Motorhoming with a cat

[Minxy]

Having had cats for 60 odd years, it's pretty obvious that you have next to no idea of what the majority of cats get up to and base your opinions you which are banding about on what cat owners should and shouldn't do, I find that rather insulting.

Why is it insulting? I haven't called you anything, unlike your reference to me!

Unless you've owned the majority of cats you can't know what they get up to, only what YOUR cats may or may not have ... do you watch your cats for every second they are outdoors? Can you honestly say that your cats, when let out in public and out of sight don't follow their 'natural instincts' and hunt?

I have cat owning friends so am not totally 'ignorant' on this subject which is what it appears you are implying. I also know what they get up to in my garden, I've seen the 'little darlings' stalk birds and the evidence they leave behind such as dead creatures etc ....

Cat ownership, as does dog ownership, comes with responsibilities to ensure they can do NO HARM to others, be that birds, furry beasts, humans etc, if people are not willing to accept that then they shouldn't have pets of any sort.

 

[Minxy]

You might think farm cats are doing a job - and they are - but farmers have then in quantity because they can. One, maybe two, cats could take care of the rats. But what would keep the hay warm . We do the same as you with bird food but my more general point is that most problems for wildlife are caused by human actions. Although humans keep cats as pets the damage the cats do is a very, very, small part of the problem.

It doesn't mean that cat owners should turn a blind eye and allow cats to be a problem in the first place though, no matter how small, especially as they can take measures to prevent it if they want to.

 

[kevenh]

It's ridiculous to have a thread/discussion where cats are bad and dogs have no issues at all
Time to lock the thread.

 

[Two on Tour]

Why is it insulting? I haven't called you anything, unlike your reference to me!

Unless you've owned the majority of cats you can't know what they get up to, only what YOUR cats may or may not have ... do you watch your cats for every second they are outdoors? Can you honestly say that your cats, when let out in public and out of sight don't follow their 'natural instincts' and hunt?

I have cat owning friends so am not totally 'ignorant' on this subject which is what it appears you are implying. I also know what they get up to in my garden, I've seen the 'little darlings' stalk birds and the evidence they leave behind such as dead creatures etc ....

Cat ownership, as does dog ownership, comes with responsibilities to ensure they can do NO HARM to others, be that birds, furry beasts, humans etc, if people are not willing to accept that then they shouldn't have pets of any sort.

No personal experience then, only hearsay.

Not heard of any killer cat attacks on people, plenty killings by dog attacks, lots of irresponsible dog owners would you agree ?

The OP was after constructive views on travelling with CAT preferably from those with experience of this, if they wanted a dog or to travel with a dog then I'm sure they would have asked this, so those bang on about dogs are best or cats are killers, how about knocking it on the head and give the OP a chance of gaining some first hand knowledge from those that do or have travelled with cats, come on guys give the poor OP a break.

 

[ManTheVan]

This thread is getting a bit catty...

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[Barclaybasher]

My son split with his girlfriend just before lockdown and then had to have his cat put down. He now has 2 kittens and the change in his mood/life has to be seen!
He has a friend who says that meeting a stray cat 'saved her life' when she was at her lowest point in lockdown.
Dogs have owners.... cats have servants - they aren't the same but do the same - give love and companionship....

 

[Minxy]

It's ridiculous to have a thread/discussion where cats are bad and dogs have no issues at all
Time to lock the thread.

Where on earth did you get that from? You really shouldn't try reading between the lines if it means you come up with something that's not been implied at all.

Dogs are much easier to keep in a garden than a cat ... people with dogs usually have them on leads most of the time when outdoors except when they're allowed to have a supervised run round (or they should be!) ... very rare for people to keep cats on leads.

 

[Minxy]

No personal experience then, only hearsay.

You need to read up on what 'hearsay' means ... its only hearsay if you haven't experienced it yourself, you don't have to actually own a cat to see what they do and I have with my OWN EYES on numerous occasions!

Not heard of any killer cat attacks on people, plenty killings by dog attacks, lots of irresponsible dog owners would you agree ?

There have been cases of cats killing babies and as I mentioned earlier my nephew could have been one, dogs do attack when the idiotic owners don't take responsibility for them to ensure they can't do so, but that's got nothing to do with responsible cat ownership which is what was being discussed.

The OP was after constructive views on travelling with CAT preferably from those with experience of this, if they wanted a dog or to travel with a dog then I'm sure they would have asked this, so those bang on about dogs are best or cats are killers, how about knocking it on the head and give the OP a chance of gaining some first hand knowledge from those that do or have travelled with cats, come on guys give the poor OP a break.

