camping – Tennessee Wanderer

So you want to travel with a cat, do ya? You’ve joined the other crazies on the feline frenzy that want to take their little cuddly companions along for the ride. Here’s five helpful tools to get you started and safely through your adventures with as much peace of mind as possible for you and your furry friend. All links are listed at the end of the article.

Disclaimer, I am not an expert. I have had a cat for the majority of my life and I am basing this information off of my own personal experience and what I have found to be the most helpful… So before we get into the catios and all of the cool products available, let’s talk about the basics….

The single most important thing you can do is harness train your cat. Start as soon as possible. The more time you can have to get your cat acclimated to the harness before a grand adventure, the better. Most cats protest at first. It can be quite a commitment and time consuming to get them on board. In reality, you are training a tiny lion. I watched a variety of YouTube videos to get a better understanding of the process. Rupert is an exceptional cat, but he was not a major fan of harnesses at first… See for yourself:

The next thing I would strongly recommend is taking your own personal safety into account when traveling with a cat. It is not safe to have your cat loose in your vehicle while driving. Something could scare them and they could zoom underneath the brake pedal causing an accident. Plus, it’s a huge distraction to have your cat jumping around in the car while in motion. I know social media can be illusive when you see adorable photos with a cat hanging out as a co-pilot or sticking their head out of the window getting their Beyoncé on, but the reality is, that it’s just not safe. Get a cat carrier to make sure you all reach your destination safely.

The 3rd tool on the list is things you already should have. Stuff like their normal food products, treats, toys, portable scratching posts, litterbox, and all the normal comforts that you think will keep your cat occupied and happy while you travel. Remember, you will most likely be in a smaller space than what you are used to, so you may have to get creative with things like the litterbox situation. Since we are on the stinky subject of the litterbox, I’ll share what works for me in such a small space. I have never seen Rupert use the bathroom outside of his litter, meaning I always have to have litter available for him. He’s such a good boy and pretty adaptive when it comes to changing it up. We’ve tried the Breeze litter system and that has been the only litter Rupert has downright refused to use. It’s a great system that is not very stinky if you can get your cat on board with using pellets instead of traditional litter. Until we can get Rupert on board, there is another litter I found more recently that had zero oder when we tested it out on the road last week. We’ve been using it for a few months and I cannot tell there’s a cat living in the house by the smell. Dr. Elsey’s is quite the crowd favorite at mi casa. The link is listed at the bottom.

Now on to the fun part! Rupert’s Catio! This thing is a life saver if you don’t mind the hassle of breaking it down and setting it back up. It’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Not only do you get a lot of giggles from people passing by, but it’s extremely practical as well. He loves being in his little screened-in accessory. It is a little pricey, but the dopamine provided by seeing Rupert birdwatch all around him was well worth it for me. He got spooked by a garbage truck at a campground once and could not get out of his catio, but I fear he would have slipped out of his harness and fled the scene if he wasn’t in such a sturdy enclosure. On a side note, I found an old metal roaster pan while thrifting to throw some litter in his catio so he never has to hold it. He was so excited he started rolling and laying in the litter the first time I put it in his enclosure. He’s what Phoebe from Friends wrote that smelly cat song about. We definitely LOVE it, but it is not necessary to have one to start traveling with your cat.

The last tool and equally as fun as the catio, but more of an accessory than a tool to recommend would be the cat backpack. These things are so fun! If you like hiking and you can convince your cat to be cool and get into it, then this is for you! Charlee and I absolutely love taking Rupert with us on a hike. Plus, the 11lb little bugger gives me some extra weight to tote around and keeps me in better shape. We let him out to walk here and there, but it can be quite intense managing 2 different species on a leash solo, so as we are learning and growing together, the backpack helps when things get too chaotic to handle. Rupert doesn’t mind a free ride. Haha!

