I would be really worried that she would take off, and/or get lost. Does she travel well in the car/camper? My cat would freak. It may be better to leave her at home and have a friend or neighbor check in on her for you.

Have a great trip!!

Wouldn't you be worried about some larger animal trying to get to your cat like maybe a coyote or a fox? Coyotes will go after small animals! You'd feel terrible if your cat got outside and ran away too. I would definitely think twice about taking a cat on a camping trip. You should leave her at home and have someone take care of her.

Leave the kitty at home. Animals do not feel "left out" if the other pet gets to go and they don't. they just don't think that way!! She would be far more stressed being in a strange place during the trip and if she DID escape, you would probably never see her again.

We have one cat that went camping with us, but it wasn't on purpose. We were on our way to go camping, and stopped at a convenience store to buy drinks. I was putting the drinks in the ice chest, with the front door and the side door open to our car. I started hearing what I thought was surely meowing. I asked DH, "Do I hear what I think I hear?" Yes. I looked around and down just as a little gray long-haired kitten jumped into our car. I picked him up and sat down on the seat. He immediately cuddled up to my face and licked me on my nose. Oh, dear, I thought. He was just a little thing, maybe 10 weeks old. I looked around, but there were no houses around, just traffic and businesses. I took the kitten inside the store and asked if the clerk knew who's cat this was, but he claimed he'd never seen it before. A customer piped up that it was "your' cat now. What were we to do, with cars coming in and out of the parking lot and no houses in site? He went camping with us. We bought him some food and some litter, and headed out. He rode in the car like a pro, stretched out on the back of the seat sometimes, curled up in one of our laps sometimes.

We did keep careful watch over him, but he did get to run around a bit. He stayed very close to us the whole time. He even went bird watching with me, perched up on my shoulder while I looked through binoculars at birds. The rangers came by, and were a little concerned, but very amused. They just cautioned us about the dangers facing the kitten, and the dangers the kitten posed to the wildlife, but understood the predicament we were in. That was almost 3 years ago. He has not gone camping with us any more, but then, we haven't been camping since, either, unfortunately. His name became traveler, and we meant to continue to train him to ride in the car, but didn't end up doing so, and he now hates the car. Oh, well.

All that being said, I agree with the others that it really isn't a good idea. When we just went on an extended trip, we hired a pet sitter recommended to us by a local rescue group. You might check with the rescue groups in your area. I figure if a rescue group trusts someone, they ought to be good.

Sally

I would get a good cat sitter. Maybe a kid in the neighborhood willing to spend a little playtime with kitten; she's young enough to still want the active toy and play time.

I have been away for up to 10 days using a catsitter in the neighborhood, and she does fine. Sure she fusses over me when I return home, but she even does that when it's just me gone and DH/DD still in the house. :-)

I now have a new kitten, and the two of them seem to weather my vacatons better since there is company in the house. Of course, my cat sitter must be more diligent with her sitting, since there's more poop/pee to scoop.

I use perpetual feeders for water and food, so my sitter simply needs to clean the litter and then have some playtime to entertain kitty.

Our Siamese cat Zuki not only went camping with us, she went boating on our water-ski trips. She was trained on a leash, spent the boat-rides curled up on the ice-chest below the bow.
She liked to swim. In the evening she'd be tied to the steps of the camper while we sat around enjoyng the stars.
One time she came nose to nose with a skunk, they greeted each other and the skunk went on it's way.
Of course, it's a big responsibility for the owner to be sure kitty is safe and secure.
Zuki's companion cat, Too-Too, did not enjoy car/camping trips and stayed with a cat-sitter.

Thanks everyone for your advice and anecdotes. Sally & lilod, those are some pretty cute stories! I did know one person who took his cat camping, and the cat did really well, stayed pretty close to the campsite without wandering too far. But after reconsidering, I don't think I want to take any chances so I will leave my Ziggy home after all. I can ask my tenant to check on him - I check on hers when she goes away so I'm sure she won't mind.

I have seen cat camping. I was at a campground where a couple with a huge RV had their cat with them. They were a retired couple who actually live in their RV and travel the country. So I'm not sure that would really classify as "camping". But their cat lived with them in the RV and he stayed near the campsite. Though I'm pretty sure they kept a good eye on him and didn't let him wander unsupervised.

I know a few people that have travelled in Rv's etc. with their cats. But I have to tell you.

My family has a summer trailer in a campground. And the campground is literally crawling with feral cats - offspring from lost animals that owners had to leave behind because they simply could not find them and it was time to leave.

Many people did not know this, but hawks and other predatory birds think nothing of grabbing up a kitty - no difference between that and say a rabbit or chipmunk as far as they are concerned. Highways with fast moving vehicles, swiftly running streams, insects, snakes, there are more dangers than you think.

I would be too scared my kitties would get lost.

Dances.

Dances, Thank you very much for your candid post. I already lost my 2 most beloved kitties this year to illnesses, I could never forgive myself if I allowed something bad to happen to my new kitten. Point taken. He stays home.

I remember my mother telling me a story about a friend of my cousins who took their cat camping in their RV. A loud noise of some sort scared the cat and he ended up running into the woods never to be seen again. Horribly sad.

10 days is a long time to leave a 8 month old kitty home alone. Is there someone who can stay at your house while you are gone? Or... can you take him to someone's house? I leave my cat at my parents when we are out of time. I took him over for "visits" beforehand and he is now very comfy when he goes there.

Unfortunately no, I am relatively new to the area and don't have friends close by. I can probably ask my tenant to do it, although BF doesn't think the idea of the tenants having access to my apt is a very good one.

Losing her... that would be my only fear of taking the kitten camping.