By Consuelo Heath
Cats can be comforting and entertaining companions and so it’s not surprising that many RVers bring theirs along on their camping adventures. While the RVers enjoy the simple pleasure of having their kitties along with them, there are some challenges, such as where to put the litter box.
It is best to place it where you can easily clean it once or twice a day, where it won’t be in the way, and where it’s as “low profile” as possible. Nobody wants a litter box to dominate the interior of the RV, in scent or in sight! For a cat’s convenience, be sure it can get to the litter box easily or it may elect another location to do its business. Finally, if you are also traveling with dogs, the litter box should be placed somewhere where it is not accessible to the canines. Here are some suggestions:
• In the bathroom, keep the door partially closed so cats can get in but not dogs.
• In the shower stall, keep the door partially closed so cats can get in but not dogs.
• In an unused floor-level cabinet or large drawer, install a small pet door if you have dogs and don’t want them to get in.
• Hide a litter box enclosure in plain sight, but where dogs may not access it.
• In a basement compartment, with a small pet door installed on the floor above. Be sure that cats cannot wander between the other basement compartments or find a way to get outside.
There are many sizes and shapes of litter boxes available. One style of litter box that is much less messy than most, and keeps the dog out, is the top entry type shown here.
The downside of this style is that there must be adequate space above the litter box for the cat to jump up and then go in, and these boxes tend to be on the big side. Another type of litter box that reduces the litter “trail” left by departing cats is the style with the inward sloping sides.
The litter itself should be the clumping type, and as dust-free as possible. I use a brand called The World’s Best Cat Litter, which clumps well, produces almost no dust, and is made of corn byproduct so it is ecologically friendly.
You can keep odor to a minimum by cleaning out the litter box at least once a day. At the risk of stating the obvious, never dispose of litter in your RV toilet! Instead, scoop the “products” into a plastic grocery bag, tie a knot in the bag and dispose of in a dumpster or campground trash can.
Your comments are welcome. Where do you keep your litter box?
##RVT915
The litter box for our kitty is in the closet where the washer/dryer hookups are. We don’t need/have a washer dryer so this is perfect. The doors are slotted and one opens against the side wall for her to enter, while the other stays closed. The carpeted floor (?why carpet a floor where a washer hookup is?) is covered by a plastic hall runner we bought at Lowe’s and I cut to size. The litter container and the scoop fit in there too, and there is a shelf over it all that holds our laundry stuff and all the plastic bags for scooping and for the small trash cans in the trailer. It is the most perfect place for our kitty’s bathroom. Oh, and I plugged in a night light for her too, in the outlet for the washer/dryer plug. This is in our 40′ 5th wheel.
Luckily, our dogs could care less about the litter box. Shower works for us.
To continue……However I am not pleased with the lack of electrical outlets in the kitchen and their location and the carpet on the bedroom slide. I owned a 26′ class A which allowed me to travel with cats to get from point A to B and there I put litter boxes in the shower and put plastic over the carpet in the bedroom at the foot of the bed. It worked but I plan to live part-time at least in the new unit. I am currently researching laundry units and am having a difficult time because I do a LOT of laundry; the 110V dryers are small and converting to 240V may require a professional RV electrician.
I hope the cats adjust to travelling with the slides in and me apart driving the truck.
I have yet to figure out where to put the Woody the parrot……..
Okay. I am the ultimate crazy cat lady who went back to school to become a cat vet. Needless to say I have “acquired” a large number of cats, many of whom have special needs. I have 3 3-legged cats and 12 others with various problems. So when I retired, I had to have a unit that would work with a large number of cats. 3 must-haves were 1. a garage 2. laundry hook-ups and 3. NO carpet. I just purchased a Keystone Carbon 348 with a 13 ft garage which will be home to the litter boxes, the laundry units, storage and cat trees. I will be using two kinds of litter boxes: large storage bins with a door cut out with Clump&Seal/Slide litter and several Breeze boxes that do not require disposable litter only disposable pads. I can’t carry heavy boxes of clay litter while travelling so the Breeze units help. As a vet, I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANY OF THE “LIGHT” CLAY LITTERS; they have been known to cause respiratory problems in some cats.
We travel in a Class A – at one end of the sofa there is a cupboard that I took the door and shelves out for the litter box. The only issue was trying to find a litter box that was narrower than normal so I Macgyvered my own. Cooper our 13 year cat has no problem with it. We have tried different litter formulas to keep the smell down and the tracking to a minimum. I find I clean the poop everytime and we don’t have a problem. The Pine Pellets are the best for smell but hard on the feet when he tracks it out. I am going to try the World’s Best next as it seems what everyone else is using. Thanks for the tips.
Our kitty litter box is in the shower. We keep a drain cover over the drain so the litter won’t go down the drain, then cover the floor with newspaper. We also cover the runner where the shower door runs on as it can get cluttered with litter – it almost turns into concrete.
I use a Walmart tote with a hole cut in it pretty high up. I can put lots of kitty little in there so I’m not carrying around an extra box of litter. I scoop daily and I just take the top off the tote for cleaning access. I keep the tote in front of the drivers seat while stationary. When we aren’t moving that seat gets swiveled to the rear. It’s completely out of the way of any traffic. I have a little tray with nubs outside the cat opening to catch any extra little.
Our kitty’s litter box is in the cabinet where there could be a washer/dryer. I put plastic carpet runner down (why is there carpet in the washer/dryer closet any way??). There’s 2 narrow doors, one opens to the wall which is perfect for leaving open for Pepper to get to “her room”. Her box has a tall cover on it, it fits sideways in the space, and there is a night light for her in the electric outlet box. Couldn’t be more perfect.
We have use ScoopFree system for about a year. Has a cover which the cat climbs down into. Last for about 45 days (one cat). Not impacted by RV movement.
We travel with a whole herd of cats. With our current motor home we use an automatic litter box. I cut a small hole in the floor of a slide, inside a cabinet. Once we get to a campground I hang and IKEA recycling bin (with matching hole in the top) and turn the litter box back on.
The few times they use the box while moving are handled when we make a rest stop – we scoop out the box and dispose of the waste in the trash.
We use Worlds Best as well.
Outside!
We travel with 4 cats. Crazy cat lady. All are rescues. We have a fully enclosed litter box and we scoop it twice or more often daily. One cat actually waits for the box to be cleaned before she uses it. Our litter of choice is “Slide.” I remove it from the paper box and use a repurposed plastic jug. Stops spills.
Our cats travel in full body harnesses, with 6 ft leads attached at all times. Easier to catch the lead than the cat. One cat does know which RV is his. We always have fresh water available and it is bottled water. Unknown water can and will cause gastric problems.
Our old man cat sleeps on the dash as we travel the road, flipping over when one side gets too warm. One cat yells at 18 wheelers. One hides. One wanders.
The litter box situation is exactly why we no longer have cats. We had two cats that lived 17 years, but that was before we retired. We only left town for a week at a time (vacations) and our neighbors (who also had cats) would come over and take care of our cats (and all the stuff that goes along with that) while we were gone. We would do the same for them when THEY left town.
Now that we’re retired and “leave town” for months at a time, there’s no way we want to have to deal with cat boxes. But, we do miss our cats.