Upgrading Our RV Cats' Lifestyle: A Hidden Litter Box Solution for Ellie, Abby & Miss Fred

 When you live in an RV with three cats, you learn very quickly that every inch of space matters.

After years of traveling with Ellie, Abby, and Miss Fred in our travel trailer, we've discovered that keeping our girls happy while maintaining a clean, fresh-smelling, and cozy RV takes a little creativity. As we're moving into our newly renovated fifth wheel, one thing is certain: the girls are getting upgrades right along with us.

And yes, that includes their bathroom.

A Hidden Litter Box That Actually Looks Like Furniture

One of our newest additions is the Feandrea Double Cat Litter Box Enclosure, a beautiful piece of furniture designed to discreetly hide litter boxes while blending seamlessly into your home's décor.

While it's designed for two cats, we think it will work wonderfully for our three girls.

Instead of having litter boxes sitting out in the open, this enclosure allows us to maintain a more homey appearance while giving the cats a private space of their own. In RV living, where every room serves multiple purposes, finding furniture that works double duty is a huge win.

Why We Switched to Stainless Steel Litter Boxes

As part of the upgrade, we also decided to replace our old litter boxes with stainless steel models.

After doing quite a bit of research, we discovered some major advantages:

Stainless Steel Doesn't Absorb Odors

Plastic litter boxes can absorb odors over time, even when cleaned regularly. Stainless steel is non-porous, making it much easier to keep fresh.

Easier to Clean

Stainless steel surfaces don't scratch as easily as plastic. Since scratches can harbor bacteria and odors, this was a big selling point for us.

Longer Lifespan

A quality stainless steel litter box can last for years without warping, staining, or holding smells.

For full-time RV living, where space is limited and odors can become noticeable quickly, these benefits made the decision easy.

What Our RV Cats Miss

People often ask how cats adjust to RV life.

The truth is that cats are creatures of habit, and there are definitely a few things our girls miss from time to time.

More Floor Space

Even though our new RV is much larger, cats never seem to think there's enough room for zoomies.

Watching Wildlife

Ellie, Abby, and Miss Fred absolutely love watching birds, squirrels, rabbits, and other campground visitors. The more windows they have, the happier they are.

Sunbeams

A cat's favorite activity is often moving from one sunny spot to another throughout the day. Thankfully, our new RV has plenty of windows for that.

Their Favorite Hiding Places

Every RV has unique nooks and crannies. Whenever we move into a new space, the girls spend days finding their new secret hiding spots.

Fun Facts About Cats That Travel

Cats Can Learn Travel Routines

Many RV cats quickly learn the difference between travel days and camping days. Some even head to their favorite safe spot when they sense the RV is about to move.

Window Seats Are Prime Real Estate

Cats traveling in RVs often spend hours watching the world go by through windows, almost like they're watching their own reality show.

They Love Vertical Space

Cat trees, shelves, window perches, and elevated sleeping areas help RV cats feel secure and maximize small living spaces.

Consistency Matters

Keeping food bowls, litter boxes, and sleeping areas in consistent locations helps cats adjust more comfortably to RV living.

The Girls Are Getting All New Everything

As part of our RV renovation, we've decided that Ellie, Abby, and Miss Fred deserve a fresh start too.

New litter box setup? Check.

New beds? Absolutely.

New toys? Of course.

More windows to watch the world? Definitely.

These girls have been incredible travel companions, moving from campground to campground and adapting to every change we've thrown their way. The least we can do is make sure they're as comfortable as possible in their new home.

Because let's be honest—RV cats deserve a little luxury too.

And if Ellie, Abby, and Miss Fred have anything to say about it, they'll happily remind us who's really in charge of this RV.

Was It Wise to Travel with Two Cat in Our RV?

 Was It Wise to Travel with Two Cat in Our RV?

I'm not going to hesitate to answer this at all. YES, and for so many reasons. But let's introduce you to who they are...

Meet Ellie she is our QUEEN BEE 5 year OLD

Ellie,

When I got sick "ER". We had made a decision to keep me home to fight my health battles by resting as much as I could back when we lived in Spokane, Wa. Mark suggested we get a kitten to keep me company. And so we did. She was so attached to me especially, when I was at my worst. When I was having a good day, she was all about her hooman daddy, but when I was having treatments or just being super sick, she wouldn't leave my side. Mark was even able to gage my days. So when Ellie became attached, he was on high alert making sure my needs were being met. 

It took here 3 weeks to get comfortable with her new surroundings.

Ellie and why her name is Ellie. During our time in Spokane, Wa we owned and operated a cleaning company. And, (MY) very first client Sarah and her wonderful family had two dogs. Ellie and Abby, (I'm sure by now your figuring out the story-line, but let me continue for the sake of perhaps one day forgetting or my other half having to live his life without me here on earth, could reflect on this memory). Ellie our client's dog had passed on and so the name became even more meaningful to us. 

Ellis is such an independent cat. She's not afraid of anything. When we lived in Oldtown, Idaho we lived on land and had an open range of wild animals. They all loved her, it was weird. The deer and turkey seriously hung out with her. 

