So to all our TM camping friends with cats...

tgpmd1 · 12-29-2010, 09:39 PM

How do you get them introduced to the TM and go camping? How did your first time out go?

The reason I ask is in the pic below...

We're fostering a cat that we hope to adopt. She's a Bengal and Abyssinian mix the was rescued from a county shelter. She's been in 4 foster homes in the last two weeks and when I applied to foster her on Christmas eve, they called and asked if I could get her by 2 p.m. that day! Anyway, the one hour ride home (she was in another state) was rough on her, but she seems to be settling in.

She is not a cat lover, she can't stand dogs, loves to play in the bathtub and comes when you call her name and/or whistle. She also doesn't groom herself, but has perfect litter box manners. I'm not sure if we got a cat or dog here

Thanks for any advice on the subject!

Theresa

Wavery · 12-29-2010, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgpmd1

How do you get them introduced to the TM and go camping? How did your first time out go?

The reason I ask is in the pic below...

We're fostering a cat that we hope to adopt. She's a Bengal and Abyssinian mix the was rescued from a county shelter. She's been in 4 foster homes in the last two weeks and when I applied to foster her on Christmas eve, they called and asked if I could get her by 2 p.m. that day! Anyway, the one hour ride home (she was in another state) was rough on her, but she seems to be settling in.

She is not a cat lover, she can't stand dogs, loves to play in the bathtub and comes when you call her name and/or whistle. She also doesn't groom herself, but has perfect litter box manners. I'm not sure if we got a cat or dog here

Thanks for any advice on the subject!

Theresa

I would suggest not forcing the trailer on her but rather just let her follow you in and explore. Don't just pick her up, put her in and close the door (even if you are inside).

My experience with most any pet is that they want to be where you are and are comfortable following you.

I had a cat on a boat once. The cat was born on another boat and was given to us at around 6-months old. We took her aboard and she hid in a cabinet for about a week. It took her a month to come around and feel comfortable.

We now have a small dog. The 1st time that we went down to work on the camper, he didn't want to go in. We just let him wander around outside, after about an hour, he got lonely and came nosing around. We just ignored him. He became comfortable quite quickly and now the camper is his second home. He gets excited every time that he sees it. When we open it up, he's the 1st one in and we can't get him out.

tgpmd1 · 12-29-2010, 10:29 PM

Thanks for the advice. If we end up adopting her, we're going to try to leash train her. Bengals can be trained on a leash if done early. Abby's; not so well.

Not sure how old this cat is, but we're going to try. We tried a collar yesterday and she was so upset. Not sure how a harness will work if she won't even wear a collar. We'll give her more time to settle in and try again.

Wavery · 12-29-2010, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgpmd1

Thanks for the advice. If we end up adopting her, we're going to try to leash train her. Bengals can be trained on a leash if done early. Abby's; not so well.

Not sure how old this cat is, but we're going to try. We tried a collar yesterday and she was so upset. Not sure how a harness will work if she won't even wear a collar. We'll give her more time to settle in and try again.

Sorta the same thing. It's best to introduce these things slowly. Leave the collar on the floor or next to her food dish. Make her understand that it's harmless. Even if she ignores it, it will become familiar in a few days. Then play with her with it. Only put it on her when she becomes comfortable. You might even try a different collar. Maybe get a few collars from the 99 cent store. Once she becomes comfortable with one, it'll be easier to switch to another one.

She's uncomfortable now and may feel threatened by almost everything. Go slow.

scrubjaysnest · 12-30-2010, 04:37 AM

This brings up something we saw at Yellowstone NP this year. Meet a couple that had a kitten with them. Saw them pulling their camper in the Old Faithful area. The camper door kept swinging open as they moved. Thought the cat would come tumbling out. It didn't, must have liked the camper over all the traffic.

OneMoBear · 12-30-2010, 06:15 AM

I think Wayne's advice is terrific but we would not have the luxury to follow it. Our Monster is an inside cat and we work really hard (he often hears the call of the wild) to keep it that way. Consequently, we take him to and from the house to the TM or truck in his crate. Our only option would be to take him out to the TM while we were working on it and hope he would take a nap and get over it. He has had an extremely stress free life but regardless, that would be our only choice. Your cat is beautiful. I hope it works out!

Malinda

tgpmd1 · 12-30-2010, 06:51 AM

Thanks for the advice. She's had a very stressful life. 4 homes in two weeks, who knows how many other homes prior to that. The shelter she came from has a 98 percent kill rate and rescue groups take in as many as they can. She just did not get along with other cats or dogs and was living in a cage at a pet store for two days when we got her. She didn't work out at two other foster homes, so they found a pet store who would take her. She seems to be calming down more and more each day. She puts on a tough show at first, but then settles down so well. All the other foster homes thought she had potential, but she needed a home with out other cats or dogs.

What's amazing is that she doesn't bother our many tanks of fish, toads, crabs, or other pets. She's also better about sharing her toys. She would growl or whack you with her paw if you even touched her toys (they sent her bed and toys with her when we picked her up). Now that we've added things the kid has outgrown, like the jump rope, she seems a bit calmer now.

I've posted a pic of her playing on Christmas day (one day after picking her up). You can see both the Bengal strips and Abby ticked coat. She also has the 4 stripes and black tip on her tail just like a Bengal, but with the pointer ears of an Abby. She also makes the most interesting tics, growls, meows of any cat that I've ever had. Not having a cat for the last 20 years (Tweet, my beloved cinnamon cockatiel passed away of old age about three years ago, been fostering other birds, but none currently), I've forgot how interactive a cat can be.

OneMoBear · 12-30-2010, 07:06 AM

Poor kitty! I really hope it works out!

I would suggest that when you do introduce her to the TM that you have as much in it that feels like home as possible, litter box, food, water, toys . . . Some people (I'm thinking B & D in particular) got really creative with the litter box. We put ours in the bathtub (which means it gets cleaned VERY often

).

We have no choice but to transport Monster in his crate in the camper shell. His crate is huge and we have memory foam under it and inside it. (This is soooo embarrassing) We don't travel more than six hours a day. He acts like he is DYING when we stop so I rush, rush, rush to set up the TM so I can let him loose. When I do, he reminds me once again that he is a total jerk. He'll stretch and poke along, jump up on the bed and take a little bath. After about 1/2 hour he'll start thinking about the litter box, food, water . . . One of us is trained really well.

Malinda

tgpmd1 · 12-30-2010, 07:21 AM

So Malinda, you take two dogs and a cat camping in a 2619? Wow, must be cramped in there! My dh thinks that camping with pets would be impossible. With the temp swings, travel issues (the cat was so stressed by the time we got home, we thought she would go into a coma, growling, vomiting, wimpering and foaming at the mouth). She's such an active cat, I think she would be lonely w/o us!

From a Bengal website: "Be aware that when you take on a Bengal cat, you are taking on a pet with a big personality, one who is very self-assured, open and loving, but one who is also quite capable of getting whatever it wants. These cats are fun loving and adventurous, so if you're looking for a quiet, retiring companion, better look to a tabby. Bengals require, and demand active companionship."

OneMoBear · 12-30-2010, 07:35 AM

Ha! Yep! Two 70 pound dogs and a 16 pound cat

The dogs learned very quickly what "Get up on the bed" means. Monster does whatever he wants (except get up on the counters!). We don't spend that much time in it but it's fine when we do

We leave monster home when we're just going for a few days but he obviously misses us. You might ask your vet about kitty traquilizers for the travel days. We have used them on the rare occasions when we needed to kennel the dogs for the day.

Malinda