There is one more product that I will be exploring for myself, but haven’t yet, and that is the Tile trackers. Rupert had one escape attempt on one of our camping trips. My heart sunk as I was chasing him down thinking, “what if he runs too fast and I lose sight of him?” So having a Tile that’s compatible with my device will be one more thing on my list before we take our next big adventure.

I hope this helps you all on your journey to getting your cat out there to explore with you! It’s been so much fun taking Rupert along and learning how to camp and travel with him. Stay safe out there! Don’t forget to check out the links below and let me know what question you have in the comments below.

My Amazon Associate links for recommended products:

1.) Cat harness: There are 2 different harness styles that I would recommend. Either is fine just so long as it’s adjusted properly for your cat: https://amzn.to/3MgZtW3 https://amzn.to/3Mn1Bvd

2.) Cat carrier: I have always preferred hard-shell carriers vs. the soft cat carriers. When you are packing everything into a tight space, it’s good to know your little guy or gal won’t have the possibility of losing real estate in their tiny carrier. It really comes down to preference here: https://amzn.to/3OpKY40

3.) Cat litter: You probably have all of the fun toys and scratching posts already, but here is the litter we had really good luck with in such a small space: https://amzn.to/3vqrH9O

4.) Cat tent (catio): This is the one I have for Rupert… It’s amazing, just a bit pricey. In search for this tent, I found another one that I could connect to his current setup to give him more space and it’s now on my wish list. I’ve included both links: https://amzn.to/3rF91SX https://amzn.to/3OCOCrB

5.) Cat backpack: We just love this silly little thing that looks like a space capsule: https://amzn.to/3L4P8MB

See y’all down the road!

When I started my travels across the country in 2019 with my senior pup and tiny camper, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. All I knew is that I HAD to do this. I was being pulled towards this life with an undeniable force. I worked 3 jobs, odds and ends before landing in a great spot to build my savings to make this dream a reality. I spent a lot of time and money getting my Nashville house ready to Airbnb. It was hard getting in the mindset of sharing my home and private space with other people, but it was the only thing that made sense to help finance my travels and pay my bills while I was on the road. Just as hard as it was to share my home, it was even harder to openly share my thoughts about the transition I was going through mentally and spiritually. I did a whole internal and mental remodel. I took myself down to the studs and started the rebuilding process.

All of that time alone. Out there. Just out there, learning how to be me. Learning how to just be. How to live for the moment. How to find joy in the simplest of things. I didn’t share much, I couldn’t. It was such a private and unique journey and if I shared it at the time, it would have felt like I was exploiting the most personal parts of me and would have devalued the process. I think solo travel is something that everyone should experience whether it’s just a weekend getaway, a cross country trip, or even another country. How else do we figure out what we, as individuals, truly enjoy and who we are without the influence and pressure of others to do things that we think we might like? How do you know what YOU like and who YOU are without that influence? You don’t truly. That’s why a solo journey becomes so personal. It’s all about you in that moment. I didn’t write a lot. I just focused on me, my dog, and learning how to live this life I worked so hard for.

I practiced a lot of “Niksen” (the Dutch art of doing nothing). I learned how to stop feeling guilty for indulging in moments that lacked productivity or eating the food I wanted to without worrying about putting on a few pounds. It’s amazing though, I never gained weight while I traveled. I ate what I wanted when I wanted. I was teaching myself how to be happy and looking back, I wasn’t stress eating anymore. I also think stress holds weight on your body. On my first trip, I allowed myself 3 months to do exactly what I wanted when I wanted on my terms. If I wanted to take a picture, I did. If I wanted to write, I did. If I wanted to spend a cold day cuddled up in the camper with my sweet pup binging on Netflix on my tiny phone screen with crappy service, I did. If I wanted to go out exploring or look for a new campsite, I did. It sounds like a dream, but it was hard work. I cried a lot at the beginning, like the really ugly cries, but as my journey continued my strength and self acceptance of who I was becoming continued to grow right along with my confidence.

