Early this morning as Tracy and I sat below having breakfast, we heard this rustle and a thump or two on deck and then quiet. Not being a sound we have heard before, Tracy(closest to the companionway) headed up on deck. I suddenly hear her calling out to Blue and looking down. She was in the water!!!!!!!!!!!

Apparently, while touring(outside the netting) along the cap rail, she toppled into the water beside the boat. Not sure if she was trying to jump to the next boat, but she was in the filthy water of the marina swimming along doing a pretty decent doggy paddle. Tracy looked for the large fishing net that we have on deck for just such an event and not seeing it, immediately climbed down the ladder and into the water and set off to rescue her. I, meanwhile on deck, called out to her and grabbed the missing net but by that time, she was well away from the boat. She was heading for the concrete wall of the marina.

At the same time, one of our friends(Doug from Yacht Help) was walking along the marina dock so I handed him the net as I climbed off Zephyr. Blue had now reached the wall and was hanging on by her claws. Slowly, she started her climb up the wall digging her claws into the cracks. She did not look impressed with her situation. Once at the marina dock, Doug slipped the net over her but she was not about to move even when Peanut(the local dog of the marina) came over to see what was going on. She huddled in a small ball and just lay there. Tracy, meanwhile had returned to the ladder and climbed back aboard(also looking a bit soggy and dirty).

I took the net off Blue and picked her up in my arms. One of the claws on her paws was badly torn and bloody. She was in shock from her dunking. She's never been in water all the years we have taken her out sailing with us. Even back in Colorado, she never hit the water. I guess now she knows what happens when you go where you aren't supposed to go.

I slowly handed her back to Tracy and came back aboard and rushed below to get a towel, and some baby shampoo. Up on deck, I connected and turned on the hose from shore and started water running into a big bucket we keep on board. In she went all the time with her paws out stretched trying to stop going in the bucket. We washed her well trying to get the filth from the marina off her as well as the saltwater out of her furr. A few minutes later, she was wrapped in a towel and sitting back in Tracy's lap still in shock.

Luckily, we have a vet on one of the cruising boats(Tomboy) at the marina so I rushed over to get her to take a look at poor Blues claw. They just happen to be coming to our boat at the same time to return a couple of charts and books we had loaned them. Janis(the vet) came on board and soothed poor Blue as best she could. She has a great "bedside" manner with cats. Blue, who normally hates just about everyone, had no problem with her scratching her head and chin.

The torn claw was inspected, coated in corn starch(to absorb blood and dry up the booboo) and then bandaged(see the picture of the very ticked off kitty above). We took her below and put her on the forward berth but not to be out done, she then tried to climb up to her "throne" on the top of the cat tree. Unfortunately, only having three of her four paws(with claws)to be used, she slipped off the cat tree and hit the floor. We picked her up and put her in her "throne" where we let her rest and start doing her own version of kitty cleaning. It's going to take a while to get her furr back to how it was.

For a while, she will have to "walk" around Zephyr with the bandage on her foot to make sure that kitty litter doesn't get in the wound(bad). She is certainly not impress with the bandage. Meanwhile, once she got off the cat tree, we piled pillows on top of her "throne" and the next level down to make sure she doesn't hurt herself trying to climb back up there.

Another life lesson learned! Down to 8 lives(probably less actually).