Cat travels

We don't own a cat but have two puppy dogs. When we got our travel trailer I took them outside in it and we just sat around some. I turned on the tv, radio, etc. I cleaned some...they have gotten used to it. It is like their second home now. They know how to jump in the bed, where their water and food is..we have a sign that says Dog House in it.

TWO CATS and one small dog.

When we retired 2 years ago and started snowbirding, we had no choice but to bring them with us.

AMAZINGLY - they LOVE IT!

I have two wire crates in the car that they travel in. Yes they have cried occasionally while riding in the car - but 99% of the time you do not know they are there. We transport them from car to camper in a soft sided carrier so they don't get startled and flee.

They actually seem better in the camper than at home.

NOTE: these are indoor cats - outdoor cats would be a "whole nuther matter".

Now, when ever we go somewhere, they always just come with us.

When we first started traveling with our cat we kept him in a cage. He would never settle down and kept complaining. The second year we let him out and he simply settled down between us and slept most of the time. He would use the litter pan only when we were stopped.

Train a cat?

Surely you jest... more likely the cat will train you to do it her way

Been there. Our kitty was 10 yo when she started her life as a camping kitty.

In our case the tow vehicle was a Ford Excursion (= BIG). We would put the smallish travel litter box in the cargo area with some water and food. Once we started the trip she would be released from the travel carrier and wander the Ex.

At the campground she would have run of the TT which was a 25'.

Now we have a Class A and our new kitty (our old girl died earlier this year) is right at home running the length of the motor home.

Moral: kitties are very adept at camping.

I have been RVing with my kitty for much of the past 2 years. He was 11 when we started. It's been much easier than I expected, and I love having him!

He's indoor/outdoor, and he and I consult on when and where is safe for him to be outside. Boondocking is best for that. RV parks full of off leash dogs, not so much.

Definitely get the cat used to the RV, and thinking of it as part of their territory, before you go. I knew I was there when my kitty stopped letting his best friend cat come in the van, because it was HIS. Driveway camp with the cat too, before you leave. I did this for several weeks, while packing up my S&B.

You can get a harness and leash for a cat, but they can get out of even the ones that guarantee no cat can escape. In about 5 seconds :B. My cat is very accommodating, and will stay on the harness if I ask him too, but he feels safer off it so I don't use it unless a park requires it. When he gets spooked he runs TO the van. That is part of why it is important that it is his territory.

We've had several cats and all traveled well with us, except for our current cat. It's not so much he doesn't like traveling, it just, he gets car sick. He works himself up into such a frenzie, he vomits and poos all over everything. That's no fun when your barreling down the road on a 2 lane highway with no where to stop to clean up the mess.

We tried keeping the cat litter box in the truck. Didn't work. We tried cat carriers. He just made a mess inside them and then we had to wash the carrier AND the cat!

Out of desperation, we turned him loose in the camper! OH, bad mistake! He got sick right in the middle on our bed! Now that WAS NO fun at all.

Finally, I decided to put him in the bathroom shower with a litter pan and a towel on the floor. If he got sick, he could vomit or poo in there, hopefully, inside the litter pan. And IT WORKED!

So, for the next few trips (usually week-end jaunts an hour drive or less), he rode in the shower.

Then, when we went to Florida (from Indiana), we monitored the temperature inside the camper with a wireless outdoor thermometer. With the inside of the trailer reached 90 degrees, we had to bring him back inside the truck. I drove, and my wife held him, under a towel on her lap, so if the cat got sick again, the mess would be contained.

To our surprise, he did just fine! Did not get sick. We figured, he already got sick in the shower and hand nothing left to up-chuck any more.

So, we did this a few time then. We'd start the cat on our trips in the shower with the shower pan and shower door locked. After 30 minutes, we'd stop and bring him up front to the truck, where he rode just fine on my wife's lap the rest of the trip.

Fast forward another year. Now, the cat rides just fine in the truck. We don't have to use the shower any more. My wife keeps him wrapped up in a towel, he feels safe that way, and he just sleeps the trip through now.

How does he behave inside the camper at our destination spots?

You have to remember, we use our camper at home 24x7 (almost 365). The cat sleeps with us (or I should say,... we sleep with the cat!) He's right at home in the camper. He has been since the first day.

At home, he want's to go outside and inside, and outside and inside. At home it's OK. Our house has a doggie door in the back and he can come and go from the house too. So, he usually starts the night with us, but in the middle of the night wants out. Our dog usually wakes us up needing to potty too, so the cat usually goes out at that time. In the morning, he's sitting at the trailer step wanting back in.

BUT!!!!! when we go camping and we are NOT home! The cat's behavior is completely different. I think when he looks out the window of the camper he knows he's not home. He's terrified to go outside! Never tries to get out the door, and is more than happy to just sit in the window and look out.

Once back home, he's busing to get back outside again. He knows the difference. Believe it or not.

Now that we have finally got him conditioned to traveling in the truck so he doesn't get himself worked up into a frenzie and vomits any more, life is soooo much easier.

I don't think cats can be "trained" either.... but... they can be "conditioned!"