Posted by Ilene on July 8, 2004, at 21:06:49
In reply to Dear Diary July 8, part 1, posted by Ilene on July 8, 2004, at 20:17:44
The title of this installment is Travelling With Cats.
Thank god for kitty tranks.
This is what you have to do if you don't want Pussums to travel with the duffle bags and golf clubs: Buy a special carrier that fits under the seat of an airplane, go to the vet for a health certificate, "convince" the cat into the carrier, pay an extra $80 per cat when you check in, take the cat *out* of the carrier when going through security, replace cat, then spend the next five hours listening to the cat complain about the whole thing.
We tested the tranquilizers before the big day so we could get the dosage right. One pill wasn't enough, and in fact seemed dangerous, because they were jumping up on window sills, etc. but were so floppy that I was afraid one would fall off and get hurt. They were okay, so we gave them each two pills. The vet gave us some slightly gooey cat treats that have a slit in them so you can hide a pill there. Worked great. The cats gobbled them right up.
It took the black cat about an hour to pass into a state of limp grogginess. She let me put a harness w/ a name tag on and pop her into the rather small carrier. It took the gray cat about an hour to have nothing happen at all. He's on the feral side, and it can be a chore to get him into the big carrier we usually use for trips to the vet. It took two adults and two kids several courses through the house, and about four tries, before we crammed him into the small carrier. The only carriers I could find that were the right dimensions are also collapsible, and the damn cat managed to collapse his while we were trying to stuff him into it. I don't bear scars only because the vet clipped his claws.
The guys who checked our luggage at curbside said that the collapsible carriers weren't acceptable, but I ignored them. We didn't have to check the cats. We had to pay the extra $80 per cat for the privilege of using sub-seat space, but no one asked for the health certificates that cost me about $140. Then came the fun part--taking the cats out of the carriers so the carriers can be x-rayed. You hold (clutch) the cat as you walk through the metal detector. The black cat was as resistant as pudding, but the gray cat still had a little fuss to him. Overall, however, a piece of cake.
The cats seem to enjoy living among boxes. The black cat liked it when we had the dining room piled to about 5' with paper. She tunneled through it and found a nice kitty hiding place. She's forgotten the rule about No Cats On the Kitchen Counters.
The gray cat hasn't found the doors, so he is now content to be an indoor cat, instead of an indoor/outdoor/indoor/outdoor etc. cat.
So ends this tail.
poster:Ilene
thread:364196
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040706/msgs/364203.html