Our slight southern detour towards Colombia, SC was for more than just visiting Congaree National Park, it was also to pick up our new household member, a young Siamese cat from the regional rescue center specific to this breed.  We had been working with Monique for months to find the right cat for us: young, personable, not easily spooked, affectionate, not likely to dart off as soon as a door opened.  After several misfires we finally got the green light for Pad Kee Meow, a one year old female.

Since Congaree NP does not allow camping other than tents, we researched and settled on Sesquicentennial State Park less than half an hour down the road.  After an unusually difficult time finding an unreserved spot large enough for the Big Kahuna, dry enough to avoid getting stuck, and level enough so as not to be irritating during our three day stay, we finally hooked up services, unhooked Loki, and headed to the Debra’s, the foster mom, to pick up our new cat.

She is exactly right for us.  Very calm, very affectionate, inquisitive but concerned enough about the outdoors that she doesn’t bolt for the door when it opens.  She is spayed, up to date on shots, litter trained, and took to a harness and leash surprisingly fast, within a few minutes we had her outside on the leash, though she absolutely will not be led or heel.

We had no trouble transitioning her to the motorhome space, no issues with adjusting her food to what we purchased, and so far no scratching of the furniture.  The only stress has been the noise of the bus engine freaking her out a bit.  A combination of sitting on Rosemarie’s lap or in her carrier seems to alleviate most of the stress, but she will have to get used to moving a lot with our lifestyle.

Her name is a slight alteration of a Thai dish, Pad Kee Mao, or drunken noodles.  I have always liked imaginative cat names with a play on words, such as Chairman Meow and Hunter S. Thomcat, so we devised our own.

Having a pet in the RV can limit you somewhat since a small percentage of parks are pet free, but the one example of those we like is close enough to Rosemarie’s mom who has enthusiastically agreed to cat sit during our stay.  We thought a cat would be far less limiting than a dog, particularly during any trips away from the motorhome.  Any RV cat owners have any suggestions or advice?