Puss in boats

The Redditch Standard reports the loss of a cat from a narrowboat going through Tardebigge, which got me to wondering about their role as a waterways travelling companion. I always think of the late Mike Stevens and his wife Wendy when cats are mentioned as I lost count of the times that their cruising plans were disrupted by their feline friends failing to return in the early morn. And you can’t really play fetch with your puss can you? Or give them a walk down the towpath to the next lock? Or put them in bed and use them as a bio alternative to one’s Mikuni? In their favour, they’re small, so don’t take up much room and they don’t shed or smell....and, if you’re sensible like Jo on Hadar, you keep your cat indoors at night so it can’t bring you small, furry or feathered gifts as a sign of its affection. I think it was Graham Oliver on Alnwick who once reported that their mog had brought them a mouse and dropped it in their bed. A live one...