Motorhoming with a cat

[KiwiKampers]

I would like to get a cat but it will have to travel with us in the motorhome. How easy is it to train cats to be itinerant? I don't want to have to keep it cooped up in the motorhome because I don't want a litter tray inside. Is it possible to train them to go outside and not venture too far away?

 

[Hollyberry]

No, not really. Cats are free spirits so once outside the cat will go where it wants and stay out as long as it wants. Being neutered will reduce the wandering instinct but if you’re moving on at 10 ish on a Saturday morning you cannot rely on a cat to know that and be in the right place at the right time.
I had two cats with me for the almost two years I full timed. One was elderly and could go outside alone. She’d not go further than a few feet from the van. The other would take off, hide in nearby trees or shrubbery and shriek at the top of his voice. He learnt to walk on a lead and I had an arrangement of very large crates for outside.
Unless you’re going to have some way of allowing the cat free access into and out of the van at night a litter tray will be needed then.
You'll need a carrying basket for any trips to the vet and you have to be very careful opening windows while driving or stopping at toll booths etc.. A cat can easily jump out of a moving vehicle or onto an autoroute at a toll barrier. You might be safer containing the cat in its basket while travelling.

 

[Reallyretired]

Dogs are made for motorhoming but I can see no end of problems with a cat.

 

[Helen Ariel]

Get a small dog much more trainable.

 

[kevenh]

I would like to get a cat but it will have to travel with us in the motorhome. How easy is it to train cats to be itinerant? I don't want to have to keep it cooped up in the motorhome because I don't want a litter tray inside. Is it possible to train them to go outside and not venture too far away?

We’re still new to motorhoming.
We had a loose training plan for us & the cats.
Our 1st over night was on the drive with humans only. Then repeated with the cats.
Then we moved off the drive for local day trips with the cats.
Our 1st camping trip was to a local site for one night only.
Now we’ve gotten up to 3 nights away with the cats. And a 4 nighter planned for August!

We have a litter tray between the cab seats.
They travel in soft carriers.
So far they’ve not been outside at sites & haven’t looked to fussed. We may get brave and either try leads or let the go free
They’ve claimed the overcab space as their’s but do wander around the MH

Edit: as Helen Ariel says dogs would be more trainable but you’d have to weigh up all the pros & cons (and then choose a cat )
With the litter tray you can stop part way & keep the cats inside if it’s not practical to let them out. We break up our journey into chunks to let them stretch their legs - inside

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[Shrimp]

We were concerned once on an Aire in France, a big MH had left their side window open and the people were out shopping so we kept an eye on it. Then a cat arrived at the MH door meowing to be let in, nothing happened so it went to the side & leapt into the open window-with a bit of a scrabble.
Mystery as to why the window had been left open solved.
On a campsite in UK people turned up in a caravan let the cat out then went off in their car, didn’t return until evening, called a couple of times & cat arrived from the bushes!
A lot of people have cats in their vans with them i do like cats but I don’t think I fancy a litter tray in the van nor the worry of where the cat is & will it come back!

 

[AXO66]

And what it might have as a present in it’s mouth, when returning!
Dogs are less generous.

 

[steve 6644]

You really, REALLY need to watch this. This what your cute little cat is up to when you bugger off and let it do it's thing out of your sight.



It's allready started in Scotland,

Feral cats neutered to protect rare Scottish wildcats

About 80 feral cats have been neutered across Scotland as part of a project to prevent them breeding with wildcats.

www.bbc.co.uk

It's bad enough when besotted owners keep these killers at home, don't take the bloody things out into the wild as well!

We lost a whole family of blue tits again this year to the most beautifull cat I have ever seen, I was devestated, I'd watched them build their nest in the box I had made especially squirrel and corvid proof. I saw the bastard take one of the parents and didn't see the other after a few days. When we looked there were five dead chicks just about to fledge.

Please justify cat ownership to me, as a passionate animal lover I don't get it.

Cat owners really need to look in the mirror and have a chat with themselves this is becoming a serious wildlife problem.

WILD LIFE MATTERS.

 

[Dorset Diver]

In our experience some do, the majority don't.

We have had five cats four would not travel, the fifth took to it like a duck to water. Never needed a box and only had a litter tray in case he could not get out. Once on site he was off doing whatever cats do and would roam freely and widely but return at irregular interval and always if called. When Sam died at 22 years we decided not to have another, however, a black and white job turned up on the doorstep a bit before lock down. He has given us a thorough vetting and has more or less taken up residence. We have not offered him the chance to travel, we have not been out, but I suspect that he may be okay as whilst I was working on the van in the drive he wandered in gave it a good inspection, chose his spot and settled until I turfed him out some hours later. If he chooses to stay he may get the chance to travel with us.

