January 10, 2014: Nukaat here again. I’m lounging in the cockpit with my assistants. It’s pretty warm, but at least there’s a nice breeze today. This nautical life isn’t too bad, at least most of the time. Sometimes the boat starts rolling around under me and I get a little woozy, but when we are in the marina place it’s usually pretty calm and I can jump off the boat from time to time and sit somewhere a little more solid.

But not where we are today. There’s water on all sides. They say we’re on the hook. Me, I don’t see no hooks, so I’m not quite sure what it means. But we’ve been here a couple of times before. It’s a bay with a few other boats around. They call it Puerto Galera.

I haven’t touched grass or scratched trees in a really long time now. Or seen any bunnies. I’ve heard there are other cats around the marina place where we normally stay, but somebody told me they are really little compared to me. None of them have come to visit me yet.

Everybody who’s met me since we’ve been here says I’m really fat. I think they’re just not used to seeing such a big handsome Canadian boy with such a thick, fluffy coat. Although I have to admit I’ve put on a couple of pounds since my much more streamlined days in Canada.

These days, I stare at my assistants each morning until they finally wake up and feed me. Breakfast hasn’t changed too much from our old home to this new floaty one, so that’s a relief. I like my wet food a lot more than that dry stuff, but it’s not too bad if I just need a little snack before dinner or in the middle of the night.

After breakfast it’s furminating time! That’s my favourite part of the day, after feeding time and play time and sleepy time. First it starts with a nice face massage, and then a bunch of my hair gets pulled out. But I get to have some yummy brown goupy stuff that I’m told will help prevent hair balls. I’m all over that stuff…I don’t like yakking up hair balls anymore than anyone likes cleaning them up. Not too keen when someone tries to clip my claws short though. I just get them nice and sharp the way I like them, and then I have to start all over again.

During the hottest part of the day, I mostly lay low in one of my favourite sleeping spots. I have a few choice ones now. But I like to mix it up from time to time. Have to keep everyone on their toes, you know. MOKEN isn’t such a bad home. There are lots of nooks and crannies to explore and I really like to help when there are projects to be done, especially when I get to explore the bilge thingies. They say the boat is 51 feet long but I don’t know what that means. What I do know is that if you stretched me out, you could fit about 18 of me in a line from one end to the other.

I like to sit and watch my peeps when they are making food (in case there might be something tasty for me) and when they wash the dishes. I don’t know why they don’t just lick them clean the way I do. It’s so much simpler.

Somebody usually starts play time when I’m right in the midst of having a good nap. How rude! But I generally forgive them and join right in. My favourite games are pounce, chase and attack. And occasionally out comes my catnip bag. That’s the best! I just can’t resist that stuff!! Sometimes there are moths or mosquitoes or flies to chase around. That’s fun too. Night time is still the best time to play. My toy mousy seems extra loud in the dark and it’s fun to dash up and down the stairs and back and forth making as much noise as possible when my peeps are sleeping.

But I really didn’t like it too much a few months ago when I tried to jump off the boat onto the dock thingy. Although I hate to admit it, I didn’t quite make it. Twice. The first time, half of me landed in the water. The second time I went in all the way. But somehow I managed to claw my way out. Before I could lick all that tasty salt off my fur, my assistant grabbed me and dunked me a bucket of fresh water. I suppose it was all for the best, but I made a big kafuffle about not liking it at the time. My skin was a little itchy afterwards so I got to go to the kitty spa a couple of times for a bath and mani/pedi. I smelled really good afterwards.

Sometimes I even get a little vacation from the boat. A few different times now my assistants packed up all my luggage, put me in the dreaded carrier and took me on a drive. Once we all went up into the mountains to a place called Baguio. A few other times I’ve been out into the jungle where I stay with some really nice people who take care of me along with a whole bunch of miniature Filipino cats and other animals like monkeys, bats, sea eagles and civet cats. It’s called Wildlife in Need. I was just there over Christmas and made friends with a miniature version of me. Except she was really noisy and liked to play a lot. She wore me out.

I was a bit sad to leave but it was good to come home too. I like to reassure my assistants that they are useful, so I put on my extra loud purr and snuggled up with them more than usual. They like it when I do that. And they feel guilty for abandoning me so they give me extra treats.

This time though we had barely gotten back in the routine when they put everything away and we left on something they call “an adventure.” I’m still not a bit fan when my home leaves the marina place. It’s really noisy and it rolls around under my paws. Sometimes a lot! It makes walking extra challenging and I’ve even lost my appetite a few times. I know, it’s hard to believe! I guess I get myself a little worked up about it. They keep telling me to keep my eyes on the horizon but I don’t really know what they mean. I much happier when we stop and they feed me dinner.

Just in case you were wondering, here is my Top Ten List of Things I Miss Most About Canada:

10. My pond in Nanoose Bay. We may have only been there for a couple of months in the summer before we left but it was a really nice cool place for a snooze.

9. Chasing bunnies, mice, snakes and birds. Moths and mosquitos pale by comparison and my squeaky toy mousy is pretty easy to catch.

8. Deciding when to go outside because I had my own cat door. I think every cat should have the freedom that comes with a cat door. Don’t you?

7. Waking up in the same bed to the same view every day. There’s something to be said for stability.

6. Trees, grass and lots of bushes to hide under. At least now I can hide under the kayaks on the deck and watch the action on the dock.

5. Seasons. It’s always really hot here. Not all that comfortable when you’re sporting a luxurious fur coat like mine. I like winter. I miss snow. It gave me a reason to grow my coat even thicker and then shed it everywhere in spring. (You’d think my coat would thin out a little here but it just keeps on growing and growing and shedding and shedding. It gets everywhere. That’s my revenge.)

4. Solid ground. Enough said.

3. The odd treat of fresh salmon or halibut or snapper.

2. Snuggling under a warm duvet with my peeps. It’s usually too hot to snuggle too much here.

1. My big outdoor potty. Litter boxes are not very civilized.

But life on MOKEN isn’t all bad. One of favourite adventures of the past 15 months was one evening when we were “on the hook” in a place called Maricaban Bay. A flock of little birds chased a swarm of flying ants around and around MOKEN. It was so exciting! I wasn’t sure whether I should chase the bugs or the birds but I made a good show of dashing up and down the deck. I hear we might be going back to the same place again on this trip. Maybe they’ll come back for another visit. Paws crossed! And please no more big waves like there were today. That wasn’t any fun!!!