Maine Coon Cat Becomes Deaf Sailor’s Ears and Helps Him Navigate at Sea

A sailor who can’t hear the sound of the ocean, has not problems about navigating on the ocean`s unstable waters because he has a feline who listens and hears for him.

Meet Skatty the 6-month-old polydactyl Maine Coon cat.

Strauss von Skattebol of RebelPawz or Skatty , arrived to Paul J. Thompson when he was a few months old.

Paul, a computer programmer in Auckland, New Zealand, decided to sail across the Southern Atlantic Ocean in the 32-foot boat, La Chica, that he built himself.

But he’s not taking this adventure alone.

Paul who became totally deaf as a kid, has a feline buddy to be his ears. The amazing cat gives him visual cues to help him navigate at the dangerous sea.

Cats have an extraordinary sense of hearing. Their ears rotate to locate the source of the sound at such accuracy that no humans are able to.

“Without any training, Skatty has understand that I don’t hear,” Paul told Adventure Cats.

“He lets me know when my phone receives text messages, people are at my door (ashore) or, a boat comes alongside.”

Skatty puts his paw on the phone to alert an incoming message. If they have visitors, the intelligent Maine Coon will lead his human by walking him to the door.

They share a very special relationship.

“Skatty has learnt to get my attention by coming and putting his tiny paw on my knee and I’ve learnt to get up and follow him.

“Which usually leads to his food bowl (empty) but frequently enough it’s something that I’m glad to know about,” Paul said.

Cats’ capacity to train us, humans, is amazing, and Skatty is putting his native talent to perfect use.

He is not only intelligent, but quite dexterous.

This fluffy Maine Coon was born with an extra toes and pair of thumbs .

” Sailors since the old times believed that the big polydactyl paws gave them a better grip on the deck and also made them better mouse hunters.

“So for me, as a sailor, it is very fulfilling to have a polydactyl cat,” Paul said.

Skatty loves to follow his human wherever he goes.

“Commonly, if I’m below, he’ll be below and if I’m on deck he will generally come up as well,” Thompson says via NZHerald.

“At night he regularly sleeps with me, curled up in the crook of my knee.”

Paul takes Skatty with him on every journey.

The cute ginger cat has made his life complete. Together the duo make a perfect team at sea.

After having been on the ocean for quite some time, Skatty has earned his stripes as a marine feline. “His strong desire is to catch a seagull… but so far no luck.”

“The love of a cat is a very extraordinary and nice thing.”