Chapter 2 Cats are really more adaptable than you think.
You can catch up with the preface and Ch. 1 on my home page … scroll down to the Trippin’ category.
We were moving West. Originally, the plan was for Bob and me to drive the truck and tow my car —-containing the cats — on a trailer. I had been distinctly uncomfortable with this idea for fear they wouldn’t have enough ventilation … or that the trailer would come unhooked and they’d all die in a car crash…. ok, yes, I am an infamous neurotic.
Not to mention that on a good day, Bob’s driving made me crazy. This was so well-known among my friends that one emailed me before the trip and asked me to remember to repeat my trip mantra, “Bob is a saint”, when things got hairy on the road. Bob behind the wheel of a 24- foot truck with 20-foot trailer and my car sent chills down my spine.
Anyway, at the last minute we decided we’d forgo the trailer. I’d drive the cats in my car, following Bob who would drive the truck by himself. In my spare time on Friday, in between packing boxes and calling van lines I’d run out to Target and bought several new CDs for the trip (all mine were packed) along with two walkie-talkies so we could keep in touch during the trip.
Oh. You’re probably wondering what a walkie-talkie is. These were the days before everyone had a cellphone attached to their heads. A walkie-talkie is….well, Google it.
I decided on a 6-CD variety to keep me amused. Abba, I figured, would give me mindless energy. Enigma would play to the mysteries that lay ahead. JoDee Messina was for Texas, a little bit of country honky tonk. Opera from Andrea Bocelli would provide drama. (“Why is that guy singing with his eyes closed?” Bob once asked me.) And then, just to be contrary, I got my very first Christian music CD. Only it was a 2CD set. What the heck, I thought, it’ll be different.
The rice rocket’s CD player can be temperamental, so I tested it the day before. Yep, it would only play two CDs. The Christian CDs. This was problematic. No matter what I tried, it wouldn’t play any of the others. So, I used a trick my father taught me: I banged the magazine on the ground a few times and then tried again. Worked like a charm.
Oh. What’s a magazine? It’s the multiple-CD holder.
Meanwhile, we had cat accommodations to consider. In a stroke of genius, Bob had created the ultimate in cat car carriers. He bought a huge dog crate and built two carpeted second story berths so two of the cats could ride “upstairs”, while one rode on the main floor with a small litter pan.
The cage fit wonderfully — but that was when we were towing the car. Now that I was driving, I couldn’t see out of my rear or side windows, and definitely couldn’t see my blind spot even if I turned around. We fiddled with the cage for an hour until we got an acceptable angle that allowed me enough visibility. Barely.
Departure morning dawned warm and sunny. We introduced the cats to their mobile home, tested the walkie talkies and were off.
The Kitty Chorus began almost immediately. Of course, I’d gotten some Valium from the vet, but had reserved it for myself–it had been a trying week. They would be adjusting without the pills. I definitely need them for my own adjustment.
And they did fine, only occasionally singing along with me and the CDs.
Not my cats, but could have been.
Early on, Tyler and Cecily saw the advantage of riding up top. But when Taz commandeered the litter pan as his traveling berth, I knew we would have problems. Periodically, hisses and spits would emanate from over my right shoulder, as a cat tried to unseat Taz so as to use the litter pan.
And that part was pleasant, too. Fortunately, I’d bought a lovely peach spray for the trip. I used copious amounts.
Things were going pretty well. The weather was good, Bob and I stayed in touch on the walkie talkies and the cats were calm. I learned quickly that driving behind Bob allowed me to use the cool new walkie talkies to liberally comment on his inability to keep the truck between the white lines.
Soon, Bob asked me to drive ahead of him, which made us both more comfortable. I didn’t have to watch him weaving all over the road and he didn’t have to listen to me correct his driving. Of course, since he had the only map, faith was my navigator, not one of my strong suits. But we had the walkie talkies.
We stopped in Mobile the first night, at a pet-friendly Clarion. Getting the huge cat cage and all its accouterments out of the car was an ordeal, but finally we were in the room. It was immediately clear that Taz had had a personality change on the road.
Whether he was autistic, or simply crazy, we didn’t know, but on a good day, Taz wouldn’t let anyone go near him, much less pick him up. However, in the motel that first night, Taz was all over me like white on rice. Just like a normal, lovable cat. And it wasn’t just the first night-it was every night. So what if I was covered with long white cat hair–I had this sweet, lovable kitty finally completely rehabilitated!! Very cool, I thought. He’s happy to be returning to California.
