tips for traveling with a cat?

[Smoky]

I would really love to get a cat to travel with but I'm very concerned how well adjusted a cat would get to the constant movement. Obviously other people seem to be traveling with cats just fine so it must be possible. Can an older cat learn to get used to living in a trailer? Isn't a trailer a bit small? I would worry about leaving him alone when I run errands. I would love to have another cat though since I plan on traveling alone and would love the company.

Any tips?

Thanks.

Eric

[BDandTTs]

Cats can make wonderful travel companions, at least many of them do.

Some cats travel very well, but others will never get used to it. I would not count on an older cat learning to adapt to either the car or the Airstream. A kitten or young cat would be a much better gamble. Plan on a slow, gradual introduction to the Airstream and car travel. It may take weeks or months to become adjusted -- or it could be immediate. Make sure that you get a sherpa case so she can be with you in the car, the Airstream is too rough for most critters.

[Aage]

Travel with Cats has a bunch of good hints.

Sorry, I'm a bit confused: do you have a trailer now, or a cat, or are you just considering one or both?

[Smoky]

Originally Posted by Aage

Travel with Cats has a bunch of good hints.

Sorry, I'm a bit confused: do you have a trailer now, or a cat, or are you just considering one or both?

I have a trailer but no cat. Considering getting a cat.

[willyd]

It is best to start with a kitten - one that you can train. Try to adapt to a harness & leash.

[overlander63]

From the FWIW department, I've seen most mixed breed dogs and cats tend to be somewhat hardier, and better-mannered, than the purebred variety. Obviously there are exceptions, but I have seen more "good" mixed breeds, than not.

[richinny]

i'm not so sure about the kitten. there are a lot of very small places! also, i had a vision of the cat hanging from the headliner, lol. my answer is.... it depends on the cat. i had one that hated to travel in the car and others that would love looking out the window. any pet should be confined from any possibility of getting near the driver and controls.

[InsideOut]

We travel with our cat Miss Lily. We have since she was about six months old when we got the trailer. We let her get familiar with the trailer while at home, taking her out to explore with us while we were working on our restoration. Same thing with the car...we took her out in it regularly parked at home and she got used to it before ever traveling. Then we took her on short drives (not to the vet) so she had good vibes about it. We also took her to work with us so she would get the idea that going in the car = ending up in someplace comfortable. She is leash/harness trained, well as much as you can with a cat...she gets tangled around just about everything so really can't (and shouldn't) be left alone outside. At home she is a house cat but we do let her venture outside, but only with the leash & harness just so she stays familiar with the concept between trips.

She is now 8 years old and she really is as at home in "her trailer" as she is at "her home". She will even sit on the couch during "Open House" at rallies and play hostess to visitors. The only thing she is not sure about are children - we don't have kids around, so she doesn't know what to do with them - too unpredictable in her book. She'll usually go to her favorite hiding place when she doesn't feel social...but we know where it is. I wouldn't discourage a full-breed (Lily is an Egyptian Mau) cat at all...I think it's all in the training.

The only other advice I would have is to make sure they are micro-chipped - just in case. Lily is registered with my cellphone which I always have with me when traveling.

Shari

[moosetags]

I've had cats all my life and some liked to ride and others did not. The latter are in the majority. In my vast experience with cats, I have NEVER been able to train a cat to do ANYTHING he or she did not want to do. Best of luck.

Brian

[Wabbiteer]

I've got a tomcat thats done 40,000 miles as co-pilot with me.

1st time in car don't start it - make it peaceful, a little small talk, take a 5-minute cat nap, fetch cat and exit (all business)...
2nd time in car start it and move ten or 15 feet & shut it off; enjoy another catnap & and awaken just to praise the cat and offer threats...
3rd time in car I'd suggest a drive-through to get hamburgers or fish sandwhich, return home and feast, enjoy another cat nap, all the while praising cat... (don't forget the little cups of coffee creamer to offer cat)

Well - at least it worked for me

[str8strm]

We got our rescue cat at three months old. We put him in a harness the first day and on the second day left for a 4 day trip in the motorhome. He has been on a leash ever since. We tie him up outside the coach just as we do our two dogs. He does get tangeled a bit, but tolerates the leash and will even take a walk on it. Good luck. Ron

[Aage]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

We travel with our cat Miss Lily. We have since she was about six months old when we got the trailer. We let her get familiar with the trailer while at home, taking her out to explore with us while we were working on our restoration.

Shari,

Loved the pics, laughed out loud at her in the sink!

[Isadora]

We have a two-yr old Abysinnian who can be an escape artist when he wants to be, and knows how to let himself out of the Argosy when the screen door isn't locked. We made sure every tight place that a very nosy adventurous cat shouldn't be getting into, is blocked off, and made a place for him that he CAN go to hide from strangers and scary noises under the bed, in one of the lower cabinets that has no bin. Since he is an escapist, we got a slide lock for the screen door, and even tho he is leash trained, we don't let him out without us in a campground, and he stays in his harness and on his leash, with a 30' chain, inside the trailer when anybody might be going in or out, and while we are gone. He seems fine with that and I think it makes him feel safe in campgrounds where dogs rule. We take his harness off at night. His newest harness is one that goes between his legs and around his chest, so far he hasn't shown any ability to get out of that one and it doesn't choke him.

He travels in his carrier and just naps when we are traveling. We take him for a walk every day (he loves to go to the river and go for a swim!). We got the Small Spaces kitty litter; his pan is in the shower (that we never use anyway, and is lined with oilcloth). On his first trip he was so scared that he didn't eat for 2 days, but he soon got over that and now he seems to look forward to traveling. At least his appetite doesn't suffer, and he gets a lot of fun out of watching the hummingbirds at the feeder that we attach outside the front window.

We do have an older cat that I don't think will ever travel. She refuses to set foot in the trailer on her own and slips out at the first opportunity. And she is NOT ok with a harness, she goes ballistic over that.