Campground host with 4 cats?

[StreamlineAK]

Hi everyone! My husband and I are currently full timers with one dog and four cats. We are considering campground host job. Normally our cats are indoor/ outdoor and two do ok on leashes. With this being a forest service campground, it really doesn't seem appropriate to let the kitties outside, but I believe they will go crazy as indoor only cats. I have ideas of an outdoor mesh tent room for the cats, like one you put over a table. Anyone have experience with any of this?

[Airtandem]

There are alot of wild animals that would like a cat for a meal. You would need something heavier than a mesh tent to protect them. Coyotes especially like cats.
Somewhere I saw a set-up (pen) that attached to an outside port on the trailer so the cats would have an escape route back inside.

[StreamlineAK]

That was the plan. Our trailer has a back hatch that I was thinking could dump into the tent. No coyotes here, just grizzly and wolves, lol!

[AIR-Quarius]

We have two male tabbies here at Big Hill Lake Kansas...lots of Oak trees, and the cats love it here. But as we found out soon enough- there are racoons that come here at night, plus two other strays who come to get scraps and just hang out.
I don't dare leave them out at night- so I built an off the ground wood hutch (big enough to hold two pet taxis) and then a wood door that raises up and down. When the door is down, I place a two by six board across the door - and some critter would have to be pretty strong to figure it out. I also have a flood light inside with them to keep them warm along with water and food.
I let them out to play while I am close by, and if I need to leave- I put them back up til I get back. We are volunteers for this park, and one of the tabbies has really good GPS built in, so I just dont' want to worry and keep a close eye on them. They know what I am doing and respect this adjustment. They are very happy. But figuring you are in Alaska, there would be owls and who knows what that would make a quick meal out of one. Just keep them in at night and keep an eye on them. I am even thinking about installing a 'baby monitor/intercom so I can hear anything happening.

[StreamlineAK]

I love orange tabby cats! The kitties current roam in the day, they just meow at the door and I let them out. I like this, the cats like this. They are all very preditor savvy, and do well outside during the day (all cats inside at night!). I just thought as a host, loose kitties might be frowned apon. Also, dogs in the campground worry me. Does anyone have a regulation type of problem with your cats?

[DanielB]

Cats are killing machines.

[pbearsailor]

Originally Posted by StreamlineAK

I just thought as a host, loose kitties might be frowned apon. Also, dogs in the campground worry me. Does anyone have a regulation type of problem with your cats?

Brissy stays on her leash. I think it would be hard to enforce our leash law if she were wandering around loose. Not everyone wants a cat in their site.

I push the leash requirement as a host. Haven't had any real problems, but I try to be aware of where the dogs are when I take Bris for a walk.

Predators can be a problem just about anywhere you camp.

-steve

[StreamlineAK]

Originally Posted by pbearsailor

Brissy stays on her leash. I think it would be hard to enforce our leash law if she were wandering around loose. Not everyone wants a cat in their site.

I push the leash requirement as a host. Haven't had any real problems, but I try to be aware of where the dogs are when I take Bris for a walk.

Predators can be a problem just about anywhere you camp.

-steve

Thanks Steve! I was thinking the same thing, it's not fair that all campers pets should be on a leash but not mine. Also, my campground accepts reservations, so I have people checking on me, and I would hate to give the wrong impression! Have you ever tried a cat "play pen" at all?

[AirsDream]

Originally Posted by StreamlineAK

No coyotes here, just grizzly and wolves, lol!

No, you've got zillions of coyotes in Alaska ... Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game has lots of pages on them. According to current articles on their website, coyotes are considered to be one of the possible reasons for a decline in the AK Dall sheep population ...

I just had a discussion on this topic last week with a Humane Society official about local domestic cats disappearing - down here in the Lower 48, thirty miles outside of Detroit. I was told that even around here, lots of cats are lost to coyotes and eagles and sometimes owls.

But where you are, between coyotes, wolves, and predator birds, I think that domestic cats in relatively wild places would have a short lifespan. Maybe not in Anchorage, but in remote campgrounds? A cage might work, but if you got an inquisitive bear, most cages wouldn't last long. Seems to me that if you don't keep em' inside, you're gonna' lose 'em.

[pbearsailor]

Originally Posted by StreamlineAK

Thanks Steve! I was thinking the same thing, it's not fair that all campers pets should be on a leash but not mine. Also, my campground accepts reservations, so I have people checking on me, and I would hate to give the wrong impression! Have you ever tried a cat "play pen" at all?

Mine does so well on the leash, I don't think a play pen would be better. We've seen enough wild critters nearby that she's almost never outside unless I am too. All cats are different, but this works for us. Four of her on a leash would be a handful, though.

-steve

[StreamlineAK]

Thanks again Steve!


