Let's cut to the chase . . . cat

OneMoBear · 12-01-2009, 06:08 PM

So . . . we adopted a feral cat 4 1/2 years ago. He now has no idea that he was born feral. He really, really loves us and our two big dogs. Well actually, he only loves one of them but that is a different story. Anyway, we can't figure out how to leave him or take him when we are in the TM for a month in February. We always took him in our 34' Bounder but wow, it is a different story in a 2619. We had a beanbag under the couch in the Bounder and when the engine started, that was where he was until the engine was off. We now have an extended cab with the rear seat folded up for the dogs. If we put Monster (sweet cat, doesn't deserve that name) in a carrier back there it would really cramp things for the dogs, not to mention he would probably never settle down (read shut up!) . . . Any ideas?

Malinda

4Kids2Dogs · 12-01-2009, 07:27 PM

Do you have a topper on your pickup? If you have the bed covered, you could take a larger kennel and put his beanbag and a nice blanket in it and make him comfortable back there.

**B_and_D** · 12-01-2009, 07:46 PM

Maybe a camper shell would work for you, with a pass-through window? We used to travel with our cat (she passed away at age 20 in August) in our extended cab, she's just ride on the back seat and mostly slept. We kept a litter box on the floor in the back and brought along a water dish for her. We have a fold-down pet carrier that we kept in the truck in case we had to contain her (we used it when we had one of our blowouts). We cut a hole in the TM dinette seat next to the heater and kept her litter box in there plus her furry pad so she could sleep in there. She had a hard time jumping up on things so that worked well for her.

When we got the trailer I mentioned to one of the vets that we were going to bring along the cat, and she suggested using Benadryl to calm her down while we were traveling. We never had to do that, she was a pretty mellow cat.

Two big dogs and a cat is a lot in a 2619....

Here's a couple of pictures of her little kitty area...http://trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3618

OneMoBear · 12-02-2009, 05:09 AM

We currently have a Tonneau cover on the truck. If we were to upgrade to a topper, we would have to find some other reason, at least to tell our friends

I have actually posted about camper shells before but we had concerns about being able to open it while it was attached to the TM. This may reopen the discussion.

I love the little space you made for your cat under the dining seat. I'm not sure I can talk Gene into that one . . . I'm not so worried with what to do with him once we are camped. It's the traveling issue I am really concerned about. Round trip, we will be rolling down the road for forty hours, at least.

Thanks for your great advice!
Malinda

**Bill** · 12-02-2009, 09:44 AM

Our situation is very similar to B-and-D's. We travel with a cat and dog, a litter box on the floor of the back seat. During the day, one sleeps on the back seat and the other on top of all the junk (ahem, cargo) in the wayback of the Explorer - they switch off every couple hours. They are both very well behaved in the car, but they LOVE it when we get to the campground and set up. It is funny to watch them dance around the TM, trying to find the door before we have set up ("I know that door was here somewhere!").

We have discovered a couple interesting things that might be of use to you. First, if we stop and walk the critters for about 10 minutes, a couple hours after we start driving in the morning, they are much more relaxed for the rest of the day. Second, the cat will walk on a leash. He doesn't like it much, but he has figured out that he either walks on the leash, or he doesn't get out of the car. Cats may be ornery, but they are bright. We get lots of strange looks as we walk the two of them around the rest areas ...

Once the TM has been set up, the cat claims the armchair as his spot, and he will swat the dog if the dog tries to share it. So the dog takes the shelf at the front, above the sofa. Everyone is happy.

Enjoy the trip.

Bill

Wavery · 12-02-2009, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneMoBear

We currently have a Tonneau cover on the truck. If we were to upgrade to a topper, we would have to find some other reason, at least to tell our friends

I have actually posted about camper shells before but we had concerns about being able to open it while it was attached to the TM. This may reopen the discussion.

I love the little space you made for your cat under the dining seat. I'm not sure I can talk Gene into that one . . . I'm not so worried with what to do with him once we are camped. It's the traveling issue I am really concerned about. Round trip, we will be rolling down the road for forty hours, at least.

Thanks for your great advice!
Malinda

Our camper shell will open just fine, even with the trailer attached and open. The tail gate was a problem because of the tongue jack. I replaced the tongue jack with a side-mount jack and it opens just fine now and the jack s completely out of the way.

We often stop along the road and open the trailer at a rest area or scenic pull-out for lunch. Being able to get in the back of the truck is nice. It was a hassle before, although, I found if I fiddled with the crank handle, I could get the T/G open. The jack was still in the way but we could get in the back. I just didn't like it because it was too easy to damage the T/G or the jack if I wasn't very careful.

12-02-2009, 01:57 PM

You can also get some more room between the tailgate and tongue jack, as well as a hatch door and open TM by using the front pin hole of your hitch shank, if it has 2 holes. The Reese system WDH hitch shank that I use had 2 pin holes, but you loose a little weight rating if you use the front pin hole......I think it goes from 12,000/1200 to 10,000/1000......still well over what TMs weigh. On my truck, I also have 2 pin holes on the reciever, giving me 4 possibilities of positions. I like to keep things as far foward as possible, but still have my tailgate to open without hitting the tongue jack........although the tailgate will still hit if there is a sharp turn angle between the TV and TT. On my current trailer, I use both the front reciever pin hole, as well as the front hitch shank pin hole. That puts the whole setup more forward then using the rear reciever hole and front hitch shank hole, but not as much forward if I used the rear hitch shank hole and front reciever hole........if that makes sense.

Shucks, I think I just confused myself.

12-02-2009, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill

Cats may be ornery,

They're not ornery........ they're superior. It's an attitude thing.

OneMoBear · 12-02-2009, 03:29 PM

Hey all!

Thanks for all the great advice! Where to start? I should start with TM Owners Forum Rehab!

We are now the proud owners of a Leer camper shell. It has to come from the factory so we won't actually have it until around Christmas. And as long as we were there, the bed slide seemed like such a great idea . . . That should take care of the worry of the tailgate hitting . . . Speaking of which Wayne, you have already lead us down the swing away tongue jack, dolly, etc. path. You are probably my worst TM enabler

As for the cat boxes, walks, etc. Monster really isn't very needy. If we are rolling, he won't need ANYTHING. He will go deep until we stop and then he will make us pay for it.

We don't have a WDH and now with the bed slide on the way, we're going to have to disconnect and pull forward anyway.

Again thanks all!
Malinda

**B_and_D** · 12-02-2009, 07:57 PM

The things we do for our pets....

I feel so sad sometimes when I look at Kiki's picture; I still miss her. She was such a sweet-natured cat and we had her for such a long time. She just showed up in our driveway one day in 1989. My daughter really misses her too. We also bought a harness for her so we could "walk" her. She didn't really like it at first, she would just plop down on the ground, but after a while she got sort of used to it, although she really never really wanted to go out of the trailer and when we took her outside she wanted right back in, except one night at Sam's Family Spa in Desert Hot Springs, CA when she kind of went wacko and started running around. I'm glad I had her on a leash. I don't know what got into her, she sniffed something at the bottom of a palm tree and just went nuts. She would never relieve herself on the harness (you know how cats are).

It sounds like you made the best decision you could to accommodate all the pets & you, so I hope it works out well.

Another thing I did when we decided to take her with us was make up a few "Lost Pet" flyers with her picture on it and our contact info, just in case she ran off. We didn't microchip her but we bought her a pet ID tag that we kept on her collar; she was mostly a house cat and never strayed far away.