RVing With Cats: Ideas for Retaining Your Senior Journey Cat Snug

We hit the highway when our cat, Tiskies, was 10 years outdated, and her well being and happiness have all the time been our first precedence. Our preliminary aim of full-time RV life was eight months to see all decrease 48 states.

It seems she loves RV life! Right here we’re nonetheless going years later, and it’s great to mirror on all the unimaginable locations she’s visited, the sunsets she’s seen, and the adventures she’s skilled.

Cats are naturally adaptive creatures, and with somewhat persistence and planning, your cat will be a part of the numerous household recollections you’ll make on the open highway collectively.

12 Ideas for RVing With Cats

Touring with cats requires a bit extra forethought than touring with a canine. There are litter packing containers to think about and security issues to handle. Issues are much more difficult when your journey cat can also be a senior cat.

However with some follow and preparation, you and your feline pal may also stay the RV life dream. Listed below are some useful tricks to keep in mind earlier than you head down the freeway along with your purry passenger princess.

Schedule a Pre-Journey Vet Appointment

Earlier than beginning your journey, it’s smart to take your kitty for her common vet go to. Inform your vet the place you propose to journey to allow them to subject any vaccines wanted for these environments. 

Ask for a replica of your cat’s rabies certificates, a prescription card for any medical or particular food regimen meals, and a clear invoice of well being, particularly in case your travels contain any worldwide border crossings. 

Begin Gradual

Cats are adaptable creatures however can take longer to regulate to RV life than most canines. Earlier than you promote all of it and hit the highway, take kitty for weekend getaways, day journeys, or drives round city for the afternoon. 

Ease them into the texture of a tow car or a motorhome. In the event you can, get them used to varied highway situations resembling bumpy roads, windy mountains, visitors, and so forth. Be affected person along with your cat and encourage them with comforting phrases and love!

Analysis Obtainable Pet Care Forward of Time

Identical to you’d analysis the closest hospital or emergency room earlier than a household trip, or earlier than shifting to a brand new city, it is best to do the identical on your cat. In case your cat is on a particular food regimen, guarantee you realize the place to get their meals domestically or in case your campground permits on-line deliveries.

Whilst you hope by no means to must make a visit to a pet emergency hospital, it’s all the time finest to know the place one is situated alongside your route. The very last thing you’d need is to really feel unprepared in an already troublesome and aggravating scenario, resembling an unplanned hospital go to.

Maintain Journey Days to a Three-Hour Common

Whereas that is all the time an excellent follow to keep away from journey burnout or drowsy driving, it’s particularly an excellent behavior to have when touring with a cat. Strive as we would over the previous a number of years, our cat refuses to drink water on journey days. With that in thoughts, we attempt to preserve our journey days as brief as potential. 

Senior cats additionally sleep greater than middle-aged cats, on common over 20 hours a day! Good sleep is essential to good well being, and cats don’t sleep in addition to we’d like when going 55 mph down a bumpy freeway. So plan for shorter drive days for a extra fulfilling expertise on your journey cat.

Deliver Their Cat Tower or Cat Tree

Cats love heights and one thing that smells like house. Tiskies is 15 years outdated and has had the identical cat tower her whole life. It’s her secure spot. It’s been in each home we’ve lived in, and she or he is aware of that wherever it’s, that’s house. I do know a cat tree takes up loads of priceless actual property in a small house on wheels. But when your cat’s tree is their secure and completely happy place, the misplaced house will probably be price it for a far much less careworn kitty.

Select the Proper Kitty Litter Field for RVing With Cats

When residing in a tiny house, I like to recommend buying an enclosed litter field for privateness on your cat and to assist with odor discount. Attempt to use the identical litter field from house, or in the event you’re getting a brand new litter field on your RV, slowly introduce it to your cat when you’re nonetheless residing in your brick-and-stick home.

Place a Second Litter Field in Your Tow Car

In the event you’re towing an RV, think about getting a transportable litter field on your tow car. It’ll turn out to be useful, particularly on longer journey days. You’ll find light-weight, transportable litter packing containers with zippered closures that can assist you keep away from litter spills. 

