Once we have completed all the modifications on board and almost everything has been stowed away properly, the big day finally arrives for Lucky: moving from the mill to the catamaran.
For the transport to Cuxhaven and the first exciting days on board, we got some herbal tranquillisers for Lucky from the vet. In this respect, he is relatively relaxed, but after numerous vet appointments for vaccinations and teeth cleaning in the last few weeks, his enthusiasm for a transport is, to be honest, still limited. He seems to sense what’s coming and instinctively takes cover behind a cupboard. But it doesn’t help, unfortunately he has to go through with it. I manage to lure him out from behind the cupboard after all and then, with a practised grip, he is already sitting in his transport crate. To make sure it wasn’t too stressful for him, we also sprayed the crate with a pheromone spray beforehand, which is also supposed to calm cats. We also put his Fluffy in the crate so that he is nice and cosy and comfortable. Well, the cat’s whining is still loud and audible.
Fortunately, the meowing stops after just a few minutes and Lucky seems to have accepted his fate. He lies relatively calmly in the crate and sticks his nose into the Fluffy. After just over an hour’s journey, we all arrive in Cuxhaven exhausted and Lucky is allowed on board for the first time. Whilst he didn’t want to go into the transport crate on departure, he doesn’t want to come out for the time being. The surroundings are too unfamiliar, the smells too new! Of course, we have placed as many familiar things as possible within his sight, such as his felt hut or the Pirahna cat cave. I also keep him company in the port aft cabin and try to calm him down with good words and cuddles. Finally, Lucky bravely moves from the transport crate to his Pirahna cave – known as Pü for short – and continues to look around somewhat anxiously from there. Not even the portion of cat food right in front of his nose makes him come out of the Pü. At least by the end of the day we manage to get him to purr again when we scratch him and he no longer looks quite so scared.
The world looks different the next morning. Lucky voluntarily leaves his shelter and enjoys a hearty breakfast. He has already discovered his litter tray and with me by his side, we can explore the rest of the cabin. We leave the door open for him and Lucky even takes his first tour of the entire ship. Crouching low and very, very carefully, he explores everything. However, he’s still not entirely at ease, so after the first tour he quickly retreats back to „his“ cabin and his felt hut. He stays there for more or less the whole day until the evening, when his thirst for adventure takes hold of him again. This time he is much more relaxed and has the good feeling that there is also a cosy place to lie on the sofa here on board, which Lucky tests extensively. He goes back to his cabin for the night and we all spend a quiet night on board.
The next day also starts with breakfast, but then it’s time for Lucky to call it a day. Our technical expert Kjell comes on board and we start drilling, screwing and hammering. Too much noise to feel comfortable. So Lucky prefers to stay in his felt hut and stays put. Of course he gets cuddles from time to time and you get the impression that he is slowly but surely settling in. In the evening, he even makes it back into the lounge and watches a bit of television with us.
The next day, the work on board is lively again and Lucky logically prefers to stay in his cabin. He feels safe there and is therefore not in the way of Axel and Kjell when they are installing the new lithium batteries. When calm returns on board in the evening, he dares to leave his cabin again and actually takes his first steps out into the cockpit. After three days on board, we are now sure that Lucky will get used to life on board and will gradually conquer all areas. He has already found his first favourite places and will certainly find a few more in the course of time. Lucky will therefore remain a cat on board and will sail the oceans with us!
