Traveling with a cat

[SnowballCamper]

For our Bigfoot 17.5 I found just the right size litter box that sits on the shower seat in the wet bath. With a cat door installed in the bathroom door it has worked out well. It does require some regular maintenance in sweeping up the stray litter. It is also one more thing to check before moving, but much better than kenneling the cat. He is an inside cat at home, so we keep him in while camping too. He does quite well until it rains hard, then he hides under the sink.

[Kardon]

I think I'd rather move the litter box than step in cat pee in the middle of the night. When we started planning to move cross country with one cat, I went out and bought one of those hard-sided carriers. I took off the top and the door and started feeding my cat in there. After a week or two I put the top back on and continued feeding him there and encouraging him to sleep there. A week or so later I put the door on but didn't latch it. I kept the door closed and taught him how to open it himself and I would swing it shut while he was inside. By the time we started on our trip, that crate (which we now latched as necessary) was home to him and we had no problems at all.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Mitzi Agnew-Giles

We travel with 4 cats in our 17 ft Lil Snoozy. I used to say that it was important to take your cats on drives that didn't end in the vet's, and then they wouldn't be so terrified of riding. I discovered that really doesn't work- our 11 year old cat who used to be such a good traveler now HATES going for rides! It would be good to take them on a few introductory rides first if you have never taken them anywhere BUt the vet's, I still believe.
We have a huge litter box that actually is sold by the big box home improvement stores as a concrete mixing pan for construction, and use clumping lightweight litter since we are old and have lost our ability to lift and carry 40 lb bags of manure lol. It goes in the storage compartment uder the bed. DH won't let me put an auxiliary pan (aluminun foil roaster as some one else posted) in the bathroom since we also get up in the night to pee, I told him we could lift it out if we to use the facilities but he still refuses. This means laying LOTS of pet pee pads over the storage and bathroom floors, as the senior cat is older, losing his strength and there is a power struggle going ob over who will be the Alpha in the clowder. This makes our lone, smallest cat the ultimate omega cat. She is too afraid to use the litter box so she pees either on the bathroom floor or near to the storage space litter box. Poor little girl! Anyway, at least with one cat you are spared the power struggle lol.

Have you thought of putting in another litter box so the cats don't fight over who uses it? It would be better than pee all over.

[k0wtz]

[our neighbors had to do this at their house. I didn't know cats fought over litter boxes!
bob


\QUOTE=Jann Todd;768128]Have you thought of putting in another litter box so the cats don't fight over who uses it? It would be better than pee all over.[/QUOTE]

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by k0wtz

[our neighbors had to do this at their house. I didn't know cats fought over litter boxes!
bob


\QUOTE=Jann Todd;768128]Have you thought of putting in another litter box so the cats don't fight over who uses it? It would be better than pee all over.

[/QUOTE]
Some cats are very private about their bathroom use also. Some cats will not use the same box as other cats no matter what. Our cat did not like us to look at her when she was going. They are like humans. Some it bothers and some it doesn't.

[DavenBecky]

We camp with our 15 year old cat who hates traveling but hates staying home without us even more. She gets motion sickness and is miserable the entire time we’re in the car. We’ve tried everything to help her but nothing seems to work. We’re resigned to carrying extra towels, trash bags, soap and water to clean her up while on the road. Once we’re stopped she’s fine and makes herself at home in the camper. We have a Parkliner, and her litter box fits perfectly in a floor level cupboard in the bathroom. I’m unsure if other brands have this feature. I don’t think letting a cat outside tethered to anything is a good idea. I’ve seen loose dogs in campgrounds, and I’ve had pets attacked by hawks. Better in a wire crate or on a short leash under your control.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by DavenBecky

We camp with our 15 year old cat who hates traveling but hates staying home without us even more. She gets motion sickness and is miserable the entire time we’re in the car. We’ve tried everything to help her but nothing seems to work. We’re resigned to carrying extra towels, trash bags, soap and water to clean her up while on the road. Once we’re stopped she’s fine and makes herself at home in the camper. We have a Parkliner, and her litter box fits perfectly in a floor level cupboard in the bathroom. Not many other brands have this feature. I don’t think letting a cat outside tethered to anything is a good idea. I’ve seen loose dogs in campgrounds, and I’ve had pets attacked by hawks. Better in a wire crate or on a short leash under your control.

Don't put a cat on a leash outside alone. They can get out of harnesses very quickly even if you are holding the leash. One thing you might try to prevent sickness is Young Living's T-away essential oil for pets. You put it on their ears. Many claim it works great and we tried it but didn't use it much before we lost our kitty to illness. So I can't testify to how great it works. Check around for a Young Living person in your area. I do use a lot of their oils. They are expensive but are extremely good.

[DavenBecky]

Originally Posted by Jann Todd

Don't put a cat on a leash outside alone. They can get out of harnesses very quickly even if you are holding the leash. One thing you might try to prevent sickness is Young Living's T-away essential oil for pets. You put it on their ears. Many claim it works great and we tried it but didn't use it much before we lost our kitty to illness. So I can't testify to how great it works. Check around for a Young Living person in your area. I do use a lot of their oils. They are expensive but are extremely good.

Thanks Jann, I’ll look into T-away. Essential oils are said to be gentle. I’ve tried meds, swaddling, even doggy diapers (don’t attempt if your cat has long fur. It was a disaster!)

[k0wtz]

You cat people astound me! LOL! We go through a lot of the same things with our Bitsy our 10 year old doggie.

