Can I take my cat on holiday with me?

[NameyMcNameChange1]

It’s not for a few months yet but I’m taking dc’s for a couple of weeks in a campervan up to Wales. Would it be madness to bring the cat with me? He’s a house cat but is only 4 months at the moment. He seems perfectly happy inside but obviously my house is bigger than a campervan.

Has anyone done this? I hate the thought of putting him in a cattery and, as he’s a house cat,I think he really needs someone actually with him rather than just popping in to feed him.

Could you train him to walk on a harness and leash and then he wouldn't be confined to the van all the time

And get him neutered first too

How would you stop him escaping out the door ? If you were going to do it I would get a dog crate and put him in there when you went anywhere near the door . If he goes you'll never see him again .

No because you will undoubtedly lose your cat.

Does it not get hot in a campervan?

No it sounds a recipe for disaster, if he escapes in an unfamiliar location you might never find him again.

As dementedpixie suggested. Our vet nurse has a "walking" cat. It's not as far fetched as it sounds.

at first i would say no as its a holiday for you not the cat they dont like change but i have seen elderly people take their cats on caravan holidays.So people have done it i just not experienced it myself maybe ask on a facebook camping group

I saw a campervan with two cats in it on a campsite once! I wouldn't take mine, but she goes outdoors and I'd worry she would run off

I would be too petrified of my cat dashing off, I would be heartbroken to lose him so wouldn’t risk it myself.

How would you stop the cat jumping about and being a distraction/potentially dangerous when driving? How would you stop them running off? How would you get fresh air into the camper van without the cat going out?

The answer to all of these is a cage. A chattery will be a million times less stressful.

I have a house cat who has 2 walks a day. As much as I would absolutely love to take him on holiday I realise it's not really practical. You won't be able to go for days out because you can't take a cat out like you can take a dog.

We have taken our cat to B&Bs before and on a steam train and it was fine. We did get someone walking past saying those people are even more mad than we are though 😂

Aren't cats always happiest at home as they're so territorial? I'd much rather pay a pet sitter for our cat
My cat would hate a caravan - on cold days when she won't go out she charges up and down the stairs to burn off energy - think she'd feel really cooped up and frustrated in a caravan

Our cat seemed to view it as extending her territory and with a nice bed she was happy. Might get issues if there are dogs though. 😎

Yes I think you’re all probably right 🙁. I hate the thought of leaving the little thing, but that’s probably more my problem than his. I’m sure he’ll be absolutely fine with a cat sitter.

I have house cats and wouldn't risk it. You'd be heart broken if you lost him. I'm
Trying to harness train one of mine and she did her best to escape from the harness and almost strangled her self in the process. Find a good cattery instead.

My cat likes people and doesn’t go outside. We took her on holiday with us a couple of years ago. It was fine but we were in a cottage not a campervan. She had a bit of a potter around the garden on her lead. In a campervan I’d worry that it’s be too easy for her to get out and then be lost far from home. In the cottage we kept her in the kitchen/utility when we went out so that she wasn’t just behind the front door when we were coming and going.

Two generations of cats ago we used to regularly stay in a holiday cottage surrounded by open land and in the middle of nowhere. Always took the cats and let them out of the car on arrival - the cats absolutely loved it. .

Cats are more attached to their territory than their owners. Best case have a cat sitter come in twice a day

A family, a cat and a litter tray in a camper van for a fortnight. It sounds awful, and I really love my cat. Use a cattery, it will be far more sensible and far less confusing for the cat.

One of our rescue workers lives on the coast near a number of holiday sites. He regularly gets called to try to catch lost cats, whose owners thought it would be a good idea to do the same thing, long after the owners had to go home. No cat should be let out anyway for at least three weeks in a new place, and it's very difficult to keep all the doors and windows of a caravan closed. The cat would also be much more miserable than being fed in it's own house or even in a cattery.

I have tried him with a harness - every time I manage to get it on him he collapses on the ground and cries until I take it off again.

I’ll leave him at home, don’t worry. I was just having a soppy moment earlier at thought of leaving him.

We take Matt with us to holiday houses and flats. He is unusual in that he's very closely bonded to the family, and takes everything in his stride.
I've stayed at a static caravan park before (pre Matt) and one family always took their cat.
I'm not sure about a campervan though as they're small and I don't know if they heat up to a similar temperature as a car in summer.