Incoherent Scribblings

Dolly was introduced to Mouse, Scooter, and Harley almost two weeks ago now. At first there was much hissing, but that has calmed significantly over the past few days.

However, I can tell that the battle lines have been drawn: Scooter and Harley don’t seem to care for Dolly much. Mouse, on the other hand, has accepted her so easily that I actually caught them sleeping within inches of each other this afternoon!

For those of you that know anything about my cats you will know this is a completely unforeseen turn of events. Though there are seldom out and out fights between them, Mouse openly dislikes Scooter and barely tolerates Harley. I still think that Mouse views Dolly as little more than common riffraff, but now she has an ally in the quest for feline dominance and it has been interesting to watch the dynamics developing amongst all four of them.

That, however, is not the only development at our home for wayward cats.

Step-dad caught Dolly’s sister Friday and brought her home too. I am not sure if he decided Dolly needed a playmate or if seeing that Dolly adopted me was looking for a kitten for himself, but one way or another, she was added to our brood and as a result, we now have Dolly and Molly.

Dolly will go with Mouse, Scooter, Harley, and me when and where ever I get a job, but I adamantly proclaimed that Molly will stay at home with Mom and Step-dad. I didn’t really need four cats… I definitely don’t need five!

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!

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

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.

My kitties were totally bummed that they didn’t get tagged for the cat-meme that has been making the rounds. I told them that if they wanted to play they didn’t have to wait for a tag, they should just answer… So they did!

Mouse in Sink
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian.

Hello, Mouse here. I have hijacked this blog before and since at 13 ½ years old I am the oldest cat in the house, I will naturally go first.

1. I would have to say that my favorite thing to do is to drink water directly from the bathroom sink. I have been known to sit in the sink for hours until someone finally turns on the faucet so that I can get a drink.
2. I like to consider myself the “Queen Bitch” of our household and pretend that I merely tolerate the others that live here. However, when I am sure no one is watching, sometimes I play with Harley.
3. I like to help my humans with whatever they are doing whenever possible. I especially like to weave myself through Renée’s legs when she is cooking in the hopes that she will give me a treat of human food.
4. When I am displeased about something I like to smack. I smack people (ask the vet), but my favorite thing to smack is Scooter.
5. With my long hair it is a necessity that I am brushed regularly and I like to be brushed… But only when I am in the mood!
6. For some reason Renée is mean and won’t let me go outside. Therefore when the windows are open I love to sit in them and press my nose against the screen and breathe in all of those interesting smells.

Peas in a Pod (l)Scooter (r)Harley
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian.

Now that Mouse is finished, I guess I can go. I am Scooter, am 9 ½ years old, and this is what I like to do:

1. I am a pretty big kitty (about 15 pounds) and according to Renée, the reason I am so big is because I like to eat. I prefer to eat without chewing my food and sometimes I eat so much and so fast that I throw it back up… That’s OK though, if Renée doesn’t clean it up right away, I will eat it again later.
2. I like to pretend that I am a big tough cat and sometimes try to bully Mouse… And for some reason, that is usually when I get smacked!
3. I like to sit on the edge of the bathtub when Renée is taking a bath or shower. I am not sure why she likes to get wet everyday, but if I observe her long enough maybe someday I will figure it out.
4. I am quite fond of pretending that I am a bookend. Renée has a bookshelf with a shelf that only has few books on it and whenever I can I sit there and prop them up for her.
5. Sometimes when I am feeling frisky I run and around and try to look cute. I must be doing something right because it makes Renée laugh… I only wish I knew what “galloping” meant.
6. Along with eating, I also like to sleep. In fact, that is what I spend most of my time doing!

And finally, we come to the five-year old baby of my family: Harley. Not only is she the baby of the family she is quite shy, so I really had to coax her answers out of her.

1. I guess the thing that I like to do most is hide. For example, one of the things that frightens me most is the doorbell. Whenever I hear it I hide behind the stereo speakers and hiss at anyone (including Renée) that comes near me for the next hour.
2. When I am not hiding, I like to be near Renée. She says that she thinks I have something called “attachment disorder” because I follow her everywhere and when I can’t find her I cry pitifully.
3. I really like to help Renée when she does crafts. I don’t find cross stitching very interesting anymore, so I usually just sit beside her when she does it, but knitting… now that is a different story all together! There is just something about that yarn that I can’t resist!
4. Before A. decided that we cats weren’t allowed in the bedroom anymore, I used to like sleeping right next to Renée’s pillow at night. Sometimes she would use me as a pillow and I would get uncomfortable, but I didn’t really mind all that much.
5. I also like to eat and find our cat food delicious. In fact, I find it so good that when I am offered people food I just turn my nose up at it and walk away.
6. If I can’t be near Renée, I like to be near Scooter: He is my big brother and protector and he plays with me. To show him how much I love him, I like to wash his face and even though I don’t mean to, sometimes I even pull out his whiskers.

There you have it. You now know more about what my cats than you probably ever wanted to, but this is my blog so I don’t care! And if you are owned by one or more cats and would like to answer this meme, feel free to do so.