Sounds like fun!!

We went camping last September at Yellowstone NP. It was below freezing every night. We would wake to a frost layer on our tent.

We have a down-filled puffy coat for Quasar that he wore most of the time and always at night.

We use an air mattress that has never been damaged by Q. We zip two sleeping bags together. Q is loose inside the tent. There is a little box at the foot of our mattress. We also leave his cat carrier open in the tent with a small fleece pad in it.

Usually, he waits until we have settled down then comes and lies on top of our sleeping bags, between us. Last year, with the frost, he finally got inside the sleeping bags with us on the last night.

We feed him alone inside the tent a few times during the day. We can't leave the dish out for him though, or else our dog will eat his food.

We also have a pop up portable kennel that we put him in when are unable to hold him on his leash. We have been using the kennel since we first started camping with him at about 4 months of age so he is used to it. I am sure he could rip a hole in the nylon walls if he tried but he doesn't know that!

Make sure to include your kitties in your daily outings or else they will be bored when you return to your campsite and probably keep you up all night.
Also, N.P.s don't allow you to leave a pet unattended for the pet's own safety. Make sure you have a very secure harness and a retractable leash is a lot of fun, allowing kitty to explore but still remain within a safe distance of you.

Where are you going camping?

Let us know how it goes.

Stay warm.

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~ Kyenta

Thanks for your reply kyenta!!

I don't know if they will like coats just yet... They still like to pretend their harness weighs 10,000lbs when it gets put on for the first 5 minutes hahahah

I think I will bring along the cage for them, it's a fold up one so it doesn't take up too much space in my car. I'll leave the door open so they can pick what works for them, as long as they don't wreak havoc lol

We definitely plan on bringing them everywhere! Hopefully they love it.. Usually they are pretty skittish, then super curious :) We are just headed to a small provincial park campsite called Aspen Beach here in Alberta. We have a stake ground their their leash to so they can have free roam while we cook or hang by the campfire.

Also, any thoughts on wipes or alternatives to dirty paws? I don't think I want them cleaning/eating wood chips out of their paws :/

Coats are good for them to get used to if you intend to be outside in the cold very much. Quasar's puffy coat came from the store of a boarding kennel and was designed for a small dog.

Q has been wearing a harness or walking jacket from the first day we got him. It has not seemed to bother him. He does not like it but seems to forget about it once it is on.

Q is also skittish but curious. I think camping and hiking exercises his mind. He is always more comfortable the second time he encounters a situation.

Don't know about the wood chip cleaning. Quasar never got very dirty, only wet. Take some towels to dry them off if there is access to water. They may just get curious. Quasar does not love water but certainly likes to get his feet (and belly) wet.

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~ Kyenta

You are super brave!!! Taking TWO of them camping!!! I wouldn't worry too much about the cold as long as they have blankets. Cats curl up into the tiniest ball to keep themselves warm. I'm not a real fan of camping on the ground, but used to have a large tent and used it many times. I do recall taking our dog with us many, many years ago. Let us know how it goes.

BIIGGG drumroll!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Camping was great! But in a nutshell, we were there for 3 days, 2 nights, and it was raining for 2 days, 2 days. The first night we got there, it was showering, so we anchored them with them slack inside the screen tent, on top of a tarp on the ground, with their blanket, a hiding box and some toys. It was pretty cold, I would say maybe around 3 celcius, not freezing, but your breath was evident in the air. The first night, they slept and hid in their box, which we lined with their blanket. The rest of the time it was raining pretty damn hard, so we kept in them in the tent with the windows open to keep an eye out and went back and forth. When we camp... It's more like a sleeping retreat lol, so most the time we slept :P

The second night, they slept with us! I took your guys' advice, had a flat sheet covering the mattress, then topped it with a sleeping bag. Then I have a snug duvet for a blanket. They alternated between legs and armpits, I'm pretty sure they were cozy. We didn't end up bringing the cage, seeing now as we didn't need it anyway. They were only in their kennel during the car ride, and to play hide and seek with each other.

Overall, even though they didn't get out much, I don't think they were overly stressed and adapted quite well. They chased each other around the tent, ours is massive, 10' x 14', used the litter flawlessly, and ate on schedule. We are headed out again this Friday, but for a longer trip, 4 days 3 nights, and the weather is looking great! So I'm really looking forward to getting them out this time.

Thanks for all the advice!

It sounds like it went pretty well. Sorry the weather was inclement. Hope your next outing provides you with more opportunities for outdoor exploration.
Please post some pictures!

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~ Kyenta

I am so happy your first excursion went well, even though the weather did not cooperate!!! I guess the second one will be an even bigger test as to how they react outside of the tent. Can't wait to hear all about it.

Last weekend was great! We just got back, rained only for half a day, the rest was cloudy or sunny. They got their first trail walk, which went much better than I could have hoped.

However, little Hunter got a pinecone lined with sap stuck on him :/ this resulted in a tiny little wood chip getting tangled and stuck in his fur. He whined for a bit, but we cut it out right when we got home, and he's all better now :)

Pictures attached!

Oh don't they look comfy! It appears they enjoy the camping. Great that things go so well for you. I just don't think Raiden would enjoy it very much. The tent looks huge.

Looks like our tent when we go camping, minus the dog.

Expose your kits to as much as possible as young as possible and they will be resilient and more likely to go with the flow as they age.

Quasar tolerates just about anything now.

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~ Kyenta

Brilliant!!

Oh our tent is absolutely huge! It's 10'14', which helps a lot when they use the litter. I'm still trying to figure out why their poop smells so bad.

The only thing they hate is when it's really cold. They shiver like crazy, but they know they are allowed to bundle up under the sleeping bags now.

I think we have concluded our camping excursions for this year, can't wait for next year!

I recall a camping trip oh so many decades ago in our tent. We were in Stuart, Florida -- a place you'd think would be fairly warm! Planned to be there for a long holiday weekend. We had sleeping bags, but we were still so cold that we drove to the local mall and bought an electric blanket and an extension cord and plugged it in for the second night! We were really roughing it! They don't always give you electricity when you're tenting, you might want to think about something that will give the kitties more warmth! For some reason, they seem the coldness seems to bother them more. As soon as the weather turns chilly here, I plug Raiden's heated bed in and he's hopped in it immediately. Another time, we took our conversion van to the Smoky Mountains and had our tabby kitty with us (litter box and all). We had sleeping bags again in the back, but we were still chilly and could not fall asleep. Our kitty was uncomfortable as well. We had planned to drive through the park the next day, but finally we all got up and decided to return home -- with the heater running! Okay, so we're wimps! LOL

That must have been so exciting for them, especially the walks outside. Their enjoyment would almost make the whole thing worth while.