Incoherent Scribblings

No CAT-Astrophe

Well, I have been back in the States for almost a week now. I think that I have recovered from my jet lag, but unfortunately I don’t think that the cats have… either that or they have decided that the most effective way to get even with me for this latest trip is to wake me up every two hours between the hours of midnight and eight AM.

Yes, as you have probably guessed, the kitties and I managed to make it to Iowa safe and sound. And incredibly the whole experience went quite smoothly…

On Thursday I called to confirm the Logistics of F.A.T. and get directions to the area where we needed to go to pick them up. When I called, I gave my name and told the agent that I would be picking up the cats the next day and she responded, “Oh yeah. You’re the (crazy) cat lady.” (The “crazy” part was not vocalized, but I could tell from the tone of her voice that was what she was thinking.) Apparently everyone in Lufthansa’s Chicago office knew some crazy cat woman was going to be on their doorstep on Friday.

And I was too…

My dad and I left for Chicago Friday morning at ugly-thirty (aka 4:00 AM!) and made such remarkably great time to Chicago that we arrived at O’Hare’s cargo area almost three hours early. (My dad is one of those people who always has to be at least 15 minutes early for an appointment or he thinks he is late, so I wasn’t surprised that we were early… and for the first time in my life I didn’t mind being so early.)

Since we arrived so early at the office, I tried to expedite the process by offering to fill out the paperwork before the cats arrived. Unfortunately it couldn’t be done, so Dad and I went and had a long lunch while we waited for the cats’ plane to arrive in Chicago.

When I was in the office before lunch, I was told that after the plane landed it would be about an hour before I could actually see my kitties. However, a very nice man (I am not sure if he was the pilot or the animal handler) cleared the cats through customs for me right away and luckily I was able to see them less than an hour after they arrived.

I was allowed to go to the warehouse to check on them while I was waiting for the paperwork and as soon as they heard my voice they were at the doors of their kennels. It was pretty obvious that they were glad to see me and anxious to get out.

Not long afterwards I signed the paperwork and they were loaded into the car for the second part of their journey. We then headed back to Small Town Iowa and since we didn’t get stuck in Chicago traffic, everyone was more or less settled in by midnight.

And the best part of the story? Even though they were in their kennels for probably close to 24 hours, no one had any accidents en route… even though everyone did use the litter box within ten minutes of being released!

The Logistics of F.A.T.*

Tomorrow morning the kitties are making their last trip to the German vet to get their health exams/certificates so that they can repatriate back to America with me.

Then, a week from today, less than 48 hours after I arrive in the United States and still suffering from jet lag, I will be barreling my way across the state of Iowa to the vastness that is otherwise known as Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to pick up my three furbabies from their second (and hopefully last) international flight.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, traveling with cats is not necessarily an experience for the faint of heart. It was nerve-racking enough the first time around when there were two humans and the cats flew on the same plane as we did. This time around though, one human and no large international airport within 400 miles of Small Town Iowa combined with a separate cargo flight and a seven hour drive each way makes the whole thing just short of a logistical nightmare.

I know that most of my readers (even those cat lovers) probably think I am completely insane for going to all this trouble to ship three mutt-cats thousands of miles over the ocean and then driving all that way to pick them up and bring them home. And in all honesty, I think I would probably agree with you… But they are my babies and there is no way in hell that anyone could ever convince me to leave them behind!

And so, just to show you how totally crazy that I am here is a snippet of the plan:

Saturday, September 2:

• Appointment at the German vet for three Health Exams/Certificates.
• Also need to get a copy of Mouse’s blood work and a written prescription for her thyroid medication.

Friday, September 8: (All times are approximate.)

• 8:00 am Munich time: A. takes the cats to Munich’s cargo terminal.
• 11:00 am Munich time: The cats leave Munich.
• 1:00 pm Chicago time: The cats arrive in Chicago.
• 2:00 pm Chicago time: The cats go through customs and will be available for pickup.

If you do the math, you can easily see that if I am to be at O’Hare by 2:00 pm on Friday, I will either have to leave Small Town Iowa sometime on Thursday and spend the night in Chicago or leave Small Town Iowa really, really early on Friday. (Hmm… I just realized that my jet lag could perhaps work in my favor in this whole ordeal.) Getting to Chicago is really the least of my concerns though because I am planning on recruiting some assistance in the form of my dad, step-dad, or uncle.

However, what does concern me is that once the cats are picked up and loaded into our vehicle, my co-pilot and I will face the likelihood of getting caught in Chicago’s rush-hour traffic. (*Shudder*)

The other thing to keep in mind is that even though the kennels will be lined with absorbent material in case of accidents and the cats will have water available during their flight, I know from experience that after they travel the kitties always appreciate a litter box and bowl of water. Therefore I am sure that after their plane ride the cats will want some food, water, and a potty break.

