We enjoy having our cat on board (his name is Hobie - seemed appropriate), but he does come with issues that you need to be on top of.
As far as litter goes, I tried clumping litter for the first three years. Then I switched to the Breeze pellet system. Although hard little pellets do get kicked around the parameter of the box, it's better than having all the clay litter going all over the place and into the bilge. If you do use clumping litter, make sure you get a really heavy one so it doesn't fly around so much. I do wash and reuse the pellets in the Breeze system, but you will need to bring a good supply of pads with you from the states - they are impossible to find in the
Bahamas or
Caribbean. Amazon has pretty reasonably priced knock off pads.
We are rarely at
marinas, but when we are, our cat loves to go visiting. One of the most important things you can do is leash train your cat so that you can walk him just like a dog. Get a good snug harness and make sure he/she can't slip out of it easily - the small dog ones are better than the cat ones with soft collar and perfectly safe. I then rig a line in the
cockpit so he can sit on the combing but go no farther. When he wants to check something out, I put him on his leash and we walk the docks.
Most cats are good swimmers. Ours has fallen in twice but not off the boat - once jumping from the
dinghy to the boat and once jumping from the dock to the "mainland" and not realizing he was still on his leash (bad
cartoon moment). He swam like a maniac, so we were pleased to see that he could swim in an
emergency. We do have a lifejacket for him on board, but have only used it about once when we were in the
dinghy. I recommend that you tie something off the back of the boat to enable him/her to climb up on their own - some people use rug squares, macramed (sp?) rugs, or even noodles.
Wherever you plan on going, make sure you are up to date on what permits, vaccinations, etc., you have to get before going there. There are some really strict restrictions in the BVI's and various
Caribbean islands - they will confiscate your pet if you don't comply. For the
Bahamas, you need to get a
permit to
import your cat before you arrive. For any British islands, you will have to put your cat through Titer vaccines.
Also be sure that you know where the veterinarians are located. I had to fly Hobie from
Georgetown in the
Exumas to
Nassau when he had a struvite crystal blockage - the vet only comes once a week to
Georgetown and the cat would have been dead by then. So be prepared for the unexpected.
Also ask your vet to give you some basic pain and anti-anxiety meds for your cat if you won't be near a vet. And pack plenty of
food and litter. Our cat is on a prescription diet, and in the Bahamas it's $4.50 for a six ounce can, so we load up in the states. Litter and cat food is very expensive in the Bahamas.
Hope that helps. Happy to answer any other questions. Melanie