Our very first trip in Chuck was to a state park 15 miles from
home to test out our abilities and our rig.
We had only one cat at the time, Beanie, and of course he went with
us. What we didn’t realize at the time
was the variety of nooks and crannies built into the interior of Chuck. We woke up that first morning and couldn’t
find Beanie. We called and opened every
cupboard and closet and door. We
searched outside, sure he had is some mysterious way escaped and been eaten by
a coyote. We were frantic and hysterical
for a good half hour when we heard a soft “meow” from a cavity below the closet
that he somehow found. We spent the next
45 minutes cajoling, begging and bribing him out of that cavity, popped him in
the car and drove him home to spent the 2nd night alone at home
while we continued to camp. Once the
weekend was over our friend Simon cut a board to cover the opening to the
cavity and we felt safe. Unknown to us,
that was just the beginning of the “Where’s Beanie” saga.
Our next trip was to Door County and Beanie made the trip in
his cat carrier strapped with one of the seat belts to one of the couches. He seemed OK when we arrived at the
campground and the Navigator and I went in to register. We came out to find that he had managed to
escape his carrier and was nowhere in sight.
We were sure he was in the rig so we went ahead and set up and starting
calling for him with no response.
Worried, but not yet panicking, we opened some wine and sat with a
friend until, all of a sudden, a tiny paw was seen pushing through an air vent
behind the kitchen cabinets. Yes, yet
another cavity, apparently accessed behind a couch. This time a bribe of cheese lured him over
the back of the cabinet, through the cabinet and back into living space. We stuffed a couple of pillows behind the
couch to block the opening and the game was on.
By far his favorite hiding place is under the bed in the
slide mechanism. Over the years we’ve
added 5 body pillows and a bed pillow, all of which are jammed into the
openings around the bed. Additionally a
pool noodle is wedged into place to hold the pillows. We also make sure that the cabinet over the
bed where we store extra towels is open and it is an alternative hiding place
for him, but one we can reach. 99% of
the time all of this preparation works, keeping him within reach. But every once in a while the system breaks
down and our preparations for departure sends him into hiding. Hiding in the slide ensures that we can’t
leave since bringing in the slide would crush him. Not that we’ve ever considered that, even at
our most frustrated….which was just the other day.
We try not to telegraph that we’re getting ready to pack up
but there’s a certain tension in the air on moving day and on Wednesday Beanie
disappeared. We searched all the
easy-to-reach hiding spots and concluded he was under the bed. We started the waiting game. “Act casual”. After 20 minutes we were on the floor
cajoling. Then we put out wet food and
treats trying to appeal to appetite. No
sign. Alternatives were considered. Should we push the vacuum cleaner hose under
there? We agreed that scaring him was
counter-productive. How patient could we
be? We had reservations for the next
campground but if we had to we could stay another night in the parking lot of
the RV service place and spend Thanksgiving in Big Cabin, OK. It was now pushing noon, way past our
hoped-for departure time of 10:30. We
told the campground managers that we had a mechanical issue delaying our
departure – a cat in the slide. They
didn’t laugh in our faces but we heard snickers as we left the office. Finally we decided to go into town and do a
little grocery shopping figuring our absence would lure him out. Yes, we returned and he was casually peering
out the window, all departure fears gone.
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| Rig Monarch |
With a swoop he was tucked into his carrier and we finished
our preparations and departed.
Score: Cat-25, Humans – still behind.
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