We've done lots of research about how to travel and live in a motorhome with cats. It was all very helpful! One of the consistent pieces of advice warned that cats are experts at finding mysterious hiding spots in an RV. On our pre-cat travels, we did our best to size up spots where our furbabies might hide. Our biggest concerns were the footwells. So, we stuffed the driver's side with leftover memory foam, and the passenger side with a pillow. With that, we were set.
Under the driver's seat was the first hiding spot of choice. Both cats took turns savoring that safe and secure spot. Then, moments after finishing yesterday's post - while we were basking in the joy of successful cat travels - we heard a scurrying sound behind the glove box. And, sure enough, our boy kitty was out of sight. In the blink of an eye, he managed to squeeze his 16-pound frame in between the pillow and the 4-inch tall passenger side footwell. From there, he wiggled his way up into a hidey hole that was impossible to reach.
To say we freaked out would be an understatement.
In the few not-so-fleeting minutes of sheer panic that followed, we tried to coax him from his hiding spot and became increasingly concerned that he wouldn't be able to come out the way he came in. Visions of googling "how to dismantle a Winnebago dashboard" filled our heads. Finally, Boris contorted his over-six-foot frame into the not-a-lot-of-legroom passenger floor and reached an arm through the maze behind the dash. At his fingertips, he felt fur. With more coaxing and a stretch, he was able to get a hand on the kitty and ease him out of the space.
The cat was free. The dashboard was saved. The tears of a grateful kitty mom flowed. And, we stuffed a much bigger pillow in the space.
Once the excitement of the night subsided, we got ready for bed. We put cats, litterbox and water dish in the bedroom with us and closed the door. With everyone safely confined, we crossed our fingers and managed to get a little sleep.
We're pleased to report both cats are present and accounted for...right now, at least.
Camping with Cats
Getting the cats on the road with us is a key step on our road to fulltiming. They embarked on their maiden voyage this afternoon. And, we are so pleased to report they are doing great!
We're just 1 1/2 hours or so from home, hanging out at the Stockton Delta KOA. It's the perfect spot for us to chill, enjoy the weekend, acclimate the cats and celebrate a milestone!
Pictures and more to come at www.bullwinklestravels.blogspot.com. But, for our current and future fulltiming friends, we're raising a toast to how well the furry members of our family have traveled so far. It's soooooo nice to have them with us. It's official: Now, we're traveling as a family.
Happy Friday to all!
We're just 1 1/2 hours or so from home, hanging out at the Stockton Delta KOA. It's the perfect spot for us to chill, enjoy the weekend, acclimate the cats and celebrate a milestone!
Pictures and more to come at www.bullwinklestravels.blogspot.com. But, for our current and future fulltiming friends, we're raising a toast to how well the furry members of our family have traveled so far. It's soooooo nice to have them with us. It's official: Now, we're traveling as a family.
Happy Friday to all!
O.J.
O.J. has been in the news a bit lately. And, we have something to say about that.
First, a quick update.
It's "camping eve" for our two cats. Tomorrow, like it or not, they become RVing kitties. It should be very exciting.
In preparation of this much anticipated and potentially stressful outing, we've taken extra steps to make tomorrow extra smooth. Tonight, we loaded up the Jeep with stuff (including our shiny new grill) and headed out to see Bullwinkle. Thankfully, all was safe and sound. We had several to-dos to bring order to the place. We trimmed up the mattress topper and put on freshly washed sheets. We stocked the drawers with clothes, the bathroom with towels and the pantry with non-perishables for the weekend. We even exercised the genset just a bit. With all of our to-dos done, we packed the new grill inside the cabin and locked everything up. Bullwinkle is ready to go. All we need now is a cooler and a couple of cats. Our fingers are crossed that all will go smoothly tomorrow.
So, what do we have to say about O.J.?
It ferments.
Early this morning we retrieved our tub of RV non-perishables from the garage. It had been sitting there for six weeks or so since our last trip. A quick pop of the top was met with a most disturbing smell. In the corner of the tub sat two small plastic bottles of orange juice. One of them was a color not usually associated with Florida sunshine. The other was empty - its smelly contents lined the bottom of the tub. It soaked a couple of tubes of Pringles, corroded a can of soup or two beyond the safety point and made a big mess. All the contents found their way to the trash except an unopened bag of Peet's coffee beans. (Thank God for small favors!) Hot water and lots of soap brought the tub back to life, ready to be restocked.
And, for the record, we have now categorized O.J. as a perishable. Hey, we're still newbies!
