I made a "nest" in the front seat on the way home with his binky and afghan
piled atop some luggage. He loved the new place up high beside me in the
front. We were rolling along pretty fast, but I managed to snap this picture.
If you already know about Cattail, you will believe this story. If you don't know him (or Snowshoe Siamese cats) you possibly won't believe it ... or think I mistreat him. I will write our story and you can enjoy it as fact or fiction (it's fact).
Cattail was a homeless cat. I adopted him about 4 years ago and brought him home in the car loose. He'd had riding experience in a carrier with his foster mothers ... many trips to be shown for adoption. No one wanted him. He was waiting for me to come along.
Homeless meant outside experience. Trying to make him an indoor cat in my small condo was frustrating for us both. We tried "walkies" with a harness and leash. It wasn't like being free, but he figured out it was the only way he could get outside again, so he took whatever opportunities he got. We practiced some around home, but that only made him seem to want outside by himself more.
He never wanted me to go off in the car without him ... abandonment to him perhaps? I started taking him along on short errands around town and neighboring areas. I have a station wagon and put dishes of food and water out for him. He did well for the first few minutes, but then began a meowing tirade and I just brought him back home. We practiced some leash walking, too. He liked all the new places and smells. Whenever he got upset, back in the car to try another time. We practiced every day with the leash and harness, but eventually changed to just a collar. The harness became too much trouble and annoyance. By the way, the H is better than the 8.
One day I tried taking him on a 20 mile round trip. He became extremely agitated in a while and began pawing on the floor in the front. I realized he needed to use a litter box! I had never thought of putting one in the car ... only food and water. Luckily, there was an old box in back with some paper in which I helped him into, and he badly needed to use it! What a trip home with all the windows open in the car. It was summer. I wonder what the cars following me thought of the "fragrance" wafting into their cars?
When I put a litter box in the back of the wagon, Cattail immediately became a much more relaxed car rider. He'd get nervous in anticipation of a ride and would be peeing in his box while we were going down the driveway. Knowing that food, water and the litter box were always available made all the difference in his travelling attitude thereafter. We soon made an 80 mile round trip and he did very well. It was exciting to go walkies several times and he was anxious for more and farther!
We live in the Puget Sound area of the Pacific Northwest - Washington State. A trip to Portland, OR is 3 hours one way. I needed to go down there occasionally and it ended up to be a 14 hour day. Leaving Cattail behind the first two times was traumatic for him. He was nearly ill when I returned ... I think it's called "Separation Anxiety."
So I took him with me to see if he could handle a very long day in the car. He was a little afraid of the semi-trucks on the Interstate, the overhead bridges ... and big yellow school buses. We went walkies several times and he did remarkably well ... for a cat!
Now I had created a pest. The big event of his every day was a car ride somewhere and going walkies. I worked part-time and he went with me, waited (and napped) patiently in the car and expected to go walkies before we went home. He wandered here and there in parking lots, always knowing where our car was. The secret of walking a cat on a leash is to let them lead and follow where they want to go ... until that isn't possible or safe. The secret of teaching a cat to ride in the car is to let them see that every car ride doesn't mean an unhappy ending at the vet. Why would anyone want to ride in the car once or twice a year if it always ended up to be an unhappy experience?
In the meantime, Cattail wasn't satisfied with the "freedom" he had by riding in the car and going walkies on his leash. He had a "need" to go outdoors around home. It is secluded and safe here ... no reason why he couldn't, except I was afraid he wouldn't come back home or let me catch him. I read and heard so many horror stories about cats being outside these days that I was really torn between his need and my fear.
After 8 months of his frustration from seeing another cat free outside here, one Spring day I decided to walk Cattail over to the edge of our wooded area and unhook his leash. He explored a bit and came back to me. I praised him highly and we continued doing this. Before long I tried letting him out the patio door and keeping my eye on him. As I loosened the apron strings, he began coming back to the door on his own. We had bumpy times when he'd stay away too long and sometimes out all night. I went nearly ballistic with fear and worry. He'd eventually return and wonder why I was upset and didn't trust him to take care of himself and come back home. He got in a few scraps at first with wandering males trying to find a home here in a cat friendly community. Four years later, he has become a very trusted indoor/outdoor cat. That is another story and a sore subject with many cat people. It was the right decision for US and no one will convince me it wasn't. But cats and owners are different, as are life-styles and living conditions and locations. There is no absolute right or wrong for everyone.