 

[tonyidle]

You really, REALLY need to watch this. This what your cute little cat is up to when you bugger off and let it do it's thing out of your sight.



It's allready started in Scotland,

Feral cats neutered to protect rare Scottish wildcats

About 80 feral cats have been neutered across Scotland as part of a project to prevent them breeding with wildcats.

www.bbc.co.uk

It's bad enough when besotted owners keep these killers at home, don't take the bloody things out into the wild as well!

We lost a whole family of blue tits again this year to the most beautifull cat I have ever seen, I was devestated, I'd watched them build their nest in the box I had made especially squirrel and corvid proof. I saw the bastard take one of the parents and didn't see the other after a few days. When we looked there were five dead chicks just about to fledge.

Please justify cat ownership to me, as a passionate animal lover I don't get it.

Cat owners really need to look in the mirror and have a chat with themselves this is becoming a serious wildlife problem.

WILD LIFE MATTERS.

Nearly as bad as our local sparrowhawk family.

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[Jimbohorlicks]

We don't have a cat but we're on a meet where somone had a cat on a harness, a dog barked and the cat backed out of the harness and shot off. Never to be seen again. The owners stayed an extra few days trying to find the cat and left info with the locals to contact if found. It never was.

 

[steve 6644]

There you go.

 

[Rosemary1]

I remember walking along the canal side and bumped into a man with his head in a hedge shouting, after I gave him a startled look he explained he was in one of the narrow boats traveling with a cat. He tried to move on most days but sometimes the cat disappeared for a while and he had to wait for it to return. Seemed very relaxed about it

 

[Nanniemate]

I'm of the side of getting a dog, I would love a dog but does not fit in with the life at present and have to be in the position of looking after it properly

Amazon product ASIN B07GM5KL9X

 

[Minxy]

If you are willing to keep your cat inside or harnessed so it cannot roam free then it might work, but its asking a lot of a cat as they are by nature extremely curious creatures. A dog, on the other hand, whilst also curious tends to want to 'belong' to a pack so is less likely to disappear for days on end, not that I'm suggesting you let a dog roam free.

I have dogs because my hubby had one when we married and we've just continue to have them since. I 'may' have had a cat as they have their appeal too but only if I could ensure it wasn't able to get out of my garden as there's no way I'd want to be worrying where it is or allow it to go onto other people's property and cause them issues, nor decimate the local wildlife.

My hubby's ex-boss had several cats and the first thing he did when moving into a new home was make the garden 'cat escape proof', it wasn't cheap but it meant the cats could go out and be safely restricted to their garden only and also that neighbouring cats couldn't get in either.

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[Chris51]

And what it might have as a present in it’s mouth, when returning!
Dogs are less generous.

And the scratches on paintwork !

 

[kevenh]

You really, REALLY need to watch this. This what your cute little cat is up to when you bugger off and let it do it's thing out of your sight.



It's allready started in Scotland,

Feral cats neutered to protect rare Scottish wildcats

About 80 feral cats have been neutered across Scotland as part of a project to prevent them breeding with wildcats.

www.bbc.co.uk

It's bad enough when besotted owners keep these killers at home, don't take the bloody things out into the wild as well!

We lost a whole family of blue tits again this year to the most beautifull cat I have ever seen, I was devestated, I'd watched them build their nest in the box I had made especially squirrel and corvid proof. I saw the bastard take one of the parents and didn't see the other after a few days. When we looked there were five dead chicks just about to fledge.

Please justify cat ownership to me, as a passionate animal lover I don't get it.

Cat owners really need to look in the mirror and have a chat with themselves this is becoming a serious wildlife problem.

WILD LIFE MATTERS.

That is terrible and the cat does sound a prolific hunter.
The main thing I read to do is avoid letting hunting cats out dawn & dusk when birds are feeding.
None of the 5 cats we’ve owned have been a problem like that.
I don’t know what we’d do if one was. A visit to the rescue centre to discuss options?

 

[steve 6644]

I think it's just irrisponsible of us to carry on as if "well its their nature to hunt" makes it all alright.

I sometimes think we are the pandemic...

 

[Jev88]

We take ours but don't let them wander without leads. Not all cats tolerate this.

 

[KiwiKampers]

Some interesting replies. Thank you all. I am coming to the conclusion that it's too much of a gamble. I could end up with a cat that doesn't take well to travelling, meows all the time and then buggers off when I let it out. Not to mention the hostile looks I might get from those who don't like cats.
A small, but not yappy, dog, appeals to me but I can't convince the old man.

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[steve 6644]

How about a canary.

 

[KiwiKampers]

How about a canary.

Now you're talking. It could act as my CO detector.

