Q: How old is Seymour, and what type of cat is he?
A: Seymour is a Scottish Fold cat, and he is turning 2 on April 20th. When he’s camping, he likes to cuddle in down sleeping bags or blankets.Q: What type of vehicle and Roofnest RTT do you have?
A: We have a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited/Black Bear edition. There are a few modifications to the Jeep to increase its off-road performance — a bit lifted, 33" tires, winch, and so on. Our Roofnest Sparrow tent is mounted on a Teraflex Nebo roof rack, using spacers that I (Serge) designed and 3D printed (the design files are here >)
Q: Where are your favorite places to go camping? How often do you camp, and who usually goes with you?
A: We try to camp almost every weekend, and a few times a year we go for longer road trips. In fact, we've visited all 48 lower states, and all 10 Canadian provinces in our car trips. Previously, we used to camp in organized campgrounds, such as the National Forest Service or State Parks campgrounds. But since Covid started, we’ve been camping more in dispersed campsites, on public lands, all over Oregon and other western states — from Arizona to Washington and Idaho. Dispersed camping was one of the main reasons to purchase a Roofnest roof top tent. We always like exploring new places to camp. But to choose favorites from where we've camped recently, Irene liked Eastern Oregon (Owyhee Canyon - Three Forks Hot Springs) and Alabama Hills in Eastern California. I (Serge) enjoy camping in the Cascades, near Santiam Pass and Mount Adams. We usually take Seymour on most of our outdoor activities — camping, backpacking, hiking, kayaking, and floating — along with 1 or more of our 3 kids. The older kids are high schoolers, so they get to choose whether to join our adventures or not. Our little one — 11-year-old daughter Julie — usually comes along, especially if her friends join our trips.Q: How long has Seymour been camping with you?
A: Seymour has been participating in our outdoor activities as long as we’ve had him — since he was 3 months old. In fact, he was born in Toronto, Canada, and drove with us from there to Portland, Oregon in our camper van as his first adventure.
He was very comfortable riding the car with us, wearing the leash, and following our kids on hiking trails.
Since then, he has camped in different setups and situations — camper van, tent camping, backpacking (tent), and now roof top tent camping.
Q: Tell us about the platform you built for Seymour!
A: Haha — I think you’re referring to the roof top tent coffee table!
Irene asked me to build her a coffee table so she can have her coffee while enjoying the morning views from the roof top tent. But Seymour quickly figured that it makes a nice cat balcony. Now we have an RTT gargoyle every morning and evening!
The platform is built using 5.5"x0.5" oak boards (this one, cut in halves) and some 3D printed parts. It slides in between the Jeep roof and the roof rack rail and locks into place.
I hope to find time to publish the design online in the near future.
Q: What do you do to make sure Seymour stays safe while camping?
A: It really depends on the situation and place. First of all, we trained Seymour to respond to his name, and come to us when called. So we call him if he wanders too far away.
In more crowded settings — for example, on hiking trails with people and their dogs — Seymour goes on the leash. We always have one of us in the front to scout for potential dangers ahead.
Seymour enjoys exploring the camp. We always have one "cat-sitter" that keeps their eyes on him and his surroundings to protect him from predators.
To keep him safe and visible in the evenings, we use a blinking LED collar so we can easily see him.
Q: How does Seymour take care of business while camping?
A: We use this box in the car, outside, and in the tent at night. There’s no mess due to its height. It’s just a box from Home Depot!
