by When we decided to embark on this van life, our biggest concern was our cats, Plutus and Mr Knightley.
Plutus, however, died from old age before it was time to launch. But how would Mr K fare on the road, and what would we do if he didn’t like it? How would we keep him safe, and, equally important, happy?
Though our adventure is still in its early days, so far he’s doing awesome. Since selling the house we have taken him to my parents’ in N.J., to Doug’s mom’s in Pennsylvania, to a rental house in Connecticut, and back to N.J. for a few months. He handled each new experience with a few sniffs, then a nap; he was never once upset about the change in his living conditions!
In the summer of 2022, we started leash training him. I was terrified to try it (I thought for sure I would be reduced to a bloody mess), but after reading Adventure Cats: Living Nine Lives to the Fullest I started with leaving the harness near his food, then slipping it on him while offering him lots of treats (no problem, somehow).
Finally, I began taking him into the yard at Grandma Judy’s house for short walks. Right from the start he loved it! He loves taking in the varied smells of the plants and the air and the earth, and often will jog to the next place that catches his attention.
Very quickly, we began to venture further and further. We made sure to walk him often and in different places, and always reward with treats. I stay off my phone and keep my attention focused on him and his surroundings.
This is not to suggest everything went perfectly. In spite of purchasing an “escape proof” harness (ha!), he did wiggle out of it at one point early on. I quickly caught him, and then obviously tightened up the straps. He’s been startled by people, noises, dogs, rabbits, cars, and so on, as well. When we walk, I take a cat backpack along so if he gets scared or tired he has a place to retreat. I also use it to get him from the van to the starting point of our adventure (so that I don’t have him walk across a parking lot).
When I see something in his environment that he won’t like, like a bicyclist or a dog, I squat over him, and put the backpack down so he can go in if he likes. He will roughly follow a trail and take direction if I tug on the leash, but we still have a lot of experimenting to do. When he’s done, he will lead me back to the van and hop up into without hesitation.
It’s clear that he absolutely loves going for walks. If he is in a dead sleep and I jangle that harness, he comes running! We’re usually outside anywhere from 30 to 75 minutes, and even then, it’s usually me saying it’s time to go in, not Mr. K. After a walk, he is exhausted by all the stimulation, and falls into the best, deepest sleep. Often, he even snores!
We did get him microchipped, and he is now being treated to prevent ticks/fleas (which was unnecessary when he was exclusively an indoor cat). The van has a cabinet for his kitty litter; we purchased a kitty bed that can also serve as a kitty house if he wants to tuck in or hide away in the van, but so far he has only wanted it as a bed.
We also have packed his fun run tunnel and a large soft-sided carrier, which is also great for just sitting outside in general. Of course, we have a drawer full of treats, his brush, toys — basically everything we could think of towards his comfort.
The van is insulated and has ventilation – remember, we live in it, too. We have an internal camera and temperature monitoring for times we leave him to do an activity. We don’t leave him long, and know that should we need to be out for an entire day, we can board him. We plan our schedule with great attention to his needs. I spend a lot of time seeking out pet-friendly parks with quiet places to walk him.
Should he show any signs of depression or unhappiness, he does have a readily-available home with my parents in N.J. They are cat people who recently lost their 18-year boy Moonshine, and they love having him in the house.
However, so far Mr. K is navigating his new life with his tail up, ready for adventure.
I’m thrilled this is working out so well for Knightly. All of the loving ways you’re making him feel comfortable seem to help him just chill and take traveling in stride.
I’ve thought about trying the outdoors with Micky. In some ways he has the “right” personality: curious, confident, adaptable. But…he came to us as a stray 3/22, almost certainly abused. Even after a year of our tireless work to make him feel loved and trusting, he can still go from “0 to vicious” unexpectedly. I’d have a hard time trusting him around other people or in anxiety producing situations. We’re still talking about just walking him around my yard which is very quiet.
Walking around a safe, quiet place to start was really important to me. Mr. K is super attached to his humans, so that helped a lot.