nomad cats Archives - Always On Liberty

When we set out on our nomadic quest, one big anchor seemed to weigh us down. That big question, “what happens if we need to vacate our RV to fly home for emergency, go on a non-RV vacation or meet a client in a different city for more than an overnight?” Since we’re not keen on boarding our nomad cats, we needed to think about the ‘what if’ and figure out how we’re going to find worthy person(s) to take care of our precious furry family members.

Soooooo…

Who ya gonna call?

Since we started RVing, there have been a few times when we’ve come to rely on our RV family. Since we were already accustomed to leaning on our military family, it was a no-brainer that we continue relying on our birds of feather; those who are like minded and commiserate our lifestyle…(read more)

Our first time facing this dilemma was when we first arrived in Castroville, Texas in late fall of 2015. Our son’s Army Unit Family Readiness Group called us to let us know when their unit will be arriving home from Afghanistan. We wanted both of us to attend his homecoming at Fort Carson, Colorado but we were pretty sure only one of us were able to go because that looming issue was going to hold one of us down.

Once we parked Liberty at the Alsation RV Resort, unhooked and set up, we immediately met our neighbor. We discussed among ourselves if we even dare take a chance on asking someone we didn’t even know and giving them access to our RV to take care of our nomad cats and coach. Sounds pretty scary right?

We were apprehensive. I mean, who wouldn’t be? Would you give your house key to a complete stranger that just moved into your neighborhood to have access to everything you own and your beloved furry family members? However, in lifestyle we now live, we ‘learn and earn’ our new family on the road…trust; and that trust goes both ways.

So, we took the chance…

We noticed our neighbors in the motorhome next to us had a cat sticker on their door which gave us that ‘hmmm, I wonder if…’ Well, we put it in God’s hands and trusted that he would guide us. The neighbors were nice and found that they too, were military veterans so that put us a bit more at ease. Still, it was a bit scary however, we packed our backpacks, fueled up Captain America, gave the key to them leaving precise written instructions on the counter. We patted our fuzzyheaded nomads on the noggins and kissed them goodbye hoping return to everything in tact and happy cats. Early morning, we drove a 900 miles from San Antonio, Texas to Fort Carson Army Post in Colorado.

After five days of welcoming our son home and helping him get settled, we drove back to San Antonio literally holding our breaths. As we drove back into the RV Resort, we were relieved to see our ‘then’ Cyclone Toyhauler still parked there looking the same as when we left. We unlocked our RV door only to be greeted by our two sleepy-eyed kitties who were seemingly glad to see us. We were thrilled that they had all of their fluffy hair and were still pudgy. Sighs of relief and smiles beamed on all of our faces. We were grateful that they AND our home on wheels were taken care so lovingly. It was then we learned that with this lifestyle, we CAN rely on our RV family should we ever we have to step away.

Fast forward to February 2017, we were at a slow crawl with no real set schedule from making our way to San Antonio, Texas from southern Arizona to get our annual medical appointments completed. However, we were stopped in our tracks in El Paso when we received a call from Dan’s mom to ‘come quick’ as Dan’s Dad was gravely ill back in his hometown in Pennsylvania.

Already stressed from finding boondocking spots on our way back to San Antonio, this just sped up the process and now the emotional aspect of Dan losing his Dad took a toll. Our reservations for Fort Sam Houston FamCamp were penned in for March 1st; practically a whole month away. We called to see if we could arrive earlier because of our family emergency. Unfortunately, we were told there was ‘no room at the inn’ so we were scampering for a place to park Liberty near San Antonio to get a rush flight home. We thought at that moment that we were going to ‘have to’ board the girls; something we were emphatically against.

But then our RV Family came to the rescue!

Our RV besties Timily (Tim & Emily) from Ownlessdomore who have crossed our paths several times in the past couple years of RVing helped us. They were already in San Antonio, Texas at Lackland AFB FamCamp for their own medical appointments. We connected with them instantly and in turn, they spoke to the staff to see if we could get a site in two days. Unfortunately, this Lackland’s FamCamp didn’t take reservations, so there was no way to know if we’d get in or not. So as we continued to make our way closer to San Antonio, Emily gave us an hour-by-hour assessment of what sites were coming open. The day we were to arrive, she kept an eye on any site opening up. Needless to say, her vigilance paid off. When we arrived at the commercial gate to the Air Force base, Tim even met us and escorted our tired and weary souls right to our site.

We immediately parked, set up our RV and shortly after made our flight reservations. Before we could even ask, Tim and Emily were right there waiting for directions on how to care for Krissie and Kandi. They even took us to the airport the next morning and picked us up when we returned. Our kitties fell in love with Emily even though she’s not a ‘cat person’ but it seemed they grew on Emily…even though she’s allergic to cats.

We’ve appreciate that our RV family understands and commiserates our nomadic lifestyle. And of course, we do the same for others. Earning each other’s trust isn’t taken lightly. We always try to be good people and render help when needed…

…we have to because who else are ya gonna call?

Don’t think that we hand the keys over to just anyone. Similarly, when we lived in our S&B (sticks and bricks), we have a mental checklist of how we pick our pet sitters and caretakers. To us, its extremely important that they not only ‘like’ cats but they must love ‘our’ cats because they are our furkids. We’d want them to treat our girls just the same as we do.

Finally and worth noting, an RV is not like a S&B in respect to the mechanics and engineering. Who knows better than our fellow RVers who know the electrical, HVAC, water and sewer systems. While there may be professional pet sitters wherever we park, if something goes awry with our RV, they won’t know what to do.

So, if you’re an RVer who needs to leave your RV and/or pets to tend to family events or even a vacation or cruise, look no further than your RV’s door. We’re not saying just throw caution to the wind. Trust your gut and seek someone who will keep your home on wheels and all that’s in it safe and sound.