We would never leave her at home either!

the best

bob

Originally Posted by DavenBecky

Thanks Jann, I’ll look into T-away. Essential oils are said to be gentle. I’ve tried meds, swaddling, even doggy diapers (don’t attempt if your cat has long fur. It was a disaster!)

[DavenBecky]

Originally Posted by Dudley

Our cat goes camping with us all the time, been to 9 provinces and 1 territory so far. In the truck we put a litter box behind the drivers seat and transfer it to the trailer when setup. it goes under the bed. We use our bathroom at night so putting it in there would not work for us. The box gets cleaned twice a day. Not sure where to put one on an independence if you are using the twin bed setup.

BTW if you want to meet people in a campground, just take a cat for a walk!

Rusty's Big Adventure

I checked out your link to Rusty’s Big Adventure. What a handsome cat! And so comfortable traveling and exploring campgrounds. My Yeti just slithers back to the trailer when on a leash.

[NW Cat Owner]

A few years ago, when we had just Spike, we took him on two camping trips. He was rather freaked out by the entire thing and liked to hide under the blankets. I'd love to take at least one of our cats when I go out camping (hubby isn't retired yet so I do most of the camping by myself).


However, I'm super paranoid that which ever one I bring with me, will scamper out the door when it's opened. And I would never see them again, I'm sure. Fortunately Dirk can take care of them while I'm gone, but I'm not sure what we'll do when he retires and we take long enough trips that we'll want them with us.


I really wish trailers had a separate screen/storm door like we have at home. It'd make it easier, at least, to come inside the trailer, as I could see if there was a kitty peering up at me. Not sure how it'd work going out, though.


As soon as I adopt a cat (all strays lately), they get chipped immediately. All pets should be chipped, even if they're indoor only. You never know what will happen, if they'll escape or mother nature decides to play havoc with your home.


BTW, Spike's litter box fit inside the bathroom of our Escape 21. Kind of a pain to move it every time we wanted to pee, but we made it work.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by NW Cat Owner

A few years ago, when we had just Spike, we took him on two camping trips. He was rather freaked out by the entire thing and liked to hide under the blankets. I'd love to take at least one of our cats when I go out camping (hubby isn't retired yet so I do most of the camping by myself).


However, I'm super paranoid that which ever one I bring with me, will scamper out the door when it's opened. And I would never see them again, I'm sure. Fortunately Dirk can take care of them while I'm gone, but I'm not sure what we'll do when he retires and we take long enough trips that we'll want them with us.


I really wish trailers had a separate screen/storm door like we have at home. It'd make it easier, at least, to come inside the trailer, as I could see if there was a kitty peering up at me. Not sure how it'd work going out, though.


As soon as I adopt a cat (all strays lately), they get chipped immediately. All pets should be chipped, even if they're indoor only. You never know what will happen, if they'll escape or mother nature decides to play havoc with your home.


BTW, Spike's litter box fit inside the bathroom of our Escape 21. Kind of a pain to move it every time we wanted to pee, but we made it work.

When we had our kitty and went out a door we grabbed her harness until we could step out then held her until we closed the door with our hand holding her at the door until we couldn't close it any further. We brought our kitty up from the age of a year to travel. When we went in we opened the door just enough to reach in and get her harness and hold it until we could get in. We could always grab her and hold her in our arms until we got settled into the door if need be. We put a motion sensor light by the door so at night we could tell if she was at the door then we could do as above to keep her from getting out. She would set off the light when she came to the door. She did get out once in our motorhome when she jumped from the overhead bed clear over my husband's head to the ground. Long story but did find her 24 hours later. That is when we started holding her when the other one of us went out and holding her at the door if need be. Most of the time she'd just lay on the bed when we went out. We kept a harness on her all the time except when we slept and when we got up that was one of the first things we did was putting it back on her. We plan to get another kitty and she will travel with us. We will use the same tactics to keep her safe. We also covered our screen doors with a net from a child's safety gate for inside your house. Kept her from going through the screen and other animals out. Like it at night also. We can leave our outside door open and no one can get in since we have a screen door lock on our door. We also use a small bungie cord to hold the little slide closed by hooking it to the far side of it and the other end of the cord hooked into the screen door eye on the door frame. We kept that done so kitty couldn't push the door open also.

[DavenBecky]

I’ve heard of people hanging a squirt gun or water bottle on the outside grab bar next to the exterior door. Just squirt the cat if it’s at the door when you open it. After a while they will stay away from the door. I have a screen door that opens into the trailer. If the cat is in front of the screen door she gets pushed toward the closet when I open it, whether I go in or out. She has never escaped. Of course it helps that she doesn’t like to go outside.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by DavenBecky

I’ve heard of people hanging a squirt gun or water bottle on the outside grab bar next to the exterior door. Just squirt the cat if it’s at the door when you open it. After a while they will stay away from the door. I have a screen door that opens into the trailer. If the cat is in front of the screen door she gets pushed toward the closet when I open it, whether I go in or out. She has never escaped. Of course it helps that she doesn’t like to go outside.

Catster Magazine says to never squirt a cat with water.

[RogerDat]

Those of you who walk your cats in campgrounds, thank you. It is possibly the most entertaining thing that our dogs get to watch in the parade of people and pets passing our site. :-)

Our older dog grew up with cats, so interested but restrained. The younger one didn't grow up around cats but boy does she want to meet them so badly.

Boo hiss at people that let their dogs run loose, although ours did get free 2x over the years from failed leash latches. So it does happen on accident, but some like to let their dogs run loose especially in rustic areas.. Predators such as hawks and owls are also a real issue. Boondocking coyotes can be an issue.