been across the channel a number of times without the cats and have never been checked for our passports on either side. The cats are chipped, innoculated and have passports but it doesn't seem worth the risk of having them on board for the trip. I don't know whether the view changes if the cats are not landed during the trip though.
NornaBiron
New member
You have to use a Ferry or the Eurotunnel. In the motorhome, we always travel via the Eurotunnel because we can stay with the cats for the journey (not that I think they would mind being in the van on their own). Our thought was that we would have to take the cats back in a carrier on the train if we crossed in the boat and that would also mean we would need crew for the return journey - single handing a Moody 54 would be interesting as you came in to berth
The shame is that we have been across the channel a number of times without the cats and have never been checked for our passports on either side. The cats are chipped, innoculated and have passports but it doesn't seem worth the risk of having them on board for the trip. I don't know whether the view changes if the cats are not landed during the trip though.
Animals have to enter the UK via a recognised carrier so some (not all) ferries, eurotunnel and airlines will take them, if flying they have to go in th hold. Keeping the cats on board makes not the slightest difference. Ours never go ashore but if we went to the UK we still couldn't take them on our own boat. If caught the cats would be quarantined (at our expense) or destroyed.
sailaboutvic
Well-known member
OR send back to where you came from . I rather the last option .
OldBawley
Active member
I had a cat on board for 13 years, sailing trough Europe.
When I left for the Med the cat was already living with me so I took Abadan with me.
She died of poisoning after I gave her some baby puffer fish ( Tetraodontidae ). The cat had been very sick, I had her operated in Turkey and after that she only wanted to eat fresh fish. She even started catching them herself when on land. Cat food was rare in Turkey in those days, expensive so fishing each day a few minutes to catch some small fish was a relief. Until I gave her the puffers.
I knew the big puffers and how toxic they ware, had never seen small ones.
Our cat wanted always to go on land. She hated the litter ( or sand if I could not buy litter ) She jumped into the dinghy and mimed mawing to indicate she wanted to go ashore. I rowed her over, she jumped the last meters and stayed on land until she was fed up and sat exactly on the same landing spot waiting for me to pick her up.
Some Australian sailors made a film of the cat jumping three meters far to the dinghy and put it on youtube. Gone now I guess.
I could not make the boat sail ready if she could escape. She knew very well what was going on, disappeared on land and would not come back until the sails ware covered again. We lost many nice sailing days that way. Only way was to grab the sleeping cat, lock it in the toilet, put a rope on the key to prevent accidental opening the door and leave the shore. In storms I locked the cat in the toilet also. She would have jumped into the sea.
Would not think of getting a new one. The reason is that we sail a small boat, and whenever I was afraid, the cat knew it ( so did my wife ) and she literally lost hair of anxiety.
No life for an animal. The cat I mean.
Town quays ware taboo, other cats wanted to get to ours and they often had a real battle inside the boat. Torn curtains and everything. Our cat also brought mouse on board. She liked playing with them after catching them on land
( French canals ) The cat even brought a small rabbit into the cabin.
On Easter 2001, we ware having breakfast in the cockpit. My wife said “ So, now we have an Easter bunny to “I had no idea what she was talking about until she pointed into the cabin where a small rabbit was hopping over the floor boards. I still have no idea how the cat took the rabbit trough the cat door. I had cut the hole real small, a fat cat would not pass trough.
My dad was good harmonica player. With a box of matches he “drummed” the rhythm on the table, so he played rhythm and melody. Mostly tango´s. I bought him a new expensive mouth organ for his birthday.
That evening, I was lying on the couch in front of the wood stove and wanted to try myself how the harmonica sounded. As usual the cat had made herself comfortable on my stomach.
I love music, cant play anything. So I hooted the harmonica.
The cat became a whirling devil, jumped up, but my couch is below the side deck, there is not much hight, cat bounced back into my face and left to sit all hairs up hissing under the table.
I had some nasty scratches in my face when I posted the harmonica to my dad.
When I left for the Med the cat was already living with me so I took Abadan with me.
She died of poisoning after I gave her some baby puffer fish ( Tetraodontidae ). The cat had been very sick, I had her operated in Turkey and after that she only wanted to eat fresh fish. She even started catching them herself when on land. Cat food was rare in Turkey in those days, expensive so fishing each day a few minutes to catch some small fish was a relief. Until I gave her the puffers.
I knew the big puffers and how toxic they ware, had never seen small ones.
Our cat wanted always to go on land. She hated the litter ( or sand if I could not buy litter ) She jumped into the dinghy and mimed mawing to indicate she wanted to go ashore. I rowed her over, she jumped the last meters and stayed on land until she was fed up and sat exactly on the same landing spot waiting for me to pick her up.
Some Australian sailors made a film of the cat jumping three meters far to the dinghy and put it on youtube. Gone now I guess.
