The WhyHouse is considering adding a feline to our family. We’ve all had cats before with great success (the smallest Why has three of them at her other house currently). However, one change to our lives is that we’re considering becoming semi-nomadic in about a year and a half. And this year we’ll spend the whole month of July away from home, in an RV.
Now, I’ve known other people whose cats were quite happy living in an RV. I’d like to have a cat who will travel with us, as in indoor cat at home and an in-RV cat when we’re out. (That is, we will not let her out at a campground to become coyote bait.)
What’s the best way to do this? Should we start looking for her now, so her first experiences with us are in the RV, or should we wait until late August, when we’ll be home for most of the fall and winter? I’m sort of thinking it might be best just to jump in, giving her experience in the way things are going to be. And, of course, if we find out early in our lives together that she’s not suited for RV life, we can find a more appropriate home for her before we get bonded to each other. On the other paw, perhaps getting used to each other as a family in our home* first would make her more comfortable with us in the RV later on.
I’m interested in what other cat owners think.
*Which will not be our home in another year and a half, actually; we’re planning on leaving the city then, and either hitting the road outright or moving out to the country.
Based on absolutely no research-based evidence whatsoever, I think you should get a kitten and accustom him or her now to traveling in a car, walking with a harness and lead, sleeping in a crate, and anything else you think RV life might entail.
In fact, get two kittehs so they can keep each other company when you’re off on day jaunts!
My family has two cats; there’s my mom’s cat who is superterritorial, and my cat who is extremely human oriented. My cat would have NO problem in an RV; she is perfectly fine in the car (though I do crate her for that), and she adapts well to new environments (I have moved apartments with her, and gone back and forth to my family’s home with her no problem). I could probably take my cat anywhere because she’s miss mellow.
My mom’s cat would freak, but she’s NOT that human oriented, only likes my two younger sisters.
My advice would be either get two kittens, or get one cat that is super person oriented and not freaked out much by change. Talk to the volunteers, they have a great idea of which cats are best for which situation.
I agree, one or two kittens, train them right from the start to harness and crate, and to not go out unless it is on harness.
When I was a rad whore, we had to take my cat with us as there was nobody at home to take care of him for one of our contracts, and he happily lived in an rv with us. He had been an entirely inside cat - no going outside or walks or anything like that, so we didn’t have to get him used to walking on harness - though he was harness and leash any time we were going between car and trailer as he didn’t like his crate at all. We could drive around with him happy in the back seat with a leash but in a crate he would cry the entire way.
Thirding that opinion. Two kittens, start training them now. Look for kittens that seem happy and are not easily spooked. I would love to have traveling cats!
Also, I forgot to add; there are some breeds that sound like they adapt better than others. i have heard a lot of truckers are fond of manx cats because some members of that breed travel well. I would look into that. You can find a lot of cats in rescues.
Try to get kitty used to a collar with bell and tag just in case he or she does slip out. One night while camping, my husband and I found a very lost - and grateful to be found - dog, checked the last name on the tag, and asked the camp “host” where the campsite rented to that name was. These days we’d look for a cell phone number on the tag.
The owners didn’t even realize that their pooch had slipped out. He was a toy-sized dog and had sneaked out when one of the owners opened the door on their RV. Apparently he’d wandered off a bit and suddenly realized - omg I’m lost and I don’t like that! He happily ran up to the nearest humans he saw, which happened to be us a few campsites over.
Thanks, everyone! Anyone have opinions on whether Siamese would be particularly suited for the ramblin’ lifestyle? I haven’t had one of those characters since I was a kid, but my favorite cat was a Siamese who liked to ride on shoulders (for which he was entirely too large, I might add.)
Of course, if I get two Siameses, I won’t be able to resist singing at them.
Some friends of mine have a Siamese that was a very happy boat cat for a year or two. I believe they got him as a kitten though, so he might have adjusted easier than an old cat. He was happy to hop in the dinghy with them and go to shore in a harness.
One piece of advice: rambling kittehs are not suited to be toilet trained. Boat Cat had an unpleasant fall in the head one windy day, and refused to use the toilet ever again.
Strongly seconding what Ferret Herder just said. Siamese are quite willing to speak their minds, about even the slightest thing, and they are LOUD when doing so. Even my housemate’s part siamese cat in college made me insane at times.
I hadn’t heard that manx cats were reputed to be good travelers, but I can believe it. And, added bonus, they naturally have little to no tail to get caught in doors or stepped on in small spaces.
I would, personally, avoid Maine Coon cats as they are huge and breed to be huge hunters. That said, my ex-husband grew up with a part Maine Coon who was huge and terrified of the great outdoors (which might be good for you). They’re also very furry.
I drove cross-country twice with my cat. He LOVED it. He was about 1 and 2. When we first got him as a kitten, we drove him around a lot in the car so he was used to it. He likes to sit between me and Hep GF on the little divider between passenger and driver, he’ll stay there for hours. He’s a male tabby.
