I have just watched an interesting (and poignient) documentary about the Russian "Dogs in Space" programe.
One of the things that struck me was how laid back the Dogs actually were. Despite being strapped to rockets and fired into space they seemed to treat it as a big game with no evidance of trauma at all.
(Literally in many cases, the dogs wern't passanges in a in a capule payload, they frequently WERE the payload! In some cases the animals were catapulted from the rocket at the apex of its tragectory and had to make thir own way down using parashutes, as it were!)
There was other footage of dogs in the cabin of the Russian "Vomit Comet", generally seeeming to have a reasonably good time!
I'm just wondering whether anybody was ever brave (Or Foolhardy!) enough to try it with a cat?
The problem with cat's in space is how do you get a cat to crap without the use of kitty litter? You wouldn't want kitty litter floating about.
With a dog you could bag the dog's hind quarters and vacuum the waste products into toilet.
Cats would freak at the idea of bagging it. Also dogs bathes well a cat does not like taking a bath.
A small pet like a dog would increase the chances of well adjusted crews on long voyages in space. Plus in a food shortage emergency could be a source of protein.
I mean no disrespect to dogs but if the need did arise dog would be on the menu. It would not be the first time dogs have been eaten by explorers.
I was initially thinking about the "Vomit Comet" rather than long duration spacefilght.
(I just had visions of a totally freaked out cat clamped firmly on its handlers face with one pair of claws embedded behind behind his ears, the second embedded in the back of his neck and the teeth clamped firmly on his nose)
But seriously. On the plus side (once they had got use to the idea) I would imagine that a cat would be much more capable of moving around in zero G than a dog and would likely provide company for long duration crew for a relatively small life support burden.
On the minus side. You are correct about the hygene issues (and indeed feeding and watering. ) Cats are much less amenable to training and I suspect it would be more a case of providing suitable facilities and hoping that they use them.
This wouldn't be too much of an issue in spacecraft with a degree of artificial gravity (Spinning/Tumbling) but in the absence of this I cant really think of any easy solutions (and even doggy nappies would be pretty difficult and unpleasant, for all concerned)
Incidentally, the Russians always used Bitches on the grounds that it was easier to accommodate their hygiene needs