Senior cats have a better danger of urinary tract infections (UTIs), which will be worsened by not getting access to a litter field for prolonged durations of time. Belief me, you need your cat to have the ability to use the litter field, even whereas driving down the freeway. 

Put money into a Pet Provider

The common cat doesn’t get pleasure from being put in a pet provider. Most frequently, the one time they’re in a provider is when going to the vet. So, it’s typically related to a traumatic expertise. To assist them get used to their provider and reassure them that it’s a  secure and cozy place, introduce them to it slowly. Place it subsequent to their meals and water bowl or subsequent to their mattress. Then, encourage them to analyze it through the use of toys and treats. 

Discover Tenting World’s number of pet carriers.

Guarantee Simple Water Entry When RVing With Cats

Whereas cats can adapt to not getting access to water for durations of time, that doesn’t imply it’s wholesome. Tiskies has CKD (continual kidney illness), a typical illness in senior cats. Vets say that one of the best ways to maintain a cat’s kidney numbers wholesome is nice hydration. 

Whereas your cat might not be as desirous to drink at relaxation stops as simply as a canine could be, it’s all the time finest to supply them water each hour or so. It’s additionally sensible to plan a system for them to entry water of their carriers or journey pens.

Discover the right bowl or feeder on your kitty at Tenting World.

Security Comes First When RVing With Cats

Cats are naturally curious, however we don’t need curiosity to kill the cat. Security needs to be your first precedence when touring with a cat. It’s vital to be vigilant of your environment. 

• In case your cat is exterior in an outside playpen, is it secured correctly? 
• Is there wildlife within the space, resembling coyotes, bobcats, hawks, or snakes? 

You by no means need to go away your cat unattended exterior; if exterior, it ought to all the time have a correct becoming harness and be on a leash. 

For indoor security, keep in mind to maintain your display screen doorways and home windows secured. In case your RV door is open, ensure the display screen door is latched securely. Many more moderen RVs have an out of doors deal with that may latch over the display screen door to keep away from the door being knocked ajar by a leaping kitty or a curious toddler. 

In the event you go away the kitty at camp, verify the climate and activate the air conditioner, even when the climate is nice exterior. An RV is much like a automotive, the place temperatures inside can rapidly rise to harmful or lethal temperatures when the home windows are closed on a heat and sunny day. 

Contemplate investing in a temperature monitoring system that makes use of an app in your cellphone so that you could monitor the temperature when away. Our rule of thumb on sizzling days is to not journey greater than half-hour from the RV when leaving our cat or canine again at camp. 

Energy outages at campgrounds are extra frequent in the summertime, and if the ability and the air con exit, we will rush again to camp in an emergency earlier than temperatures inside flip for the more severe. 

Ponder the Advantages of Pet Strollers & Cat Backpacks

Who says a kitty has to overlook out on all of the enjoyable? Positive, not each cat will remodel into an journey cat prepared to stroll on a leash or hike mountains for miles. Nonetheless, that doesn’t imply they will’t tag alongside on the adventures with you. 

Cat backpacks and pet strollers enable your cat to soundly and simply be part of you whereas on the path or strolling down Essential Avenue. Cat backpacks don’t require rather more house than a college backpack, and the strollers fold down like a child stroller, making for simple storage on the highway. 

Use Pet Furnishings Covers To Maintain Your RV Clear

To keep away from injury to your furnishings and preserve your RV clear from cat fur or soiled paws, think about investing in pet furnishings covers. Many pet furnishings covers are eliminated simply for laundry and may preserve your RV furnishings wanting as clear because it did when it rolled off the lot. 

Even in the event you don’t notably thoughts pet hair in your regular residence, it might really feel like the issue will get amplified when residing in a small RV house. The benefit of cleansing and the safety of your RV’s resale worth are two main advantages of putting in pet furnishings covers in your RV’s couch, dinette cushions, mattress, and wherever else your pet lies when you’re tenting.

Discover pet furnishings covers on your RV.

What ideas do you may have for touring along with your furry companions? Tell us within the feedback under.