Binkie’s hangouts

The first few days Binkie had to get used to being on the road again. Including finding his favourite place(s) to lie on or in. Cats naturally like to lie in a small closed of space. That ‘s why so many cat-baskets are like an igloo or cave. We knew Binkie would like one too, but hadn’t been able to find the room for it. Before we left we had our WFA training and Binkie went to stay with a cat-sitter who not only had a room full of toys for him, but also lots of cat-baskets. And Binkie immediately claimed a pop-up tent as his. When we went to pick up Binkie, the cat-sitter kindly let him have it. It has proved a great asset! The tent is made of thin material and is more or less square. It provides enough room for a cat, maybe even two cats. It has holes in 3 of the 6 sides, so it is fun playing as well. But best of all, it is foldable.

When not used it takes up less space then a folded towel. So while driving his tent is up on the bed, safely squeezed in between a few other items, so it stays in the same place, even on the worst of roads or when we had to brake very hard. When it is hot we put his cooling-mat in his tent. We’ve had the cooling-mat for a few years but of course had a hard time getting Binkie to lie on it. Now it is no longer a problem. Binkie is save, cool and happy in his tent. When we are parked we fold up the tent and easily store it away.

He also likes to lie on the bed with his head on the backrest of the bench. From there he can see through the windscreen and keep an eye on things. He has a “classic” pose with one paw over the backrest. When he lies like that it really is clear that we are his staff, the van is his and he kindly allows us to drive him….

His travel backpack is placed on the floor, fastened with a hook. When we drive the front flap is open and we put his little rug in front of it. This rug is special to him, like the favourite stuffed animal of a child. He likes to lie there to, although most days he prefers his tent or the bed. At night the rug is in a corner of our bed and he will lie there, if it is not to hot.

While driving he can also sit in the front with us, but he only does so for short periods of time. The back is quieter and cooler. Strangely enough, when driving off road he prefers to lie on the narrow and not so stable dashboard. We don’t know why. It is not the safest of places, but off road we usually can’t go faster than 15-20kms. If necessary we move him to the back.

When we are parked, during the day, Binkie can choose if he is inside the van or outside. When inside, he almost always sleeps on the passenger seat or on the floor in front of it.

So despite the van being small, Binkie has plenty of hangouts in the van to choose from!