I could not make the boat sail ready if she could escape. She knew very well what was going on, disappeared on land and would not come back until the sails ware covered again. We lost many nice sailing days that way. Only way was to grab the sleeping cat, lock it in the toilet, put a rope on the key to prevent accidental opening the door and leave the shore. In storms I locked the cat in the toilet also. She would have jumped into the sea.
Would not think of getting a new one. The reason is that we sail a small boat, and whenever I was afraid, the cat knew it ( so did my wife ) and she literally lost hair of anxiety.
No life for an animal. The cat I mean.
Town quays ware taboo, other cats wanted to get to ours and they often had a real battle inside the boat. Torn curtains and everything. Our cat also brought mouse on board. She liked playing with them after catching them on land
( French canals ) The cat even brought a small rabbit into the cabin.
On Easter 2001, we ware having breakfast in the cockpit. My wife said “ So, now we have an Easter bunny to “I had no idea what she was talking about until she pointed into the cabin where a small rabbit was hopping over the floor boards. I still have no idea how the cat took the rabbit trough the cat door. I had cut the hole real small, a fat cat would not pass trough.
My dad was good harmonica player. With a box of matches he “drummed” the rhythm on the table, so he played rhythm and melody. Mostly tango´s. I bought him a new expensive mouth organ for his birthday.
That evening, I was lying on the couch in front of the wood stove and wanted to try myself how the harmonica sounded. As usual the cat had made herself comfortable on my stomach.
I love music, cant play anything. So I hooted the harmonica.
The cat became a whirling devil, jumped up, but my couch is below the side deck, there is not much hight, cat bounced back into my face and left to sit all hairs up hissing under the table.
I had some nasty scratches in my face when I posted the harmonica to my dad.
NornaBiron
New member
Sorry to hear how you lost Abadan, but what great memories of her!
OldBawley
Active member
Could fill a book with story's about Abadan.
Even the way she came to live with me and why she was named Abadan
Her death was a shock.
Previously I had caught a big puffer fish. They ware rare in South Turkey then, we had no internet and the fish was not in any of my fish books.
I cleaned the big fish ( the skin is so tough even my real sharp sailors knife did not cut the skin ) filleted and froze the fish meat.
Al tough or maybe because I had no information about the fish I did not eat it, after some days started feeding it to the cat. She really liked it, no problem.
Back in Fethiye for the market I met a diving instructor who told me the pic I had taken was of a “Puffing fish “ but that she had never seen a puffer in the Med.
Now the puffer is wide spread and very common in South Turkey, spreading into the Dodecanese. Migrant coming from the Red sea
People die eating the fish.
The poison is in the skin and intestines.
Years later at Simy island I fed two finger long small fish to Abadan.
Just minutes later she started behaving strange. Her back legs got limb, she tried to climb my leg, seconds later the respiration stopped. She died in my arms.
Buried her on top of Simy hill overlooking Pedi bay. Visited her grave some times when on Simy.
Abadan was old, was operated twice for cancer, started having breathing problems when very hot. I wish I could die so fast and peacefully.
Later, not now.
Even the way she came to live with me and why she was named Abadan
Her death was a shock.
Previously I had caught a big puffer fish. They ware rare in South Turkey then, we had no internet and the fish was not in any of my fish books.
I cleaned the big fish ( the skin is so tough even my real sharp sailors knife did not cut the skin ) filleted and froze the fish meat.
Al tough or maybe because I had no information about the fish I did not eat it, after some days started feeding it to the cat. She really liked it, no problem.
Back in Fethiye for the market I met a diving instructor who told me the pic I had taken was of a “Puffing fish “ but that she had never seen a puffer in the Med.
Now the puffer is wide spread and very common in South Turkey, spreading into the Dodecanese. Migrant coming from the Red sea
People die eating the fish.
The poison is in the skin and intestines.
Years later at Simy island I fed two finger long small fish to Abadan.
Just minutes later she started behaving strange. Her back legs got limb, she tried to climb my leg, seconds later the respiration stopped. She died in my arms.
Buried her on top of Simy hill overlooking Pedi bay. Visited her grave some times when on Simy.
Abadan was old, was operated twice for cancer, started having breathing problems when very hot. I wish I could die so fast and peacefully.
Later, not now.
RichardS
N/A
Skylark
Well-known member
Lovely story of Abadan. A great picture of pussy on the beach waiting for the water taxi to pick her up. There's no doubting who is master and who is slave in any cat-human relationship. I can't think of anything nicer than having an adorable cat aboard but I don't imagine it's an easy life for pussy. At home, we were adopted by a run away and she has taken over our lives. We recently took her to the boat to see how she would fare. She went on hunger strike and hid for 2 days. I love to see cats aboard boats but it wouldn't work with ours. Best of luck to the OP, hope it works out ok for all.
Here she is hiding in cave locker, aft cabin.
Here she is hiding in cave locker, aft cabin.
