Why I Started Bringing My Cat Camping

Looking at squirrels

My first memory of bringing our cat camping was the family cat Scooter ending up in a tree in the dark, and all of us standing around with flashlights trying to coax her down. At that time (15 years ago), my Dad just put Scooter in the camper, no harness and no leash. I really don’t know what we were expecting to happen. Eventually, she came down from the tree and was fine but it was very stressful for her. Learning from those past experiences, I knew what to avoid when taking my own cat camping.

Why bring your cat camping?

My cat is currently 12 years old, and it was only in the last two years that I decided to bring her camping with us. It honestly never crossed my mind to include her, I always had someone come to look after her while we were away. It was when I couldn’t find a cat sitter, I decided just to bring her. As a disclaimer, we have a tent trailer for front-country camping which does make bringing her much easier. When I thought about it, my cat spends like 20 out of 24 hours sleeping, sitting on our laps or looking out the window. She has bursts of activity mixed in with mostly relaxing, so I figured we could take her on short walks and the rest of the time she could relax in the trailer. Overall she did really well and I’m so glad she gets to experience new smells, new places and new views. But if your cat is like mine there were some issues that we had to overcome before we could go camping together.

1) My cat has never worn a harness or leash

As I mentioned earlier, my cat Mau is 12 years old and an indoor cat who sometimes chills in the backyard. I’ve never taken her for walks and she’s never worn a harness before. I knew that in order to bring her camping she was going to have to have some sort of harness/leash system so she wouldn’t get lost. I also wanted a harness that she wouldn’t be able to slip off if she freaked out, so I did some research and found a wrap around harness that is easy to get on and off. I bought two sizes to find the right fit and also picked a color that made me laugh because it doesn’t match her personality at all. Omg how cute is she??

You will definitely want to try the harness at home for a few days before you leave so your cat can get used to wearing it. Surprisingly, Mau took to wearing the harness really well and didn’t mind walking on a leash. While at camp we would put on her little harness and take her for short, quiet walks where she led the way (if you take your cat for walks be prepared to stand in the same spot for 10 minutes while they smell every leaf). When she seemed done or overwhelmed we put her back in the trailer.

2) My cat has never traveLed in the car

Mau hasn’t traveled in the car very often so I was pretty worried that she was going to hate it, and meow for the entire 4 hour car ride. When traveling with a cat in the car I think they should always be in a carrier. You really don’t want your cat slinking around and jumping on stuff while you’re driving. This way you can also seatbelt the carrier in, in case of an accident. But yes, Mau hated her life in the car for about 30 minutes until she realized that she was safe and promptly fell asleep in the cozy bed we made her. When you first start driving, try not to play music or talk too loud to prevent overwhelming your cat and I also make sure they are the last thing to go in the car as to not stress them out when we are loading things in.

3) What about the litter box?

I have a litterbox tip that could possibly change your life. I foster kittens and omg the smell of the litter box after even just one day of 6 kittens using it is nastayyy. Even the best smell-masking clay litter on the market still really sucks at absorbing gross smells. I needed a better solution so I tried switching to WOOD PELLET litter, and it is so amazing. Wood pellets absorb the smell soooo much better than clay litter. You can also buy a big bag (like 20kg) of wood pellets (please choose the chemical-free) from hardware stores for around 7 dollars. It’s biodegradable, the pellet turns to sawdust when absorbing moisture, and you just throw it in the garbage when it gets saturated. This makes the idea of having the litter box in the trailer much more tolerable. One mistake I did make on our first trip was changing the style of litter box from Mau’s usual preference. I brought a shorter deep box instead of a shallow, longer box and she hated/refused to use it, and didn’t go for hours. With the right box, she used it perfectly, and we just scooped the poop out when she went and the trailer smelled fine.

Messy trailer, oops

What do you do with your cat at camp?

I didn’t want Mau to have to sit in the trailer the entire time, so I brought our dog’s foldable carrier with us. This allowed Mau to sit near us and look at the sights and sounds without having to be restricted to being on leash. It worked really nicely and if you go tent camping I would highly recommend it, as your cat shouldn’t just sit in the tent for the whole day.

I think if you decide to bring your cat camping there are certain things you should take into consideration before going. For instance, if you’re going to hike from dawn until dusk, you probably shouldn’t leave your cat at camp alone all day. If your cat is super timid or scared it’s probably not the best idea to bring them. If the weather is going to be super hot or super cold, unless you have a trailer with temperature control, they should stay home. But if the circumstances are right it is such a fun experience getting to show your cat the outside world and snuggling with them under the blankets at night.