Forum Discussion

gscudder's avatar
gscudder
Explorer
Sep 15, 2013

cat travel

Ok here goes, we are about to start fulltiming this winter and will be traveling with our fur kids, the beagle will ride in the scout car with the wife.
Our cat loves campng but HATES going into the carrier, does anyone let their cat roam the trailer (fifthwheel) while traveling?
  • It's not popular with many but I do. When I started RVing with the cat I made her ride in the truck with me. She was very vocal while in a moving truck, for hours sometimes. She would often pant. I would turn her loose in the 5er during extended rest stops so she could eat/drink/use litter box. One day she went into hiding when it was time to go back in the truck so I continued the trip with her in the 5er.

    She didn't seem any the worse for wear at the end of that day, or any other travel day for that matter. The cat and I are both very aware of her location during slide operation. She's either under the futon (her preferred safe location) or in my sight whenever the slides are being operated.
  • Yes. Our cat has free roam of the trailer while traveling. She hunkers down in her bed, but will meet us at the back door every time we stop. Her bed is on the floor between the wall and bed. Even when we had our "Loose Wheels*" accident, she was fine. We also put her in the night before we leave...in this way she gets accustomed to being in there, then next day there is no meowing.
    She has traveled all across N. America and Canada this way. She always wears a harness in campgrounds.
    (* Do a search if you wish to read this.)
  • Be careful, people have posted too many times about pets getting pinched and killed by slide outs. Just something to keep in mind.
  • I was driving a car (not a RV) once with a cat and it jumped down and got between the pedals and my feet. It nearly caused an accident. Just something to be careful of.
  • my tale of caution is a loose cat in a motor home when I stopped for gas. I opened the door to get out and pump the gas. Cat dove for the door, she didn't get out (seriously fast foot work/kitty soccer on my part), but since that time I will put the cat in her carrier before opening up a door.
  • There was a post here on rv.net a while back where the cat rubbed against the kitchen faucet handle and ran the water 'till the gray tank filled up, backed up to the kitchen sink and overflowed.

    You'd have to make sure that everything in the camper was "off" and could not be turned on by accident.

    We run with our cat in the truck cab.
    He's learned not to go near the pedals and he stays in the back seat in his box, or my wife's lap or sometimes nooked into the corner of the dash top, passenger side.
  • Thanks for the Replys,
    We wanted to make sure we checked with other folks before we tried it. We try to be good Fur-parents and didnt want to sound like we were just throwing the Cat back there to be rid of it for the day.
    Good advice on the slide outs and I will make sure the water pump is off during travel.
    Thanks, Gregg
  • I did it once and the cats seemed terrified. So to make everything easier for everyone, we removed the rear seat in our TV and installed an UltraLite Cage. So the kids travel in Air Conditioned comfort with food, water, and potty. They generally curl up and pass out for most of the trip. Since we Long Termers our Kids have spent more time in the RV than anyplace else.
  • Our cat rode in the truck with us. He had his leash on so if he made a run for it when we stopped we could grab it. Never had to. He usually laid or sat on my lap.
    The leash meant that if it was necessary it could be grabbed if he thought that he should ride between my husband's feet.
  • Our 4 cats ride in the TV with us. We have 2 good size cages, one with 3 shelves (made by Midwest). A small litterpan fits in each cage. We NEVER move the slide until they are in the TV or sitting outside in their carriers waiting to be moved to the cages in the TV.