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n7bsn's avatar
n7bsn
Explorer
Apr 25, 2015

Cat boxes... trip

Earlier this month I posted my photo album of converting part of some cabinetry to a cat-box. I had started this project during the winter when we had two elderly cats. We had actually been traveling with them for years. For the previous trips we had just put the cat-box in the shower. Neither of us really liked having to change the configuration for the shower/cat-box.
Only before I finished the project, both of our old men died, aged 19 and 17 (kidney failure and cancer).

The DW being that cat-person she is, I knew I still had to finish the project.

Well, we now have two "new" cats. A 3 year-old Torti who's owner died and a 4 year-old Siamese (non-breeder) from a Cattery.

We are now prepping for a multi-week trip from Washington to Utah and Arizona, then up to Montana before going home. Only it occurred to us that maybe taking off on a multi-week trip, with cats that had never been in the RV was not good idea.

First we took the cats out to the rig and we spent the night. They quickly showed us that we hadn't considered all the possible "hidey-holes" in the rig. We had never worried about them, as our Old Men would have never tried.

So the DW sat down and made "plugs" for all the hidey-holes the new cats had gotten into.

We also decided that rather then making a trip we needed to make to Wenatchee a day-trip in the car, we would make it an over-night trip in the RV, with all the critters (we travel with dogs also) and see if there was anything else we needed to take care of.

Was there ever.

Two hours down the road we stopped and the DW closed the bedroom door and let the cats out of their carriers. One just started walking around. The other made a bolt for the bedroom, some how got her skinny butt under the door, and into a hidey-hole DW had made a plug for, but hadn't setup as, well, the bedroom door was closed.

After much flailing around, and some time, we got her back out.

We arrived at our campground, got setup and let the cats loose. Now with all the hidey-holes plugged (we thought, note that part) things settled down for the night.

On about midnight the Torti, who normally sleeps down at my feet, walked up next to me, and (I thought) jumped off the bed. The noise she made caused her (future) partner in crime to walk across me, twice, seeing where she had gone.

The Torti had found a new way to get into one of the hidey-holes and the other cat (the usual one in the hidey-holes) wanted to JOIN her.

So we turned on the lights and started extracting cats from their hidey-hole. Only when we lured the Torti out (with food), she ate the food and went directly back into the hidey-hole.

After much more flailing we got her out, and blocked out of the bedroom, while the DW blocked that access with a pillow.

Which caused the Torti (who's nick-name is Luna-tic) to go, well, LOONEY. She started racing around the bedroom, trying to get back into HER hidey-hole.

Well, now we have more plugs made, like one to plug the space under the bedroom door.

Hopefully now we are all set for taking these two along on a long trip.
  • sowego's avatar
    sowego
    Explorer
    Apr 26, 2015
    Sounds like a real ordeal. Cats will naturally head for a "hidey hole" when insecure. It's better to let them have what they want so they can gradually get used to the new home. Let them get into their own carriers any time they want. They will appreciate the private little home of their own until they feel safe in the new surroundings.

    We have a hole our cats can get down into that goes behind the couch so that's where they were whenever they were insecure. That changed in time.

    We are about to set out with 2 new cats...the other 3 have been gone for years. We will keep them in their carriers while rolling and just open the doors when we park and let them exit and explore as they will. The cat box, food and water will be where they can easily find them.

    It's never good to force things on any animal.

    Our young dog has never RVed either so, all 3 of the critters are in for a new experience and we fully expect to have issues and restless nights for a while!
  • Impkitti's avatar
    Impkitti
    Explorer
    Apr 26, 2015
    toedtoes wrote:
    Some cats really need a "hidey-hole" to be comfortable and at ease (especially in new settings). You might create a fake one or two for the cats to discover and let them hide there as much as they desire.


    As DH said, we are only blocking the spaces that are not safe for the cats to be in, such as the one in the slide mechanism for the bed.

    We have a couple of "approved" hidy holes for the cats. We bring Lili's (the Siamese) soft fabric cube from home and place it on the bed or in the shower, depending on if it is a quick stop or overnight, and there is a bed on a deep shelf in the bedroom. Luna never hides, she gets to a high spot and supervises.

    For safety reasons, both cats travel in carriers. One in the truck and one in the 5er and we swap at every stop. When/if they become real buddies, they will travel in the same carrier in the truck.
  • n7bsn's avatar
    n7bsn
    Explorer
    Apr 25, 2015
    We only keep them from the hidey-holes we can't reach into, like the ones that does down into the bedroom slide area.
    One open shelf in the bedroom in fact as a cat bed in it.
    Then there are the two soft-sided cubes the cats can use.