Now onto the rest of our travelling story ...
Since Cattail was doing so good in the car ... occasional trips to Portland for all day, daily trips around our area with no problems at all, either in the car or on leash ... I wanted to know how he'd do overnight in a motel. A trip to an accordion festival in the Cascade Mountains was his test. Except for being a little upset about a room on the second floor, he did quite well and I began thinking about a trip to Las Vegas the following month to attend another music festival. The entire trip would mean 10 days away from home ... no freedom, always leash and litter box.
It went very well ... all things considered. It was very hot in Las Vegas in September and I couldn't take him with me in the car each day when I went to the musical events. He couldn't stay in the hot car, even if there was any shade. Our motel room was air-conditioned and cool, but he didn't want to be left alone. I tried to make it up to him and walked him late at night around the motel area ... cell phone in my pocket, pepper spray in my hand. A few nights I drove him up and down the Strip because he liked to see all the colored twinkling lights. Behind my seat in the car I have a large cardboard storage chest with a big fluffy pad, which makes a comfy bed for Cattail and a wonderful perch to see a 360° view of the passing scenery.
He did so well on this trip that I began to dream that he could accompany me on my first return visit to Wisconsin, where I lived all my life until moving to Washington State 4+ years ago. I wasn't too sure about driving that distance with him. We'd be gone a long time and the driving would extend the trip by another 8 days. I decided to consider flying. A lot of research later (thanks to the Internet), I made reservations and continued to fine-tune our plans. I had to get his litter box there (these little disposable pans wouldn't work for a trip that long). How would he react to a rented car ... a sedan? I spent about 8 months thinking through every possibility and scenario. Even made a trip to the airport in Seattle to talk to ticket agents and security people, showing them his carrier to make sure it was acceptable. I was prepared for every step of the way, including the unexpected!
I even arranged for a friend to drive us to the airport in my car so Cattail wouldn't have to go into his carrier till the last minute at the airport and could get back out of it as soon as possible when we arrived back at Sea-Tac. The flight was only 3 hours, but we live an hour from the airport, plus we needed to be there 1¼ hr. ahead of time. He really has never used his carrier. Although not afraid to be in it, he'd rather not be for long periods of time. Would you want to be confined like that when you're used to the freedom he has?
The flight went remarkably well. NorthWest Airlines personnel treated him like an honored guest although no one handled him but me. I had his recent health certificate ready, plus a $50 bill to pay his airfare one-way and we went through check-in easily. He had a reservation and even security was expecting us. He made a big hit with the flight attendants and they were happy to have him on board ... a far less troublesome passenger than many children are (even some adults)!
His carrier was under the seat in front of me and he meowed a couple times when the plane actually lifted off the ground on take-off. I talked to him a few times during the flight and my feet were close to the carrier. We were by the aisle, he could see through the mesh of the carrier, so he knew where he was. I was there, too, so it must be OK.
We had major problems in Minneapolis of all kinds. Luggage (and his litter box) were lost, my rental car wasn't available, there was a big convention in town and they all arrived the same time we did, it seemed. Chaos everywhere and no cars! I had about an hour drive to our reserved motel and no way to get there. Both of us badly needed to be in that quiet place! Eventually, the luggage was located and Hertz managed to come up with a car for us (Alamo just zeroed out my credit card to add to my problems). We got to the motel eventually, but were too stressed out to sleep much. For all my attention to the minute details of planning our trip, I couldn't anticipate the near-mob scene at Minneapolis airport and how it would affect us ... "the best laid plans of mice and men" ...
Next morning we headed for Chicago and 3 days/nights. It was plenty interesting and no major problems. Cattail was used to riding and I had made the rental sedan as comfy for him as possible. He didn't have his usual perch in our car, but the back window of the rental was a good substitute and he had a bed on the back seat. He was familiar with the motel routine (Motel 6) as well as our "walkies" routine. He was invited into my friend's home and immediately won over her husband (who hates cats).
