Why yes, we are insane

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Ohiosnowbird

Ohiosnowbird

Well-known member
Joined
May 19, 2023
Posts
456
Location
Ohio
We did it. We’re picking up our new home on wheels tomorrow.

original post: Are we insane?

Home sweet home will be a Thor Quantum KW29. We decided we’re the boss of the cats and they’ll learn to love it. Our plan is to go slow in getting them used to the new quarters. Our goal is to be ready for long treks by November this year. We’ll have a home base to get back to so the kitties can be free range periodically. We’ll post what we’ve learned as we go! Thanks for all of the thoughts so far!
 
I hope that all goes well and you enjoy your new RV!
64496551f65fb00e431544f9.jpg
 
We camped periodically in the driveway for 3 months trying to get our 2 cats conditioned. One was fine, the other wanted nothing to do with it.
When the time came to hit the road, we just shoveled them in and went. They adjusted quickly and both love it. I'm sure yours will do fine.
We let them roam, with the exception of the driver's area. One usually stays hidden under a chair while in motion, the other will come out and ride on Mom's lap.
 
And I don't think it's a bad idea. Just remembered this meme and thought it might give you a giggle. Congrats!!
 
Traveling with cats is typically easy once you figure out where to put a litter box in your RV (often a challenge). Ours always adapted quickly, though none actually enjoyed the highway time. Of the several we had over 20 years of Rving, most found a place to hunker down for travel-time but one wouldn't leave my wife's side and cried pitifully if she got up from her seat for a moment. They all loved each stop, though, and were quick to check out the new scenery, either from a window or on a leash on our site. Yes, our cat managed quite well on a 15-20 ft leash.
 
Congrats on getting your new camper. You are doing it right, you know! You are getting acclimated to the camper before hitting the road for your first serious trip out.

And giving time for the cats to get acclimated also.

We always traveled with a cats. They all did find, except for the last one. He never traveled good. He would get motion (car sickness) and vomit everywhere or be so upset he's poo and pee all over everything. It was a nightmare traveling with him.

Once the truck and trailer quite moving, he was perfectly fine.

Our solution was put the cat litter box in the shower (it had a glass enclosure door) with towels on the bottom. The cat litter box had a top on it. We'd shove the cat in the shower stall and lock him in. He would crawl in the litter box and sleep there (yes, we kept it clean). But he would also vomit, pee, and poo in there also. It worked and worked quite well..... until .....

Heat! We kept an indoor-outdoor thermometer in the truck and the outdoor sensor in the shower stall with the cat. When inside temperatures reached 90 degrees, we'd bring the cat into the cab of the truck. By then, he'd already vomited himself until there was nothing left. My wife learned that if she put a towel over his head on her lap, he'd calm down .... only after he had his little "explosions" in the camper. Otherwise, all that "mess" was in the truck, and it was a "mess!"


So, my advise for you and your cats; make sure they actually travel comfortably. They will adjust the camper with no problem. BUT how do they adjust to the floor below them moving? They may do fine, and they may be victims of motion sickness. So you need to not only put them in the camper in your drive way, you need to also take them in your car or truck when you go anywhere during this break-in period. You REALLY need to know how they will respond when their world is in motion!
 
Mark_K5LXP said:
Sooo...the cats are on the inside?

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
Click to expand...
We tried relentlessly to start our trips with the cat in the truck with us. No matter what we attempted, how we caged or did not cage the cat, he always resulted in peeing all over everything and vomiting and pooing. No matter what we did, it was a mess and cat pee is almost impossible to eliminate once it starts smelling.

We even got larger carriers, big enough for a litter pan to fit. The cat would pee on the side of the carrier and it would leak out onto the seats, or end up peeing THROUGH the mesh screened windows.

The only option was to transport him inside the camper. There was no way we could leave him at home.

Unfortunately, on one trip we decided to leave the cat at home with our son (he lives in the house too). Our son left the back door open. It has a doggie door. The cat was free to come and go, but we always make sure the cat was inside at night. My son did not pay attention, left the door open and the cat disappeared completely. I'm pretty sure coyotes got him (as coyotes has gotten every cat we've owned so far, since we've lived in this house --- 14 years now).

I often ask my wife if we did the right thing by leaving the cat at home on that trip. To this day, we still do not know if that was the right decision or not. That cat was just a horrible traveler. He was the only pet we could not travel with inside the truck cab.
 
