One of the most common questions we get about this new lifestyle of ours is: How do your pets do?

core/paragraph

We aren't shy about the fact that we came into this adventure with a 7 year-old English Springer Spaniel named Phoebe and a 9 year-old Cat named Moe. We didn't really worry about bringing them with us because it's just like moving into a new home or apartment (in our opinion) and we assumed they would adjust without issues. I did however take the time to think particularly about: Where is the cat going to have his own space and feel safe?

core/heading

Cat lovers know that the key to happy kitties is for them to feel safe, otherwise chaos and destruction can ensue. In order to prepare for this shift I considered three things: the litter box, the feeding station, and elevation. I was able to meet all of those needs with one purchase and one hot-fix.

We bought a <ta href="https://casualweirdness.life/recommends/cat-house/" linkid="343">cat condo </ta>with a very specific design- it's tall enough for him to eat on top without the dog getting his food or the baby reaching him, there's a place to keep the litter box that conceals it and confines any odors between litter changing, and it has a space where he can sit inside it and hide (should he choose to do so).

Our cat tower. It's a tall box that looks somewhat like a barn-style house. It has 3 windows for the cat to access.

medium

thumbnail

core/image

Once we discovered it, we decided to order it immediately, assemble it, and put it to use in the living room/dining room of the house we were living in. (One of the things we will talk about ad nauseam is the way we changed how we were living in our house space before transitioning to the camper.) He transitioned to using that litter box system in half a week and was completely comfortable with it. So, when we brought him into the camper, he recognized his space and didn't have any major adjustments to make to his basic survival needs. The only special features about it: I added a nail to hook the small broom and pail onto for cleaning up litter spills, and the space inside for the litter box is pretty limited, so I had to buy an extra small litter box. He doesn't seem to mind. I actually got three of them and had the husband drill holes through the bottom of one so that I could have a sifting litter tray and skip the poop-scooper.

One surprise since moving in is that he doesn't use the condo as a house to sit in, it's really just a litter box and a table for his food at this point. When he wants to hide or sleep somewhere safe he is often found in the kids bunk bed area, sleeping on top of a storage box below the top bunk. There's a small dark space there where he almost always curls up for bed. By day he wanders around from the extended counter-top we built, to the kids toy bins, and the benches in our "living room" space. He usually finds an open window to look out or a sunspot to lay in.

For me, the biggest surprise was that he was the first of all of us to be truly comfortable with the living arrangement. He hasn't missed a beat, and in fact, we get to spend more time interacting with him and petting him because there isn't a huge space for him to hide in.

Indoor photo of our camper, taken from our front daybed. Bennett is playing the switch. Our cat, Moegli is standing on a bench. Alex is standing in the distance.

The third pleasant surprise was that he has been on mouse duty since we moved in. We knew we had a mouse pretty quick, we discovered where he was coming in (under the kitchen sink area) and we let Moe climb in and scope out the terrain. After an evening or two of that, the mouse took off for a while. But, he came back. I concluded that the little bugger was climbing up through the gas stove-top - don't ask me how, I have no idea. So, for a few nights I made sure to clear off the counter and keep the stove cover off the stove. Moe would sit on the extended counter and just stare and wait. On the third day, he met with success.

Moegli sitting on Alex's desk. His eyes are big, and he appears to be staring at something behind the photographer.

So, the cat is living his best life. He's got everything he needs and loves and he gets to lend his hunting skills to the family and we appreciate that - because we expect mice to be a potential recurring issue.

There has been zero adjustment for the dog. She's just happy. She sleeps in our bed or on the floor beside us and spends most of the day going wherever my husband goes. She gets exercise every day now, which wasn't the case in our previous house. She's a <ta href="https://casualweirdness.life/recommends/fetch-frisbee/" linkid="384">frisbee</ta> dog and she gets to catch the disc constantly between asking us to throw it for her and the kids that neighbor us on the weekends. Everyone loves to watch her run and catch that disc.

Our daybed, made, with Phoebe comfortably curled up, asleep in the middle.

medium_large

Her food has always been stored in an airtight container, so we just dip out of that for her food bowl. The food bowl migrates inside and out throughout the day. If the baby is on the floor, he's into her food, so we put it outside. At night and when we leave the camper her food is always on the floor inside for two reasons; 1) her access, and 2) we have a giant raccoon that will eat it if it's left outside. I imagine when we get to travelling that the giant raccoon detail could be replaced with bear or coyote, so it's best just to keep it inside.

We did need to buy a <ta href="https://casualweirdness.life/recommends/shock-collar/" linkid="386">shock collar </ta>for her. When she is excited and playing she tends to bark obnoxiously, but she is a very submissive dog, so we only have shocked her about 3 times and used the beep or the vibrate setting the rest of the time. Usually we put the collar on her and she just behaves even if it isn't turned on.

The cat does not go outside, period. Our cat came to us (literally) while we were hiking in Hocking Hills, Ohio in December of 2011. He was emaciated, flea ridden, scratched up, and cold. We rescued him and he has showed us the most amazing love since then- and absolute disdain for nature. He truly is the coolest cat in the entire world and he's a very good boy.

The dog is extremely well-trained and never wanders off from our family, ever. We learned everything about dog training from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZzFRKsgVMhGTxffpzgTJlQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zak George's videos</a> on YouTube when she was a puppy and I always recommend his very humane methods for training to anyone interested. That being said we do keep a short lease and a retracting leash on hand especially for the weekends when there are a lot more people here. There's a disc golf course in this campground and she has been trained to spot discs for my husband, so we did have a couple of issues with her running up the hill to the basket across from our camper to "help" the players find their discs. During the week we don't keep her leashed because 1) she won't wander off and 2) we are on a big corner lot in a secluded area of the grounds, so there is very little risk to her safety.

The only other issue we have had come up was the flimsy screen door of the camper. Between the baby and the dog, the bottom corner was torn open, so we did buy a <ta href="https://casualweirdness.life/recommends/door-grate/" linkid="387">grille</ta> to protect the little one from falling out and the pets from slipping through.

It didn't take too much adjusting or too many purchases to be ready to roll.

post

Indoor photo of Phoebe sitting on our bed. The bed is made, and she is staring at the camera.

Camping with a Dog & Cat

The Cat

3 Surprises with the Cat

The Dog

Pet Safety