The Cat will also NOT fast travel with you, is damaged by terrain ailments (poison and fire and the sorts) and will flee & disappear from combat, so after every fight try to find it by finding the yellow dot on the map, if you can't reload. The magisters hate black cats, so if need be separate the character the cat is following to talk to people. Note this is tied to an achievement where you basically have to get it through Fort Joy and into the Hollow Marshes, so save often. From here head East and you should have a black cat follow you (although if you talk to it, the cat insists that it is YOU who is following HIM).
Continuing south, if you look at your minimap you will see a yellow dot who is the Red Prince (x:165 y:281) standing on a rock staring out to at sea should you want to recruit him. You'll come across 2 voidwoken on the beach should you want to fight them, it should be a fairly simply and relatively easy fight. To the east is Waypoint - Fort Joy Beach (x:203 y:358) and not much else for now, so head South along the beach. You awaken to find yourself washed ashore.