Then we moved to Milwaukee for about 10 days. I had a busy schedule and the weather was hot. For various reasons, Cattail wasn't allowed in several of my friends' homes so he had to stay in the car or be tied outside in the shade. When he was invited inside where I was visiting, I was always so proud of his perfect behavior in their home. I made every effort, when I had free time, to take him to a park or other good place to go walkies and get some outdoor exercise. He enjoyed all the exciting new places to investigate.
The main reason for my trip was an all-school reunion at my high school, part of Wisconsin's Sesquicentennial celebration. So next we headed for my former hometown in northern Wisconsin to stay with my aunt for about a week or 10 days. She lives in a retirement apartment across the highway from the hospital where I was born. Quiet place, but that busy highway close-by.
The second day, I just gave up. I couldn't force Cattail to be on leash anymore. This was so similar in many ways to our home (except for the highway). I decided to let him outside and stay close to the patio door, waiting for him to return when he was ready. (I hoped and prayed he'd be afraid to get too close to the highway.) He was back at the door in 20 minutes with a mouse in his mouth! The parking area is banked with big rocks and the hillside leading to the highway has tall grass. Mice were everywhere! Cattail spent a delightful week+ catching mice ... it was Kitty Heaven! He only went ½ way up that grassy hill and stayed clear of the highway ... seemed to know not to go there! He even went out at night when I'd come home, and I waited on the sofa by the patio door for him to return. His schedule was pretty much like at home. I was always nervous ... we were in a strange place ... and there was that highway. But I didn't feel well and was exhausted. I just couldn't deal with the leash scene anymore and he so needed some freedom. He'd been such a good boy and I wanted his vacation to end on a happy note. "Happy" to Cattail meant catching so many mice that he didn't even eat his catfood the last three days!!!
I took him for many rides on the familiar roads of my childhood, visited the cemetery where my parents are buried (and where he and I will eventually end up). It was a quiet week and my aunt loved him ... more than me, I suspect! She never knew a cat could behave like him (or be so beautiful).
The last morning when I was ready to leave for the airport, family stopped by to say good-bye and the last I remember, Cattail was outside. It was time for me to leave for the airport and I couldn't find Cattail outside. I called and searched. Just what I needed at the last minute ... he's disappeared and we're going to miss our flight. I want to be home NOW. Don't need this!!
Someone happened to look under the bed in our room and here he was! He'd slipped inside when the people were coming in. I hadn't notice that. So we were back on schedule and made our flight back to Seattle. He meowed a lot while waiting for baggage ... I think he knew our car and home were close by and he was anxious! When I let him out of the carrier in our car, he seemed stunned ... can this be true??
Back home, he hopped out of the car and flopped himself on the cement steps leading to our building. Home, Blessed Home!!! After 23 days, he had a lot of catching up to do in the 'hood. I didn't see him again for 20 hours and didn't care or worry about him! He deserved his freedom and the pleasure of being home ... he'd been such a GOOD cat all those long days and nights. We were home safe and that was the main thing!
He is so cool and cooperative in the car and motels ... completely understands our routine, looks forward to stopping at every second or third reststop on the Interstate to go walkies. I fixed a second bed for him in the car by piling an afghan and his "binky" atop some luggage on the passenger seat next to me. It was the perfect place to watch scenery, look down the highway for deer, coyotes or tumbleweeds, and sleep a lot. Sometimes we stayed at the same motel for many nights and he made it home. But he was always ready to move on to new and exciting places. Weather was cool, but warm for November in the Mid-West. We both felt much better this trip as we didn't have to deal with the hot sun.
In a few days, Cattail seemed to understand that this trip would be like the others ... it wouldn't last forever and one day he would be back home and could resume his normal life-style. In the meantime, he seemed to be quite satisfied with our temporary way of life and was good-natured and cooperative, always eager for what was coming next. I'd rather travel with him than another person!
Some of our days on the road were long ... 600-800 miles. That's a lot of riding! The only time he got distressed a little was the last day driving from Rock Springs, WY to our home in northwestern Washington. It was a 1040 mile day and we were both very ready to be back home!!
He did his usual 'hood check and stayed out most of the next day. He's been extra affectionate with me lately. I don't know if he's thanking me for a wonderful vacation or for bringing him back home! Maybe some of both!
Copyright © Karen Anderson
November, 1998EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information about travelling with your cat, read the story entitled Travelling with your kitty by the same author.
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