We have three cats. Archie the Mittens, lives outside. He just showed up one day 5 years ago. He was about 5 months old. He is a very sweet, very cool, polydactyl cat. The backyard became his domain. When we sold the house, we made an agreement with the new owners that Archie would stay with the house. After all, it was already his. We were very, very sad to leave him behind, but it’s what was best for him.
This is a tale of the other two cats. And change. The two house cats are Sofi and Coco. They are sisters and are 9 years old. They have lived with us since they were tiny little kittens. They were both born under our deck to feral parents. Sofi came to live with us when she was about 3 weeks old. We bottle fed her she was so young and little. Coco came along 5 months later, at about 7 weeks of age. We actually trapped her, her parents, and littermates. The kittens were given away except for Coco, and the parents were fixed, so they would quit using the deck as a kitten factory.
Sofi
Coco on the other hand is a bit different. Since she was a little bit older when she came inside, she still had some feral instincts. She is also a bit skittish. She likes Kathy in the morning, and pretty much keeps to herself the rest of the time. She does not like me at all. She thinks I’m a big scary monster that wants to eat her. She sees me and she runs away to hide under the bed. She pretty much lives under the bed.
Once we made the decision to sell the house, it sold quickly. 3 days. Wow. Fast. So naturally we started packing, arranging, sorting, all sorts of stuff. Sofi was onto us. Something is afoot, and she wasn’t happy about it. Coco was blissfully ignorant of the goings on in the rest of the house. Things were just fine under the bed.
We had the big estate sale two weeks later. Most all the furniture went. We kept the bed and refrigerator, for now. They were actually sold, but the buyers could not take delivery until we closed on the house. Gotta have a bed and fridge, right? At least with a bed, Coco had her place to hide.
By this point, with almost all the rooms empty, Sofi was just plain upset. Her world was changing and she was not happy about it. She let us know she was not happy about it in the ways cats do. Coco was still happy, because she had her bed to hide under. The last day, the movers came and got the bed and last few remaining items. Sofi was beside herself. Coco now knew something was wrong when her bed was picked up and hauled out. She bolted out of the bed room and totally freaked at the rest of the house being empty. She ran from room to room in a panic. Poor thing!
We moved the RV to its new location without the cats. We set it all up, put out the slides, made it as normal as we could. We went back to house, caught the cats, and placed them into carriers. They cried and cried and cried. Coco was just pitiful. We drove them to the RV, carried them inside, and coaxed them out of the carriers. Coco was still crying. Sofi became a lethargic blob of cat. She just laid there. Her world was gone and this was just not right! Sofi is a very spirited cat, very independent, and is not going to be told what to do. To see her just lay there and not move was very sad for us.
It wasn’t long before Coco found the new bed and went under. Oh no! There’s no underneath the bed! That’s where the RV’s engine is. She did not like this at all! Not acceptable! It was late, we coaxed them both to the bed and all settled into our first night in the RV.
It was an uneventful night. Sleep was just ok, as getting used to a new bed, new sounds, and the new experience all came into play. Coco cried into the wee hours of the night. That morning we woke up and the cats were gone. Well, at least they were exploring the new house! We got up and started looking for them. 30 minutes later they were still missing. Now an RV like ours is only about 350 square feet, so there are not too many places to hide. But dang if they didn’t manage it. Finally we decided to look under the bed. The bed lifts up on a big hinge, and exposes a small storage area. They were not in the under bed storage. The rest of the area under the bed is the engine compartment, and several hoses, motors, pumps and general stuff. Looking out from those pumps and hoses was Coco! So now we’re like how did she get in there!?! That’s when we discovered a small air hole, about 8 inches long and a couple inches wide along the floor, way at the front of the bed. It allows air circulation for the air pump for the sleep number bed. There is a hole on each side of the bed. Coco found the left one, Sofi the right one. I managed to reach in and pull Coco out. Sofi, no way; she wasn’t coming out. Finally some encouragement from a broom got her out. We stuffed pillows in the holes to block access. There was not even enough room to squeeze my finger through now!
Coco
There’s a 4 inch toe kick area on the far side of the bed. We keep a blanket draped over the bed to cover the toe kick. Coco and Sofi both like this space and hide here often. It’s as secluded as you can get, they have accepted it. Some semblance of normality finally!
We kept the liter box in the bedroom, close by, for the first week. After that we moved it about a couple feet a day until it made it all the way to the other end of the RV. It’s final resting place, at least while we’re setup in a park, is under the steering wheel. What a great use of that space!
Sofi adapted pretty quickly to RV life. After a few days she was acting normal. About 10 days in though, she regressed, badly. She started throwing up, acting stressed out and became depressed again. It was August in Texas when when we moved into the RV, it was 100+ outside everyday. We closed the blinds, curtains and everything else to keep the heat out and air conditioners ran constantly. We finally came to the realization that this was Sofi’s problem. She couldn’t see out. We started opening the shade in the bedroom window about a foot so she could see out. Within two days, our Sofi was back. We now pull the windshield curtain back in the mornings too. She will lay up on the dashboard and look out. Happy kitty!
It’s been a month now since the move and it’s getting normal for all of us. Coco comes out in the mornings and hangs out with Kathy during the day while I am not here. She hides under her toe kick space when I am home. Coco gets out some of her toys during the night and plays. Sofi hangs out all over the house now. She’s back to playing with toys, playing fetch and being social. They both still spook easily at any strange noise, but their personalities are returning to normal and they are adjusting to RV life. They are eating well and life is good again.
Soon, their little world is going to be rocked again. We haven’t told them the house moves. They are not going to like it when the 350HP CAT sleeping under the bed roars to life, when we take it on the road for the first time next week!