Veterinarian Services
Lucky is a 15-year-old tuxedo cat who has traveled with us for 6 years to all 48 contiguous states. His whole life he has needed veterinarian services as he had asthma, a heart murmur and reoccurring ear infections. For the first nine years of his life, he had a cat brother, Rusty, and a dog brother, Levi. Both Levi and Rusty passed away before our travels began.
The Questions We Are Asked
When people find out that we travel with a cat, they are always curious. The questions we are frequently asked:
- How does he do traveling in the RV?
He hates it. - Do you put him in a crate or travel bag when you are traveling?
Neither, he finds a place to hide under the bed and we never see him. - If he is loose in the RV, aren’t you afraid something will happen to him if you have to stop short or are in an accident?
No, he is probably safer in his hiding spot. - Are you ever afraid he will run out the door and get lost?
No. We have to pry him out of the open door to get him to go to the vet’s. He associates leaving the RV with bad things that happen to him at the vet’s. - What is his favorite part of travel?
Bird watching. He LOVES watching birds. - Where do you put the litter box?
We have a motor home. If we are traveling, we put the litter box under the dinette. When we are stationary for a few days, we turn the driver’s and passenger’s seats around. Then we put the litter box between the back of the chair and the foot pedals.
The Questions We Are Never Asked
There are three questions we have never been asked about traveling with a cat:
- How expensive is it to travel with a cat?
For us, it is very expensive. If you travel like we do, we never see the same veterinarian twice. And even though I have records of his previous bloodwork, every office wants to do their own. In the 6 years we have been on the road, we have spent $4,310.43 in veterinarian care alone. Of course, then there is food, cat litter, rabies shots and annual physicals that you would pay if you were living full-time in a house. - What is your experience with finding a vet?
Some experiences have been exceptional; at least one experience was horrible. Keep reading! - How do you find a vet on the road?
If we need to find a vet, we will check with the campground hosts or the park managers who live in the area. We ask campers who seem to be local or have been in the park for a while. We do a Google search and read reviews. We make an educated guess.
Access to Veterinarian Services
Since leaving Maine in 2018, we have traveled to all 48 contiguous states. Lucky has visited a veterinarian in 11 cities and 8 states:
- Auburn, AL
- Lafayette, LA
- Charlton, MA
- St. Charles, MD
- Bangor, ME
- Bozeman, MT
- Dickinson, ND
- Conroe, TX
- Kerrville, TX
- Rockport, TX
- Texarkana, TX
By FAR the worst access we experienced was in southern Maryland. Office appointments were literally months away, IF you were already a patient. Longer if you were not an already established patient.
In Maryland we drove to two different emergency vets, each over an hour away in different directions. When we had called, they told us it would be “a wait”, but Lucky would be seen. By the time we arrived, BOTH places said they were so busy they were no longer taking walk-ins. After those two experiences, when we arrived at the third emergency vet in St. Charles, I BEGGED for Lucky to be seen. BEGGED!!!!!!
After begging, it was 7 hours of waiting in the parking lot, in 97-degree heat, before he could be seen. And even then, we were not allowed to go into the office with Lucky to meet the vet. He was given medication and we were sent on our way. What a miserable (and expensive) experience.
Exceptional Service
Four of the veterinary offices we visited were exceptional. When we spoke with the office staff to make an appointment, we had an appointment within 24 hours. This is MUCH faster than we could have been seen by our “home vet”!
The veterinarians we saw were kind, compassionate and understanding. They treated both Lucky and us with care and consideration. One vet even gave us his personal telephone number and said if we needed anything on the road to please call him!
In alphabetical order, the following were exceptional veterinary offices:
- Gallatin Veterinary Hospital in Bozeman, MT
- Rockport Veterinary Clinic in Rockport, TX
- South College Veterinary Clinic in Auburn, AL
- West Dakota Vet Clinic in Dickinson, ND
Recommendations
If you are a weekend camper and bring your pets, or if you travel full-time with pets, the one thing that we think is absolutely vital is a notebook with all of your pet’s medical records. We have a copy of every record, every lab result, every rabies shot, and every medication we have tried for his ears.
You never know when you will need an emergency vet. Having records easily accessible can be life-saving.
In addition to the notebook with all of Lucky’s records, I have a one sheet summary of all of his visits, the date he was seen, the reason for his visit, where he was seen and what was done. It saves a lot of time at the office, and there isn’t a question about which antibiotic works best for his ear infections. See the sample below:
| Date | Reason for being seen | Location | Treatment |
| 2/21/24 | Weight loss | Lafayette, LA | X-ray, ultrasound, bloodwork, medication: Prednisolone, Fortiflora, Cerenia |
| 9/7/23 | Dehydration | Dickinson, ND | IV Fluids, overnight stay |
| 8/18/23 | L ear infection | Bozeman, MT | Medication: Nystatin and Revolution |
| 2/13/23 | R ear infection, Dehydration | Kerrville, TX | X-ray, ultrasound, bloodwork, medication: Dermalone, Baytril, Nystatin |
Take Away
When you are traveling with pets, it is vital you have records with you, even if it is simple as proving a rabies vaccine or as serious as what medications have caused your pet a reaction. Lucky has been quite the traveler in his life! Not too many cats have seen birds in all 48 states!
Addendum to Our Blog:
Lucky, at age 15½, crossed the rainbow bridge in late summer 2024 in his home state of Maine. He is now pain free and playing with his kitty brother, Rusty and his doggy brother, Levi. RIP our little tuxedo traveler: 2009-2024.
Since beginning our full-time journey to discover the country, we have found something to appreciate in every city and town we have passed through. We hope you enjoy reading about them as much as we have enjoyed discovering them!
| No person, business or attraction has paid us for an endorsement. AI has not been used to create any of the content in this blog or website. All of the photos in this blog and website were taken by Dave or Kathryn Harrington. |
Your partners in travel,
Kathryn and Dave
RVing Nomads
It’s a lifestyle
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