Travel with a Cat

[rlryder]

Does anyone out there have any suggestions on how to best travel with a cat in a 2511S? Wife can’t stand the thought of leaving Tucker at home for our out west trip. We have theater recliners in our rig (no fireplace) and I was hoping to find suggestion on any modification I could make to accommodate him. Thanks.

[rsdata]

I once ran into a camping neighbor 10-12 years ago in Crater of Diamonds SPark in AK. He would walk his cat on a leash. His wife was dead and he hung onto the family cat. The cat rode in a cage in the back seat of his truck tow vehicle. He walked it like a dog and it acted like a dog when he walked it. Never saw another one like that again.

[CHICKDOE]

there have been several posts on this subject. some are quite long. do a search and read them.

there seems to be no consensus. some cats travel better than others. some people do not let their cats out, others do.

we take our cat and we really don't make many accommodations for her. we let her outside if we are out and can watch her.

the family joke is that for each new place we go she gets a new sticker on her cat box.

[Toy4Rick]

We travel with 2 cats, Ragdolls. Since they don't free feed, they have to travel with us.

Since we usually go for 3-5 days, we generally tape the shower drain so litter doesn't go in the grey tank and the litter box goes there. I still need to find a better place for it, preferably on the outside through a cat door

They have a basket with towels in it so they can hunker down when we are driving.

We have a small scratching pad for them.

Recently my wife bought an outside pen and a pet stroller for them

Now my kids call us crazy cat people

Have fun and enjoy your fur babies

[BooBoo23]

Our two went with us for a number of years. We left them in the trailer for travel, they each had a place to lay in during travel. When we stopped they would greet us at the door wanting food. A word of caution, keep cabinet doors closed, since they like to investigate openings. There are cutouts in the back of cabinets for wiring and water lines and they will find them and disappear. We thought one of them got out, come to find out he made it through two walls into the power cord storage compartment. The other cat kept starring at the compartment and tipped us off where he could have been. When I removed the cover panel he came strolling out like 'what's going on?"

[lucky55616]

We have been traveling with 2 cats in our 3010DS since we got it 6 years ago. They don’t like the traveling part that much and hide in the back, but once we are set up in camp they enjoy it, especially looking out of the windows in the bunk over cab. We have not done any special accommodations for them and have 2 litter boxes, one in the front area and one in the back area of the RV.

[beechjet16mf]

We traveled with a Russian Blue for about 35,000 miles and never had a problem with her. Her potty box was in the shower of our 27 Flagstaff, and I cleaned it every day with no problems. She rode in our Suburban in her carrier, and we had an emergency temporary litter box, which she never used in 8 years. She had her blanket to lay on, and her food and water dishes. Her favorite spot to lay was on the back of the dinette, where she could look out the window and see all that was going on outside. We lost her after 15years. We sure had a lot of good times with her, and miss her every day.

[pennred]

We travel everywhere with our [ Sphynx ] kitty . She rides in the truck on the console between us , has been from Pa to Florida and many other places. Never any problem , we keep a litter box in the rear seat area of the truck just in case , but , seldom has it been used. She is as content in the camper as she is at home .. Happy travels.

[Blaster 84]

We travel for several months each year with two cats without a problem. They both ride in the truck with us. I put the back seat up and built a shelf that sits behind the driver seat and put a cat carrier on top of it, the door is removed. One cat likes to sleep in it. Below is the litter box, which is very rarly used.
The other cat likes to sleep on the back seat floor. There is some water and dry food on the floor in back if they so desire. Occasionally both of them will join us on the console between the front seats.
Our newest cat has starting meowing when we start each leg of the trip, but after a few miles she settles down.
When we get to a destination we just open the doors and they head for the RV.
We use to walk them on a leash, but they no longer like that.

[ACJC]

My wife’s cat travels in her lap laying on a cushion in a plastic bed. She loves the camper and you can hear her purring at night from the other end of the camper.
Worst part is when it’s time to go she knows and hides under the couch. Wife gets afraid she’ll gets squished by the slide in. Once we start moving she is in her lap. Sometimes we have a ledge in the passenger window she lays on and watches the traffic.

