Thread: Maine Coon for full-time RV life?

Hey there
Our two do do a lot of sleeping but they also like sprinting round the house. I'm a person who used to keep moggies and always felt it was a shame to keep a cat couped up and I still feel a bit bad for our MCs although they have a good bit of space to run around. I'm really not sure how they would manage if you are moving a lot- I guess if you stay in one place long enough and keep the cat in initially then it might work... I have family in France who used to take their cat away with them when staying with friends and the cat seemed quite used to it. That seems to be quite common over there. As for shedding, ours shed quite a lot- I need to do a lot more vacuuming than I used to! They leave cotton wool balls everywhere ;).

In my experience, the long-haired cats shed less than the short-haired cats. All you have to do is start stroking my short-haired moggies and the hair starts coming loose!

Originally Posted by Isaacmarion

Hi guys. I'm currently living in a 23 foot motorhome, and really want to get a Maine Coon kitten. I've never owned a cat before, though, much less a very large cat, and I'm wondering if a maine coon would be okay living in such a small space? Are they content to just lay around and scratch on a post, or do they need to run around a lot?

Furthermore, assuming a maine coon can't be an "indoor cat" in an RV, do you think the cat will be able to find its way home when i let it out, if the location I'm parking in changes regularly?

Oh and one more thing--do maine coons shed a lot? In such a small space I worry about having hair everywhere or the cat scratching up the RV furniture...

Thanks!

I think that space is too small for any indoor cat, and you can't realistically expect any cat to find its way back if you let it out. If you are moving around it won't imprint its surroundings. I understand the desire for a responsive pet though, but you would really be better off with a small dog - but that's my opinion and someone else may differ. My daughter's ragdolls are very easy going and are happy to travel and stay in different places - they visit us and have also been to holiday cottages without any problem - but they are indoor cats

I'm not a Maine Coon owner, but found this post through a full-time RV forum and wanted to comment to the OP... even though I am a bit late.

We have 5 cats and 2 small dogs in a 42 foot RV at the time.. in addition to 2 cagebirds, three toads and 2 tortoises. The cats take turns sleeping on the dash as well as on the sofa or queen size bed. We have two Ragdolls, two American Shorthair and one Manx. Ranging in age from our youngest (Cindy, a Ragdoll) who is 11 months, to our oldest (Tigger, a Manx) who is 10 years.

One of the cats (Zoey, an American Shorthair) was born in the RV when we were in Oregon and she has known no other life.
Two of them (Cindy, a Ragdoll; and Micro, an American Shorthair) have been in the RV since they were 12-16 weeks of age.
The other two (Tia, a Ragdoll; and Tigger, a Manx) spent the first several years of their life living in a normal non-moving home. One in Utah, the other in Missouri.

Having said that, all five of the cats have adjusted without any problems whatsoever. We have traveled to 32 states, Canada and Mexico and have had no issues with carsickness or fear -- aside from the occasional wide-eyes when a loud motorcycle goes by or something.

All five of the cats have their claws, we do not declaw, and we have no damages on any of the surfaces in the rig. The cats have a 6 foot tower and a natural wood scratching area which they know is their own and they never mess with any other wood or fabric surfaces in the vehicle. To reinforce this, we have two spray bottles which are filled with pure water. If they start to scratch on a surface which is not appropriate, a spritz will stop them immediately. Cats are very smart and will quickly learn what is acceptable and what is not.

As for shedding, the two dogs (a Pug and a Tibetan Spaniel) shed much more than any of the cats!! But keeping an air purifier plugged in and running (when the rig is stopped) and keeping those handy sticky-roller things works wonders for hair.


In response to turning a cat out when you stop, I would never NEVER recommend it for several reasons.
One, a cat can be spooked by various things and may not be able to find her way back to your rig.
Two, many RV resorts/parks place out rodent poison which a cat can eat and possibly die from.
Three, if you frequent state parks or wildlife parks they normally have very strict leash laws for dogs AND cats(many of their signs DO mention cats), not to mention many of the western, northwestern and midwestern states have both coyotes and wolves that come very near to the camp areas and won't pass up a snack of a scared feline.
Four, many RV resorts are busy during the on-season and vehicles coming and going can cause a hazard for your cat, he may climb up under a vehicle or into an engine area and be in serious danger when it is turned on. Generators can also cause very serious risks for non-savvy cats since some older models have external moving belts a cat can become tangled in if he is sleeping on a generator while it is turned on from inside the rig.

On that note, all five of our cats (as well as our two dogs) are well trained to walk on leashes. We have both 10 foot and 26 foot retractable leashes (since some areas have a leash length limit) which gives the cats (and dogs) plenty of room to sniff around, watch birds or traffic, romp and play while staying 100% safe.

We have Xpens for the dogs, and a pop-up flight cage for the birds when we are at a resort/park, so they can get some fresh air, sunshine, etc. The cats are normally pretty satisfied sitting in the windows. Only two of them (Micro and Zoey, the American Shorthairs) really want out at least once a day. The other three seem to enjoy sitting on the dash or snoozing curled up on a sofa most of the time.

All five of the cats get what we call a "wild hair" and have their moments of pure catness when they go running like crazy from the rear to the front of the rig and back again! They quickly wear themselves out and then curl up to nap. I sometimes start their "wild hair" antics with a laser pointer or a little buzzing firefly toy. They do get bored on occasion, so toys, windows, and outside trips (on leashes! or in a cat walk) are recommended. If your cat has all his shots, take him into a Petco or Petsmart along the road and let him "window shop" in the fish, bird and rodent sections. Our cats love watching the little furries.


Cats DO make pretty good companions in an RV, and if the cat is accustomed to it right from the start he will adjust just fine to any size rig... including a 23 foot. In fact, our first experience with cats was in a 24 foot Dodge Pioneer. We didn't have the dogs or birds at that time, but we did have 2 cats (Tigger and Tia) which did just fine in the small area.

Sara