Airsdream: I will rephrase, in my time living and traveling in remote Alaska, I have yet to see a coyote. Bears, lynx, wolverine, moose, caribou, sheep, owls, foxes, rabbits, swans, whales, otters, eagles and wolves I have physically seen or seen scat of. I'm sure they're somewhere, but not common enough in the areas I spend time in that I see or hear them. I actually live very rural currently. But not to say predictors aren't interested in my cats! I worry most about owls, dogs, and the worst threat of all- people and their cars. Although a neighbors llama did get consumed by a griz last year, I have personally not had any bad bear experiences. See them all the time although!

[A W Warn]

We were camping on the Blue Ridge a few years back. A couple camping near us had a dog and a cat. The cat escaped out the door and ran into the woods. They spent the evening and next morning looking for it. They never saw it again.

[2005 ford]

Why do cat owners think it's OK to let their animals roam loose? Cats kill too, lots of song birds and small critters. We used to have bird feeders and we stopped feeding the birds because we were finding too many dead birds under the feeders from the neighbor hood cats. IMHO pets should be under the control of their owners at all times.

[xrvr]

Most times we have a problem with a dog running loose while at a campground it is either the campground owners dog or one of the employees. They also do not clean up after their dogs as the campers are required to do. Frustrating, jim

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by 2005 ford

Why do cat owners think it's OK to let their animals roam loose? Cats kill too, lots of song birds and small critters. We used to have bird feeders and we stopped feeding the birds because we were finding too many dead birds under the feeders from the neighbor hood cats. IMHO pets should be under the control of their owners at all times.

Sometimes the tables turns the other way. We have hawks nesting in a tall pine tree in our yard. The little ones fledged this week. The parents have been busy bring food. The neighborhood cat is missing.

We have coyotes in the area too, but I have not seen or heard one near my house. I friend that lives several miles away told me there was a coyote den on their property. When they discovered it there were several pet collars inside and in the immediate area of the den.

[Skater]

Originally Posted by zigzagguzzi

Most times we have a problem with a dog running loose while at a campground it is either the campground owners dog or one of the employees. They also do not clean up after their dogs as the campers are required to do. Frustrating, jim

I had that problem this weekend - I stepped out of the camper to see a dog wandering around our site. Now, I love dogs and cats (we travel with our cat), but it's a bit unnerving to see a dog wandering around - and I don't want him spooking our cat, either. I asked the neighbors across the street if the dog was theirs, and they said it was the camper next to ours that had pulled in an hour or two before. There's no one outside that camper.

A few minutes later, someone did come out of that camper, and I said, "Hey, your dog is over here," thinking he'd be happy to know where his dog is. His reply: "Is that a problem?"

I was floored. I said, "Well, I just worry about them." I meant for the dog's safety. Meanwhile, I noticed a few deposits on our site that I'm pretty sure weren't there before. Gee thanks.

We didn't see the dog again all weekend. I'm okay with dogs, you can have him outside, and I don't even care if they're not on a leash as long as they are on your site and well behaved enough to stay there, but...sheesh.

[407EBM]

Cats are very territorial. How do your 4 get along? Do they spray, even neutered cats wi spary when housed with too many cats? I love cats, like a crazy cat lady and I would suggest trying to find homes for 2 of them. You could wait till you found great homes for them. But cats have needs and what you are describing is like keeping 4 horses on a half acre. Maybe you could make it work with a schedule of outside time in a screen poarch with secure/supervision so nothing eats them. Also try to create high nooks for them to get into, in your AS.

[AIR-Quarius]

I am down to one neutered tabbie...after him thats all I can do for the cats...I sure love em tho. Mine (Randee) sleeps at my feet each night next to the laptop. He had come down with arthritis in his front right leg, and I found out that human form powdered glucosamine (sp) will stop the pain with in a couple of days. What a relief.

[StreamlineAK]

Just to update, all four kitties have been quite happy for 2 1/2 years of trailer living! But two of my cats are VERY outdoor motivated, so they do spend time outdoors. They did just fine in the campground. I would let two out for supervised periods of time as long as the sites next to us were not filled. They tended to stay in the site, and I never saw them try to approach any other sites. I valued the comments about pets in campgrounds, it really helped me to understand what others might think. I would repeat the campground hosting again, in the right campground, with the kitties. Although, ideally, I would like to build a portable cat run / house / play pen. Luckily, this year, we are parked on a private piece of land that is very cat friendly.

Only one of my cats has ever sprayed, but he had a bad habit of spraying long before we moved in the trailer. These days, Its a once every six months type of deal, letting him outside to play seems to really prevent the issue. I really believe adopting an animal is like having a child, you don't just find them new home when your life changes, you figure out how to make it work.

[VagabondWays]

Very good so many people think they can just do thier cats when they change housing and I never understood how any pet owner doesn't get it's a life commitment not just at your convenience! I live in my 66 Overlander with a dog and my cat Ocho Laredo and he loves his airstream and spends a lot of time in it! Pets are the best of friends!
Peace surlyhobohemian