    Both of our "old men" where Siamese and yes, they can be good at explaining when they are unhappy. Our first Siamese (nearly 30 years ago) was, well talkative and had a large vocabulary. In fact you knew when he was swearing and his NO was very clear.
  • sch911's avatar
    sch911
    Explorer
    Apr 25, 2015
    Our cats can roam freely around the motorhome. They can use any hiding place they can find. Why do you feel the need to limit where they can go?
  • magnusfide's avatar
    magnusfide
    Explorer II
    Apr 25, 2015
    rockhillmanor wrote:
    Yup taking the cat with was way more of a challenge than taking the four dogs with! :B

    After MANY different tries with hard side crates and litter boxes this is the ONLY way my Siamese agreed to travel in the MH without complaining thru out the whole trip!

    Collapsible soft crate with his bed and litter box on the other end.
    The important part of this set up for 'me' was the litter box in the carrier no dang granules of litter all over my MH. AND I close it up and that is where he is stays during traveling and when I have guests going in and out of my MH.

    I took a piece of plywood and 3 sticks of lumber for legs and made a platform that the crate sits on.

    BTW, that big soft side crate folds down to a completely 'flat' circle 12 inches across! Made by SportPet and Found it at Walmart for around 20 bucks!





    Great idea!
  • toedtoes's avatar
    toedtoes
    Explorer III
    Apr 25, 2015
    OCwildlife wrote:
    Thanks for the advice , we are still in the early stages of traveling with cat. I can visualize all the cubby holes and unreachable hiding spots. It would change our vacations, and frankly, for a scardy cat like mine, she almost seems better off alone in our house, as everything frightens her, even a closed door. I have also looked at long crates, soft and not. She has rubbed her nose raw in the soft crates even at the vets, and as much as I like them better, no way could I leave her alone in it.

    My problem is I'm not home much during the day because I photograph wildlife and sometimes don't get back to the RV until 8 at night. There seems to be as many worries taking her with us as leaving her home. But I miss her and feel guilty! My neighbor feeds her. I guess we will start out slow, but even a dog walking by is a trauma!


    It might be better to leave them at home for a while - let them get accustomed to the stationary world of home before introducing them to the changing world of the RV. I wouldn't take one and leave the other cat.
  • OCwildlife's avatar
    OCwildlife
    Explorer
    Apr 25, 2015
    Thanks for the advice , we are still in the early stages of traveling with cat. I can visualize all the cubby holes and unreachable hiding spots. It would change our vacations, and frankly, for a scardy cat like mine, she almost seems better off alone in our house, as everything frightens her, even a closed door. I have also looked at long crates, soft and not. She has rubbed her nose raw in the soft crates even at the vets, and as much as I like them better, no way could I leave her alone in it.

    My problem is I'm not home much during the day because I photograph wildlife and sometimes don't get back to the RV until 8 at night. There seems to be as many worries taking her with us as leaving her home. But I miss her and feel guilty! My neighbor feeds her. I guess we will start out slow, but even a dog walking by is a trauma!
  • rockhillmanor's avatar
    rockhillmanor
    Explorer
    Apr 25, 2015
    Yup taking the cat with was way more of a challenge than taking the four dogs with! :B

    After MANY different tries with hard side crates and litter boxes this is the ONLY way my Siamese agreed to travel in the MH without complaining thru out the whole trip!

    Collapsible soft crate with his bed and litter box on the other end.
    The important part of this set up for 'me' was the litter box in the carrier no dang granules of litter all over my MH. AND I close it up and that is where he is stays during traveling and when I have guests going in and out of my MH.

    I took a piece of plywood and 3 sticks of lumber for legs and made a platform that the crate sits on.

    BTW, that big soft side crate folds down to a completely 'flat' circle 12 inches across! Made by SportPet and Found it at Walmart for around 20 bucks!



  • toedtoes's avatar
    toedtoes
    Explorer III
    Apr 25, 2015
    Some cats really need a "hidey-hole" to be comfortable and at ease (especially in new settings). You might create a fake one or two for the cats to discover and let them hide there as much as they desire. There are some soft-sided cat beds that you could try. It might be enough to make her feel protected and secure without your having to fight to get her out of it. The one I linked to is really soft (it may fall over if not on a sturdy surface), but can be squished into an open bed (and washed).

    One of the big things with adult cats is that if they hide from fear/nervousness/etc., you don't want to force them out into the open - it can do more damage to the cat's psyche than good.

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