There have been suggestions as to how to travel with a cat without causing issues but that doesn't appear to be what the OP wants to do, ie restraining it, having a litter tray inside etc. He wanted to know about letting it out 'on its own' to do its business which has implications for the surroundings, be it wildlife, facilities (cat poo in the sand pit for example), but that's only part of cat ownership which is why other info has been given.

The OP isn't being singled out so doesn't 'need a break' as he's done nothing wrong and isn't being treated as if he has. There's nothing wrong with cats or dogs so long as the owners are responsible ones.

 

[Two on Tour]

Never done this before, but there has to be a first time. !!

 

[ManTheVan]

It’s got me feline a bit funny to be purrfectly honest. Any other Funster Punsters out there?

I think I might have to go and sit under the MH and lick my chest for a bit.

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[Barclaybasher]

It’s got me feline a bit funny to be purrfectly honest. Any other Funster Punsters out there?

I think I might have to go and sit under the MH and lick my chest for a bit.

Glad you're not a male dog then............

 

[LesW]

You need to read up on what 'hearsay' means ... its only hearsay if you haven't experienced it yourself, you don't have to actually own a cat to see what they do and I have with my OWN EYES on numerous occasions!


There have been cases of cats killing babies and as I mentioned earlier my nephew could have been one, dogs do attack when the idiotic owners don't take responsibility for them to ensure they can't do so, but that's got nothing to do with responsible cat ownership which is what was being discussed.


There have been suggestions as to how to travel with a cat without causing issues but that doesn't appear to be what the OP wants to do, ie restraining it, having a litter tray inside etc. He wanted to know about letting it out 'on its own' to do its business which has implications for the surroundings, be it wildlife, facilities (cat poo in the sand pit for example), but that's only part of cat ownership which is why other info has been given.

The OP isn't being singled out so doesn't 'need a break' as he's done nothing wrong and isn't being treated as if he has. There's nothing wrong with cats or dogs so long as the owners are responsible ones.

 

[tonyidle]

Back to the OP. A caravaning friend took his cat everywhere. He had it from kitten to death at 15yo. It had a litter tray in the shower room and a cage when travelling in the car. It never left the van on site and showed no interest in doing so. At home it was never in the house .

 

[Jim]

Years ago a woman called Mo and guy called Dick produced the Big Pitch Guide. This was a guide to camping in a large RV. When they weren't touring the country for the guide, they had a permanent pitch in Cornwall. And lived with two cats.

The cats wore collars to which was attached long lengths of wool, over 12m each. The other end of these lengths of wool were attached high up on a door closer at the top of the RV.

By the end of each day, these cats had almost knitted things like tea cosies and gloves as they moved among the shrubbery, chairs, table legs and RV tyres. Knit one, purl one, drop one, knit another.

The cats leads got shorter by the hour but they seemed happy enough, as did Mo and Dick.

 

[Rosemary1]

Back to the OP. A caravaning friend took his cat everywhere. He had it from kitten to death at 15yo. It had a litter tray in the shower room and a cage when travelling in the car. It never left the van on site and showed no interest in doing so. At home it was never in the house .

All the cats we have had live with us, once passed kittenhood seem to spend the vast majority of their time curled up in a warm spot sleeping - I would think a motorhome would suit many of them.

If we had a cat (got dogs at the moment) I would train them to a harness so they could sit outside with us attached to a lead, take a litter tray and lots of toys and just make sure I provide a warm lap on a regular basis

Not sure it would suit a nervous cat although they could just stay in the motorhome all the time then?

Have seen a cat on a site kept similar to this and it seemed very content

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[Shrimp]

So a cat shouldn’t be allowed out to do what is natural to them-hunt & kill?
So therefore we all have to make sure
our Terriers don’t hunt & kill too.
If there were no Predators in this world we would be over-run with all the so-called pests.

 

[g3cwi]

This thread is getting pretty polarised so in an effort to bring all you pet owners together, you can all join together in disagreeing with me. I think that cats and dogs should be banned due to their huge negative environmental impact. A truly mind boggling amount of the world's food goes into feeding them, and of course they create millions of tons of faeces. Both cats and dogs are often detimental to local wildlife, cats killing small mamals and birds, dogs disturbing ground nesting birds and injuring and killing sheep. I wonder how many millions of gallons of fuel are consumed each year with trips to the vets and taking dogs for walks. Dogs faeces can carry some nasty germs too. Apart from their food, they are also consumers of lots of other "stuff" too - from coats to walking boots. These impacts are seldom discussed because they are so emotive. There, that should allow all the cat and dog owners to agree on something!

This article is worth a read.

Having chucked in my genade, I will just nip off and set this thread to ignore. Enjoy.

