RV travel with a cat

[Moonrover]

Originally Posted by MickBrennan

HERE is a clicky to one incident involving a cat and a sudden stop.

Cool blog ... Very entertaining.

[ttarob]

Originally Posted by Moonrover

Cool blog ... Very entertaining.

We have three kitty rescues about 2 years old, thought about taking a couple with us, have to leave one at home for the mother in law!!

[mrt_1111]

Wow, velcro on the windows screens, added to the list of things to do.

[MN_Traveler]

One question I have not seen addressed on this wonderful thread is -what to do about the litter box. Scoop able litter is WAY too dusty for the contained interior of an rv (and the smell is a pain). What kind of litter do people use??? Does a covered litter box help?? Where do people typically put the litter box (shower? Hallway? Etc.)

[Moonrover]

While designing and building the interior of our bus conversion we had two cats. Believe it or not, I did an AutoCAD set of drawings for a custom "Kitty doorway" beside the regular closet door. It looked like a little hobbit entrance. Behind that was a short tunnel leading to the litter box. All of this was enclosed inside a compartment inside the closet where a hinged lid could be raised to service the litter box. Although it did consume some valuable interior space, the thought was to manage the dust and of course the litter odor. Fast forward to what actually got built ... our older cat passed away before I started construction of the closet, and a hot water tank decided to reside in the closet. No room for poor remaining kitty to have a private litter box entry to brag about. So ... we improvised with a litter box placed under the vanity sink. Smart cat can pull open the door, enter the private area where the door closes due to self-closing hinges. Cat scratches up a dust cloud (don't they all?) in there then pushes the door open and joyfully races around for a few victory laps. The dust in the RV is sort of managed but not eliminated. We just have to vacuum frequently. As to the odor of the cat litter ... well consider the alternative without some cover-up scent !! We tried pine scented compressed wood pellets ... miserable failure, then the new "less weight" brand litter ... also a failure due to being far too easy to toss out of the litter box and track around the RV. So, unless someone invents a better litter material, we are stuck with the light blue "Tidy Cat Scoop". Yep, there are as many variations in the cat litter world as there are letters in the alphabet. Tried most of them. Our cat has not really complained about any, nor has he given any particular brand a great rating. I think he really prefers the neighbor kids sand box.

[Finally Time]

MN Traveler, I finally found a dust free, odor killing, solid clumping Kitty Litter.

It is Cat's Pride Fresh & Light, 100% Recycled Paper. It's granular like the clay litters. My cat had no problem switching from Scoop Away. It's a bit more expensive and so far only available in a 10 lb. bag (equivalent to a 16 lb bag of clay litter) It can be hard to find. I get it at my local Safeway supermarket.

I wish I had discovered it before I coated my laundry room in kitty litter dust.

[JFXG]

Originally Posted by MN_Traveler

...... what to do about the litter box. Scoop able litter is WAY too dusty...... What kind of litter do people use?.... Does a covered litter box help??..... Where do people typically put the litter box (shower? Hallway? Etc.)

1) Based on a rec from another fulltimer here- barbaraok-- we're now shifting to "Swheat Scoop". Made from some wheat product, no dust at all. A bit more expensive, but I think worth it. You may have to look for it.

2) we used to keep the litter box under the steering wheel when parked, by the shower when moving. Also, our cat tree took up space. So I combined the two. Problems solved. There's a fuller post and description in one of the cat threads.

[TeJay]

We've traveled with cats a lot. On the first trip to ME. (and we had no slides) we arrived at the DW's home and visited for some time. When we went into the MH to sleep for the night we heard the cat but couldn't find her. She had climbed under the dash and into the window vent system. Eventually we spotted eyes peering out of a vent on the outside of the MH. up by the front of the windshield.

I have no idea how she got in there or exactly how or how long it took us to get her out.

As with most animals acclimation to what they are expected to endure during their life with you is critical to being a happy camper. We always try to expose any new animal to as much stuff as we can especially during their first 6-8 weeks. If traveling is going to be part then take them traveling ASAP. If young noisy kids, guns, thunder, other cats, dogs etc, etc expose them to as much as possible.

We traveled 2,400 miles in a 34' MH with 6 adults, 2 Goldens, and 2 cats. and I think 2 little ones. Needless to say I can't remember many of the details because I drove most of the time so I wouldn't go crazy.

TeJay

[wa8yxm]

Amber and Alex my Kitty and Katty, seriously do not like being taken from House to House.. of course now that we full time we do not do that any more... Other wise they are fairly happy... The only real problem we had is that when we are packign to go and pull in the slides, 9 times out of 10 they would sneak into the space under the bed slide and get trapped.. Major pain, we thought we had lost one of 'em a few times.

Finally figured it out and cut a portal so now slides in or out they are free to go hide under the bed.

I also got a "Traveler Bowl" (Camping world calls it a water hole bowl) wich is a more or less splash proof water dish for when I am on the road again... They understand it..

The litter box is in a secure position next to my Engel Freezer.. Even if I stand on the brakes while it is in use they can only move a few inches before they slam up against the ENGEL, (not far enough for them to even get bruised let alone hurt) of course one of them kept trying to scratch the engel (Steel sides) down into the litter box (did not work well) I finally tented the box.

I have also put cat scratchers over a couple of the upholstered spots..

HOW TO MAKE A CAT SCRATCHER

You need a piece of plywood, oh at least six inches by a foot or two or three.

A long roll of sisal rope, Bit under a quarter inch diamater will do.

Drill hole in one corner
Insert rope in hole and tie off end.

Wrap, tight windings, I like to spread some GOOP adheasive/sealant on the edges of the wood as I wrap rope.. When you cet to the end of the wood either tie off rope as you did before or tuck it under and tie (With a bit of glue.

Screw this on over the carpeted stuff you do NOT want them scratching.

Or tie it on if screw attachment is not practical

Queen cat gave me dirty looks when I first put it in her favorite scratching spot.. Then she tried it a few times.. She wore out on side already.

[hartb1999]

whats this got to do with class a

[Orangepeel]

Originally Posted by hartb1999

whats this got to do with class a

In 2012 the Pew Institute did research into what type of coach cats preferred. When placed in a controlled environment 96.38% of cats preferred the Class A coaches. Researchers were able to determine this because the cats immediately jumped up on the dash in the sunniest spot and made sure to sit and begin bathing just where they could block the drivers view.

When trying to determine why the cats preferred a Class A the majority of test subjects turned their backs on the researchers and pretended they did not exist. Well except for one cat named Buttons. Researchers noted that Buttons had discovered that with enough speed she could slide the length of the coach on the tile floor. Buttons did this until she banged in to the wall, upon which she tore off into the bedroom, jumped on the bed, began preening herself and acting like nothing happened. Researchers could not get anything further from Buttons that day.

Or it could be that OP didn't know we had a pet forum.

[MN_Traveler]

Originally Posted by hartb1999

whats this got to do with class a

I just posted to an old thread that I found on search . I do like the Pew institute research results - wonder how they got funding?

Moderators discretion to move it I guess - however there DO seem to be a number if class A drivers answering ...