Almost There!

Today was a big day. It was Brad's last day at work before the move. We also had two "Relo-cubes" delivered for us to fill with our crap, so we can finally start getting it out of our apartment. But most of all, I flew our cat Misty to Oregon! For those of you who didn't know our plan, we didn't want to make our cat suffer through the nine days it is going to take for us to get to Seattle. And lets face it, the trip would have been a lot more stressful for us if she was meowing in the backseat the whole time. But our only other option was flying her "as cargo" to Brad's college friend in Eugene, Oregon and picking her up on our way to Seattle.

A friend of mine actually suggested this because a breeder she knows does it all the time. I started looking into it. When I called a local vet to make an appointment to get a health certificate (required to be done less than 10 days before the animal flies to ensure they are in good enough health), the receptionist at the office literally said "you CANNOT fly her as cargo." She told me (wrongly) that it wasn't climate controlled, that they let the animals sit on the tarmac, and that it would be WAY more stressful for the cat than 9 days in a car. Additionally she asked if I knew how many animals died on flights like this. It was humiliating. Every reason I gave for choosing the flight, she shot down.

So what was I to do? I definitely started looking further into the process. There HAVE been some horror stories of carriers falling, breaking open, and the animal getting lose/killed (http://whereisjack.org/). I read up on the safety ratings at different airlines and about how to ensure the most safe flight. Ultimately this lead me to take extra precautions, though I still felt like flying was the best choice. There are a lot more regulations than there used to be, and I was assured everything was climate controlled and there were separate facilities for live animals.

My fluff ball, sleeping...

She flew this morning on United. I had to be there at 5am but I also had to feed her before I brought her. So I was up at 4am feeding and getting her ready. I taped a picture of her to the carrier in case she did get loose. I even got her an engraved tag for her collar that says her name and phone numbers for me and Brad (even though she is also microchipped). When I got the the cargo facility at RDU (not that easy to find in complete darkness), there was another woman there who grew up in the same town as me who was flying her daughter's two cats to Honolulu. So I thought, "ok, well those cats have it worse than Misty"...My cat was only flying to San Francisco and then up to Eugene.

They had a very friendly man working the main counter area. He also put me at ease somewhat. But ultimately I left with a bad taste in my mouth. There was another man doing most of the leg work and he seemed to hate his job. They had a checklist of things they were supposed to examine regarding the carrier and discuss with me and they just made me sign it without talking about it or appearing to check her carrier at all. And then after they had put her carrier on the other side of the counter they walked right up to it and drilled holes around the door while she was laying in it! They drill the holes so that they can put zip ties through the plastic and the wire door to make sure the door doesn't pop open... However, I BOUGHT a carrier that CAME with the holes for the zip ties! And this man just drilled into it anyway. That was when Misty first got visibly upset, which hurt to watch.

Then I was signing the last of the forms and he took her away while I was looking down, I didn't even get to look at her or stick my fingers through the carrier to touch her one last time. That really made me upset. All the while Mr. Friendly at the counter was reassuring me that everything would be fine. It just felt really fake. If he was the one tending to Misty the whole flight maybe that would be true...But he wasn't. And the other people had the least regard for me or my cat.

All day I just watched her flight and kept thinking I saw her around our apartment out of the corner of my eye. She may not be the warmest cat to people she doesn't know, but we are incredibly attached to each other. She follows me from room to room when I'm doing chores. Even if that means walking back and forth and back and forth several times. Any time I come home she is either waiting at the top of the stairs or she comes when I call to say "hi." She's just such a constant in my life. A soft little ball of constant, predictable love.

Its hard to know you are going to deprive her of food and a litter box and her peace and quite for 10 hours, knowing nothing of where she will be or what other animals she will be around. And you can't explain what is happening when they look out at you from inside the cage with those big, sad eyes.

I feel especially guilty given her past. She came to the shelter as a tiny kitten and was quickly adopted. She stayed with that family for 10 years and then they returned her to the shelter. At eleven years old she sat back in a tiny cage wondering why she wasn't in a home with her people anymore. Being so old, she sat there for months until she started getting sick to the point where they had to take her out of the adoption center. They did all kinds of tests, thinking she may have intestinal cancer. They shaved her belly even and did an ultrasound. I remember even just as a volunteer worrying about the results from that test.

Luckily it came back negative and they found a food that she did better on. She only ever sat in one position and the volunteers said it was because she was self-conscious about her belly being so hairless. And then one day I was talking to another volunteer who somehow just convinced me to take her home with me, as a foster. And that day changed both our lives. She was never sick again; all she needed was a home again and to not be stressed in that tiny cage. So its hard not to feel like she is going to think we abandoned her after everything she's been through.

In spite of a delayed flight, she made it to Oregon and didn't have any "accidents" in her carrier. I'm glad she at least isn't stuck in a cage anymore and that she will be well cared for until we get there.  I don't know how to thank Brad's friend Patrick, a person I've never even met.

Anyway, now that I've poured my heart out about my cat and probably got a few eye-rolls and yawns from everyone, I should probably get back to packing and cleaning!!