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A Toyota RV, Four Aging Felines and a Hermit


JackP

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I chose the motor home option when I saw this place we live drying out from under us. Examined the various options of going to live under a bridge somewhere, but I've got a contract with four cats to give them a home until I die, or they die. Decided the only way I could expect to accomplish that will be to have a place with solid walls to keep out the bears and boogers, keep them inside until they can accustom themselves to the odors, sounds and environment whatever places we end up.

I'm already feeding them inside, and as soon as I'm sleeping in there I'll bring them in to sleep there [once the nights are a smidgin cooler - they're spoiled to sleeping outdoors during the summer heat].

I'm figuring to get them all inside, start the engine and let them accustom themselves to the sound a few times, then drive it across the meadow with them inside a few days later, and so on, until they can feel it moving without going into conniption fits.

I know you folks probably have a lot of experience in these matters and anything you can offer in the way of advice and personal experiences will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance, JackP

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I have a cat I take with me on every trip, one mind you, not 4. I have no worries with mine, as he doesn’t seem to mind, and always lays on my center console when traveling down the road. I put my litter box on the floorboard on the passenger side when traveling alone, and on the back floor if taking a friend, and move it to the floorboard when stopped at a site. I am getting a nice pop-up screen room with a floor, so when at a site, I can put my cat outside for fresh air and not have him run off into the RV park abyss. But he is comfy inside, as he doesn’t go outside due to old bad eyes. Happy traveling with your beautiful feline friends, both our black cats are sticking out their tounges!

post-5603-0-11542200-1346023708_thumb.jp

Defiant, even when sleeping, haha!

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How do you guys deal with cats? The reason I ask while I was at a gathering in Canada a fellow's cat got out and never returned. I have two cats and two Great Dane's the dog's I'll take but the cats have a mind of their own and don't usually come when called.

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How do you guys deal with cats? The reason I ask while I was at a gathering in Canada a fellow's cat got out and never returned. I have two cats and two Great Dane's the dog's I'll take but the cats have a mind of their own and don't usually come when called.

“Dealing with cats’” isn’t a problem for me. Cats train with the amount of attention one gives unto them, just like most intelligent animals. All those Disney animal adventure movies weren’t made by having the cat's just doing what they please and hoping to get a lucky shot. People don’t interact with cats like dogs, because of the reciprocation factor, meaning we get such an excitable response from our dogs and flock to train them due to our need to feel important with an animal response.

Mine knows when I just say the word “Foodie,” he runs to the bowl for food. If he is getting or going into something I don’t want him to, all I do is look at him, and say “where do you think you're going?” He looks at me, stops and goes the other way. If I say “Boogie” (His Name) or 3 or 4 times, he surely comes to me unless he’s deep in sleep.

I am sure there have been occasions on the road where someone has let little Fifi the poodle out of their Motorhome and for some reason they never returned as well. I don’t think losing a pet is Cat specific. So I guess if you don’t want to lose your pets while traveling, don't let them run free and unleashed? My cat doesn’t go outside to wander freely. When traveling down the road, he sleeps right on my console, and lies next to me wherever I sit or lay down. I wouldn’t travel without him.

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I have a cat I take with me on every trip, one mind you, not 4. I have no worries with mine, as he doesn’t seem to mind, and always lays on my center console when traveling down the road. I put my litter box on the floorboard on the passenger side when traveling alone, and on the back floor if taking a friend, and move it to the floorboard when stopped at a site. I am getting a nice pop-up screen room with a floor, so when at a site, I can put my cat outside for fresh air and not have him run off into the RV park abyss. But he is comfy inside, as he doesn’t go outside due to old bad eyes. Happy traveling with your beautiful feline friends, both our black cats are sticking out their tounges!

post-5603-0-11542200-1346023708_thumb.jp

Defiant, even when sleeping, haha!

Davidadro: Thanks. Two of these cats are what? 14 years old, 13? and one's a decade into the life adventures. They've been through a good many relocation traumas and picked up some savvy along the way, so I hope it will serve them. But they have minds of their own and we co-exist as opposed to them thinking I the king. My choices are limited and I'm having to do the brainwork to get us out of here. If at some point one of them or more than one decides there's a more favorable alternative I'll try to wish him or her well without a lot of drama or grief. Thanks for sharing your experience. JackP

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I will be taking two cats with me on motorhome trips when I can't get a cat sitter.

On my little Sunrader rig there is a baggage compartment that has an outside hatch door and that compartment is also accessible inside the coach. That could be used as a cat sized entrance hall into an outside screen room or kennel. It will also serve as the litter box space.

While under way I will put up a netting between the cab and the coach to keep the cats out from under my feet. They always want to sit on my lap and rest their heads on my arm while I am driving. It would not be bad if it was just one cat but it is tiring with two cats, one of them is a big guy and he is too much weight and body heat to handle while trying to steer.

The other reason for the divider is I don't want them to escape when I stop for gas, lunch, etc. One of the cats would not wander off but the other one will and he goes into hiding under that kind of stress. He won't come out when called until it is long after dark and no one is around. I don't know as I could get him back if we were in a strange locationsuch as at a rest stop or gas station.

When traveling in my car I crate them. Crating cats while underway is not being cruel to them, it is keeping them safe from harm. For all their life my cats' primary bed has been their traveling crate. That way they don't mind being in it and they settle down quickly even when in motion. They feel safe and protected in it. It is not a large crate it is a small dog crate and it fits both of them curled up for a cozy sleep. I can belt it into the passenger seat for their safety or put it in the back.

An upper bunk could be netted off to form a big cat corral while underway.

Edited by karincorbin
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I will be taking two cats with me on motorhome trips when I can't get a cat sitter.

While under way I will put up a netting between the cab and the coach to keep the cats out from under my feet. They always want to sit on my lap and rest their heads on my arm while I am driving. It would not be bad if it was just one cat but it is tiring with two cats, one of them is a big guy and he is too much weight and body heat to handle while trying to steer.

The other reason for the divider is I don't want them to escape when I stop for gas, lunch, etc. One of the cats would not wander off but the other one will and he goes into hiding under that kind of stress. He won't come out when called until it is long after dark and no one is around. I don't know as I could get him back if we were in a strange locationsuch as at a rest stop or gas station.

.

An upper bunk could be netted off to form a big cat corral while underway.

Great suggestion Karin. I'd been concerned about those matters, and after I read your post I spent a lot of time studying the overhead with that in mind while I was shoring up leak damage.

I'm thinking now the overhead bed is going to be a First Class Passenger compartment for felines during travel. Might put some hideyholes up there so they don't have to look at one another constantly, but maybe not.

Thank you.

Jack P

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