 

[Jim]

Having chucked in my genade, I will just nip off and set this thread to ignore. Enjoy.

You won't ignore it, you posted that tosh for effect, posters who say they are not watching invariably are. they need to see the response they generate so you'll be watching Hi there

 

[tonyidle]

This thread is getting pretty polarised so in an effort to bring all you pet owners together, you can all join together in disagreeing with me. I think that cats and dogs should be banned due to their huge negative environmental impact. A truly mind boggling amount of the world's food goes into feeding them, and of course they create millions of tons of faeces. Both cats and dogs are often detimental to local wildlife, cats killing small mamals and birds, dogs disturbing ground nesting birds and injuring and killing sheep. I wonder how many millions of gallons of fuel are consumed each year with trips to the vets and taking dogs for walks. Dogs faeces can carry some nasty germs too. Apart from their food, they are also consumers of lots of other "stuff" too - from coats to walking boots. These impacts are seldom discussed because they are so emotive. There, that should allow all the cat and dog owners to agree on something!

This article is worth a read.

Having chucked in my genade, I will just nip off and set this thread to ignore. Enjoy.

The biggest environmental impact by a very large margin is by humankind. As a dog and cat (in fact any animal) lover the solution is obvious ............

 

[Minxy]

What about cows? They fart and cause issues ... not heard of anyone taking a pet cow on holiday though!

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[Jimbohorlicks]

You won't ignore it, you posted that tosh for effect, posters who say they are not watching invariably are. they need to see the response they generate so you'll be watching Hi there

g3cwi He's from Macclesfield, knows nowt.

 

[fred chase]

Hi there,
Regarding travelling in a motorhome with cats.
The history:We live in south-west France and "acquired our two" (from next door!) . The mother had been in an accident and could not use her back legs. We had the vet do what they could but the main cure was performed by the Memsahib who massaged her for three months.
A few years later enter the first motorhome. As soon as the door opened they were both in there to explore. A few runs locally, mainly to Aires, and they loved their new life.
When we travel they on the Memsahibs lap in a cat bed.
Out routine is always the same, arrive: take a cat each to check the surroundings, talk to neighbours to let them know we have two felines and whether they have animals and are they OK with our two (never had any complaints yet": walk around with them: check for other dangers, roads, fences etc, get the furniture out and the we all sit down for a drink.
Leads have never been tolerated although we do carry them. The cats have never run away and quite often find them "talking" to neighbours. A very good social introduction tool!
When we are away they never hunt/kill and even after a good walk they always come into the van to use the litter tray. Cannot be absolutely sure of course but the amount of use the tray gets!!!!!!
We normally winter on the Iberian Peninsula on a campsite and each evening they go for a walk around with us. we find out were the other animals are living and try to avoid them. With regard to the "no leads" situation there have been few incidents as we are always been close by. the main problem is the resident cat population/ferals passing through, but ours are switch on enough to know when to "walk away".
We have been travelling with them for seven years now over Western Europe and UK with no serious problem although the daughter did escape when were being checked prior to boarding the Eurotunnel at Ashford leading to a three hour delay as we and the security services tried to coax her out of the bracken patch she was in!!!!!!
We always say we have "The cats from heaven".

 

[klaatu]

What about cows? They fart and cause issues ... not heard of anyone taking a pet cow on holiday though!

Saw a Spanish man staying at Gran Camping Zarautz a few months ago who had a pig with him.

 

[tonyidle]

Saw a Spanish man staying at Gran Camping Zarautz a few months ago who had a pig with him.

There were occasions in the past when we had to stop the car to allow our Saanen kid out for a pee.

 

[Two on Tour]

This was the favourite pastime of our little girl who unfortunately pasted away just before last Christmas.

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[Minxy]

Saw a Spanish man staying at Gran Camping Zarautz a few months ago who had a pig with him.

I saw a pot bellied pig 'on holiday' at Gravelines aire many years ago, it 'lived' in the MH garage.

 

[steve 6644]

 

[Carol]

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?

I can see you have had many various opinions a couple off people who actually have travelled with cats.
On many of the Fun Rallys
REKERLY can often be seen with their cat . who comes and goes as he pleases, so I'm sure it's possible

Great little character.

 

[Gromett]

I have picked up two cats on my travels and both settled into motorhoming very quickly.

Unfortunately the 1st ones owner was finally discovered and after some travel was returned back.

The 2nd one was a kitten and loved the van, but by then the new van was too small for both of us. So my mum adopted her.

Cat's are brilliant.

 

[scally]

My mum and dad caravans with dev?deal cats over the years. They were all got as kittens and brought up with their 7month trips. They never lost one

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