Teaching cats to travel?

Our two find their own spaces in the Motorhome. No carriers.

We carry ours in the cab, in carriers. The new cats have almost spent more time traveling with us then at home.
They still hate travel days. But they like the new channels on Cat-TV (windows) when we get where we are going.

I suspect it's a personality thing. Our cat has been an indoor kitty her entire life, but when we moved across the country she had no choice but to become a "camping kitty." We have a TT so she rides in a carrier in the truck when we're on the road, and we carry her (in the carrier) between truck & trailer when we get settled in camp, and sometimes when we have lunch in the TT at a rest area enroute. For the entire move, and for subsequent years' camping trips, she meowed the entire time in the truck; fortunately no wailing or screaming, just meow - meow - meow - meow, for hours. She still does it periodically, but over the last 3 years of camping trips (3 weeks or less duration) she has gotten more used to it. It seems to help that we elevate her carrier in the truck (putting a large cushion under it) so she can see out; she seems happiest on 2-lane roads with lots of trees and/or green hills to see (go figure). In other words, she is getting used to the truck but still protests when we get her ready to go, and protests some of the time on the road. She loves being in the camper - no problems other than expressing her feelings by missing the litter box sometimes :R .

We got a larger carrier than usual for her, actually made for small dogs, so she has room to sit up, turn around, move from one side to the other, etc., and we don't use it to take her to the vet. (So far haven't had to do that on a trip!)

I suspect your two cats will be pretty much the same as they are now when riding in the truck. It's possible they might react differently in a MH. No way to know until you actually get underway.

We carry ours in the cab, in carriers. The new cats have almost spent more time traveling with us then at home.
They still hate travel days. But they like the new channels on Cat-TV (windows) when we get where we are going.

I guess that sums our experience up pretty well too. :)

Keep in mind that Prozac is often prescribed for kitties with "anxiety" issues. It may not be the perfect solution but might just make travel a more pleasant experience for all concerned.

The cat will teach you how he rolls. :) Hopefully the crying only lasts a few hours.. once on the road he should settle down.

I would say a MH is better for this.

Our 2 cats travel in the largest dog kennel I could fit in the back seat of my pickup, with a shelf I built into it for more room. At first, they fussed and meowed the whole time, but now they meow for a bit and calm down and sleep. We do take frequent stops to allow them to use the litter box in the trailer. We just allow a little more time for the trip. We have thought about a motorhome and if that would be easier with the kittys, having the ability to wander around while traveling, But they are probably safer in a kennel, in your truck or a motorhome.

Our old cat that has to travel is put in his carrier and closed in the bathroom or bedroom. She doesn't cry for very long and snuggles down. The carrier makes her feel safe. Once we're set up and finished going in and out of the rv constantly, we let her out. She'll park herself on the sofa or bed then. You do have to be careful of going in and out if the RV because cats and dogs both can move warp speed out of the door and be lost.

If it's a long trip we don't let her out of the bathroom but will put her in the litter box during rest stops. When ready to leave back in the carrier she goes. With this routine we've never had a pet get away from us yet.

You need to have a quiet talk with your cat. The cat wants to travel. Assure your cat that all services will be provided for it and you can MAYBE convince the cat to grudgingly go along for the ride.

Take them in a harness in the car everywhere you go and in a carrier if necessary. Keep the harness on 24x7. It's taken all of our cats 4 weeks to settle down.

Then they loved to travel in the MH with no carrier. They always wore the harness and a 6' red leash when driving so that we could easily find them before deploying the slides. Yes they could always get out of the harness but didn't and we only used it in the RV.

Our last cat learned to hate the car because it started to represent the vet.

And no you cannot train a cat but they can train you!

Every cat is different. I don’t think you can teach them to like RV travel but they can get used to it.

The first few motor home trips I took with my middle aged indoor cat I put him in a large wire dog crate along with a soft rug and one of his cat beds. He yowled continuously. Next trip thinking he might be afraid because he thought I left him, I moved his crate so he could see me. He yowled continuously and pushed his paws through the wire reaching for me. Next trip, since he likes to burrow, I thought he might feel more secure if I covered the crate. He yowled continuously. Finally I couldn’t take the noise anymore. I let him out and told him “You know if we get in a wreck you’re toast.” He flopped down on a dinette cushion and stared at me, totally relaxed. When I started the engine he ran to the back, burrowed under the bed covers and slept there until we stopped.

That’s now our routine. I put him in the bathroom when the slides are going in or out. He sleeps under the covers when the engine is running. When we stop for the night he strolls out and jumps on the dash to see where we are. I am lucky that he doesn’t try to get out. I do use a carrier when I take him in and out of the motor home. He does wear a collar with my phone numbers and is microchipped.