Next post will be from the road with our furry friends. Stay tuned.
First, a quick update.
It's "camping eve" for our two cats. Tomorrow, like it or not, they become RVing kitties. It should be very exciting.
In preparation of this much anticipated and potentially stressful outing, we've taken extra steps to make tomorrow extra smooth. Tonight, we loaded up the Jeep with stuff (including our shiny new grill) and headed out to see Bullwinkle. Thankfully, all was safe and sound. We had several to-dos to bring order to the place. We trimmed up the mattress topper and put on freshly washed sheets. We stocked the drawers with clothes, the bathroom with towels and the pantry with non-perishables for the weekend. We even exercised the genset just a bit. With all of our to-dos done, we packed the new grill inside the cabin and locked everything up. Bullwinkle is ready to go. All we need now is a cooler and a couple of cats. Our fingers are crossed that all will go smoothly tomorrow.
So, what do we have to say about O.J.?
It ferments.
Early this morning we retrieved our tub of RV non-perishables from the garage. It had been sitting there for six weeks or so since our last trip. A quick pop of the top was met with a most disturbing smell. In the corner of the tub sat two small plastic bottles of orange juice. One of them was a color not usually associated with Florida sunshine. The other was empty - its smelly contents lined the bottom of the tub. It soaked a couple of tubes of Pringles, corroded a can of soup or two beyond the safety point and made a big mess. All the contents found their way to the trash except an unopened bag of Peet's coffee beans. (Thank God for small favors!) Hot water and lots of soap brought the tub back to life, ready to be restocked.
And, for the record, we have now categorized O.J. as a perishable. Hey, we're still newbies!
Next post will be from the road with our furry friends. Stay tuned.
Boris is Brilliant!
We're gearing up for a camping weekend - the first in a long time - so, the mood around our house is getting increasingly lighter. And, that's all good!
That said, watching the markets take a tumble has left one of us (the principal writer here) wondering and worrying, just a little. My biggest concern, of course, is that this most recent bust will put a crimp in our fulltiming plans. After all, we are fiercely determined to make this dream real. I don't want no stinkin' stock market to delay our plans.
"No worries," Boris said. "Remember our ladder."
Oh yeah. I wrote about that ladder Boris bought a couple of months back: a bunch of zero coupon bonds that are keeping two years of our estimated fulltiming expenses safe and secure. They'll be ready and waiting for us, beginning in February.
I supported the idea back then. Today, I think it's simply brilliant!
That said, watching the markets take a tumble has left one of us (the principal writer here) wondering and worrying, just a little. My biggest concern, of course, is that this most recent bust will put a crimp in our fulltiming plans. After all, we are fiercely determined to make this dream real. I don't want no stinkin' stock market to delay our plans.
"No worries," Boris said. "Remember our ladder."
Oh yeah. I wrote about that ladder Boris bought a couple of months back: a bunch of zero coupon bonds that are keeping two years of our estimated fulltiming expenses safe and secure. They'll be ready and waiting for us, beginning in February.
I supported the idea back then. Today, I think it's simply brilliant!
Low Energy
We had plans to accomplish much around the house this weekend. But, Boris is recovering from a cold and Natasha is fighting one off. Plus, the way the weekend got started - discovering the theft of our grill and stuff at the storage facility - we quickly shifted our expectations to "low."
A police report has been filed. (Not that it will really matter.) And, the stolen stuff has been reordered. (That was TONS of fun.) We managed to muster enough energy to do a wee bit of purging today. We gotta' keep things moving.
We shopped around a bit for a new storage facility. The jury is still out on that.
We had dinner with long-time friends last night and shared our fulltiming plans with them. They say we're nuts. We think they might be just a wee bit jealous.
And, to top everything off, one of our cats piddled where he shouldn't. We're chalking it up to the stress of the box change and are hoping everything works out OK.
Bottom line: We're keeping our eye on the prize. Today marks five months before Boris is vested in his retirement plan. That's the day we will, at last, be "cleared" to hit the road. When we actually go is yet to be determined, but even on a low energy weekend, we can put our hands together for that.
Plus, we're "camping" on Friday.
Yahoo!!!
A police report has been filed. (Not that it will really matter.) And, the stolen stuff has been reordered. (That was TONS of fun.) We managed to muster enough energy to do a wee bit of purging today. We gotta' keep things moving.
We shopped around a bit for a new storage facility. The jury is still out on that.
We had dinner with long-time friends last night and shared our fulltiming plans with them. They say we're nuts. We think they might be just a wee bit jealous.
