Our kitties, Madmartigan (Madz) and Ronia are currently seven years old, brother and sister (though they do not look it, the vet told me they probably had different fathers, but whatever, not important), and they always lived in apartments (three in fact.) Mike and I got together when the babies (I call our kitties, babies, it’s my thing) were just 1 years old and they got use to him relatively fast, so did I. They have had a pretty charmed life, always living on one level, plenty of food, and lots of toys – they figured they had it made. We decided to throw a wrench into their perfect life by moving completely into an RV.
2016 and 2017 were banner medical years for the babies. Summer 2016, Ronia had fallen off the balcony of our apartment, six flights down and only had one broken leg from the accident (it is believed her fluffiness might have helped her float down more slowly, but who knows). Summer 2017, Madz had 5 teeth pulled by the vet, less tragic, still traumatic. Both of them had minimal experience with the outdoors, so we weren’t optimistic about taking them hiking with us as we traveled the country.
Over the years with them, I found that the two of them don’t like to be separated – Madz was frantic when Ronia was away recovering from her fall and she was scared when Madz was recovering from his dental surgery. But what is even more apparent, they don’t like being separated from Mike and me – they are very affectionate and cuddly, so they had to come with us on this trip. Therefore, we got each of them a three-year rabies shot and a micro-chip, thanks Animal Welfare League of Arlington. I know, I know, I’d had them seven years and didn’t micro-chip them, my bad, but they are all set now.
After we moved the majority of our stuff into the RV – boxes everywhere, we brought the kitties in. They proceeded to hide in the tiniest of corners they could find in the RV, but this behavior was normal. When Mike and I moved into our first apartment together, Madz spent two days hiding under the entertainment unit, he’s kind of big and the space underneath it was rather small, so half of him stuck out.
While the transition to the RV was difficult, we tried to help them adjust with familiar things. Mike and I removed the barrel chair our RV came with and Mike bracketed their cat tree to the space to ease the transition and provide something to claw. Mike also installed a perch for them in the bedroom from some space wood – they mostly use it to stare down at us in the morning while waiting for breakfast. Since they abhor the outdoors, I’ve cut their diet, instead of splitting a can of cat food between them for dinner, now I quarter each can for their evening meal. Fortunately, their weight is stable and they gobble up every bit of food.
The litter box dilemma was a big issue for us. We read numerous blogs about other RVers who have traveled with cats and how they hid/stored their cats’ litter box. After we purchased our RV,
it became clear we would not be able to store our cats’ litter box in a place hidden from us and/or comfortable for our cats to do their business. Mike came across the Tidy Cats Breeze Litter System while brainstorming ideas of how to handle our cats litter box dilemma. We purchased it in September 2017 and after a few days of getting use to it, our cats took to this new system rather easily. Once we moved the litter box into the RV, along with our cats, it helped make the transition from apartment to RV slightly easier. We added more round pellets (they don’t breakdown like your brand name ones, but they were kinder on our cats’ paw pads) and easily found pee-pads that fit the system from Amazon, but the system is a lifesaver. Due to the fact that it doesn’t smell, we are able to keep it out instead of hiding it – it rests right behind our front passenger seat. While they still manage to kick the pellets of litter into the RV, thankfully I can scoop them up and place them back into the litter box. Despite having two cats, I replace the pee-pad once a week without issue – it’s great. I love not having to buy 20 lbs. containers of clay kitty litter.
Our cats went from Apartment Kitties to Adventure Kitties, begrudgingly. When moving between parks, initially the kitties rode in the “chase car” with me, so Mike could focus on driving the rig. But after several hellish rides with constantly crying, moving, and growling I couldn’t take it anymore. They dislike the motion and bumps experienced in my car, in fact, they hate it. Once to calm them, I let them both sit on my lap while I drove, BAD IDEA! The one closest to the knees, I forget who it was exactly, began to subtly slip down my legs and into the pedals. I had to quickly pull over and pull each out from under the pedals telling them to find somewhere else to chill. I begged Mike to let them ride in the RV with him. He relented, but said, “One peep, and they go back in the car!” Well, I guess they heard him because they didn’t make a sound for their first ride in the RV between campsites. Since then, they ride in the RV which does diminish the stress on their little systems during the transition. We have given them calming treats the mornings we move to a new place, so that might also be a big help or it is just a placebo effect.
Madz and Ronia are our babies and we really would not be as happy and comfortable on this trip if they weren’t with us. They have gone from Apartment Kitties to Adventure Kitties and we are so proud of them.