Our anniversary dinner at Vuda Marina was topped by the arrival of a kitten. She showed up at the restaurant when we were having dinner, helped herself to some of my ice cream and moved onto Rhapsody. She was a skinny little black and white thing with a non-stop purr and endless curiosity. She looks to be about 3 months old and is very friendly. We decided that we would keep her until it was time to leave Fiji and then find a home for her here. Her name was Raijeli, (Rachael) given to her by one of the waiters that night.
The next day we set sail for Musket Cove. We had reservations at Navini Island just after the new year to celebrate our anniversary. Not a good introduction to sailing life for Raijeli. She freaked out the minute the engine started and hid herself in the back of a closet. It was not a smooth crossing and the poor little thing was both scared and seasick the entire way. We had reservations for several days at Navini Island just after the new year to celebrate our anniversary so we would need to leave her alone on the boat while we were gone. Luckily, we had friends also moored in Musket who were delighted to take care of here while we were gone. She did fine and was already bigger when we got back. Unfortunately, the crossing back to Vuda was just as bad and she once again threw up on the carpet. Guess she is not cut out to be a sailing cat.
Back in Vuda she soon settled in and became a favorite of everyone, climbing up the mast, racing along the boom and bouncing on the awning. She is definitely a nocturnal cat and we would hear her chasing around the cabin most of the night. During the day she would disappear into some hidey hole.
Eventually she realized that it was possible to leap off of the boat and onto the grass ashore. Unfortunately, getting back on was another story. We are not at a traditional dock but med moored nose to with a steep cement wall. To get back aboard she needs to leap from the shore onto the narrow bowsprit. When the tide is right this is easy but the tide is not always right. About 3am one night I was awakened by a loud knocking on the boat and heard the security guard, saying, “your cat fell in”. The tide was very high and Raiceli was crouched soaking wet on the dock ready to try one more time to make the leap to the bowsprit. This was apparently her third or fourth try. Each time she fell in she had managed to scramble up the wall and back onto the grass. The security guard could not get close to her so I scrambled ashore, picked her up and carried her, dripping and shivering, onto the boat. To add insult to injury, I put her in the sink and washed her as soon as we got back inside because the marina water is filthy. This showed her down for a while but several weeks later she was up to her old tricks. We have ropes hanging off the bow and stern for her to climb up on but she will not use them. Twice more I had to go get her in the night and a couple of other times she showed up dripping wet.
When she was about 5 months old we started getting late night visits from an local tom cat, who even came onto the boat, so it was time for a trip to the vet. I found a friend with a car and off we went to get a check up, shots and the operation. Another trip for more shots. Then a huge mix up over the booster. I was told to come back in 2 weeks for a second shot but when I called to verify I was told they were out of the rabies booster. Not only that, but there was none in Fiji and it would be at least a month before any more arrived. Eventually, almost 2 months later, they had the vaccine. Only when I arrived we figured out that she did not need the rabies booster, she needed the booster for the cat fever shot which they had all along. By now it was too late for that booster and the series had to start over.
Although we had not planned on keeping her when we left, I decided to get all of the necessary shots and paperwork, just in case. Wow! Talk about complications. Every country has different requirements depending on where you are coming from and where you are going. For most of the islands as long as she had all her shots and stayed on board it was not a problem. This would means that we can never tie up in a marina but always need to anchor or moor. Hawaii is the absolutely worst. A blood sample must be sent to a lab in Kansas with all paperwork stating that the results are to go to Hawaii. This must be done at least 2 months after the second rabies vaccine. There is a 3-4 week wait for the results to show up on line and then she is free to enter for up to 36 months. We also have to have a certificate of exit along with an internal, external parasite treatment within 10 days of checking out. One more wrinkle, we must check in in Honolulu only. No other port of entry and she has to be picked up by and authorized vet and taken to quarantine at the airport. If everything is in order she can be released the same day.
Animals Fiji is a nonprofit organization staffed mostly by volunteers. I take my hat off to them for working with me through this whole complicated process. In the end, we did not take her with us. She hates sailing and is always seasick. If the weather gets rough I would be worried about her falling overboard. But the deciding factor was that we could not find a marina in Hawaii that allowed pets. I fact most marinas do not even allow live aboards.
So we found a local family that promised to love her. And then she started disappearing. I was used to her going walk about at night but she did not turn up in the morning. We looked everywhere and could not find her. Finally tracked her down by following a trail of paw prints 3 boats away. The boats are packed in so tightly this time of year that it is an easy jump from boat to boat. Fair Isle was badly damaged in Cyclone Winston and has been sitting empty for 2 years. Apparently it is the perfect hunting ground. Must be lots of mice and spiders and geckos on board for chasing. On the third search she was finally discovered sleeping under the floorboards. She was not happy to be dragged out and carried back to Rhapsody but happy enough to have a meal and sleep for the rest of the day. Next night she was gone again. After the third day, I told the security guard what was going on and we closed all the doors and hatches on Fair Isle. Sure enough she took off again but came back an hour later, furious. The next day she went off with several bags of crunches and litter and all of her paperwork to her new Fiji home. We miss her but it was definitely the right decision. The Futuna run turned out to be horrible this year and I cannot imagine having to deal with an upset cat along with everything else.
Several days later we left for the movie shoot at Rakiraki.
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