Traveling with cats in a motor home or RV can be fun. Yes, I used the “F” word. Fun.
Given time, even a mature cat can adjust to life on the road. Once your furry friend overcomes motion sickness, they can be wonderful travel mates.
Six Reasons Why Traveling With Cats is Fun and Beneficial:
1. Fuel savings. You will no longer have to keep the furnace on at night. Cats love to sleep with their owners. Their body temperature is over 100 degrees, so think of them as little warming pans when they curl up next to you on the bed.
2. Staying flexible. You will keep your balance well into your older years by standing on one leg while sweeping your little darlings away from the door with the other leg as they attempt to dash out whenever you stop your rig.
3. Problem-solving. Forget crossword puzzles and Sudoku. You’ll never have to worry about losing the ability to solve problems when you need to find a place for your critter’s litter box.
4. Exercise. Your ability to bend over to pick up and set down your furry friend’s food dishes will be the envy of your less supple friends. Not to mention scooping poop from the litter box.
5. Built-in alarm clock. If your power goes out or your generator quits, you won’t have to worry about oversleeping. Cats are built-in alarm clocks that wake you at the same time every day. Who doesn’t prefer the feeling of 60 PSI on your face to the bleating of an alarm?
6. Making friends. You will attract lots of attention walking your four-legged feline friend on a leash. Everyone wants to know how you managed to get your cat leash-trained. Unless yours is the one who glues himself to the ground when you try to walk him. Then everyone will want to know why you’re carrying your cat like a football.
Despite the popular myth that cats are independent, they love being around their humans.
They want to be with us wherever we are. Every place we stop is like a brand-new TV show they can watch from the RV windows. Popular YouTuber Jackson Galaxy, known as the Cat Daddy, calls it Cat TV. It’s the perfect mental stimulation for your feline friend.
If your kitty prefers to be outside with you, relaxing on your outdoor rug, Amazon offers many ‘catio’ options. These little mesh tent-like enclosures gives your cat the opportunity to hang out with you without being able to run off and chase squirrels.
Some innovative RVers have built cat enclosures that mount outside the passenger window of their motor home. When the rig is stopped, the screen is removed and the enclosed catio slides up against the rig. This multi-story structure is perfect for the innovative cat lover.
Whether your pet is a kitten or a mature adult, traveling with your kitty is possible. It requires patience for both you and your feline. After a year of traveling full-time with Phoebe and Oliver, I can assure you it can be done.
Jane is addicted to coffee, purple pens, and her husband, not necessarily in that order. A self-proclaimed introvert, she enjoys the solitude of riding shotgun in Rigsby, her 37-foot motor home. But when they pull into a new campground, her favorite thing is to make new friends and find hangouts featuring local musicians. Her fantasy involves writing lyrics for country music songs and hearing them played on the radio. In the meantime, she’ll stick to writing novels. And seeing as much of the country as possible. You can follow her journey ‘Rigsby on the Road’ by signing up for her newsletter at here.
Jane S. Daly is the author of two nonfiction books and five novels.
Jane is addicted to coffee, purple pens, and her husband, not necessarily in that order. A self-proclaimed introvert, she enjoys the solitude of riding shotgun in Rigsby, her 37-foot motor home. But when they pull into a new campground, her favorite thing is to make new friends and find hangouts featuring local musicians. Her fantasy involves writing lyrics for country music songs and hearing them played on the radio. In the meantime, she’ll stick to writing novels. And seeing as much of the country as possible.