More about cats in the RV

[KyDan]

Greetings! I've just spent nearly an hour reading most of the "cat tales" in the Pets forum. Thanks for sharing your stories!

We have a 2 year old rescue kitty. Lucy is a Tortoiseshell short hair.
She is OK in the trailer once we arrive but not so happy in the truck. She just
wants to move all the time like she is trying to find a safe place. We just took
her on a 1 hour trial run to a state park for 2 nights. She was very nervous
in the truck with wild eyes and she mewed quietly every couple minutes. She is not normally a lap cat but my wife tried to hold her some and once managed to get her to lay down on the center console for 10-15 minutes but the rest of the time she was on the move.

Some of the previous discussions mentioned letting their cat ride in the
trailer. Not sure if we want to try that. She might burrow under the bed
blankets as she did at first arrival in the CG but I'm worried she might hurt
herself jumping around in the bouncy trailer.
Others mentioned keeping them in a cage in the truck. I guess we'll give that a try. We started with her in a cat carrier and she seemed to do a little better in that but she did cry some.

Still others mentioned kiddy benadryl. I'm going to ask our vet about that.
I think she might be more comfortable if she was sedated slightly. We need
to make this work as we're heading to Gulf State park for a week next month and hoping to spend a month somewhere in the south next winter.

Now the fact that she is a night player is another thing but we can live with
that I guess. She loves to chase her fuzzy ball at all hours of the night!
In a big 2 story house, that's fine. In a basic one room trailer not so much....
I'll attach a pic. We really love cats but didn't go looking for one as we were just ready to retire and hit the road! We were walking in the boonies and she jumped out of a soy bean field and started doing figure 8s around our ankles. What are ya gonna do?? We couldn't find anyone to take her so she adopted us!
Here are some pictures of her first camping trip. She was pretty wild eyed in the truck but adapted to the trailer right away. She was watching the deer out the door in the first 2.

[dieseldog]

Wife and I have 2 cats that we travel with and like your cat, our cats don't like the the road trip but once we setup they are fine in the trailer. We have tried several different things, cage, blanket covers, etc. Nothing calms them down for the travel but once they went under the back seat of the truck and they finally found a place where they feel comfortable. They go under the seat and are quiet for most of the trip. We have traveled with them for a month at a time and the are adapting well. For long trips we have a water bowl, dry food and a small litter box for their comfort. We would not ever let them ride in the trailer.

[DreiHunde]

Maybe a blanket under the back seat for her to make a nest? She is a cute one, for sure!

[Restcure]

We RV with Bella the Camping Kitty and she's usually fine on the drive. She stays in the cage in the truck; if it's a really long drive we'll stop and let her into the trailer to use the bathroom and have some water.

She's pretty relaxed when we're camping.

[OscarsMom2]

We travel with 2 Munchkin cats and a Dachshund. The dog rides in his crate in the trailer. The 2 cats are in the pickup with us. The short-legged one, Napoleon, has found a spot under the driver's seat where he stays. The long-legged one, Zeus, can be restless and will meow quite a bit. When he finally settles down, he sleeps on the console. In the RV, they are fine. The first night, they can be restless, but, after the first night, they are just fine.

We recently traded in our Rockwood MiniLite for a Wildcat Maxx. We wanted more room and an RV where the cats can't get out or get into places, like by the water heater, if I forget to close a cupboard door.

[ChrisAndGarren]

Sometimes it just takes time for them to get used to it, both of our cats are not fans when we are moving, but have gotten much calmer over time. I don't like the lose inside, so they are either in a carrier (which they don't like) or I have a harness for them to wear with a short leash inside. They usually meow for about 15 minutes and then curl up and go to sleep.

[BooBoo23]

Our 2 felines travel in the trailer. The are rescue cats and are siblings. The male weighs about 20+ lbs the little girl is maybe 6 lbs. One crawls under a pillow on the bed the other has a little cubby hole in one of the end tables for travel. When we stop moving they come right out to greet us. A little advice for anyone not used to traveling with cats is, keep all storage doors, wardrobes and closet doors shut. They like to curl up in them for privacy. We lost one of ours one time when he got in a storage area, crawled through a small hole for electric wires in the very rear of it into the area under the frig and then through that into the area where the power cord is stored. We thought he had gotten out and got lost. He didn't make any sounds but the other cat kept going to the panel in front of the electric storage area. I had to unscrew the panel to check it out and then let him out. He came out like "what's all the fuss, I'm hungry". Being nocturnal cats are very active at night. Ours rip around, chase each other and generally get into mischief.

