This is what weakened our resolve on the no-cat rule – Fiona at 6 weeks.
We weren't going to get a cat. Our retirement plans were set – fulltiming in a Roadtrek Class B RV – and our previous cats had just gone to kitty heaven after long and pampered lives. Our minds were made up – no cat. And then we met Fiona, a beautiful Ragdoll kitten, and the plans changed a bit. At first it was, “well, we can give her to a relative when we leave if it doesn't work out”, but that never came close to happening – Fiona was a natural traveler.
Before we even got the Roadtrek in late 2006, we started including Fiona in car rides long and short, to acclimate her to the experience. By five months she practically needed a passport – we went coast to coast with her, cat dishes and litter box on the floor in back, and Fiona lounging wherever she saw fit – the dash, the back deck, everywhere. She LOVED motel rooms, bouncing from bed to bed. This plan was starting to look like it was going to work.
Fiona was easy to handle moving from vehicle to motel and back – she's been trained to be on a leash when outside, and she saw it as a good thing – it meant she was going for a walk. Walking cats is different than walking dogs – forget all that “heel” stuff. You go where they go, not vice versa. You're also required to finish any fights they start – small dogs, large dogs, multiple dogs – that's how she got her nickname, Fiona the Fearless. Growing up as an only kitty, she *ahem* didn't play well with others. Every social interaction was pugilistic in nature.
Fiona took to the Roadtrek immediately – to her, it was as big as a house, with a nice bed, a suitably covered dash to serve as an observation deck, sheepskin seat covers to facilitate her naps, her own food and water bowls behind the front passenger seat, and a litter box under the bed. As we finished closing out our sticks and bricks house, she practically moved into the Roadtrek – all that noise and boxes and clutter in the house was getting on her nerves. She was as ready to hit the road as we were.
The only real problem for us in the first few months was the litter box – the clay stuff tracked all over, and the pine stuff wasn't much better. Besides, a Class B is very close quarters to share with a litter box, if you know what I mean. After three months' experimentation with various litters, none of which solved the tracking problem, Fiona suddenly started to… go outside. Needless to say, we were overjoyed with this, and encouraged our gifted kitty.
This has continued for the subsequent three years now, and everyone's happy with the arrangements. Fiona is much too important and busy to dig her own holes, especially in hard ground – she has people who do that for her. The only downside is she frequently insists on a walk at odd hours of the day and night, swearing it's official business, only to frivol around in a strictly recreational manner once outside. I am resigned to her duplicitous nature. We carry plastic bags just like dog owners and scrupulously observe the good neighbor pet owner rules wherever we travel. She swears that the “no dogs on the beach” signs don't apply to her, but I tell her that's just an oversight on the sign-painter's part, and nobody's going to trust her around that much sand anyway.
Health issues are not a problem – Fiona is disgustingly healthy, and gets her annual checkup and vaccinations when we visit our relatives in Florida every holiday season. A current rabies vaccination and a letter from the vet saying she's in good health travel with us for border crossings, etc. Some state parks require documentation of current rabies vaccination. She has an EU-compatible microchip in case she gets lost and to facilitate our planned travel in Europe.
Safety while camping is a little more work. It's important to know the wildlife situation where you're visiting. Fiona likes to be outside the side door on her leash, which is fine if I'm right there eyeballing her, but coyotes are a real threat to pets, and when in doubt she comes inside, protests notwithstanding. We had a close call with a great horned owl in New Mexico, and night walks were similarly curtailed. She's truly fearless and oblivious to her surroundings, so it's incumbent on me to watch out for her.
Just as serious are the viral and bacterial diseases endemic in the west- anthrax, plague, valley fever, hantavirus, and probably some others that don't have names yet. The rodent population and their resident flea population are a giant reservoir of pathogens that pets can contract and bring home to their owners, and many of these diseases are serious, with mortality exceeding 50% in some. As dedicated as Fiona is to decimating the ecosystem, all hunting is a non-contact sport. The leash helps, and the wildlife is much less overfed and under-exercised than she is, so close encounters are rare. Sniffing around animal burrows is discouraged, and she's always on prophylactic flea and tick control.
