We're so excited to start full timing next month, so have been catching up on all the entries regarding cats. Regarding the hole-in-the-wall litter box; we did something like that in our home cutting a hole through the mudroom wall into the garage, building a platform, enclosing the litterbox in a wire cage with the door facing out so that we could just open, dump (or scoop) and close the door. The hole was a regular small cat door, and it took about 2 seconds for all of them to learn how to do it. We're just a little more hesitant to cut a hole in our MH, but we'll see.
But my question is: what do you do about ventilation for them when you go out for the day and the weather is either sweltering or freezing? We have a Fantastic Fan with rain sensor but is that sufficient to keep it cool enough? Or is there no issue - cats just adapt?
TxYellowRose said
07:13 PM Feb 17, 2010
As far as heat, the summer I moved to MN my apartment there had no A/C and it was a hot summer...upper 90s to low triple-digits.
The two cats I had fared better than my dog (she and I both wore kerchiefs soaked in water to cool us down). They seemed to know it was miserably hot but just went back to sleep, mainly on the tile in the kitchen and not on the carpet in the rest of the apt.
Of course, I had windows open and fans going and the apt was larger than an RV, so there was more air circulation.
Just my two cents' worth!
Luvglass said
08:36 PM Feb 17, 2010
Hi,
We all worry about our animals and want them to be as comfortable as possible, and toward that end we leave fans, air conditioning, or the heat on as appropriate.
But it's wise to remind ourselves sometimes, that cats and dogs have been around for thousands of years before there was either heat or air conditioning and have done just fine.
It's really all in our heads, the animals are OK.
GENECOP said
08:44 PM Feb 17, 2010
Luvglass wrote:
Hi,
We all worry about our animals and want them to be as comfortable as possible, and toward that end we leave fans, air conditioning, or the heat on as appropriate.
But it's wise to remind ourselves sometimes, that cats and dogs have been around for thousands of years before there was either heat or air conditioning and have done just fine.
It's really all in our heads, the animals are OK.
Fred, while what you say is true, just to clarify for people who may lack common sense ( and there are a few here and there) a vehicle in the sun, during the summer gets above 100 deg very quickly. Cats and dogs left alone need air conditioning or some form of ventilation, Gene.
Tim & Robyn said
06:39 AM Feb 18, 2010
If it were me, I would just do what I do at home: set the thermostat for heating/cooling so that's it's tolerable for ME on the inside when I return. That way it doesn't take much to warm it up a little when it's freezing outside, or cool it down a little when it's sweltering outside.
Remember, dogs and cats don't sweat, so you do not want to let it get too hot inside. They tolerate cold better than we do, but you don't want your water lines to freeze, so the furnace needs to run some at least to prevent that from happening if it's really cold.
thebearII said
10:38 AM Feb 18, 2010
We had two Keeshond dogs that enjoyed travelling with us. These dogs have a thick undercoat with a long outer coat of fur, similar to Alaskan Huskies. Keeshonds were bred to handle the cold of Holland.
Back then we spent a lot of time in the deserts of California, Arizona & Nevada. In 100 degree weather the dogs would find a cool spot and stretch out on their sides for about a half hour. They would find a shady spot, dig down to cooler dirt and lay there. They would nap and then get up drink lots of water and move to a different cool spot.
The key was to make sure they had plenty of water. We usually had two bowls they could get to.
If we left them locked up in the RV we would leave the A/C on set to 72 degrees and leave the Fantastic fan vents up with the thermosensor turned to where the fan would come on at just above 72 degrees. One fan was set to exhaust & the other was set to inflow (they are at opposite ends of the 5th wheel) to circulate the air through the RV. Both were set for high fan. The fans would come on even if the shorepower was off. Again two big bowls of water for them.
The trips away from the RV were usually no more than 4 hours.
FYI... some RV parks have rules against leaving pets locked up in an unattended RV.
bjoyce said
10:45 AM Feb 18, 2010
Cold we don't worry about since our cat has places she can keep warm. Plus we don't seem to spend time where it is really cold during the day.
When warm we ventilate. If we are on hookups we leave it on air conditioning. (I know people who are paranoid the power will go out, but I think that is being irrational.) When dry camping we ventilate with fans and cracked windows, it can get warm but not stifling hot. When dry camping in Zion National Park we left with our fantastic fan on and some cracked windows and it was about 85 inside. Our cat was fine and didn't act like there was anything wrong. Yesterday we left before lunch and put the air conditioning on just because. When we got back at 9:30PM it was 59 degrees inside and our cat was fine.
But my question is: what do you do about ventilation for them when you go out for the day and the weather is either sweltering or freezing? We have a Fantastic Fan with rain sensor but is that sufficient to keep it cool enough? Or is there no issue - cats just adapt?
As far as heat, the summer I moved to MN my apartment there had no A/C and it was a hot summer...upper 90s to low triple-digits.
The two cats I had fared better than my dog (she and I both wore kerchiefs soaked in water to cool us down). They seemed to know it was miserably hot but just went back to sleep, mainly on the tile in the kitchen and not on the carpet in the rest of the apt.
Of course, I had windows open and fans going and the apt was larger than an RV, so there was more air circulation.
Just my two cents' worth!
Fred, while what you say is true, just to clarify for people who may lack common sense ( and there are a few here and there) a vehicle in the sun, during the summer gets above 100 deg very quickly. Cats and dogs left alone need air conditioning or some form of ventilation, Gene.
Remember, dogs and cats don't sweat, so you do not want to let it get too hot inside. They tolerate cold better than we do, but you don't want your water lines to freeze, so the furnace needs to run some at least to prevent that from happening if it's really cold.