Meet Skatty: an adventurous cat who spends his days sailing with his owner, Paul J. Thompson.
Skatty—which is short for Strauss von Skattebol of Rebelpaws—is six months old, and he has spent most of those months on Thompson’s sailboat. While Skatty spends most of his time relaxing and enjoying the view, he does have one very important job: he acts as Thompson’s ears. Skatty immediately picked up on the fact that Thompson is deaf, and he has learned to alert Thompson to sounds he misses:
“Without any training, Skatty has twigged that I don’t hear,” Thompson told Adventure Cats. “He lets me know if a boat comes alongside, people are at my door (ashore) and when my phone receives text messages.”
Thompson built his 32-foot sailboat himself, and he has already used it for many great adventures. He sailed across the South Atlantic Ocean by himself, becoming the first deaf person to do so.
Now, Thompson plans to circumnavigate the globe in his boat, and this time he won’t be alone: Skatty will lend a paw for the journey!
Thompson chose a Main Coon cat specifically because they’re bred to be on the water:
“Maine Coons are at home around water and in this case, Skatty is a polydactyl cat, which is what ships’ cats traditionally are,” Thompson said. “The old time sailors believed that the big polydactyl paws gave them a better grip on the deck and also made them better mousers. So for me, as a sailor, it is very satisfying to have a polydactyl cat.”
Skatty spends most of his days sleeping in different places on the ship. He particularly enjoys sleeping on the warm solar panels during the day. At night, he curls up next to Thompson below deck.
Thompson has added a variety of safety features to keep his feline companion safe and secure on the boat.
He put a net around the deck to keep Skatty from falling off the side. If Skatty does fall in, Thompson has also installed a rope ladder than he can use to quickly fish the cat out of the water. Skatty has only fallen into the water once, and Thompson was able to easily pull him out. The fall didn’t seem to bother Skatty—he still loves hanging out right on the edge of the boat, looking for fish and seagulls!
Having Skatty onboard has led to Thompson seeing life at sea from a new perspective:
“Having a cat on board forces you to slow down and take life at your cat’s pace. Invariably, that is a good thing as we are all far too busy rushing around. Skatty wants to know about everything and, in satisfying his curiosity, I learn to see things in a new light or from a different perspective. Also, the love of a cat is a very special and precious thing.”
Thompson and Skatty are two adventurous sailors who both love life at sea. If you’d like to see more photos of Skatty’s adventures, check out his Instagram page.
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