Should I take her or not.....?

[tex]

I think you should leave her at home you will have your hands full with 2 dogs, i know i got 3 border collies LOL. This is going to be a lovely break for you and your hubby, the last thing you want is to worry that every time you open the door the cats going to run away, you are just going to worry all the time and not enjoy your days away. Plus i think the cat will feel better at home and you have got people coming to look after it, so go and enjoy your break and dont feel guilty about leaving the cat at home.
HAVE A GREAT TIME.
TAKE CARE
JANE

 

[tex]

Sorry i just read all the other messages and you have already decided, you have made the right choice. That will teach me to read all the replies before i answer.
Have a great break
JANE

 

[hensylee]

My hubby & I are getting ready to go up to the lake & do some camping & fishing there.

We have an RV & we were planning on taking all three of our furry friends: Petrie & Daisy (dogs) & Molly (cat). Today I have been cleaning the RV & getting things ready to go & I took my cat in there with me & she started getting kind of wild. She climbed the front door, meowing non-stop & just not happy with her surroundings at all. When I opened up the door to get out of the RV, she flew out the door!

My two dogs were very receptive & ready to go for a ride!

I have already set up her litter box & bought her an enclosed cage for transportation when driving in our vehicle but I'm beginning to have 2nd thoughts about taking Molly. What I fear most is that whenever she is in the RV if one of us happens to open the door, she will fly out & we'll never catch her again. And too, a cat is not like a dog, where I can walk her on a leash to pottie!

So I'm thinking of leaving her in the comfort of our home & having my brother & his wife check in on her 2 or 3 times next week & leaving a radio on for her. She has a self-feeder & a big bowl of water so I'm not afraid of her running out of water or food. And she has 2 big, big litter boxes to use while we're gone.

Do you think I'm doing the right thing by leaving her? Do you have any advice for me if you've traveled with a cat??

when I moved from there to here, I had 3 cats and one dog. Dog was no problem, but got tranquilizers for the cats. during a rest stop (after dark), I carefully opened the car door and the grandmother of the bunch got out of the car - she had gotten out of her box. Thankfully she was disabled greatly because of the pill or I would have never gotten her back, especially in the dark.

I know what a cat's like when lost - I gave one of mine to a teenager, told her not to let the cat out for a couple of weeks. the girl went home, the cat went out and she was missing for a year. I happened to go into our county animal area, went in to see our new facility, walked back out - heard this awful meowing of a cat. hadn't even seen the cats but the cats saw me. went back in, walked along the wall where the cat cages were and all cats were afraid of me - except the one in the last cage! It was my precious Mehitabel. I got her home and every day for the rest of her life, she thanked me in her kitty way.

No, don't take your cat.

I have not read the others so don't know what they said, but this one is my opinion.

have a great trip.

 

[MaryC]

Norma,
I think you did the right thing leaving your cat at home. We usually take our two boxers but our manx, Roxy, would not be happy at all in a car. We leave her at home with our daughter coming by to check on her. Our dogs on the other hand have a great time.

Glenda,
My husband came up with this really good trick for getting our boxers to come back when they are outside. He comes home everyday at lunch to let them out. Our dogs are almost exclusively on a dry dog food diet but the one treat they get is hot dogs. If the dogs are outside and we yell 'hot dog' they stop in their tracks and make a beeline for the house. It's the funniest thing and I make sure I don't abuse the word. In fact when we are discussing it in front of the dogs we just say 'hd' so they don't get excited until we are ready to use this tactic.

Chris

 

[Cooker]

I have a cat with an attitude (imagine that) ... he is opposed to being imposed on in any way ... he is perfectly happy at home with a bowl of food and a dish of water ... he prefers to drink out of the toilet so we have to keep the lid closed, which I am opposed to ... oh, we have covered that subject

 

[EVELYN]

Hi Norma

By the time you read this you'll probably be home from your vacation. I can tell you, from experience, that traveling with a cat in an rv can be hectic. We always traveled with 4 dogs and one cat, but the cat was always locked in one of the big crates during the day with his water and litter box. Going in and out of a motor home with a cat is totally different than with dogs. Scooter was "locked in" his create during the day, but when things settled down for the night, he was out and had his choice of the rv. He was either in the bed with us or peering out the front window to see what was happening outside. When morning came, the first one up cleaned litter, refreshed water and put Cootcat in his crate for the day with his breakfast......before the outside door was opened. He ate, drank and slept most of the day. The good part was that being in a crate the dogs never ate his food.

Hope you had a wonderful vacation....maybe next time you'll think about trying the rv lifestyle with your cat.

Evelyn

 

[njean]

We are on our way as of this moment to our destination.

The two dogs are in the back seat of our truck, happy go lucky, & Molly stayed all comfy & at peace at home. When I went to pick her up to kiss her good-bye, she was like, "okay, okay, enough of the drama already!"

I will try to post pictures when we are there so until then, you all take care & thanks again to all for your advice & good thoughts!

 

[catwoman]

Glenda,
My husband came up with this really good trick for getting our boxers to come back when they are outside. He comes home everyday at lunch to let them out. Our dogs are almost exclusively on a dry dog food diet but the one treat they get is hot dogs. If the dogs are outside and we yell 'hot dog' they stop in their tracks and make a beeline for the house. It's the funniest thing and I make sure I don't abuse the word. In fact when we are discussing it in front of the dogs we just say 'hd' so they don't get excited until we are ready to use this tactic.

Chris

We got a dog in spring 1981. Absolutely hard-headed. But he learned what "Go for a walk?" meant. If he escaped out of our yard, we'd say, "Sandy, wanna go for a walk?" and he'd come running back into the yard.....

We've had some cats who have picked up on "bed," "home," "food" and "eat," among others.

Norma:

Will be eager to see your photos.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

Okay, whoever said dogs are smart? Our dogs are similar to Marcia's. Ours will come running when they see the leash, so if they get out the front door, we grab the leash, and back they come! Jo, our Boxer, loves to take car rides, so she'll also come if you open the car door.

 

[PairoDocs]

We had a cat that we think was an RV escapee. I was in the parking lot at a local grocery store, and a cat dashed in when I opened the car door to stash the groceries. He wouldn't come out! The store owner said that he had been there some time, but was very outgoing and friendly and took care of the mice. I ended up calling my husband to come with a cat carrier, and we took him home. The next day we took him to the vet- he was a neutered male, obviously socialized, and had no chip. We advertised locally and in the neighboring towns in the lost and found, but no one ever claimed him. He was ours until a coyote caused mortal wounds- but I wonder what the coyote looked like, because that cat had enormous sharp claws! He also never wandered away. Many of our cats were abandoned in our yard; we have so many now that taking them on trips is out of the question. We had to do it moving to and from Alaska, however. This along with two dogs, and fish. Some of our cats had to be tranquilized, but they got to come in with us in every hotel. It was quite a production. We also had the dog who ate the cat poop and pooped solid gray for 2 days. I'm happy to say that there were no morbidities or mortalities. Driving to Alaska took 9 days, and the trip back was 6 days. When we had fewer animals we could board them, but now we hire someone to take care of them when we leave. The vet said that cats tend to become more attached to a place than a person, anyway.