Afraid of cats getting out of RV??? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Travelin Duo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Afraid of cats getting out of RV???

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

Question guys, how do you keep them from getting out of the house now?

Travelin Duo · RV-Dreams Family Member

The house is big, and they were not in a motor home (size) so they really never tried to get outside.
However in a strange environment and in such a small area we are worried.
Our two beloved "boys"....Padraig and Mulligan have passed away in the last two years, and we are debating getting another cat to come with us on our new adventure of Fulltiming.
However it does concern us.
Dogs seem to easily adapt to RV Full timing...crates...leashes...etc.
Like we said...any info or opinions will be so appreciated, and help us decide.

Roz · RV-Dreams Family Member

Larry and Arlene,

I am glad you are concerned. Fred gave a good answer in the form of a question. But, if I understand your situation correctly, you are without a cat presently and are trying to decide what to do.

We introduced a cat that was 5 years old to motorhoming. He had never been outside period!!! He has his claws, and his scratching post goes along. We simply put him in a carrier, take him out to the coach and then open the carrier. He looks around, and says, "Hey, I love this place!"

Bumper has spent as much as five and a half months on the coach in one trip. I really believe he enjoys the coach more than the stix and brix. He has never tried to make a run for the door. But, just like home, we do not totally trust him! We always locate him prior to opening a door here or on the road.

Our greatest fear with the two dogs and the cat is extending and retracting the slides. The slides do not move until one of us is holding the cat and keeping the dogs seated.

If you are getting a cat and his first home is a motorhome, he will love it and not know anything else. I have known cats that live on boats. We saw a motor home last August in CT with an invisible fence laying on the surface of the ground around a motorhome. The coach door stayed open and the dogs and cats came and went, but they never came near that wire.

We simply are carefull and enjoy the fur ball every day on the road.

Charles

SoCalToolGuy · RV-Dreams Family Member

This is a good thread. We are getting ready to go full time and have three cats. It is going to be very interesting as to how they take to the new small environment. We have one very skittish cat that may have come from a feral litter. We are going to get a long handled net to catch her with if the need ever arises. We will be very wary of opening the door or the slides with the cats around. They are just like children. You have to be on guard all the time. It's worth the effort though. Good luck with your travels.
Ray

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

We came on the road with 2 cats which we had had for 7 or 8 years. They were both declawed house cats which had never been outside. Neither of them enjoyed traveling at first and would whine for an hour or so when on the road. Eventually they settled in OK. When we moved we crated them and put them in the truck before retracting the slides.

After about a year though, one of them began urinating indiscrimanently around the coach, and after about $1000 in vets bills in an attempt to rule out a physical problem, we were forced to give him up for adoption. The other one is still doing well though and never really attempts to get out.

She did once come down though when we inadvertently left the door open. Having never been out before, she was more nervous than we were and simply hid under the coach.

We know many RV'ers that travel with cats without problem, and would encourage you to give it a try. They are wonderful companions on the road.

Good luck,

Travelin Duo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks to all of you, and your advice and help.
We are animal lovers, and after having ours for so long, and taking time to adjust to our missing them so...we feel we are now ready to bring at least one other kitten into our new life of fulltiming come spring, but we were not sure as to the safety of a cat versus a dog in our RV It seems so many do it... and all is fine....
Thanks again, and we'll let you all know when we decide, and get our new little friend and family member.
aww

phyllen · RV-Dreams Family Member

We start full timing in 13 months and was looking forward of our 12 year old "Fred" (Sorry Wishnie) traveling with us.

We took him on a 10 day trip in October. Prior to doing that we stayed two weekends in the Fiver with him to get him used to the surroundings.

He seemed to handle traveling well. However, he did not eat much. We knew he was diabetic and we gave him meds twice daily. When we got home he completely stopped eating or using the litter pan. Took him to vet for checkup on his counts and found his liver to have completely shut down. We knew he would not be eating again and had to make that tough decision many of us have had to make.

We were really looking forward to him traveling with us. We are so glad we took him with us on his one and only vacation!

Good luck in your travels.

Darrell and Judy · RV-Dreams Family Member

We began fulltiming in a fifthwheel 18 months ago with our "furry kids". Katie was 4 and Alex was 3 at the time, however, they have been RVing since they were kittens. They are purebred ragdoll katts and ragdolls make great traveling partners as they have the katt-onality of a dawg. They want to be around their humaniods all the time and love to ride. Yes, we are concerned about them getting outside on their own so we watch over them like you would a toddler. They would go outside if the door was left open but they do not attempt to go "darting" out the door. We carry them to the truck before putting the slides in and do not bring them back into the house until after the slides are out (unless we are staying overnight without putting the slides out). The back seat of the truck is theirs - they have a medium sized collapsible kennel, a sheepskin blanket, a litter box, water, and food. We allow them to roam the back seat and ride on the center console but they tend to sleep in the kennel and on the back seat. Katts are quite adaptable to the RVing lifestyle especially if they are starting out as kittens. Make sure to keep their shots current and to keep their shot records with you. We have never been asked for them but you just never know when they maybe required. Hope this helps a little, feel free to email us if you want more detailed information.

LakeConroePenny · RV-Dreams Family Member

Travelin Duo wrote:
We are a bit afraid of a cat geting out of the RV.
Unlike dogs ...they are sometimes skittish, and if they ever got outside may run.
Heard a few horrror tales of not finding them.
It would break our hearts.
How dou you all solve this problem
Any advice before we go fulltiming come Spring ?
Thanks

My daughter lost her cat out of a broken window after a wreck, as the cat was not crated for traveling. It was never seen again. Heatbreaking.

That is when we knew our pets had to travel in carriers that were strapped in with seat belts through the handles, and micro-chipped. Penny, TX

dedutch · RV-Dreams Community Member

We don't worry too much about our cat Gracie trying to run, but our other cat Bob is a little more adventureous and bold. I try to remember to keep a squirt bottle full of water on the outside steps and have it ready when we open the door just in case he gets too curious. Our problem was trying to keep the both of them from crawling up inside the dash. We thought we had the problem licked, but Bob figured a way around our solution anyway!

dedutch