RSS FeedMar 24 2009
Going Over the Deep End – Researching Water Safety for My Cat
In the interest of time, I’ll go ahead and freely admit that, no, I do not have any children, and, yes, I tend to treat my 1 1/2-year-old Balinses cat, Rumi, like the spoiled only-child I never had. The one time he was in any kind of jeopardy, I pretty much lost my mind. I fully embrace my status as a Crazy Cat Lady and have already been given the appropriate action figure by friends, so let’s just move past these points and continue on to the subject at hand…
Rumi has been raised entirely indoors and has less survival instincts than an developmentally-delayed lemming. Moreover, when they were handing out the feline attributes of agility and grace, I think he was busy going back through the line for a second helping of caterwauling, because he’s the most clumsy cat I’ve ever met. My cat has been witnessed by more than one friend tripping over a line in a tile floor. He also thinks that his monthly “bath”–in which I wipe him down with a washcloth moistened with a spray-on cat dry bath solution–is the worst conceivable thing that could ever possibly happen to him. There’s wailing and mock fainting fits for hours afterward.
All of these factors combined makes me more than a little nervous that I’m about to move Rumi into a tiny floating home which is surrounded by the Colombia River on all sides. I was very careful that when I had new windows installed in the place to order ones with built in screens. But there’s still the possibility that he might one day try to sneak out either the front or back door when they’re open. And when that happens, I worry about him ending up in the water.
In preparation for moving him up to Portland, I’ve been doing a lot of reading about how liveaboard sailers manage the safety of their pets. Many sailboat owners with cats will leave a towel or rope ladder draped over the side of their ship. That way, if a cat falls overboard, they have something to help pull themselves back on board. Unfortunately, my cat has no front claws and I’m not sure he has the agility to manage a rope ladder. (Although, I’ll may put them out front and back just the same if they don’t present the risk of trapping detritus from the river. I need to do more research on that point.)
I’ve been hunting for some sort of sensor that could be attached to Rumi’s collar that would emit an alarm should it ever come in contact with water. If anyone knows of a device like this for pets, please let me know because, so far, I haven’t had much luck finding one. The closest thing I’ve found so far are wristbands intended for children that are listed as weighing a pound. That seems like it might be overkill for my seven pound cat even for an over-protective cat mother like me. (Admittedly, wearing something that heavy would certainly slow him down a bit in a mad dash for freedom. But once the little bugger hit water, I could just see him drowning from the damn thing.)
I’ve also thought about trying to set up some sort of sonic fence over the two doors to try to encourage Rumi to stay inside. I’m not thrilled at the idea of zapping my cat anytime he gets too close. Especially as slow as he is when it comes to learning what he’s not supposed to do. But I may end up setting one up.
So far, the thing I find that comes the closest to addressing my concerns of trying to prevent my precious baby from drowning pet life preservers. Yes, they do in fact make them for both dogs and cats. I’m not the only over-protective pet parent out there. I’m just not sure it’s practical to have my cat spend the rest of his life wearing one as a safety precaution in case me might someday get out and fall in. I could however, see making him wear one if I ever let him come outside on a leash.
In case this information might be useful for someone else, I’ve listed several suppliers of pet life preservers below:
Long story short, I’m still researching and considering my options on keeping my baby safe. If you have any ideas on how to keep Rumi safe on the water, I’d love to hear them!
(And yes, for the gang in Tucson, if I get a life vest for Rumi, I’ll make sure to post pictures.)
In the interest of time, I’ll go ahead and freely admit that, no, I do not have any children, and, yes, I tend to treat my 1 1/2-year-old Balinses cat, Rumi, like the spoiled only-child I never had. The one time he was in any kind of jeopardy, I pretty much lost my mind. I fully embrace my status as a Crazy Cat Lady and have already been given the appropriate action figure by friends, so let’s just move past these points and continue on to the subject at hand…
Rumi has been raised entirely indoors and has less survival instincts than an developmentally-delayed lemming. Moreover, when they were handing out the feline attributes of agility and grace, I think he was busy going back through the line for a second helping of caterwauling, because he’s the most clumsy cat I’ve ever met. My cat has been witnessed by more than one friend tripping over a line in a tile floor. He also thinks that his monthly “bath”–in which I wipe him down with a washcloth moistened with a spray-on cat dry bath solution–is the worst conceivable thing that could ever possibly happen to him. There’s wailing and mock fainting fits for hours afterward.
All of these factors combined makes me more than a little nervous that I’m about to move Rumi into a tiny floating home which is surrounded by the Colombia River on all sides. I was very careful that when I had new windows installed in the place to order ones with built in screens. But there’s still the possibility that he might one day try to sneak out either the front or back door when they’re open. And when that happens, I worry about him ending up in the water.
