From leash to luxury, in this article I give you four ways to live comfortably with pets in your RV. I've been living full time in our Mothership for three years. There are a lot of questions from you who want to join the full time RV life, which I answer here: Full Time Knowledge and Questions. One of the many questions I often get is: How do you have pets in such a small space?
Our pets are: Cocoa, the Dachshund, we adopted him when he was six (he's fourteen now), and Walter White, who we saved from our stray cat population as a kitten, (she is twelve years old now). Here are ways we are successful in our RV with pets:
Provide a small safe space.
A special place for a liter box.
A rubber mat for food and water dishes.
Veterinary Care
We give both, Walter and Cocoa their own "special" spaces. When on the road, travelling, Walter inherits our entire bedroom, slide closed. We lock the door because this is safer rather than her freaking out and finding a place to hide by my feet or on the dash obstructing views. She loves her space. She has our scent, her liter box, and knows when we stop that she gets to come back in the house and explore the area. Cocoa's a little simpler because he sleeps when we travel. He has a bed, which is large, and we always joke that he's too big for it. He sleeps in his dog bed, next to Maria, and sometimes lays by Maria's feet. Cocoa's bed has two pillows and his "stinky" blanket which he loves. He's a dog, so depends on humans for his toilet and sniffing needs. He gets to explore at every stop and I walk him to stretch out my own legs, this is a win/win.
Cat owner's know the liter box is the place a cat goes to the bathroom. I'm often asked how it don't stink in such a small space. Well, it's simple, living in an RV you must clean out the waste two, three times, or sometimes four times a day. We use lightweight non-scented liter and there typically is no smell, but godliness is cleanliness and all that shit (quite literally). We still keep the box clean because it's imperative to keep Walter healthy into her senior years by eliminating waste (it probably only needs cleaned once a day, we're just a little obsessive compulsive).
A rubber pet mat for dishes is imperative. This mat stops the food and water, especially the water dish, from slipping and sliding. We've purchased a water bowl, or rather was gifted one from my mom, that has anti-sliders on the bottom to counteract motion as well. When the RV is in motion, keep the water dish half full instead of full and the liquid will stay in the dish during some of the bumps of the road.
Last, but not least, Veterinary Care. We have a vet in Sandusky, MI. where we lived before going full time in the RV. We get shots updated, nails trimmed, heart worm and flea/tick meds from them. Before the winter is over I usually start scheduling our own doctor visits, family visits and squeeze in the vet visits for the pets in between prior to heading back "home". Time management is key especially with this lifestyle you must always know where you are, what you're going to do and have a plan. Over the past three years we did run into a couple emergencies with Cocoa. One time in Florida, where we now have a "go to" family vet, and once in Oregon. You deal with situations when the need arise. Use Google, it is your best friend while on the road and has found us what we need on more occasions than one.
Those are the simplest tips I have to live comfortably with pets, a cat and dog, in an RV. Our pets are older, small, and quite low maintenance, but do have issues sometimes (each pet family will be different, but essentially the functions are the same). Walter loves looking out the large front window behind the curtain, chasing birds, squirrels and everything in between, hunting them vicariously as she spots them. She also hides on our bed or underneath it in two small nooks she's claimed. Cocoa is attached to Maria, his "momma" and is always found next to her on the couch, by her feet or in his bed with pillows and own scent. We are lucky that we have well behaved pets. Regardless of their quirks, we love them like family, and we provide the best lives they can get.
Give your pets their space, food and water, and keep them safe and things will be fine. If you have any other suggestions or tips you use with pets while travelling, please let me know in the comments below. I appreciate feedback and the love. Don't forget, if you love the blog and feel guilty getting to read for free, buy some books from me (Scion paperback releases 12/2), buy some merch, or if you'd rather just give me $5 as a tip to BUY ME A COFFEE, you can do that to, every bit helps. Again, thank YOU! Don't forget to share this with all your social media friends!
As always, thanks for stopping by!
Tim Eagle
Tim Eagle is an author of the novellas Stolen Seed, Life Ship, and the Vasectomus Collection. He lives full time, on the road, with his wife, Maria and their dog, Cocoa. He grew up in Michigan and is inspired by the dysfunction of America. His books are available on Amazon, godless and this site timeaglefiction.com
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