 

[Kiwi Brit]

We have a friend who travels NZ with Honey their cat. Honey wears a harness as soon as they leave home and stays on until they return. We travelled with them around the South Island for over six weeks. Honey was on a lead whenever outside. But they did have a litter tray. Plus we were unable to stay in DOC camps, but otherwise she wasn't any trouble. She loved coming into our van as well.

 

[kevenh]

Some interesting replies. Thank you all. I am coming to the conclusion that it's too much of a gamble. I could end up with a cat that doesn't take well to travelling, meows all the time and then buggers off when I let it out. Not to mention the hostile looks I might get from those who don't like cats.
A small, but not yappy, dog, appeals to me but I can't convince the old man.

Dogs & their owners aren’t Lilly white
As for a cat that doesn’t like travelling you could be unlucky and get one
None of our cats have had the same character or likes.

 

[Minxy]

I think it's just irrisponsible of us to carry on as if "well its their nature to hunt" makes it all alright.

I sometimes think we are the pandemic...

I agree, they should be kept inside or in the owner's garden and never allowed to roam freely so they can't go into the neighbours gardens, properties, locality etc.

I have nothing at all against cats however many owners seem to think that theirs don't cause any issues which they cannot possibly know when the cat is out of their sight ... a cat may be lovely at home but be a savage monster to other critters and a nuisance when let out. I remember my mum telling me that she once found a cat climbing into my nephew's cot where he was sleeping, it had obviously climbed into an open window ... there is no reason why the window shouldn't have been open and it was the cat's owner who was 'at fault' for letting the cat out. If my mum hadn't found the cat I hate to think what could have happened.

All cat owners should recognise that they are fully responsible for their cat at all times, to the same level as a dog owner, and not allow them to be freely out in 'public'.

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[kevenh]

I agree, they should be kept inside or in the owner's garden and never allowed to roam freely so they can't go into the neighbours gardens, properties, locality etc.

I have nothing at all against cats however many owners seem to think that theirs don't cause any issues which they cannot possibly know when the cat is out of their sight ... a cat may be lovely at home but be a savage monster to other critters and a nuisance when let out. I remember my mum telling me that she once found a cat climbing into my nephew's cot where he was sleeping, it had obviously climbed into an open window ... there is no reason why the window shouldn't have been open and it was the cat's owner who was 'at fault' for letting the cat out. If my mum hadn't found the cat I hate to think what could have happened.

All cat owners should recognise that they are fully responsible for their cat at all times, to the same level as a dog owner, and not allow them to be freely out in 'public'.

But many dog owners don’t set a high standard of control.
Some let their dog defecate and don’t clean up.
Some do bag the result but hang it up on a tree or fence.
Some do manage to take it home or use a dog bin.
Some dogs are off a leash when there are signs apparantly - unreadable tin the owner - saying leads should be used. Typically around wildlife & farm animals.
That’s why I wrote earlier “Dogs & their owners aren’t Lilly white”.
I won’t need a thread about being cruel to cats though.

 

[Minxy]

But many dog owners don’t set a high standard of control.
Some let their dog defecate and don’t clean up.
Some do bag the result but hang it up on a tree or fence.
Some do manage to take it home or use a dog bin.
Some dogs are off a leash when there are signs apparantly - unreadable tin the owner - saying leads should be used. Typically around wildlife & farm animals.
That’s why I wrote earlier “Dogs & their owners aren’t Lilly white”.
I won’t need a thread about being cruel to cats though.

I knew someone would 'jump' on that hook , by 'public' I meant on their own, ie without the owner.

 

[olley]

We used to take our two to shows, on holiday and abroad, get on site open the door and they wandered about. You could put a lead on the younger one but the older one just went berserk. We haven't taken them the last few years as the oldest is now 20 and she's getting a bit doddery.

 

[steve 6644]

But many dog owners don’t set a high standard of control.
Some let their dog defecate and don’t clean up.
Some do bag the result but hang it up on a tree or fence.
Some do manage to take it home or use a dog bin.
Some dogs are off a leash when there are signs apparantly - unreadable tin the owner - saying leads should be used. Typically around wildlife & farm animals.
That’s why I wrote earlier “Dogs & their owners aren’t Lilly white”.
I won’t need a thread about being cruel to cats though.

Everyone with a cat needs that thread and the massdebate that ensued

 

[steve 6644]

But many dog owners don’t set a high standard of control.
Some let their dog defecate and don’t clean up.
Some do bag the result but hang it up on a tree or fence.
Some do manage to take it home or use a dog bin.
Some dogs are off a leash when there are signs apparantly - unreadable tin the owner - saying leads should be used. Typically around wildlife & farm animals.
That’s why I wrote earlier “Dogs & their owners aren’t Lilly white”.

Whats that got to do with taking cats into our precious wild places and letting them run riot

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