[Kimber45]

As an animal control officer my main concern would be heat. either in the unit being towed or the tow vehicle being left unattended. Cant tell you how many animals ive remove from cars that were left unatteneded on 80 degree plus days with the animal baking in the sun.

[gbpacker]

We traveled with our cat for many years over many thousands of miles. We put her litter box in the back of the truck and let her roam freely between the back of the truck and the passenger, with no problems.

We would recommend that you keep your cat in a harness while traveling, so that if she attempts to gets away you have something to hold onto when you try to catch her.

We always enjoyed having our cat with us when we traveled and we think she enjoyed traveling with us.

[BigGuy87]

Thought this was interesting for cat travelers.

[The Newsoms]

We just bought a Riverstone from a couple that traveled with a cat. They cut a tunnel door at the steps that go to the bathroom and had another in the storage compartment. These are connected by some flexible duct. The litter box is in the storage compartment.

[rlryder]

That’s interesting, I’ll have to look into a similar design. Thanks for the input.

[The Flip Flop Way of Life]

We have a fiver and travel with two cats. During the trip they are housed in carriers and travel in the truck with us. Once we get there they have the run of the camper, We have a litter box in our bed room and their food dish in in the kitchen. They find all the hiding places so when it is time to go it becomes find the kitty game. We love traveling with them they are our babies and could not leave without them.
---------------------------------
Jim & Jan

The Flip Flop Way of Life @youtube

[KyDan]

Originally Posted by lucky55616

We have been traveling with 2 cats in our 3010DS since we got it 6 years ago. They don’t like the traveling part that much and hide in the back, but once we are set up in camp they enjoy it, especially looking out of the windows in the bunk over cab. We have not done any special accommodations for them and have 2 litter boxes, one in the front area and one in the back area of the RV.

What Brian said except one cat.
We put her in a pet carrier to get her from house to truck.
We open the carrier in the truck while on the road but she mostly lays on the center console between us. She is stressed by riding somewhat. Often we stop for lunch and let her loose in the trailer. She immediately goes on the bed and under the covers between the pillows. We leave her there for the rest of the trip.
If it was very hot we would keep her in the truck the entire trip until we got setup and the AC running.

[TheBum]

I travel with three cats. My late wife and I rigged up a "traveling suite" for them out of wire shelving squares tied together with zip ties to make a 2'x2'x5' enclosure with a partition between the bedding area and the liter box. The bedding area has a large plush bed, food dishes, and a water fountain. the enclosure sits in the cargo area of my Durango. Even with that, they're none too happy traveling because they'd like to be up with me, but two of the three settle in pretty quickly once I get them moved into the camper (an R-Pod 179); the other takes a day or two before he's fully relaxed.

[FredMP]

We travel to many places with our cat Jenna. In the car we use a collapsible condo just big enough to hold a small plastic litter box and a carton box with a small blanket to sit on right next to it. She prefers to ride low in the car rather than on top of something where she can see outside.
The litter box goes under the dinette seat with open front when we set up. Our trailer quickly became just another familiar space to her, like grandma's house or other places we take her. Her self-confidence has grown from these experiences and she will now sit outside on our lap with us at a campground (with a leash for security), whereas before she preferred to sit in her cat condo when outside.

We've put a $29 Apple air tag on her collar. You can declare your pet as lost in "find my iPhone". Then any person with an iPhone that gets near the pet will get a pop-up with your message explaining she's lost and how to contact you. Beats any other system out there for that reason IMO. I would highly recommend it.

[Timtation1]

Until we are well underway our cat is quite reluctantly in a harness and on a leash. Once enough miles and time has passed to assure comfort with the rig we open the lid on the center console which is lined with a towel, remove her harness and she jumps in, determines the optimal curl and does the cat thing.
An unexpected benefit discovered is the lid closes on hard braking. She doesn't seem terribly concerned if we open the lid fairly soon. Were rescuers involved I think she would be adamant her rescue had precedent.