The only time I traveled with a cat in a vehicle was in 1983 from Long Beach, CA to the Oroville, CA. We got a cat carrier ahead of time, but I knew it wasn't going to go well because I knew this cat's personality. So, I went to a vet and got a script for cat tranks and gave him one at about 0500, a half hour before we left. Non-stop yowling for over 2 hours all the way over the Grapevine, so I gave him another one when we stopped in Wheeler Ridge for breakfast. Non-stop yowling for 2 more hours all the way to Fresno, so I gave him another one. About 15 minutes later it got real quiet in the back of the car. No, he didn't expire, but he was staggering for over a day afterward. Sure was a nice drive for the next 6 hours, though.
 
Tulecreeper said:
The only time I traveled with a cat in a vehicle was in 1983 from Long Beach, CA to the Oroville, CA. We got a cat carrier ahead of time, but I knew it wasn't going to go well because I knew this cat's personality. So, I went to a vet and got a script for cat tranks and gave him one at about 0500, a half hour before we left. Non-stop yowling for over 2 hours all the way over the Grapevine, so I gave him another one when we stopped in Wheeler Ridge for breakfast. Non-stop yowling for 2 more hours all the way to Fresno, so I gave him another one. About 15 minutes later it got real quiet in the back of the car. No, he didn't expire, but he was staggering for over a day afterward. Sure was a nice drive for the next 6 hours, though.
Click to expand...
We’ll let you know how it goes! Not sure we have yowlers, but I guess we’ll find out.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Traveling with cats is typically easy once you figure out where to put a litter box in your RV (often a challenge). Ours always adapted quickly, though none actually enjoyed the highway time. Of the several we had over 20 years of Rving, most found a place to hunker down for travel-time but one wouldn't leave my wife's side and cried pitifully if she got up from her seat for a moment. They all loved each stop, though, and were quick to check out the new scenery, either from a window or on a leash on our site. Yes, our cat managed quite well on a 15-20 ft leash.
Click to expand...
Love it! Thanks!
 
DutchmenSport said:
Congrats on getting your new camper. You are doing it right, you know! You are getting acclimated to the camper before hitting the road for your first serious trip out.

And giving time for the cats to get acclimated also.

We always traveled with a cats. They all did find, except for the last one. He never traveled good. He would get motion (car sickness) and vomit everywhere or be so upset he's poo and pee all over everything. It was a nightmare traveling with him.

Once the truck and trailer quite moving, he was perfectly fine.

Our solution was put the cat litter box in the shower (it had a glass enclosure door) with towels on the bottom. The cat litter box had a top on it. We'd shove the cat in the shower stall and lock him in. He would crawl in the litter box and sleep there (yes, we kept it clean). But he would also vomit, pee, and poo in there also. It worked and worked quite well..... until .....

Heat! We kept an indoor-outdoor thermometer in the truck and the outdoor sensor in the shower stall with the cat. When inside temperatures reached 90 degrees, we'd bring the cat into the cab of the truck. By then, he'd already vomited himself until there was nothing left. My wife learned that if she put a towel over his head on her lap, he'd calm down .... only after he had his little "explosions" in the camper. Otherwise, all that "mess" was in the truck, and it was a "mess!"


So, my advise for you and your cats; make sure they actually travel comfortably. They will adjust the camper with no problem. BUT how do they adjust to the floor below them moving? They may do fine, and they may be victims of motion sickness. So you need to not only put them in the camper in your drive way, you need to also take them in your car or truck when you go anywhere during this break-in period. You REALLY need to know how they will respond when their world is in motion!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice and your seasoned wisdom! I guess we’re going to find out.
 
DutchmenSport said:
We tried relentlessly to start our trips with the cat in the truck with us. No matter what we attempted, how we caged or did not cage the cat, he always resulted in peeing all over everything and vomiting and pooing. No matter what we did, it was a mess and cat pee is almost impossible to eliminate once it starts smelling.

We even got larger carriers, big enough for a litter pan to fit. The cat would pee on the side of the carrier and it would leak out onto the seats, or end up peeing THROUGH the mesh screened windows.

The only option was to transport him inside the camper. There was no way we could leave him at home.

Unfortunately, on one trip we decided to leave the cat at home with our son (he lives in the house too). Our son left the back door open. It has a doggie door. The cat was free to come and go, but we always make sure the cat was inside at night. My son did not pay attention, left the door open and the cat disappeared completely. I'm pretty sure coyotes got him (as coyotes has gotten every cat we've owned so far, since we've lived in this house --- 14 years now).

I often ask my wife if we did the right thing by leaving the cat at home on that trip. To this day, we still do not know if that was the right decision or not. That cat was just a horrible traveler. He was the only pet we could not travel with inside the truck cab.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear this story. We have had 14 cats(we rescue cats that get dumped at our farm) coyotes here too. Lost several that way. These five are the ones we’ve kept, but they’ve kept us from traveling, so we’re gonna give it a try! Odorxit and bac-a-zap both eliminate cat smells. Tried and true.
 
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