Meet Mina, Loui & Rocket: How Two Cats Changed the Way I Travel

Some people get a van and hit the road. I got two cats, a van, and discovered that travelling with cats in a van was the best decision I ever made.

When Mina and Loui came into my life as tiny Neva Masquerade kittens, I quickly realised I had a problem. I loved travelling. I also loved my cats. And I couldn’t find anyone to look after them every time I wanted to disappear into the wilderness for a few weeks. So I did what any reasonable person would do: I decided to train two cats to live in a van.

Three years, two vans, two cats, one very patient mouse (more on that later) and trips to Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark and beyond — this is how Wander With Whiskers began.

Meet the Crew

First, let me introduce you to the three main characters of this story.

Mina is the fearless one. She was the first to hop out of the van on our very first trip, nose twitching, tail up, utterly convinced the world was made for her to explore. She is bold, curious and has a deep respect for her own boundaries, and yours. Mina is not the cat who will walk up to strangers for a cuddle. She is selective, dignified and reserves her trust for those who have truly earned it. But out in the world? She is absolutely fearless.

Loui is a different story. Where Mina sees adventure, Loui initially saw catastrophe. He took his time warming up to van life, watching Mina launch herself into the world while he observed cautiously from the safety of his favourite blanket. But here’s the thing about Loui — once he decided the van was home, he fell completely in love with it. These days he’s the first one to jump back in at the end of the day, curling up on the driver’s seat like he owns the place. Because in his mind, he absolutely does.

Then there’s Rocket: our 2016 Opel Vivaro, named after everyone’s favourite raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy. Scrappy, reliable, and always ready for the next adventure. Rocket is my second self-converted camper van. Before him came a Citroen Berlingo (Angus, like the horse from Brave)— a good little van, but once Mina and Loui arrived it became clear we needed more space. Rocket was born from that need, and I built every inch of him myself.

How it all started

I have always been a traveller. Long before Mina and Loui came along, I was disappearing into the wilderness whenever I could, sleeping in vans, chasing landscapes and taking the long way home. When I got the cats, I assumed that chapter of my life would have to slow down significantly.

The problem was I had nobody to look after them when I was away. And leaving them behind never felt right. So one day I made a decision that most people thought was slightly mad: I would train my cats to travel with me.

It took patience. It took a lot of trial and error. It took learning to read two very different personalities — one who wanted to leap out of the van before it had even stopped moving, and one who needed convincing that the outside world was not, in fact, trying to kill him. But slowly, trip by trip, Mina and Loui became van cats.

And somewhere along the way, Rocket became our second home.

The Adventures so far

Since those first nervous trips, the three of us have covered a lot of ground together.

We’ve driven through the dramatic fjords of Norway, where Mina stared out of the van window at waterfalls like she was personally inspecting them. We’ve been to Scotland twice in a single year — because once was simply not enough. We’ve explored the wide beaches of the North Sea, wound through Denmark and Sweden, and even made it to Munich. Every trip has taught us something new.

One thing I’ve learned above everything else: life is slower when you travel with cats, and that is entirely a good thing. You plan ahead more carefully. You think about temperature, shade, safe outdoor time. You invest in a cat buggy for the days when it’s too warm to leave them in the van but you still want to explore together. And on the days when Mina and Loui simply don’t feel like adventuring — because cats have opinions and they will absolutely make them known — you adapt your plans accordingly.

Van life with cats has made me a more patient, more present and more flexible traveller. I wouldn’t change it for anything.

The Time We Had a Mouse in the Van

I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t mention the mice.

On one particularly eventful outside time, Mina and Loui decided to demonstrate exactly how capable they were as hunters. Between them, they brought back four mice. Four!! I would like to say I handled this calmly and with grace. I did not.

Three of the mice were accounted for relatively quickly. The fourth — a small, determined, and frankly very brave little creature — had other ideas. She disappeared somewhere into the depths of Rocket and made herself at home for the next few days while I tried to locate her with increasing desperation, along with Loui, who wouldn’t stop looking either.

Reader, I found her eventually. She was not fine. I was also not fine.

Mina and Loui were extremely pleased with themselves throughout the entire ordeal and showed absolutely no remorse. This, I have come to understand, is simply part of travelling with cats.

Why I Started This Blog

When I started travelling with Mina and Loui, I searched everywhere for advice. How do you train cats for van life? What do you do about litter boxes in a small space? How do you keep them safe and cool in summer? How do you find cat-friendly spots to stop?

The honest answer is that there wasn’t much out there. A few scattered forum posts, some general pet travel advice that didn’t quite apply, and a lot of figuring things out the hard way.

That’s why Wander With Whiskers exists.

This blog is everything I wish I’d had when I started — practical guides, honest stories, gear recommendations and destination ideas, all specifically for people who want to travel with their cats without leaving their normal life behind entirely. You don’t need to go full-time. You don’t need a perfect conversion or a huge budget. You just need a cat, a van, and a willingness to slow down and figure it out as you go.

Mina and Loui turn three years old on the 5th of May. In those three years they have turned me into a better traveller, a more patient person, and someone who owns a cat buggy and considers it completely normal.

Welcome to Wander With Whiskers. I’m so glad you’re here.