In preparation for moving him up to Portland, I’ve been doing a lot of reading about how liveaboard sailers manage the safety of their pets. Many sailboat owners with cats will leave a towel or rope ladder draped over the side of their ship. That way, if a cat falls overboard, they have something to help pull themselves back on board. Unfortunately, my cat has no front claws and I’m not sure he has the agility to manage a rope ladder. (Although, I’ll may put them out front and back just the same if they don’t present the risk of trapping detritus from the river. I need to do more research on that point.)
I’ve been hunting for some sort of sensor that could be attached to Rumi’s collar that would emit an alarm should it ever come in contact with water. If anyone knows of a device like this for pets, please let me know because, so far, I haven’t had much luck finding one. The closest thing I’ve found so far are wristbands intended for children that are listed as weighing a pound. That seems like it might be overkill for my seven pound cat even for an over-protective cat mother like me. (Admittedly, wearing something that heavy would certainly slow him down a bit in a mad dash for freedom. But once the little bugger hit water, I could just see him drowning from the damn thing.)
I’ve also thought about trying to set up some sort of sonic fence over the two doors to try to encourage Rumi to stay inside. I’m not thrilled at the idea of zapping my cat anytime he gets too close. Especially as slow as he is when it comes to learning what he’s not supposed to do. But I may end up setting one up.
So far, the thing I find that comes the closest to addressing my concerns of trying to prevent my precious baby from drowning pet life preservers. Yes, they do in fact make them for both dogs and cats. I’m not the only over-protective pet parent out there. I’m just not sure it’s practical to have my cat spend the rest of his life wearing one as a safety precaution in case me might someday get out and fall in. I could however, see making him wear one if I ever let him come outside on a leash.
In case this information might be useful for someone else, I’ve listed several suppliers of pet life preservers below:
Long story short, I’m still researching and considering my options on keeping my baby safe. If you have any ideas on how to keep Rumi safe on the water, I’d love to hear them!
(And yes, for the gang in Tucson, if I get a life vest for Rumi, I’ll make sure to post pictures.)
As I commented on facebook … being a devoted pet lover myself, I totally understand your concern and do NOT think you’ve “gone over the deep end.” At least it would be more comfortable for him to wear a life vest full time in Portland than in Tucson temperatures. Don’t have any brilliant ideas to offer you, but did want to pass along moral support!
Why no front claws?
I do not have a solution for you, but I have experience with my cat on a float cabin. Our situation is a little different. Our cabin floats several feet away from shore and we can pull in our gangplank for extra measures. But our cat was determined to explore the outdoors. He too, is an indoor cat, but we let his go out on deck. We watched him closely, but became somewhat complacent when he didn’t seem interested in trying to get to shore. Then when backs were turned he leaped several feet to a floating log and skittered over to the rock face. We weren’t worried about him finding his way back across the logs, but we were worried about him climbing the cliff and not being able to get back down. You see, there is no way we can get to the top. A few strategically thrown rocks above his head sent him running back to the cabin for safety. We blocked his portals to shore so now he can safely explore his deck with no danger of getting lost. I will admit it was a very scary experience. You can see pictures here – http://powellriverbooks.blogspot.com/2008/03/hole-in-wall-mountain-cat.html. Now he has to be content to go underneath the float and maybe find a mouse or two (what’s that he says?). – Margy
Oh, wow. Thanks for the story, Margy. I think I’d completely freak if Rumi tried to make a break for the shore. (Admittedly, I bet he’d try to use the ramps rather than intentionally swim for it.)
I must confess that I had them removed (via laser) after 6 months of being unsuccessful at trying to train him not to rip the hell out of my furniture. Did the soft claws, scratching posts, pheromone sprays, consulting an animal behavioralist. The whole bit. I cracked after I came home and found him hanging from the curtains.
I appreciate the support. Need to make sure to tell Charlie that there’s at least one person out there who doesn’t think I’m going overboard.
Hi there –
I totally hear about not wanting to seem like the crazy lady. My poor husband has to deal with a fluffy teacup poodle in a pink polka-dot life jacket. So tell Charlie that you are not crazy and that there are other men who have to deal… Anyways, we have some really cute x-small and xx-small (not Sure how big Rumi is!) pet life jackets that you might want to check out!
Best,
Betsy
PS – Checkout PuppyPFD.com there are some really cute x-small and xx-small (not Sure how big Rumi is!) pet life jackets that you might want to check out!