Cats and Camping

I'm in this medieval reinactment group and in the summer we have a lot of outdoor events that involve camping. I have seen people bring their dogs, their goats, their pigs..even ferrets! So I was wondering if it would be possible to bring a cat camping. I mean...why not? If you started acclimating them when they were young, and getting them used to a leash, would it be possible? Has anyone ever done this?

The downside is then I'd *really* be known as the crazy girl with her cats!!

It sounds like your cat would be at some serious risk, on a harness in a place with other animals. He could be attacked, or he could pick up diseases or fleas and ticks... and I imagine most cats would be thoroughly stressed out by it!

Cats are territorial animals and I can't imagine they would be happy in that situation.

Originally Posted by SwampWitch

Cats are territorial animals and I can't imagine they would be happy in that situation.

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even if they became accustomed to it when they were young? i've seen people with cats on a leash walkin' along like dogs. What if you had a baby carrier for them? Like in "Get Fuzzy"

There's several challenges with bringing a cat camping:
1) most get freaked out when you take them anywhere
2) they're territorial
3) litterboxes don't travel very well (ask those of us who have had to move kitty via a multi-hour or day car ride)
4) even if you get kitty there with a minimum of trauma, they can get lost, stolen or eaten in the great outdoors, not to mention bugs (fleas, ticks, etc)

I should think it would be stressful to keep them confined in a carrier all the time...maybe you could get away with a portable cat enclosure.

We have a friend that lives for months on end out of a campground in a pop-up trailer. He has had a string of beautiful siamese that he always took with him. He has now stopped because the last one didn't come home. We suspect a coyote ate him either that or someone decided to go home with a new cat.

His new cat stays with us when he goes camping

We take Keno camping - she loves it. But the only way our cats would ever go camping is if we have the solid camper - not a tent. And the cats would have to sit in the camper - I'd never let them outside; harness or no harness. They are indoor kitties.