What you don't see is the 16 other deer nearby. Every day we also had
about 18-24 deer that came by for the nightly dinner given to from our
awesome neighbor (we miss him greatly).

We had Smokey (I don't want to talk about her, I still cry about her)... I am looking for a kitten that is gray just like my beautiful  girl to completely fulfill our family. 

Isn't she beautiful - she was 100% ferrell (she the clip on her ear)
we were shocked that she became a lovie dovie cat.

Shy... But loved her station all to herself. 

And now for our BABY BRAT, Abby

Little Abby with Smokey who was such an accepting cat. 
She Mothered Abby like her own. 

Abby: 

She is the epitome of a SPOILED BRAT... Abby is a comical cat to every degree... And we blame Sarah (MY) first client lol. It's because of her, that we even have Abby. One day Sarah contacted me asking for help looking for some female kittens (she wanted 3 of them for her 3 boys). And so the search went on. We found Abby from the side of the road sign saying "FREE KITTENS" - and if you ever saw the true fashion of what a hillbilly house would look like - well, it was worse... I was more than happy to take the last female from the scary box. The lady was super nice and told us that she was the first to climb out of the box and completely acted differently from the others. There were 6 females and no one wanted our Abby.  

We took Abby to our training center office we had at the time to keep her there because we didn't want to cause issues with our two cats. That lasted a couple of days. We took her home. It wasn't long when Sarah said she was going to take 3 females from a relative litter if they were 3 females. Mark said NAME HER!! So I seriously put a lot of thought into it. And my favorite dog in the whole wide world just happens to be Sarah dog Abby. I knew her health was going and prayed she would hold on to the end of our stay in Idaho. Man I cried for a week, when I got the news. Abby was just so fitting and my way of keeping Abby in my memory. 

Abby has been a blessing to us, in every way. She's had a taste for the outdoor life and now we had to force her and Ellie into an indoor RV cat only. That was hard but amazingly, they have done so well. I bribe them with a new toy OFTEN and we have had subscribers send them presents, (which has been cool) and the girls love them but Abby is our major toy player of the family - she even fetches.

Her beautiful harness was a gift from one of our subscribers,
 Carolynn from Spirit Lake, Idaho

It's FREE entertainment and such therapy after long days.

 

As far as the expenses go. We hope to grow their instagram account to where enough is being made to help with their medical and food cost. We found vet bills to be through the roof. I don't want to talk about that. But if you decide to go on the road as RV fulltimers, make sure you budget $1000 emergency fund per pet. 

Amazon gift cards online can be sent to megonerving@gmail.com in honor of the girls and I'll always post about gifts given to Abby and Ellie 

So things to think about when traveling with cats is 

• Budget per pet - we recommend a $1000 per pet to cover surgeries if needed
• Vaccination records (we lost Ellies and completely freaked out about it
• We opt to have harnesses on our cats just in case they got out - that way people knew upon site that they were pets. And it would be easier for us to find them by their bright colors. 
• We don't feed them on the mornings of travel days. And I refuse to drive more than 3 hours at a time for them. They do so well, they nap and they ride in the car with me.
• We do have a kitty first aid kit - however I need to update and add some items - I keep everything in a fishing box (I have one for us too)
• I am always changing out their blankets for them, they love new stuff and it keeps them calm - they are such blanket cats. And of course Abby with her toys, (they never get bored because of that).
• I always keep their food storage bin full to the top in case we hit hard times. You just never know.
• Research cat litter and DON'T go cheap. That's a part of the budget we have no choice about. 

Why don't we have a dog? We are too active and feel it wouldn't be fair to a dog. Since being a RV Park camp host here at Holiday Hills RV Park in Coalville, Utah nope, nope, nope way too much barking for my liking. That's where cats are so much easier. We have decided we are more cat people than dog people. We love dogs but taking care of our girls brings us such great joy. 

Yep even Ellie has her rare moments - she's mostly a serious cat so
we stop and watch when she gets goofy.

Keep sending those toys, she loves them. Thank you subscriber, Jodi 
for sending this. Abby playing within a minute of taking this out
of the package.

They love their cat window perch. BEST thing we purchased for 
our girls. The view at this location was beautiful.

This was on travel day. We drove 3 hours and then we brought them
back into the rv where they are surrounded by their home to keep them calm between 
driving breaks.  

Like we said Abby is a weird cat. We are NOT kidding.
She fits like a glove in our home.

Abby with all of her energy is extremely lovable to us.
But she is VERY afraid of other humans. 

They are both so very loved!! We always want the best for them.
Taking on a 3rd cat will just add more adventure for the girls. 

Amazon gift cards online can be sent to megonerving@gmail.com in honor of the girls and I'll always post about gifts given to Abby and Ellie 

One day we hope a company will sponsor a product for them to test it out. They certainly will give it a whirl. We hope that you think about getting a cat for your traveling adventures. They are awesome about keeping mice away and eating flies when they sneak in the rv. On cold nights they nestle up to keep them warm but end up warming us. They take the stress out of life a little bit more and they are everything to us.