And on top of all of that, I would like to make it back to Small Town Iowa on Friday! However, depending on who makes the trip with me I am not sure if that is a realistic possibility. I actually think that it might be prudent if we spend the night at a hotel in Chicago and go back to Iowa on Saturday morning.

So what do you think? Have I officially earned the title of “Crazy Cat Lady” yet?!

* F.A.T. = Feline Air Travel

Well-Traveled Cats

Ready to Fly?
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian.

It is official: I fly back to the United States on September 6, 2006. So, as you can imagine, with just a month before I fly I have been spending most of my waking hours on the phone with my parents, making moving arrangements, and simply packing like a woman possessed!

When I moved to Germany four years ago, almost everyone I encountered asked me if I was going to take my cats with me. I have to admit that when people asked me this question I was slightly insulted. At that time the people who were asking me this question were people who knew me and knew how I felt about my cats. I knew that if my cats were children they would not have asked me such a question.

I have already observed that going home is going to be no different: I have had a plethora of emails expressing good thoughts concerning my move and almost every one asks about my cats. This time I am prepared for the question and since the people that are emailing me don’t really “know” me, I am not offended by the question like I was four years ago.

So, in answer to the question, “Are you taking your cats with you,” let me answer by saying that I am a certified crazy cat lady and I see my cats as children, so for me there is really no question about whether or not to take them back to the US with me. Of course I am!

If I just had to “pack and fly” so to speak, I could leave tomorrow. However, as you can imagine, flying three cats back to the United States is not an uncomplicated procedure…

The first thing I had to do was to take all three of them to get a rabies shot. (It was about time anyway.) Technically a rabies shot is not required for them to enter the US, but some states and most airlines require it. I did this last week because the airlines require that the rabies vaccination is at least 30 days old before the animals fly.

The documentation of their rabies and other vaccinations goes into a little booklet that is aptly entitled a “pet passport” and must be presented when they are checked in. The cats will also have to go back to the vet and get a health certificate, but this can only be done no earlier than 10 days before they travel.

In theory, all three are very healthy, pampered indoor cats. However, since she is 14 years old, we also had “geriatric” blood work done on Mouse to make sure that there aren’t any silent complications that would prevent her from flying. Her liver and kidneys are in tip-top condition and we will know by the end of the week whether or not her thyroid is continuing to function properly.

Unfortunately since there are three of them and only one of me, they will have to fly as “cargo.” We found a company that transports a lot of animals and I feel confident that even though I won’t have them in the cabin with me they will be flying as comfortably as possible.

Because they will be traveling as cargo, I still have to decide exactly when to fly them. The two options consist of either flying them a few days before I arrive in the US and having one of my parents pick them up or flying them a few days after I arrive in the US so that I can personally pick them up. A. has told me that he will see them on the plane if I choose to send them after I arrive in the US, but I am still weighing over the pros and cons of each option.

Luckily, the cats’ travel arrangements don’t have to be made more than two weeks before they fly so I still have some time to think about what is best for them… and because they are my babies I will, of course, decide to do what is best for them.

The Week in Review

I have been back to the States for almost a week and even though it doesn’t seem like I have been that busy, I have barely had time to sit down long enough to write. But since I just know that all five of my readers are dying to know what I have been doing, here is a quick run-down:

Tuesday: I had a long, if uneventful, plane ride from Munich to Philadelphia. I then had about an hour and a half layover in Philly and by the time that I got through Immigration, re-checked my luggage, went through security for the fourth or fifth time, and caught a shuttle bus to my terminal, I would have just made it before boarding began.

However, the plane to Kansas City ended up being delayed for about an hour because we didn’t have a crew! I thought about offering to fly the plane, but since I don’t know how and I know they don’t take that sort of talk lightly anymore, I thought it might be wiser if I didn’t.

My mom, step-dad, and aunt met me at the airport and then I had an approximate three-hour car ride to Small Town, Iowa. By the time I made it to bed at 12:30 am Iowa time I had been up for a little over 24 hours. I actually got my second wind about that time and probably could have stayed up for a while, but I decided to go to bed and as soon as I hit the pillow I was out like a light!

Read the rest…

Bon Voyage!

Well, I am all packed and ready to go. (I have probably forgotten something that I am sure only to remember once I am half-way over the Atlantic, but c’est la vie!)

Anyway, I will be updating as time allows during my visit, so next time I post it will be from the USA! See you on the other side!