Traveling with Kitties

[lak99]

Hi,

Do any of you ladies travel in a truck and camper with kitties?
If so I have a few questions.

Leslie

[BirdbyBird]

I have only traveled once and only with one cat....there are several here that are much more experienced. The short answer is that unless you have one of the cats that never relaxes and gets with the program...it is all doable and they adjust...... So if you have a specific question ask away and those traveling cat ladies can respond to specifics....

[lak99]

Thank you for answering me.

Good point about the demeanor of the cats. Mine have actually camped with me in the
same camper about 8 years ago. I think they will be fine. One absolutely loves it. She
is a perma-kitten. She will never grow up and LOVES adventure.

Specfically I was wondering if you allow your kitty to travel from the truck cab back
to the camper when you are traveling. If so, what do you put between the truck cab
and camper (besides a boot) so the cats can travel between the two.

I would appreciate any advice.

Thanks,
Leslie

[lak99]

Tina,

By the way, I love your rig.
How do you like traveling in a Class C?

Leslie

[BirdbyBird]

I choose the class C because I travel with dogs and this way they are comfortable traveling and being left behind in the rig while I go off being a tourist. If it is hot the class C's can hold up many times with just the Fantastic fan on if I leave the pups behind in the rig. If I need to, I can leave them with the air on.

I also like that at any time all I have to do is find a wide spot on the side of the road and I can stop and "pee" ...bladders of a certain age really appreciate that. Stopping for lunch?...the unit is always a comfortable temp..... When I started RV looking, thinking and shopping, I didn't own anything big enough to haul a 5th wheel or a trailer with anyway so the cost of the small C wasn't out of line for what I would have had to spent on a Tow Vehicle and and RV.

[lak99]

Do you tow a vehicle?
And I TOTALLY understand about stopping to pee.
Ha! I turn 65 this year.

Leslie

[Acadianmom]

I don't normally travel with my cats but on occasion I will have to. I have a 23' motorhome. I always keep my cats in a carrier going down the road. I worry about them getting out at a gas station or somewhere. Some will howl until I think I will go crazy. They will eventually shut up but some take a long time. The 2 that I made the longest trip with, one would get under my feet and the other would get under the sofa where all the electrical stuff is. It didn't take long to find out that they needed to be in a carrier.

Martha

[sharon]

Leslie, altho there are several of us that travel with cats, I don't think anyone has a truck camper that has a cat. Come to think of it, I think you're the only one that has a camper. The Samcat has about 55,000 miles under his butt, but all in a class A. He rides where he wants, sometimes on the back of the couch, sometimes in the front window but mostly he just climbs in his house and goes to sleep. When I take him to the vet he's loose in the car until I get there and then I stuff him in the carrier. Really PO's him. He's escaped a couple of times in a cg but he knows where he lives and always comes home. A very loud NO and a finger point usually keeps him away from the door. I will say when we had a camper many moons ago when we first got married we had the boot and if I were to ever get another one I would definitely have a boot on it just for safety's sake. You know, for one of those pee breaks in an area where I didn't want to get out of the cab and go around.

on edit: Anita has a camper but no cat...

[VickieP]

Come to think of it, I think you're the only one that has a camper.
on edit: Anita has a camper but no cat...

I think Linda/OutandAbout has a truck camper also. I know she has dogs, don't know about a cat.

[sharon]

Well! Aren't we just a fountain of info this morning! And none of it that's any help to Leslie!!

[BirdbyBird]

Well, Sharon, she is new, maybe it is a good thing she learns this about us now.....we are easily distracted

[lak99]

OK Sharon and Tina,

You two are a riot.
I have definately joined the right group!

Leslie

[BirdbyBird]

Wait Leslie, Sharon and I are small time compared to some individuals who will not be mentioned by name.... (but one is sort of short and says some real nice lady in LA is always being mean to her.)

[snowball]

SeeYaGal has a couple of cats but no camper...I don't see why the size has anything to do with it just keeping the pets safe
and out from under the foot
sheila

[BarbaraRose]

I am about to go on a road trip with my cat, just in my car (no RV yet ). Not sure how Lola will do for 6 or 7 days on the road from CA to MN but we'll find out.

I did some research tho, on how to keep her calm on the trip. I opted out of using drugs like Benadryl, etc. I found a few things on Petco.com that are all natural products and have good reviews. One is a calming collar that has kitty pheramones in it that has some great reviews, so I am going to try that. There is also a spray you can get made of the same thing that also seems to work well. I was just reading too about some "treats" you can give them before any stressfull situation that will also mellow them out . Some people said they work really well and others said it did the opposite and had their cats bouncing off the walls. So I guess each cat is different and you have to try different things. I am going to pick up the collar tomorrow and try it out on her before we leave.

Here is the Petco.com link:
http://www.petco.com/N_23_4294956712/Calming-Aids.aspx

I have had cats previously that I let run loose in my car. One time I was in an accident and had to have my car towed (with cat still in car). The cat was traumatized and when I got to my car where it was towed to, she jumped out and almost got hit by a car before I could catch her (it was at night). After that, I always put her in a carrier in the car.

Also, one of the gals on here who traveled with a cat, was in an accident with her RV and the cat got scared and ran off, never to be seen again. I can totally understand not wanting to crate a cat in the vehicle for long trips with the right cat (ie calm, mellow), and I would probably leave it loose in an RV or camper too. There is that slight escape (or injury) risk, tho, so you have to decide what you feel is right for you and your cats.

Sorry, no experience with camper cats.