Two dogs and a cat?

[Fun2travel]

Hi all! We currently have two goldendoodles. Ages 2 & 3, weighing 30 & 40 pounds. We are fulltime in a 39' fifth wheel. The space is comfy for the 4 of us. Here's my question, anyone also have a cat?

I've really wanted to add one to our family. We are retired and tend to spend at least a couple months in each location.

It's been a long time since I've had a cat, so I'm a little unsure of how a cat would be in the fifth wheel. Would it be way too small an area for 3 pets? Would the cat have enough room to roam? The dogs get a lot of exercise outside, but the cat would be inside.

Am I crazy to get another? I loved our cat before but never had the time to really enjoy. Now I have the time to slow down and spend time, so we are considering.

Thoughts?

[Velos]

I don't have a cat but have seen some clever accommodations for cats in our many years on the road. I don't know how much you want to spend or how much room you have available (we only travel with one dog and the RV is her's LOL ie dog steps to the bed, dog ramp on the outside to save her joints from the steep steps an elevated mesh pet bed for outside to keep her cool in the summer etc) but I googled cat walks in rv's for cats and found lots of options.

 

Friends of our had a mesh cat tunnel for their cat when they were sitting outside, she was content for hours. It was light weight and compacted well for storage.

At RV shows we have see the window access cat balconies.

Last summer we saw a 5th wheel that installed a doggie door at the back end of their living room slide and caged steps to a gated area on their patio for two Dachshunds.

 

Another place to look for ideas is "Tiny Homes" https://www.google.com/search?q=tiny+house+cat+walks&biw=1467&bih=703&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi6-Zy3ht_NAhUBWT4KHYcnCM0Q_AUIBygC

 

IMHO It is doable, the only thing left is to find a cat that would get along with your dogs and vise versa.

[Fun2travel]

JM. Thank you so much for such a great answer. I will look into your suggestions.

[skp51443]

We had two cats in our 38 foot fiver and they were quite happy staying indoors. We didn't have an outside walk for them but did have a big window behind the couch and under an awning that they liked to spend time on.

 

Where the cats ride is a common topic here, ours were left free inside the fiver after a few trips and did fine with that. The first few trips we put them in their carriers just to keep them from getting too upset. They both hated riding in the truck and it was a struggle to get them there once they figured out what we were planning. If you have a possibility of them getting into a bad spot like a slide-out freedom during a move isn't a good idea though.

 

Try a forum search on cat or use google and add site:rvnetwork.com to the search line to restrict it to the forums here, like this:

 

https://www.google.com/?ion=1&espv=2#q=site%3Arvnetwork.com%20cat

 

We would rarely let them outside, too many problems with other animals not under control. When we did let them outside it was at a remote site and we kept them in a harness and on a leash.

[remoandiris]

Each cat is different, just like dogs. Some travel fine, some don't.

 

For 4 yrs, my wife and I traveled with 2 older Boxers and a Maine Coon cat. We are down to 1 Boxer now. One dog died last Nov at home and the cat died a few months ago on the road. We all traveled in the crew cab truck. The animals were on the floor of the back seat with the seat folded up. The cat was crated until we started down the road, then she was let out because she'd start complaining. The dogs slept most of the time and the cat was usually on the wife's lap or on the floor by her feet.

 

In those 4 yrs, we had three 5ers; 39', 44' toy hauler, and 40'. All had plenty of room for the dogs and cat. Cats are pretty lazy, but even if it is active, there will be still plenty of room for the cat.

 

A few tid-bits to consider; where you will put the litterbox(es). My wife made a cardboard surround for the box and we moved the couch to one side to give room for the litterbox. Consider how the cat will travel. We would never allow the cat in the 5er while going down the road. Others do with no negative issues. On our very first trip, we lost our cat. We freaked out and searched for her for 2 days!! Found her under the bed. There was space for her to squeeze in there. We looked under the bed, but she was a dark color and light did not get back to the corner she was hiding in. How will the dogs react to a new cat? Not all dogs like cats. How will a new cat react to new dogs? A kitten would probably be best. Don't forget a scratching post or 2!!

[TCW]

Since 2004 we have RVed with as many as 3 dogs and a cat at one time in coaches ranging from 27' with no slide to 29' with a deep slide. The five individual dogs were Golden Retriever, English Setters and Small Munsterlander. They all came into our pack as puppies. They ranged in weight as adults from 50 to 100#. The cats were obtained from shelters as kittens. The cats pretty well assimilated into the pack as dogs. Our previous cat ascended to alpha male with the passing of two older dogs and introduction of new puppies. It was rather amazing to see a 100# Golden and 60# Setter relinquish a food bowl, water bowl or favored pet bed to a 10# cat. All of our pets are conditioned to kennels as puppies and kittens and they always ride in them. We tow with a crewcab. The dogs are in their kennels in the back seat area and the cat rides in her kennel in the center of the front bench seat. The cat is an indoor cat and is content to look out windows, sleep on a chair or the bed.

[LFDR3116]

Do your dogs get along with cats? If you don't know , then you should find that out first.