On the subject of bathing, Fiona, despite the large sum she cost and the impressive papers that came with her, likes to get down and party like the domestic shorthairs, particularly out west where there's plenty of dust to roll around in. She'll wait until she has an audience of people I'm trying to impress with her beautiful features and regal bearing, and choose that moment to flop around in the dirt. Such are the burdens of parenthood. When it finally gets to be too much, we have a hygiene intervention, and the Roadtrek's handheld shower nozzle comes in handy. After much sulking, reproachful looks in my direction, and a few hours drying time, she's ready to go again. She hates baths, because it's hard to convince the other animals you're the apex predator in the ecosystem when you smell like Johnson's Baby Shampoo.
So that's the story – Fiona does her part to make our house a home as we enter our fourth year of fulltiming, and it gives me something to do in my idle hours to obey her commands and attend to her needs. She hates to see me sitting around enjoying myself, and can actually talk, when the need arises to provide me with instruction as to her proper care and feeding. I'm sorry I'm such a slow learner, but she's patient with me, explaining things over and over until the dim bulb who is her so-called owner gets it. I used to think of myself as a clever fellow, but sometimes it's difficult to tell who is training whom around here. Here, let me show you my advanced degrees – I've got my diplomas around here somewhere…
69 Responses to “Fulltiming in Our Class B RV With Our Cat”
Comments are closed.
August 23, 2016at3:12 pm, Bill Widmer said:
Your cat is awesome!! My girlfriend and I are also fulltiming with our cat. We love having our little buddy with us to keep us some company. 🙂
July 24, 2014at7:16 pm, Mel Deveau said:
wE STARTED OUR VACATION IN NFLD WITH OUR HOUSE CAT PRINCESS ,A FEMALE OF 5YRS. ONE WK. LATER HEAT BEING VERRY HIGH WE OPENED THE WINDOWS IN OUR CLASS B. SO THE CAT WOULD NOT SUFFER WITH HEAT AND SHE SLIPPED OUT OF THE WINDO ,AND THE REST IS A NIGHT MARE
July 23, 2014at9:30 pm, Robin Fenton Martin said:
Great story
July 23, 2014at8:32 pm, Janice Lloyd-Dewolf said:
Looks like my ol cat Baby
July 23, 2014at8:19 pm, Mike Reno said:
going fishing?
July 23, 2014at8:52 pm, Campskunk said:
Fiona got MUCH more interested in the water after she saw a fisherman pull some big fish out of it a week or so before.
July 23, 2014at1:12 pm, Joanna Marie Contreras said:
What a view!!!!!!
July 23, 2014at11:34 am, Paige Godfrey Falk said:
Margot Baldwin.
July 23, 2014at11:02 am, Clemente A. Mateu said:
This pretty cat is awaiting for a fishirman for lunch.
July 23, 2014at9:14 am, Jason Rodriguez said:
Jenna
July 23, 2014at9:02 am, Carol Rutledge said:
Awesome
July 22, 2014at11:48 pm, Donna Lane O'Connor said:
Great picture!
July 22, 2014at10:59 pm, Jennifer Benton Scoggin said:
We half-time it with three kitties 🙂 Love the way yours gets out and about with her harness and leash, tho.
July 22, 2014at10:54 pm, Rachel Moore said:
No, Toasty goes with Lou.
July 22, 2014at10:42 pm, Marcia Jones said:
A darling article!
July 22, 2014at10:39 pm, Matt Greenwood said:
Rachel Moore do you want to tour the nation with toasty?
July 22, 2014at10:31 pm, Kathy Weeks Stephens said:
We traveled with a cat in our small A class. Sandbox rode in the shower. She was happy being inside, looking out the big windows.
July 22, 2014at10:26 pm, Renee Blanchard said:
My sis, Kelli Darland, is thinking of traveling with her three cats in her van. Heaven help her!
July 22, 2014at10:11 pm, Charlotte Phillips said:
We knew a couple with a cat that traveled fulltime that used the toilet to go potty & would meow till Mom flushed.
July 22, 2014at9:49 pm, Leesa Mundell said:
Nice picture. I first thought it was a on a cliff, too!
July 22, 2014at9:32 pm, Nathan Baltzly said:
Looked like an edge of a cliff until I saw the water!
July 22, 2014at9:31 pm, Melanie Carlisle said:
Our kitty detests leashes…backpack or stroller only for her! Even with that leash…that drop off concerns me, not to mention that stump is like a platter to a bird of prey!! Pls be careful with your cats.
July 22, 2014at9:27 pm, Brenda Murphy Woods said:
I love your beautiful cat.
