Re-modeling Van for a Cat

LenS · 08-26-2009, 01:36 PM

With all the room we now have in our van with the added penthouse top we have added a kitten to household. Jo has always had kittens and cats and has missed having one since we have been retired and traveling.

So we now have a travel cat. Getting it as a kitten has made it easy to get her accustomed to traveling.

I needed to get her dishes out of the way. I did not want to be stepping on water dishes and spilling them all over. Also the aroma of kitty liter in the small spaces of a van was not appealing to me. So we needed to design in a out of the way, sealed but easy to get at place for the litter. Below are our final results:

Here is the closet we picked to modify for the kitty litter.

Tight fitting lid for litter

LenS · 08-26-2009, 01:51 PM

Oh yes, this is Daisy...

Jeffrey · 08-26-2009, 04:13 PM

Nice! I wanna be your cat.

Ford_6L_E350 · 08-26-2009, 06:02 PM

My biggest concern about a cat in an SMB is the screens. Our cats love to sit and look out windows; then, sometimes they claw at the window and/or screen. I can deal with the screens at home, but the penthouse screens could be a big problem.

Mike

LenS · 08-26-2009, 08:33 PM

Jeffrey,

Well the job does require a small operation with a couple of snips

and then front claws removed (protects home furniture and SMB penthouse screening - Daisy is a house cat).

Still think you want it??

Ed in Montana · 08-26-2009, 08:34 PM

As a labradog owner, I am appalled by the Catmobile!

ShortMocha · 12-12-2009, 12:35 AM

I love this idea!
How did the kitty litter area work out? Is the smell pretty air tight?
I would love to take our kitties with us.
The food and water area is awesome. Is the wood around it water sealed? Cats can be messy, at least ours is, they track food every where, always taking it out of the bowl and eating it off the floor.
And please don't declaw like a previous post had said (

) declaw cats are the cruelist thing. They rip out the knuckles too of the cat (in human terms) not just the nails.
I'm sure your kitty is use to not clawing the screen up above?

LenS · 12-12-2009, 12:14 PM

The kitty litter worked out great. No odor at all outside the box. The lid and door appear (by the nose test) seal very well. We also keep a box of Harmon Hammer baking soda inside the box area.

The cat does take some food out onto the floor but not very much. If need be I would add a small Formica tray that could fold down onto the floor.

The cat is very comfortable traveling in the van. When we have the side doors open for cooking we put a harness and leash on her so that IF she got out she would be easier to catch. Have not really had a problem in that area though.