what to do with my cats and dogs when on day trips - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Robert_patton88 · RV-Dreams Community Member

what to do with my cats and dogs when on day trips

2fortheroad · RV-Dreams Family Member

We only have one dog and we have left her in the 5ver several times. We just limit our time to no more than 5 hrs max.

As far as cats I think I would get a large pet carrier to keep them in while away.

Froggi · RV-Dreams Family Member

Dollywood does have kennel/boarding facilities but I would call as far in advance as possible. I also have a friend who has just opened up a facility in Maryville...not sure how from from Dollywood though.

We leave our pup for no more than 5 hours and we have the luxury of a toy hauler (with a/c) so we can put her there and not have any accidents inside.

Mallo · RV-Dreams Family Member

We leave the AC / Heat on for the cats and they pretty much just nap dogs and their walk schedule may be more difficult.

Mallo

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have a dog and cat and leave them alone in the rig all the time. Depending on the weather we ventilate, heat or air condition. In general we do not like to leave them for more than 6-7 hours.

Concerning your cats getting out of the RV, how do you keep them in your home? :)

Have a good trip.

Necro · RV-Dreams Family Member

Before our cats passed away, we'd planned on getting one of those screen in rooms that attach to the RV itself. That way you had an extra room, and somewhat of a "buffer-zone", had the cats gotten out the door. Sadly, we no longer need this option, but I thought I'd share the idea.

RVRon · RV-Dreams Family Member

We leave our dog in the RV when we're gone on day trips that don't lend themselves to having a dog around. Like others, we leave the A/C or heat on or just leave the windows cracked with the Fantastic Fan on exhaust, depending on the weather. One thing we do have is a sign on our door to rescue our dog if there is an emergency. Otherwise, nobody would know she was in there.

DorisandDave · RV-Dreams Family Member

Our dogs are used to be left all day, while we were at work, either at the S&B or in our RV. We leave the a/c on or windows open or heat on depending on the situation...just like when we all used to live in the S&Bs.

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

I agree with Fred (Luvglass) and many of the other comments.

I don't have dogs, only cats. Prior to my marriage when I was working fulltime they were all left in the house for 8-9 hours at least when I was at work, and I always left the heat/AC set so that conditions would be tolerable for me when I got home.

To keep them from darting out I then, and still do, look through the window to see if any are lurking by the door, and if so only open the door far enough to stick my foot in and bark 'Get back, get back'... seems to do the trick. They don't like that tone of voice. So far I've never had one get out.

The screen room is something that we had planned to do, but many campgrounds have rules that pets should not be left unattended - which means I guess that when you're not there to keep an eye on things the pets need to be inside the RV.

Boarding costs money... probably more than it's worth for a day trip, and your time away would be limited by having to retrieve your pets before the boarders closed for the day. For a side trip of more than a day or two though I think boarding is probably the answer.

These are just my thoughts, and I do care about my cats. Hope this helps.

Tim

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

Our two medium sized dogs would stay inside the RV with fantastic vents on if cool enough or A/C. We once left them for 12 hours during an unplanned extended tour of Idaho countryside courtesy of my cousin. They did fine, no accidents. We were very proud of them.

How about a squirt gun to keep the cats back while opening the door.

I used to use a soda can with a few pennies in it to rattle when our dogs would do something we didn't like. I wonder if a rattling can would keep the cats back.

Robert_patton88 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks everyone for your quick replies! I was searching the web for answers and spent longer on the search then just coming right out and asking. I feel much better now knowing the animals wil be safe for a period of time inside a ventilated RV. We have 2 maltese and 1 Blue himalayan and 1 lazy orange tabby and they are our loves so want them to be safe. Thanks for all the tips and along with a squirt gun and screen door we will just have to be careful monitoring the cats and their devious plans of escape. Thanks again and glad to be part of the community.