Camping with Cats

I've always felt bad about leaving my cats behind when I travel. I know that they are loved and well cared for while we're away, but I miss having them around when we're gone. And when we bought the RV, it was with the intention of being gone more often than we've been gone in the past. At one point Mark said something about being home two weeks and then being gone two weeks. For me, the big drawback to that was our cats - it just didn't seem right to be away from them that much.

We started thinking of ways we could take them along. We asked some friends if they knew people who camped with cats. "Oh yeah! Lots of people. One couple we know has seven cats in their RV." Okay, our RV isn't big enough for seven cats. Would it be big enough for two?

It is a small space and we were afraid they'd find it too confining. We also thought that they'd enjoy sitting out with us in the evening. When we're at home sitting on the back porch, they're both free to run around the back yard and chase bugs. But since we don't want them to be bear or bobcat bait they need to be somewhat contained - especially since they don't always come when they're called. And if a bird or rodent is involved telling them to stop doing something is pointless. So we decided to buy a screen house. It gives them a taste of the outdoors, yet keeps them somewhat confined. The first one we looked at didn't have a floor. No good. We ended up with a tent/screen house. If you unzip the roof, you are left with screen half way down and it has a floor. We can get our chairs in easily and there's room for a table for them to sit on and plenty of room for their food and water, litter box and their carriers. Perfect! I thought they were bored because they didn't want to come out of their carriers. We went and got them a perch/scratch pad with some dangly things on it and some toy mice. (Mostly because we forgot to bring their favorite toys with us.) But they weren't impressed. They preferred to hide in their carriers. I suspect I misinterpreted their suspicion for boredom. I'm hoping they will be more comfortable with it next time out.

The car trip went very well. They settled in to their carriers and didn't make a fuss at all. We still haven't completely worked out how we will manage food and water on extended trips, but we're working on that.

Two days in and they were still suspicious. It took them a day to start eating and drinking normally. I don't know what I expected. I guess I thought they were going to sit around and be "wowed" by the scenery. Actually, they behaved much as they do at home. Heidi hid under the sofa in the RV. (At home she chooses a bedroom to sleep in.) Harry was more into exploration, but even he spent most of the day just stretched out on the floor, which is pretty much what he does at home when he's inside. They slept most of the day, looked out the windows occasionally and hid from unfamiliar sights and sounds. Exactly what they do at home.

At night they were right at home sleeping in our bed. All in all, I think they are both going to be good little travelers.
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