July 22, 2014at9:15 pm, Louise Pinchak said:
Beautiful cat.
July 22, 2014at9:06 pm, Althea Wendell-Jenkins said:
How did your cat adapt to travel?? We are thinking of doing the same.
July 21, 2014at10:24 pm, Sylvia Bell said:
Absolutely delightful story about Fiona. What a great writer you are Campskunk…..I totally agree with the other comment…….you have to write a book or series of books about her and your travels……please……
July 21, 2014at12:33 pm, Wayne N. said:
Thanks for sharing your time and more important your advice with Fiona. Like Fiona, our cats have their own personalities and means by which they communicate. They are part of our Family just as Fiona is part of yours.
Wish the best for you, your wife and Fiona. Safe Travels!
June 25, 2014at5:44 am, Juvy Calimutan said:
Loke so good
June 25, 2014at1:18 am, Cindy Kahner said:
;#} Awesome pic, I don’t think my cat would do that 🙂
June 24, 2014at8:05 pm, Barbara K said:
I love the blue chair/hammock you’re in in the last picture. Do you have a link to it online for purchase? (Love your posts)
June 24, 2014at7:03 pm, Chiasson Cessie said:
Use to bring ours canoeing
June 24, 2014at6:27 pm, R&M Tent Trailer Rentals said:
Elvis prefers not to go camping these days, but we sure had great fun including him in our travels.
June 24, 2014at4:33 pm, Wes Allday said:
What’s going on over to the left? Magic floating tree stump?
June 24, 2014at5:46 pm, Campskunk said:
that was at upper payette lake in idaho – they cut a bunch of trees near the shoreline and then the water level rose. https://www.flickr.com/photos/campskunk/sets/72157627281944996/
June 24, 2014at2:00 pm, Claudia Sherrill said:
Our cat used to love traveling in our Roadtrek. When we would stop for the night, she would want out on her leash and harness. We found out what a good climber she was when people walked by our rig, pointing to the roof. When we went out to investigate, there was Alley, laying up on the roof, enjoying the view!
June 24, 2014at1:44 pm, Jb Bonilla said:
June 24, 2014at1:33 pm, Chris Malmoe said:
Our cat goes on the road with on a leash also she loves it
June 24, 2014at11:50 am, Rose Daugherty Torlina said:
Enjoyed your story. Pictures are beautiful.
June 24, 2014at11:42 am, Stephanie Rhodd said:
Aww, pretty Fiona! Shannon Kindred – Betty’s role model!
June 24, 2014at11:06 am, Speedy Bear said:
kitties can change our no cat rule, often . the harness is the only way to go with a kitty cat . rover loved his too unless he had other ideas about chasing the wildlife .
June 24, 2014at10:56 am, Bev Laing said:
Beautiful cat!
February 17, 2014at3:54 am, Glen Smith said:
Fish bait!
February 14, 2014at5:35 pm, Bev Laing said:
Great article..thanks!
February 14, 2014at5:35 pm, Bev Laing said:
Great article..thanks!
February 14, 2014at5:24 pm, Shelli Fugit Simon said:
Ohhh…this is at the edge of a pond or lake! I thought it was a cliff Lol
Beautiful pic & what fun to take a fury baby with u!!
February 14, 2014at5:24 pm, Shelli Fugit Simon said:
Ohhh…this is at the edge of a pond or lake! I thought it was a cliff Lol
Beautiful pic & what fun to take a fury baby with u!!
February 14, 2014at4:03 pm, Mark Handler said:
Fiona rules! 😉
February 14, 2014at1:17 pm, Connie J Havill said:
My two cats are so shy they don’t go out – I bought them a pop up tent but no way so far. They are almost 14 – maybe when they were younger.
February 14, 2014at11:05 am, Jeff Weaver said:
OMG that cat is my Haggard kitty. I raised him in my semi truck till he said it was time to retire him to my parents motor home and then he travled with them for more years. He and they liked it out in Laughlin, Nv. If i played country music he hung around but if i played anything else he left. And his greatist fun was he would chase dogs and as they ran from him he would jump on there backs and ride as far as he could with the dog screaming. Lol anyone who saw this thougjt he was rabbid and crazy. Lol
February 14, 2014at10:51 am, Elizabeth Higgs Cahalan said:
Very good story. Like the picture. Wondering where it was taken.
