Video: Introducing Kitten To The Truck Camper

Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:
Archie Goes To Truck Camper School
Many of you know we recently lost our cat Charlie to old age. We adopted a kitten, Archie and he's getting bigger fast. We brought him out to the truck camper to get him used to it so he can learn to travel. If this should be posted in the pet forum, moderator feel free to do so. Enjoy. J&K

I have shared this picture before. We lost him to lymphoma in February 2018. His name was also Archie. That is a good easy name for a cat to understand, and we also used "Arch" as well.

On the beach in Port Townsend while camping:


One thing we did different from your training is we NEVER let him go in/out of the camper without being carried. We didn't want any idea in his head that it is okay to go through the door on his own.

Archie would ride in a pet bed in the backseat of the truck. He was never caged or put in a carrier. Of course he always had his harness on, and the leash was clipped in a seat belt - just in case he got a crazy idea to jump out a door or window. Often on night drives he would sit on the center armrest and 'talk' to the other vehicles as they went by.

We live in the country, and he would always sleep quietly until he started to see trees out the window. That meant (to him) that we were almost home. The last 1/4 mile up the gravel lane was the only time he was allowed on my lap while driving. I would put the window down and he would hang on the window sill until we were stopped. Then I would open the door and set him on the ground - again, never letting him jump out on his own. He would run to the back door and wait for us to let him in. This did occasionally create 'false positives' when we were in other areas with trees as he thought we were home. LOL!

We have only been camping twice since we lost him. The camper seems empty without him. DW is against another cat (even though she wanted our first cat back in 1995), because she is afraid of the impact it will have on her recently remodeled house. Makes me sad as I miss the companionship.

-Eric