Hello from new members.

[M K Wilkie]

Hello all! Happy to have found you. We are the Wilkie's from northwest Michigan. We just bought a youngish Shasta fifth wheel -1996. I know that's kind of a youngster here, but that's what we found. It's replacing our 19 ft. Funfinder. More room for the three dogs and maybe the two cats. We traveled the country back in 1990 in a fifth wheel for eleven months and never regretted selling the house to do it. Took along our two dogs and two cats back then. I loved the lack of an itinerary and stuff. It helped to have 75 cent diesel fuel. But reality struck and we came back and started the grind over again. We will go full time again. Need to liquidate a lot of stuff, as do most people. We know the full time life and are anxiously looking forward to it. You only have now, no promise of a tomorrow. Don't waste your moments.

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, all; 

An interesting discussion.  I did not know that there were so many traveling cats out there.  Thank you.  Now I really do feel more comfortable with the thought of taking WC out with me. 

And my own experience does not really support the widely held opinion that cats are "aloof, independent creatures."  My cats have all been very social creatures who will often demand attention.  When we are outside, WC's favorite position is up on shoulders where he can properly supervise my activities out there.  It is interesting trying to get some things done while having a 16 pound cat on your shoulders.  

It is also nice to have confirmed by others some of the things I have done in the motor home to accommodate a cat.  Yes, the litter box is back on the floor in the bathroom.  The shower stall is already taken as the place were the coiled up fresh water hoses are carried, along with a couple of other things.  When going to a planned gathering at an RV park, those fresh water hoses will come out for connecting to the city water faucet outside.  Also, I do not want flung kitty litter getting down into the motor home drain system.    And, yes, the "used water drain hoses" are carried outside in their carrier beneath the motor home. 

While I have not had a problem, I have assisted others with "correcting" a severe drain problem with their motor homes.  I even devised a modified Valterra 45 degree elbow fitting with a "city water" port to allow me to give a motor home an enema.  Not really fun, true, but it does work.  

It is interesting what can be developed when you are no longer at home with all of the conveniences that we take for granted, but when out in our motor homes, become fully 100% our responsibility to keep things working. 

Enjoy;

Ralph 

Latté Land, Washington 

[M K Wilkie]

We always had the kitty litter in the shower - with the stopper in the drain of course. We find that most commercial kitty litter pans are too small to comfortably suit even a single cat. We use a large black pan from the big box store. More like this one https://m.lowes.com/pd/MacCourt-Drywall-Mud-Pans/1054711?cm_mmc=SCE...

I make sure to clean it every day, best for all of us. Scoop it into plastic grocery bags. A covered one could help too, but they are smaller.

[Dawn Michelle]

OOOHHHH look at those kitties!! Your solution is good (and cheap) - we used a top entry like this: https://www.amazon.com/Petmate-Top-Entry-Litter-Pan/dp/B00KVL30NC/r... which worked well as the Bounder didn't have cab doors and you had to clean from above.  We hoped it help keep the litter tracking to a minimal but it didn't really.  I am considering a side one this time with a flap since I can now access it from the side to clean (and there is plenty of room still for Shillelagh to enter).  Now unlike yours and apparently Ralph's beasts, I doubt if our kitty comes in at five pounds.  She's a little pugilist, though - you should see her trot into a room like a boxer ready for a fight :-)

[M K Wilkie]

Yes, our cats are rather "large". Ricky came to our front door as a kitten. I thought he was older than eight weeks because he was so big. He weighs in at 19 pounds. We adopted Ezzy when our sweet Haley passed at 22 years old. Ezzy had waited 3 1/2 years to be adopted. She adopted me. She came in her very pudgy body and remains that way. I have seen other photos of calicoes that look very much like her-pretty rotund. We love em all.
Photo is our three girls- on the move!

[Dawn Michelle]

I absolutely LOVED that image of you going about your tasks with WC on your shoulders.  

Post a picture????  I think I sent you a pic of my two furries - but I'll attach another of just Shillelagh for MK.  Okay two. Can't have enough kitty pics right?  In our photography class it seems 90% have cats and we've made a joke about having a drinking game every time a cat shows up in our critiques!  Love the one on her back but the other shows her "wishbone" coloring.

I suppose they are not all Divas, as yours will attest, but of our last two, Shillelagh channels Salem sometimes, they were and are definitely independent-minded.  The dog is the preferred snuggle accroutrement, but sometimes during the winter she'll creep up on my lap under my lap blanket while we watch a show.  And she demands petting but on her terms.  It usually has to be accompanied by sushi /seaweed wrap treats - loves that stuff like it's crack!  Highly recommend trying.  Not often, but I figure it's a great way to get their minerals in.

[M K Wilkie]

Beautiful! We have s feral cat visitor. He looks like a sleek miniature black panther. I love black cats. We had one named Sooty. She is one of the ones that traveled with us. Yours looks very sweet.

[Dawn Michelle]

Aw thanks - she probably was from a feral litter.  Been good for us though and doesn't seem to want to go out - has been content indoors which we are grateful for.

Tell you, those fluff monsters of yours look like they could hold their own against man and beast.

[M K Wilkie]

Ricky the orange boy is ver sweet and bonded to Paul. He must snuggle with Paul frequently and sleeps on Paul's head. He goes out. Ezzy (Esmeralda) is a bit weird and feisty. She stalks Ricky sometimes. She has strange mannerisms and the other day when Paul was petting her she suddenly wheeled around and bit his hand. Pretty bad. We immediately put alcohol and peroxide on it and antibiotic cream and bandages in it. Two days and looks good. I warned him about trusting her.

[Dawn Michelle]

Ouch!  Some cats give no warning, do they when they've decided they've had enough petting?  Glad it wasn't anything serious but I'm sure that doesn't help domestic bliss!

[M K Wilkie]

We haven't had one before, but I have seen them. Paul was pretty upset but the next day he was doing the same thing with Ezzy. Go figure. Lol!

[M K Wilkie]

Love your signature "latte' land".

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, MK; 

Well, this is the home of the International-World Headquarters for Harold Shultz's Starbuck's Coffee, and Tully's Coffee, Peet's Coffee, and several other coffee vendors, so the name "Latté Land" just seems to fit.   

I would have included the "Seattle's Best Coffee Company" in the list also, but that is a bit obvious, and it really isn't the original name, and it seems to be dwindling since Starbuck's bought the company.  Originally it was the Smith Brothers Coffee Company in the single story grey building on the northwest corner of the main roadway intersection in the middle of Vashon Island out in Puget Sound, but when they were given an offer they could not refuse, they did sell the company, including the logo with the vertically oriented red ellipse and the letters SBC on it, but not the company name.  It does seem that now Starbuck's is shifting everything over to their green mermaid logo.  I have not been on Vashon Island in recent years, so I do not know if the original SBC red oval or ellipse is still on the building. 

There are still a few SBC coffee outlets.  I did find one in the San Jaquin Valley area off I-5 in Northern Central California during the trip down to Chula Vista in 2015.  I admit that I was surprised, and I did patronize it. 

And it probably is true that this is one of the most "wired" cities in the US of A.  Choose your definition of "wired."  All of them have merit and are clearly applicable in a region known for its computer industry.  I even recall being able to buy Jolt Cola (remember the movie Jurassic Park?) in the stores here just a few years back.  "Jolt Cola, beverage of choice for computer programmers everywhere."  

Enjoy; 

Ralph,

Latté Land, Washington