Cats

[Elliot S]

I am looking to get into boon-docking in the next two years or so and one question is how well cats do in this environment. I see lots of dogs on the videos. I would consider a dog at some point but got my cat more recently and love the little guy. So does anyone here keep a cat? Challenges?

 

[CautionToTheWind]

Personality determines if they are resilient to various changes. More space, I'm sure kitty will do fine. Hopefully, kitty isn't declawed to able to climb a tree if needed. Some cats I've had in the past I would not let them outside as being too daff for the big bad world. : -)

CRVL blog "Living on the Road with Pets" -- http://www.cheaprvliving.com/living-road-pets/

Fun Aussie traveling with cat (video) --

Here is a talk about traveling with a cat (video):

 

[Gypsy Clipper]

Check out Nomadic Fanatic. Eric travels with a 20 lb. cat named Jax.

 

[VanKitten]

I have the same issue.

I saw the cat tree (sort of) with a perch that Eric had for his cat.
So..since I am building at this time...I am going to put a cat tree in.

Just a carpet covered post that I will but 4 carriage bolts through before I install it against a back wall. Then I can put two platforms on it by attaching to the carriage bolts....( and can be and taken down to travel). Having a place to climb and a place to scratch are important to cats. They will do it regardless, so best to make a place it is allowed.

I also got a playpen for the cat. She can be outside and still not get away from me.

Finally..I started harness and leash training. You can't walk a cat...or really even control them..but the leash will give me some ability to keep her from dashing into the bushes

I haven't tried any of this yet... we don't hit the road rill nearly the end of October (I think)

 

[Gypsy Clipper]

I had a cat on the semi for seven years. She never went outside nor had she ever even tried. She was an excellent companies for both my husband and myself. She had people 24/7. What more could a cat want. We never had a cat tree or any cat accessories. I'm not sure if that's good or bad but she never seemed to complain. We came home on the weekends and she took to the routine just fine. She wasn't raised in the truck from a kitten but she adjusted from being strictly a house cat to a house cat/ truck cat. I'm sure it was quite a shock because a truck is pretty noisy and constantly moving. We were a team so our truck rolled 24/7 so she never had a chance to explore(nor did I ...hence this explorer mentality of mine).
I think as long as you can work through the initial cat fears they settle in pretty quick. I knew tons of truck drivers with cats...I had a parrot,a ferret and a skunk in addition to 3 dogs and a cat.[emoji2]

 

[TrainChaser]

Cats are creatures of habit. If you think you're going to just dump him in the rig and take off, he will probably try to escape ASAP. Everything is Baby Steps: getting him comfortable being in the van, training him to a leash. Just keep in mind that your cat is smarter than you, more stubborn than you, and a tiny bit harder to train than you (your new little furpurrson already has you trained, right?)

Letting your cat run loose while van camping is a recipe for disaster.

Get a vest-type harness and get him used to wearing it. He will probably fall over and not move in the beginning. Here's a how-to video from world-famous cat trainer, Catmantoo (Robert Dollwet). He is a professional pet trainer, and is most famous for Didja (in the video), the skateboard-riding cat.

Here are the basics of leash-training:

Here is his cat training playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?an...Txmyp0mrc3yx5CKjEAnAJpflr&src_vid=1qSMk8tJB20

And here is Didja on the skateboard: (3.5 min)

 

[Elliot S]

Good stuff. Thanks everyone!

 

[pamerica]

And then there are the easy ones.....maybe yours is, too.  My big orange tabby male, whom I got as a tiny kitty from the shelter, had never been outside the home until 8 years old.  His mom decides to be a nomad and puts him in a van and goes on.  He has never complained.  Just for a while was observant and hesitant to go outside the van sometimes.  Took to a leash and collar immediately.  Now he loves to explore.  Mind you, he is attached to a collar and leash, and me.  Or secured to a post I am observing.

 p.s.  $1.00 leash and $1.00 collar from Dollar Tree work fine.  You need a breakaway collar for most times inside and a regular collar to attach to leash, while you are watching.  If you want more slack for kitty, just attach $1.00 leashes to each other for more length.  (I have tried all kinds of harnesses, including a $30 "escape proof".  Yeah.  Didn't work even 1 minute.)  Try the cheap collar and leash.  He takes me for walks.  We have since been in too many states and miles to count.  I just need to put his collar and leash on and we go.  Don't leave kitty outside alone, though, especially where there may be coyotes or even hawks who will swoop in.  I am always with my kitty.

And please make sure you have a hard-sided crate  that you can easily handle and transport, with a comfortable pillow or something, for comfort, transport and emergencies.

While traveling, my cat stays under the driver's seat, his choice.  I tell him that he is so smart to do this, as he won't get hit by the stuff falling down as we go along.    He does not need to be crated while traveling, although some may need that.  Have fun with your new kitty!

If you have any questions, please ask.

 

[eDJ_]

I have a friend in West Virginia who is a Cat fancier.   Problem is that where he lives certain animals prey on his cats.
Coyotes. 

So he has bread "Bob Cats" with his domestic cats.  He says that a 50/50 is just too much to handle.  Too feral.
But breeding the next generation with that 50/50 offspring to get a 25% Bobcat domestic cat makes for a cat he can keep around the farm house works, so he tells me.   They can hold their own with Foxes, wild Dogs etc fairly well.  At least they have enough "wild cat" sense in them at this level to evade prey animals and know to climb up a tree or take shelter if suspicious.   And still they can be kept around much like pets. 

That's what I can offer.

 

[Selkieprincess]

My cat loves to be outside on her lead. She objects to a pet carriage and also to a netted kitty tent. When I first introduced her harness, she turned to kitty jelly. She flopped around and complained. Once she learned it meant she got to pull me around outside in the backyard of my apartment, she decided it was a fabulous idea. Loud noises and people still spook her, though. I always stay close. When its time, I pick her up and bring her indoors. Tried a harness with two other cats I had before her and it didn't work out. I think its a case by case situation. Additionally, I don't have the cat carrier in the car part figured out yet. (She hates that and howls like a banshee.)

 

[hausmutti]

I am looking to get into boon-docking in the next two years or so and one question is how well cats do in this environment. I see lots of dogs on the videos. I would consider a dog at some point but got my cat more recently and love the little guy. So does anyone here keep a cat? Challenges?

My brother and his wife full time in a motorhome with 2 cats.  They seem to do very well, they even hang around the campsite unleashed.  He built a cat duty station into a cabinet in his rv.

 

[Ticklebellly]

Friends have two Rag Doll (breed) cats. They often travel lying on the dash just the cabin side of the windscreen. Cats have learned to toilet in the van toilet. They sometimes get a walk outside on a lead but they rarely indicate they would like to go outside.