February 14, 2014at10:25 am, Dana Dodson Dykman said:
I LOVE that photo – beautiful place and beautiful cat!
February 14, 2014at10:20 am, Judy Resset said:
What an ‘engaging’ story for us all. A kitty like Fiona would be wonderful and your ‘how to’ ideas…are magnificent. 🙂
February 14, 2014at9:51 am, Cathy Rawlins said:
We just finished our first three-week trip in our 2008 Road Trek Adventurous RS down the coastline of Washington, Oregon and Northern California with our cat Mitzi. She is an indoor cat only, hates a leash but she loved the RV! Success!
February 14, 2014at9:41 am, Jennifer Walenceus Thomas said:
Wow, I thought this was the edge of the cliff at first but it’s at the waters edge. 🙂 Cute kitty.
February 14, 2014at9:11 am, Jane Dunphy said:
Thanks for this, Mike and Campskunk! We just got a cat ourselves – common domestic shorthair, Priscilla, and wondered how we were going to make out with her in our future Roadtrek. We’re glad to read that the leash option ‘works’!
February 14, 2014at7:58 am, Ronnie Melville said:
Hawk bait
February 14, 2014at7:39 am, Karen Meredith Lueck said:
leash or not, I would never let my cat out there. Hubby either.
January 31, 2014at2:49 pm, Laura said:
Fiona, The Fulltiming Feline….:)
June 27, 2013at5:48 pm, Danielle said:
I know my dog would love the RVing life–she’s a real outdoors hound. As for the cat–we’re having long conversations about the possibility. 🙂
June 25, 2013at11:23 pm, Kristi said:
Fiona is such an accommodating kitty. Most every cat I had, went bezirk in a moving car. Once I tried to bathe my cat, he ran away for 2 days. What was I doing wrong?
June 25, 2013at11:53 pm, Campskunk said:
Kristi: the trick is to start early on all these things – traveling in a vehicle, walking on a leash, and baths. Fiona was exposed to all these things early on and often, that’s why she’s used to them. Of course, she still throws a fit at the vet and when i trim her claws, so there are some things that cats just don’t like. And they’ll tell you when they don’t like something 😉
June 25, 2013at10:46 pm, Cheryl Gregorie said:
I just Fiona! I agree with Laura but I don’t think a book needs to be for children alone…adults would love them too! Our animals become our children and are so entertaining! Would love more stories about Fiona!
June 25, 2013at9:32 pm, Donna said:
I love this entry! Pets sure make our lives more interesting, don’t they? I am happy you and the Mrs. have Fiona in your lives and that she has you! Love the pictures!
June 25, 2013at8:53 pm, Laura said:
Wonderful writing, as I have grown accustomed to, Campskunk. I think you just might have a children’s series in you… with Fiona’s guidance, of course! Since you are a full-timer, you can make book appearances any where! I hope you think about this. Thanks for the fun read.
June 25, 2013at7:35 pm, Ann said:
Your tale of Fiona is so engaging!! Our Fiona appears fearless, but it is a ruse. Although she seems unflappable, she doesn’t eat much the first 3 or 4 days after we start out, so I know she is stressed. Luckily we are just part time RVers, so she has plenty of time to recuperate when we get home. The RV is new in our lives, so I am hoping she will get used to it.
June 25, 2013at7:18 pm, Stu said:
Seeing her as a kitten I think anyone would have a hard time leaving her behind, that is if you love cats. I have many cat lovers as friends and I’m sure they will love to read her story.
June 25, 2013at6:53 pm, Maureen said:
Love Fiona…I’m sending this to my kids who trailer with their two children and a big lovable Golden Retriever but leave their two cats at home with a caregiver. Milo and Max were rescued from a Starbucks Dumpster and have enjoyed wonderful care by my kids but don’t travel well. Perhaps my Izzie (a cheeky little Havanese/Maltese cross and my rescued D’Asher (a 30 lb loyal friend rescued from the snows in the north) will get to meet Fiona and, of course, she would put them in their place.
June 25, 2013at5:14 pm, Marty said:
How lucky you are….I can’t even get my dog to travel to the corner store in my RT with me. It’s just like having another teenager….. “it’s not cool to be seen with your parents”
June 25, 2013at4:59 pm, Lisa said:
Too cute, Campskunk! You have way more patience than me is all I can say!