[alsdas88]

I guess we are pretty lucky with our cat. When we moved to Arizona from Maryland, we brought our then 5 year cat (A one year old rescue cat when we got him) with us in the rental truck, he cried constantly for hours the first day of the trip, but then found a comfy place under the seat and was quiet. Often he would climb out from underneath the seat and lounge on the seat between my wife and I. We all travel between San Diego and Phoenix regularly and he is fine in whatever vehicle we choose. All we have to do is set up a spot with a blanket he knows well and he lounges there for most of the 6 hour trip. When we start our RV travels shortly, we will keep him in the cab of our truck as he has adjusted to riding in a vehicle and does quiet well.

[KyDan]

Thank you all for the hopeful posts!! We are going to take her to Gulf Shores. We'll stop mid way so each day will only be 5 hrs or so. We'll try the
blanket under the rear seat idea or put her in a cage in the back with a blanket covering much of it.

Also thanks for the thoughts about finding a wireway and getting behind something! Hadn't thought of that!! I have a couple I need to tape up just for that reason! We open the storage under one end of our U dinette and she goes in there for privacy but really- she is fine in the trailer. It's the truck ride that's a bit of a deal. We hope she'll get used to it as you say your cats have done.

Happy Trails!!

[Ford Idaho]

When I had a cat she loved the one I bought.



Smear some catnip on the inside.

[jnjwright82]

We have a motorhome and 4 year old rescue siamese. Started with leash training when she was a baby. She gets nervous when we start the coach if she is not in here carrier and we never travel with her out of the carrier. Her hiding spot when stopped is on the floor behind the gas and brake pedals so that would not be good when traveling. Agree with keeping cabinets and doors shut. When you can't find them it eliminates some choices. Jazmin loves to explore each campsite on her leash.

[Terier]

I love the idea of taking cats camping. I tend to miss my cat when I'm camping. I like being the trailer being furless as Kitty is a long hair cat. Her meowing would drive me crazy and my TT is too small. She's a really big cat.


When I was considering buying a new TT that had a slide the thought of taking her along did crossed my mind. It had a place for the litter box unlike my present trailer.

[Blackhat6mike]

We travel with two rescue cats, one being a "CH" kitty with mobility problems but still gets around ok. Both have "open" carriers that they sit in after a half hour or so on the road. As long as the door is open, no problem.
Cats by nature, are nocturnal and spend the nights playing and prowling around the TT. We just take up their toys at bedtime and it seems to help. They both spend the nights laying in the front windows of the Aviator. The are inseparable and if you see one, the other is near.
We installed a pet flap into the enclosure under our bed where their litter box is kept with a muffin fan to vent out the odor. They took to it right off. Sorry about the poor pix of the pet flap and the sideways pictures.

[Edmund]

We full-timed for 12 years with a cat that would have driven us crazy in the truck. Put her in the trailer so we wouldn't have to listen to her. After about a week we noticed she was asleep or just vegging when we stopped. Leave her in the trailer; she will do fine.

[beechjet16mf]

Our Russian Blue is a 13 year old Rescued cat, and travels with us all the time. We have a carrier with a cat bed inside, and she will usually settle down quickly. She rides on the folded down back seat of our Suburban, and when we stop we let her our to stretch. She has done the ALCAN, and all over the Western US. She sometimes plays with her toys at night, but it isn't a problem. I have enclosed a picture taken during one of our trips.

[mikel68]

We travel with 3 in the MH. They really don't care about anything, except eating.

[Life Without Whine]

I am in the position that I hear animal horror stories so please let me throw in my 2 cents.

1. Large solid pet carrier with soft bedding (wrap in plastic bag then the cover to be able to swap out for accidents).

2. Feliway spray in carrier daily, throw in some treats so she can walk in & out daily for the 3-7 days prior to leaving.

3. Check with your vet about the new product sollequin or go for the old calming supplement, anxitane. Use it for 2 days prior to leaving.

