I Share My Truck With Two Cats

I am a truck driver also, and have a calico kitten who is about six months old now, she has been riding with me since she was about four months according to the shelter I got her at. I will admit there are some challenges to traveling with a pet cat that i didnt know about until i experienced it.

One is the fact that unless you stock up on cat food, or are able to stop along the route you are traveling at a Walmart or other large store that you can fit a truck and trailer into the lot, you might find it difficult to find pet food if your travels take you out in the country, or away from major truck stops.

Another is when they get sick, or like Callie did a week after i got her, she got ringworm. It took me a bit to find a Vet i could take her to without having to call a cab or rent a car. PetSmarts have a clinic called Banfield in them and most PetSmarts are off of the interstates luckily so it does help for that fact.

Another issue is when its cold out and you have to remove the pet from the truck when your truck breaks down. Luckily most mechanics are ok with you leaving her in a carrier in the truck if they are doing something minor. Callie seems to handle the truck well, curling up in the passenger seat and playing with the ball and track thing i bought her, while i am driving.

One of the biggest can be when she got used to the time i normally stopped the truck (night feeding and bed time) she would immediately jump up in my lap for her petting and cuddling and playing session. Though i would love to do it right then and there, but until i stop, i appologize to her, and gently remove her from my lap and put her down, so that i dont get into an accident while driving.

The last challenge was when i first had to take her out of the truck for an extended period, and upon letting her back out, she climbed up on the bed next to me and peed on the bed. I have tried cleaning it as best as i could to remove the odor, but for a while she continued to do so when i was driving. I remedied this by purchasing a 8ft by five ft plastic tarp, and placed it on the bed for a while, to protect it. After some time I think the fact she couldnt cover her urine up with litter, she got the hint and started using the clean litter box again.

For me, she is a comfort while out on the road, someone to cuddle with, to talk to, to just be there for me when i feel lonely. Despite the challenges, i dont think i would have changed my decision even if i had known about them to begin with.

it can be funny sometimes watching her while loading, like when we were loading on a pier, she saw some birds and kept looking at me and doing that little half meow cats do. her mouth trembling as she did it. Like she was saying momma.. i wanna chase that.. or something like that lols.

I worked in a pet ahop for 13 years. One of our best customers was a truck driver. He kept a pet rat in the truck with him. Rats make excellent pets. During my years as pet shop worker I always had several rats as pets. One even thought she was part cat and my cats loved her. Just the other dy we saw a trucker with his faithful little pooch in his truck driving with him.

Years ago I would see a large truck

traveling through town making deliveries to local businesses.

Sitting patiently on the front seat were a beautiful Collie dog, and a big red and green Maccau.

I saw this truck come through town many times over the years,and the drivers friends were always there, along for the ride.

I have traveled coast to coast in a large Penske truck with both my Borzoi, and two cats, checking in each night to a motel where everyone settled in to watch the news and have a bite to eat before the next days travel.

Both cats and dogs make wonderful traveling companions, and seem to enjoy the trip as much as I do.

Hi Brenda, I found your story interesting but I wondered how you and the cats managed.

Do they get the chance to go out and if so how do you manage that? How do you manage the day to day stuff like cat litter, feeding etc.

It raised lots of questions – sorry to be so nosey.

If you have a picture or two please upload them as I would love to see how the whole set up looks.

Thanks for visiting and sharing. I moved your submission from the Maine Coon Cats page to this one: PoC Forum.