Come morning, we couldn’t find any of the cats. Anticipating a continuation of the drive, each had found a good hiding place in the motel. Still, everyone got packed up before dawn, and we were on our way. Day 2. Making progress.
Texas is big. Real big. So big it took 2 days to drive through. And it’s flat. I didn’t see the road runner Bob claimed tried to run him off the highway, but I did see so much road kill I was convinced it was a way of life in Texas. One memorable vision was a huge steer lying dead and bloated in the median, horns in the air. You don’t see many of those in Florida. Even though there were tons of road kill – we saw no carrion. I buzzed in on the walkie talkie and told Bob I was convinced they were so sated they just didn’t bother to come out any more.
The horizon stretched forever. Long, flat, boring. I decided to memorize one of the Christian songs for entertainment. You think I’m kidding? “Wash meee innnn….his preciousss bloooood…..”
The cats occasionally chimed in.
We stopped in San Antonio for the night. It was a mercy.
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you are a braver woman than me! Three cats and a kitty litter in a car would be enough to run me off the road (even with peach spray!) – looking forward to the rest of the adventure ~ Leanne
Having moved west a few times I both giggled at your description and thanked the powers that be that I moved by plane – my possessions traveling with the friendly moving man. I wouldn’t have had cats singing but a 10 year old boy asking “are we there yet???” and needing to pee! Good luck to you and look forward to more of your adventure!
Ha! This sounds so familiar. When we moved out to Utah 8 years ago, my husband drove our cat and parrot out in the car. The cat howled for the first 150 miles, so Jim decided to let her out of the carrier. She was fine after that. The parrot did well too. Then, the car started breaking down. Broke down four times on the way out. Turns out a recall got crossed in the mail and it took four tries before a mechanic noticed the recall in the system. Lovely. The cat and bird hung out in the office of each repair shop, entertaining the employees. The only time if was potentially dangerous was when the car died in baking heat. No a/c for the critters to stay cool. That time Jim called 9-1-1 and got a ride to a repair shop from a police officer. Traveling with pets is an adventure, for sure. Thanks for the great post. I enjoyed reading it.
Sounds like you know what you’re talkin’ about–what an ordeal! This is a series, if you liked this one, there are more coming and two more before this one!
You are a brave (and crazy!) woman. One cat in the car can be wild but THREE! Good for you for planning out a “cat condo” in advance but the few times I traveled with my cat he ALWAYS got kitty downers to relax him and then he’d mew the entire way. Looking forward to seeing what happens next! ~Kathy
It sounds like it was a good thing you decided to get those Christian CDs. You probably really needed God’s help to be driving by yourself with 3 cats in a car. haha. #MidLifeLuv
The funniest part, for me, was the vision of your driving behind your hubby, correcting his every driving error on a walkie-talkie. I howled. That belongs in a movie.
It’s a parade! Loving this! I always think of the line from the movie Duck Tails, “That was fun! Now that we know we survived it!” Waiting for the next instalment…
I wouldn’t rmocemend your giving anything without a vet’s approval. My old cat had shots every three weeks for a couple of years which seemed to help her and then it did not seem effective. Acupuncture didn’t help it much either (it may have helped with some other things).In the last year I tried a homeopathic remedy with the approval of the vet and it did seem to help her mobility quite a bit. She was difficult to pill (the pellets were not much bigger than a grain of sand). Now that I have used pill pockets with another cat with great success I would probably try that if she were still around.I started using the homeopathic remedy myself in January and it is wonderful I no longer take any other pain medication. Osteoarthritis is relieved by movement of the joints so it is always less troublesome during the day.There are veterinary homeopaths available through the net and I can put you in touch with one if you like. They charge by the time they devote to a case and the repertoirization is complicated. They will consider the “whole” cat and find the proper remedy to use. It might cost $200 or a little less. I certainly put more than that in with the shots from the vet. The remedy for arthritis pain is Rhus toxicodendron.You can find the Rhus in a health foods store. I used the 6X strength once a day for Cameo. (My dosage is 200C, three pellets, twice a day). You can try that for a week and see if you observe it is helping. That “experiment” is worth doing as the homepathic remedies generally don’t cause problems. I am always cautious though and I would do a homeopathic workup on your cat before using anything long term. The homeopathic veterinarian would monitor your cat might increase dosage or frequency. Veterinary homeopaths are highly trained and accredited through their professional organisations.
