We are in the process of selling our house and travelling the country. Our only concern is our 2 gorgeous moggies. We could not leave them behind as they are part of the family...I just wonder if anyone has any advice on getting them used to the restricted space whilst on the road?
Happywanderer said
10:40 PM Sep 25, 2011
Hi quaver and welcome. If you type in cats in the search at the top you will find a couple of threads by others on travelling with cats. May be of some help to you.
quaver1 said
12:47 AM Sep 26, 2011
thank you happy, I will try that, cheers
Boroma577 said
12:44 PM Sep 26, 2011
In answer to your question....yes plenty of people travel with their feline family.
The guy next door to me now has a puss cat on board with him.
The success seems to be to harness them and get them used to walking on a lead and make sure you have a good secure enclosure for them outdoors.
-- Edited by Boroma577 on Monday 26th of September 2011 12:46:47 PM
quaver1 said
09:31 PM Sep 26, 2011
Thanks again, Julie
Elle on Wheels said
01:32 AM Sep 28, 2011
It all depends on the cat, generally they are not natural travellers like dogs and more often than not get quite stressed and for this reason I would not take a cat on the road unless I already had one and I could not find a suitable home for it.
Some breeds like Siamese are good travellers and love it. My sister always took her Siamese for extended caravan holidays and the cat had no problem adjusting from life in the house to life on the road and back to the house again.
If you ensure you are the constant element in the cat's life then your cats will most likely adjust to life on the road.
Check out some animal psychology literature.... but there will be some basic steps to establishing a routine on the road - cats get stressed when routine is disrupted. If you can get the cats used to being inside all the time and being toileted at set hours then that will help. This needs to be combined with lots of time inside with you and lots of affection otherwise they will feel like they are in prison.
Stress is a really important issue for cats health because it is a direct contributor to kidney disease and other conditions. Don't mean to be negative but just want to point out what can go wrong.
All the other advice that Baroma posted the link to is great also.
shazartist said
09:21 AM Oct 25, 2011
Good luck Quaver 1,
Some great points Elle on wheels. cats are so independent and I believe you are correct about the relationship to their owner would make the main difference. We had a friend that had his cat on his sail boat, AND cats hate water! But this cat loved him and seemed very happy, and went for walks on a leash.
Cheers Sharon
Boroma577 said
05:40 PM Oct 25, 2011
To add to this I recently met people who travel with both their dog and cat...very successfully.
The cat does not like a harness so they use a colar and lead and the cat is as happy as.
quaver1 said
05:47 PM Oct 25, 2011
Hi All thanks for all your advice. Our cats mostly live in the house and are very affectionate to us (more like dogs, than cats). I'm sure they will settle into their new Nomad life. I recently read an article in one of the caravan magazines with a couple travelling with cats, they have bought a colapsible outside exercise area made by catnip enclosures, we are looking to matbe invest in one of those. we'll see how we go! Cheers, Julie
We are in the process of selling our house and travelling the country. Our only concern is our 2 gorgeous moggies. We could not leave them behind as they are part of the family...I just wonder if anyone has any advice on getting them used to the restricted space whilst on the road?
thank you happy, I will try that, cheers
In answer to your question....yes plenty of people travel with their feline family.
The guy next door to me now has a puss cat on board with him.
The success seems to be to harness them and get them used to walking on a lead and make sure you have a good secure enclosure for them outdoors.
Have a look here: http://thegreynomads.activeboard.com/t29615888/who-out-there-is-traveling-with-a-cat/
-- Edited by Boroma577 on Monday 26th of September 2011 12:46:47 PM
Julie
Some breeds like Siamese are good travellers and love it. My sister always took her Siamese for extended caravan holidays and the cat had no problem adjusting from life in the house to life on the road and back to the house again.
If you ensure you are the constant element in the cat's life then your cats will most likely adjust to life on the road.
Check out some animal psychology literature.... but there will be some basic steps to establishing a routine on the road - cats get stressed when routine is disrupted. If you can get the cats used to being inside all the time and being toileted at set hours then that will help. This needs to be combined with lots of time inside with you and lots of affection otherwise they will feel like they are in prison.
Stress is a really important issue for cats health because it is a direct contributor to kidney disease and other conditions. Don't mean to be negative but just want to point out what can go wrong.
All the other advice that Baroma posted the link to is great also.
Some great points Elle on wheels. cats are so independent and I believe you are correct about the relationship to their owner would make the main difference. We had a friend that had his cat on his sail boat, AND cats hate water! But this cat loved him and seemed very happy, and went for walks on a leash.
Cheers Sharon
To add to this I recently met people who travel with both their dog and cat...very successfully.
The cat does not like a harness so they use a colar and lead and the cat is as happy as.
Cheers,
Julie