And, to top everything off, one of our cats piddled where he shouldn't. We're chalking it up to the stress of the box change and are hoping everything works out OK.
Bottom line: We're keeping our eye on the prize. Today marks five months before Boris is vested in his retirement plan. That's the day we will, at last, be "cleared" to hit the road. When we actually go is yet to be determined, but even on a low energy weekend, we can put our hands together for that.
Plus, we're "camping" on Friday.
Yahoo!!!
Pisser
No, this post doesn't have anything to do with the new litterboxes. Everything in that department is moving just fine, thanks.
This afternoon we ducked out of the office early and made a run to the RV to drop off the new memory foam topper. When we pulled up to Bullwinkle, we noticed the latches on two of the basement doors were pulled up. (Boris, you see, is fastidious about making sure each bay is latched and locked.) The doors were still locked, but something wasn't right. We opened the big curbside bay and made the disturbing discovery.
Our new Weber Q is gone.
See what we mean? Pisser.
Also vanished is the grill cover and brush, and a box that contained four bottles of propane and one bottle of distilled water. Everything else in the basement and inside was fine. We went to the office of this "safe and secure" storage facility. They offered little help. And, we got the feeling this wasn't the first time this sort of thing has happened.
Thankfully, Bullwinkle wasn't damaged in this caper. And, nobody was hurt. Another lucky break was that we spotted it was missing before we arrived at a campground ready to grill a couple of steaks. It could have been much worse.
So, we'll be shopping for a new Q soon - and perhaps a new storage facility, too. We'll store the Q safely inside the rig until we hit the road fulltime.
That can't happen soon enough.
This afternoon we ducked out of the office early and made a run to the RV to drop off the new memory foam topper. When we pulled up to Bullwinkle, we noticed the latches on two of the basement doors were pulled up. (Boris, you see, is fastidious about making sure each bay is latched and locked.) The doors were still locked, but something wasn't right. We opened the big curbside bay and made the disturbing discovery.
Our new Weber Q is gone.
See what we mean? Pisser.
Also vanished is the grill cover and brush, and a box that contained four bottles of propane and one bottle of distilled water. Everything else in the basement and inside was fine. We went to the office of this "safe and secure" storage facility. They offered little help. And, we got the feeling this wasn't the first time this sort of thing has happened.
Thankfully, Bullwinkle wasn't damaged in this caper. And, nobody was hurt. Another lucky break was that we spotted it was missing before we arrived at a campground ready to grill a couple of steaks. It could have been much worse.
So, we'll be shopping for a new Q soon - and perhaps a new storage facility, too. We'll store the Q safely inside the rig until we hit the road fulltime.
That can't happen soon enough.
Meow Meow
It's a new month, and time for a new project on our pre-fulltiming list. October is the month of the cats. They don't know it yet, (or so we think) but our two felines are in for some big changes this month as we do our best to get them ready for life on the road.
Our goal: to have them accompany us on our 10-day Thanksgiving trip.
We've done some preliminary training: taken them on short Jeep rides and attempted to go for walks wearing a harness and leash. They're not crazy about either, but both are mildly tolerable. It's time to turn up the intensity on those efforts. Sometime this month we'll hit the road in the moose for a night or two close to home. We'll bring them along and see how it goes. We're sure to learn lots.
Another project for "cat month" is introducing a litter system that's designed to be much more RV friendly. The Tidy Cat Breeze System proclaims to eliminate a lot of the muss and fuss of this aspect of cat life. (The video explaining it all is funny: "This is where the pee is conquered.") It's very different than what our cats are used to. And, cats don't exactly have a reputation as agents of change. So, we're following the "transition" instructions closely, and we'll see how it goes.
It should be an interesting month. We'll keep you posted.
Our goal: to have them accompany us on our 10-day Thanksgiving trip.
We've done some preliminary training: taken them on short Jeep rides and attempted to go for walks wearing a harness and leash. They're not crazy about either, but both are mildly tolerable. It's time to turn up the intensity on those efforts. Sometime this month we'll hit the road in the moose for a night or two close to home. We'll bring them along and see how it goes. We're sure to learn lots.
Another project for "cat month" is introducing a litter system that's designed to be much more RV friendly. The Tidy Cat Breeze System proclaims to eliminate a lot of the muss and fuss of this aspect of cat life. (The video explaining it all is funny: "This is where the pee is conquered.") It's very different than what our cats are used to. And, cats don't exactly have a reputation as agents of change. So, we're following the "transition" instructions closely, and we'll see how it goes.
It should be an interesting month. We'll keep you posted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