My parents moved from the east coast to the Salt lake city area. The cat,”El Gato”, made the move like a champ. Our Dalmation, Bandit, however, stood at the car door every time he went outside for a week. He wanted to go home.
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What an adventure Carol! Your descriptions are amusing and fun to read!
Thanks, Joan. Laughter is a necessity!
you are a braver woman than me! Three cats and a kitty litter in a car would be enough to run me off the road (even with peach spray!) – looking forward to the rest of the adventure ~ Leanne
Yes, loose screw, indeed!
Having moved west a few times I both giggled at your description and thanked the powers that be that I moved by plane – my possessions traveling with the friendly moving man. I wouldn’t have had cats singing but a 10 year old boy asking “are we there yet???” and needing to pee! Good luck to you and look forward to more of your adventure!
– Tara 🙂
I know you feel my pain!
Ha! This sounds so familiar. When we moved out to Utah 8 years ago, my husband drove our cat and parrot out in the car. The cat howled for the first 150 miles, so Jim decided to let her out of the carrier. She was fine after that. The parrot did well too. Then, the car started breaking down. Broke down four times on the way out. Turns out a recall got crossed in the mail and it took four tries before a mechanic noticed the recall in the system. Lovely. The cat and bird hung out in the office of each repair shop, entertaining the employees. The only time if was potentially dangerous was when the car died in baking heat. No a/c for the critters to stay cool. That time Jim called 9-1-1 and got a ride to a repair shop from a police officer. Traveling with pets is an adventure, for sure. Thanks for the great post. I enjoyed reading it.
Sounds like you know what you’re talkin’ about–what an ordeal! This is a series, if you liked this one, there are more coming and two more before this one!
Thank goodness you didn’t have a dog to add to the mix! Imagine how entertaining that would have been!
I shudder to think, Sandy!
You are a brave (and crazy!) woman. One cat in the car can be wild but THREE! Good for you for planning out a “cat condo” in advance but the few times I traveled with my cat he ALWAYS got kitty downers to relax him and then he’d mew the entire way. Looking forward to seeing what happens next! ~Kathy
It sounds like it was a good thing you decided to get those Christian CDs. You probably really needed God’s help to be driving by yourself with 3 cats in a car. haha. #MidLifeLuv
The funniest part, for me, was the vision of your driving behind your hubby, correcting his every driving error on a walkie-talkie. I howled. That belongs in a movie.
It takes a loonnnggg time to get through Texas! Road kill? Yes. But I’ve never seen a roadrunner. beep beep.
It’s a parade! Loving this! I always think of the line from the movie Duck Tails, “That was fun! Now that we know we survived it!” Waiting for the next instalment…
I can’t imagine driving down the road with 3 cats in my car. That is a nightmare in my book. Dogs okay cats no way in hell! I am terrified of cats!
I wouldn’t rmocemend your giving anything without a vet’s approval. My old cat had shots every three weeks for a couple of years which seemed to help her and then it did not seem effective. Acupuncture didn’t help it much either (it may have helped with some other things).In the last year I tried a homeopathic remedy with the approval of the vet and it did seem to help her mobility quite a bit. She was difficult to pill (the pellets were not much bigger than a grain of sand). Now that I have used pill pockets with another cat with great success I would probably try that if she were still around.I started using the homeopathic remedy myself in January and it is wonderful I no longer take any other pain medication. Osteoarthritis is relieved by movement of the joints so it is always less troublesome during the day.There are veterinary homeopaths available through the net and I can put you in touch with one if you like. They charge by the time they devote to a case and the repertoirization is complicated. They will consider the “whole” cat and find the proper remedy to use. It might cost $200 or a little less. I certainly put more than that in with the shots from the vet. The remedy for arthritis pain is Rhus toxicodendron.You can find the Rhus in a health foods store. I used the 6X strength once a day for Cameo. (My dosage is 200C, three pellets, twice a day). You can try that for a week and see if you observe it is helping. That “experiment” is worth doing as the homepathic remedies generally don’t cause problems. I am always cautious though and I would do a homeopathic workup on your cat before using anything long term. The homeopathic veterinarian would monitor your cat might increase dosage or frequency. Veterinary homeopaths are highly trained and accredited through their professional organisations.
My word I don’t know how you do it!
I can’t even imagine taking my Cat for a hour trip
I really do praise you for your bravery.
I would have thought they would pee everywhere!
My parents moved from the east coast to the Salt lake city area. The cat,”El Gato”, made the move like a champ. Our Dalmation, Bandit, however, stood at the car door every time he went outside for a week. He wanted to go home.