All of that time alone can be boring, but I never found myself wishing my time away like I did when I was stuck in a cubicle trying to force myself to live a “normal” life. Why couldn’t I just be “normal” and be happy in the great jobs that I had? It wasn’t that the jobs I had were bad, I was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. They weren’t the right fit for me. I was miserable and didn’t even know it until I was laid off from work for the first time.

On an extremely personal note, I am a victim of sexual assault. This journey helped me realize that my attackers no longer had control over my feelings and thoughts towards myself. It wasn’t my fault. I hesitate to share this story every time because I do not want people to see me as a “victim” or pity me in any way. This is an extremely dark and vulnerable part of my journey, but it led me to here. It led me to who I am, who I’ve become, and also who I am becoming. It took a lot of work, therapy, and honesty with myself to get here. I definitely was not going to let fear from trauma stand in my way. Your attackers win whatever sick game they are playing if you allow them to control your thoughts and actions. It’s all about power and control, so taking back that power was a huge accomplishment for me. This journey helped propel me to move forward from those horrible experiences.

At the very beginning of my trip, I quickly realized that I had just jumped headfirst into the unknown. I thought I had prepared, but honestly, there really is no way to prepare, you just have to do it, live it, and experience it to fully understand it. It’s incredibly difficult to put what I was going through and the changes that were happening internally into words. But something was changing. I was becoming me, my authentic self. I will tell you, it is scary as hell to spend all of that time with just yourself (and an amazing dog). What if I didn’t like me? Being trapped alone in your thoughts with an occasional social interaction is terrifying. There were weeks that passed where the only social interaction I had was stopping at the grocery store, gas station, or taking a shower at a gym. You really find out what you’re made of and who you are.

At the end of my first 3 months of travels, there was an awakening that happened. I now know more of what I want out of this life than I ever have before. I know what I deserve, I know what I’m worth. I even kind of started to believe that I was a badass for doing this all on my own. I had help from my parents with picking up the camper before I had a hitch on my car and my dad spent an entire hot summer in the camper getting it rewired and solar installed so I could boondock. He also taught me how to drive while towing, but other than that, the rest was up to me. I now know what I’m capable of, so why stop there? I can do this over and over again until I can’t work anymore if I truly wanted to. I am sharing all of this in hopes to encourage other people to get out there!!! If it’s in your heart and you have the drive to do it, don’t wait for tomorrow, start figuring it out today! It took me just over a year to get on the road, but persistence paid off. I didn’t have to sell my home and all of my assets to live this way. If I work longer, I can save more and travel longer. There’s a balance for me and I always have a place to come home to when it’s time to give up my mobile, tiny home for a bit. There’s so many different ways to do this, you just have to find what works for you if you are interested.

I do not have any type of sponsorships for my travels. This was something I did all on my own. I figured out this formula that I can rinse and repeat and continue traveling a few months out of every year. The original goal was to travel for one year. Plans change, and not having a sponsorship and being self funded was challenging to say the least, but it led me to this formula of Airbnb-ing my home and working my ass off while I’m not traveling so that I can have a 2-3 month sabbatical almost every year. I think when people see what I’m doing, they assume that I have a lot of money or a sponsorship, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I am just an average human with average knowledge, but I have the drive and the passion to turn my dreams into reality, and you can, too.

And hell yeah, there were times I was scared. What solo traveling female wouldn’t be? There are times where you feel so isolated and so alone. What if my car broke down? Or what if I had a scary encounter with another human? What if I got attacked by a mountain lion? What if I got stranded without water? All of these crazy questions become paralyzing. You can what if yourself to death and if you give in to the fear, that leaves you with no stories to tell. Pushing through that fear is one of my greatest accomplishments. I’ve had some bad things happen, but I always figured it out. Now I ask the question, what if I didn’t? What would my life look like? I’d be stuck in life, always dreaming and wondering what this life I’ve dreamt about for so long would look like, and now I know. I can’t wait to get back out there!

Tag: camping

Camping With a Cat! 5 Helpful Tools for Beginners

A Very Personal Journey