4. 1-2 hours into trip try stopping for bathroom break (set up the trailer ahead of time & a few drops of lavender oil can make it a calm environment) ... ours eventually learned that when we put her in the litter box she should use it. Definitely stopped the 'chatter' from the back seat where the kennel sits facing forward to allow for interaction

5. work on training to harness (they always act like they are dying when you put the harness on) ... have tried many over the years & this has been the best one I have found 'Come With Me Kitty Harness'. My cat was reintroduced to a harness at 18 yrs of age & loved having it on because she got to explore the campsite

6. make sure your cat has rabies vaccine at least (illegal to cross state lines without it), upper respiratory vax is a good idea & external parasite control for the area of the country you will be traveling thru. A microchip is also a good idea

Will miss traveling with our old girl ...she started traveling with us when she was 18 after she got too sick to be pet sit by the neighborhood kids and needed to travel with her personal physician (& box of meds that was bigger than our meds together) ... just went across the rainbow bridge 3 weeks ago . Yours reminds me of a young Cleo

[kittlecat]

I am on cat number 4 who has camped with me. My first 2 cats camped in the tent with us, then we moved up to a pop-up and I now have a travel trailer. My 3 previous cats traveled well in the tow vehicle. The cat I have now is another story and we are still writing it, he and I. Last year my cat traveled well in his carrier in the tow vehicle with me. I would seat belt the carrier into the front passenger seat, he went to sleep and off we'd go. He can be a little nervous upon arrival at the campground but tends to settle down quickly once the camper is set up (slide outs are open, doors are closed).

This year, my cat has decided he does not like riding in the car or tow vehicle for reasons known only to him. Before I called the vet to discuss the problem of his non-stop yowling, I thought I was going to lose my mind. Whenever possible, I have placed the cat in his carrier and then put it inside my TT and while the cat does not enjoy that location particularly, he is otherwise fine and I am otherwise sane when I arrive at my destination (never more than 2 hours driving without stopping at a rest area, gas station, whatever and checking on him).

Things got so bad with the cat yowling this summer, which in the car is hugely problematic as I don't have a TT to put him in during transit, that I called the vet and the cat was prescribed sedatives. Fortunately, my cat is extremely easy to pill so I can do it myself. Because an entire pill would knock him out for about 8 hours, I split all the pills as soon as I got them. Thus far, I have only had to use 1/2 of a pill several weeks ago when the cat and I were in the car and he started to get worked up. I found that 1/2 a pill is too much, as the cat was pretty groggy for well past 4 hours. I have a car trip planned next weekend and will probably have to sedate the cat on the way home. I will try 1/4 of a tablet and see how that goes.

The last thing I did recently was get the cat a larger carrier. He seems to be a little more settled in the larger carrier but for whatever reason, when we are coming home from a trip, he becomes agitated and is unbearable in the vehicel. Leaving him home is not an option. I count my blessings that my other 3 cat companions were much better in the car and hope that the cat I have now will settle back down to where things were at a year ago. Time will tell.

I would suggest you try putting your cat in a carrier and see if that helps. It might, it might not. Try putting a catnip toy in the carrier also as that might help to distract the cat. If all else fails, put the cat in a carrier and set it inside your coach. The cat will, in all likelihood, be fine. Best of luck.

[DrLewie]

We travel with our two cats in the trailer and have gone coast to coast 5 times. We tried a cage in the trailer, but they hated that. Once they got used to riding in the trailer (and staying in there when we stop or camp) they adapted perfectly. At first we were afraid they would try to escape when we opened the door, but that never happened. We've come across other RVers who walk their kitties on leashes at the campgrounds and others who actually let them roam free when they're camped, but we've never been able to get our cats to stay in a harness or collar, and I wouldn't even consider letting them roam free.

[mdstudey]

We are on our first big trip and we decided to bring the cat Fergus to see how he does since retirement is around the corner and pet sitting is not an option for months at a time. He has traveled before during moves, but not while camping. Frist, I always keep him in a harness. He has a leash on while moving at all times (along with dog). If they try to make a break for it, makes it much easier to grab. He has free rein in the back of the truck. He prowls around at first but then settles after a while. We have pass through windows so we can keep an eye on both critters. The reason we will not even think about letting him travel in the trailer is because he has found he can get under the slide out while it is in. He will sleep in the truck if we cannot open the slide. I darn near had a heart attack when we could not find him.