Furbaby Adventures

Poor Daisy

Before I go into my drive, I thought I would devote a post about traveling with my pets. If you are new to my blog, I have a (small) giant 110 pound Alaskan Malamute named Dakota. I also have two cats named Daisy & Lola. Daisy & Lola traveled with me from California to Alaska. That trip was a flight from Oakland to Anchorage and was uneventful (for the most part). We did get stuck overnight in Bethel, but that ended up not being that big of a deal.

If you are traveling within the state of Alaska, you do NOT need a health certificate for your animals. You do however, need proof that your animals have had their rabies shot. Since I was traveling through the Canadian/United States borders, I was required to have proof of rabies and a health certificate. 

Dakota was current on his rabies, however my cats were not. So a week before I left Akiak, I had to fly my kitties and myself to Bethel for the day. I was meeting up with my friend, Mandii, who was bringing her cat to the vet for the same reason. The vet is only in Bethel once a month for a week. So, you have to jump on his visits if you need something. Even to fly my kitties to Anchorage, they needed their rabies. So this was an important day. 

My kitties were ready. I had Daisy in a hard case carrier and Lola was in a soft carrier. I knew I was going to need to check one of my cats for the trip to Anchorage, and Lola tends to get scared, where Daisy gets mad. I figured it was best to piss off Daisy instead of terrifying Lola. So I would check Daisy and keep Lola with me. But for that day, I just wanted them to get used to their carriers. 

The plane agent couldn't drive through the giant puddle/pond by my house. So he waited for me at the end of the road. 

And here's where it gets horrible. As I was walking to the agents car, carrying my two cats in their carriers, I slipped on a patch of ice in the pond and I dropped Lola in the puddle. Both cats are screaming (Lola more so) and I kinda toss Daisy on the dry ground as I get Lola (who's screaming bloody murder) out of the puddle. Water comes pouring out of the carrier as I lift it out. The water was freezing cold and I am convinced Lola's going to die.

The agent came running over and helped me with the cats. My pants are soaking wet and I feel like the worst cat mommy EVER. I use my hat and my gloves to attempt to dry off Lola. The pilot of the bush plane let me keep Lola on my lap as I attempted to soothe her and keep her from dying (in my mind anyways). I had the idea of putting her in Daisy's carrier with Daisy. Once when Lola was a kitten and they both had to go to the vet in California, Lola had gotten scared and climbed in with Daisy. And when I travel with Daisy, her temperature spikes up because she gets stressed out. I figured Daisy would help keep Lola warm.

And besides, Lola's carrier was soaking wet. I was so focused on Lola that I didn't notice it was still dripping wet...on my lap...soaking my jacket....and pants....and cell phone...which made it totally useless until it dried off.....that night....

Anyways, I was waiting for my friend at the airport (which is pretty much a large room) so I transferred Lola into Daisy's carrier. Daisy was mad but Lola was just sitting there...in shock no doubt. 

Mandii comes with her cat and we get ready to leave to the vet. I grab the carrier to leave. The bottom drops out of the carrier and both my cats fall to the ground. Time seemed to stop for a moment. I was still holding the top to the carrier when I see Daisy run off. I shout, "OH MY GOD!" and drop the top on Lola, hoping to stall her as I go after Daisy. Mandii shouts, "I'll get the other one!" and this sweet family starts to put the carrier back together. 

I manage to corner Daisy and bring her back. The family has put it together for me, so I shove  Daisy in and I can hear Lola screaming by the bathroom. Mandii had her cornered but was waiting for me to get her. I have never seen such a terrified cat. I ended up holding her for a few minutes before putting her back in the carrier. I ended up taping the carrier with packing tape to keep it from falling apart again.

The rest of that day was pretty uneventful. I got their shots and health certificate. But this made me really dread traveling with them on a long road trip. 

Dakota's space

Cats behind a couch

Compared to that day, the trip was fine. I mean, they hated it. I'd have to catch them every morning, and they'd meow in the car for hours to let me know they were pissed. But we kinda got into a routine. 

Dakota had the easiest time traveling. I set up a pet hammock in the back seat. I stashed my mother's and my luggage on the floor and he got the whole back seat to himself. The cats had their carriers in the back. Every day, I'd set up the litter box & their food and we'd settle in for the night. 

Catching the cats...

Dakota and Lola seemed to adjust best to traveling. Daisy would hide every day. I loved the pet friendly rooms in Canada. The bottoms of the beds were blocked off so the cats couldn't hide under the beds, which made them so much easier to catch in the mornings. When they were able to hide under the beds, I just decided to pull the beds apart and flip the mattresses up. The cats had no where to hide. On the last few days, Daisy just seemed to give up hiding. She'd sit there and mew a little.

One morning, one of the cats would not stop complaining. I even stopped the car to make sure nothing was wrong. Then, I decided to put the cats together. They could soothe each other. That worked. For that day. There was a cat fight the next day. Both cats got a bit scratched up. We had two days left in the trip. By that time, I was so done dealing with them. I kept them together. They didn't make as much noise after that, but now I wish I had separated them. You'll see why in a moment.

Dakota sleeping in car

One thing I thought was funny, was every night, Dakota would crash like he spent the day running on the highway. Every time we stopped, I'd walk him but who knew traveling would be so tiring for him? But over all, he had the easiest time on the trip.

Dakota crashed out in hotel room...

So here's the aftermath: 

Dakota ~ is doing great. He loves all the extra attention he gets and everyone in the house adores him. He has a yard to play in and I've been walking him around. He sleeps in the hallway, guarding all of his new humans, but every morning, he jumps into my bed and sleeps with me for a bit. He wakes me up when my niece gets up. He's a happy boy.

Dakota enjoying the grass

Daisy ~ was the first cat (my brother has two boy cats) to adjust to the new living situation. Only in the fact that she started eating before any of the other cats. They all lost some weight before we moved the food & litter boxes around to help them adjust. Daisy hides all day and only comes out for me to pet her. She sleeps next to me every night and has become very needy. She is very vocal about needing my affection and that's new.

That's not a bed Lola!

Lola ~ makes me sad actually. I've had her since she was a tiny 4 week old kitten. Lola stays in the living room and only comes in the room to eat or use the litter box. She won't cuddle with me, but she cuddles with my brother & his wife. She's starting to let me pet her and she lets my niece pet her. She hisses and growls at every other cat (including Daisy). She's only starting to let Dakota approach her, which is more than she'll do for Daisy. For a cat who used to cuddle with me every night and sleep on my legs, it hurts my feelings that she is so mad at me. I am hoping she'll get over it soon. We've had a little progress. She did jump on the bed for five minutes last night. And she laid out by my head when I was reading last night. So maybe she's starting to forgive me a bit. She won't let me pick her up at all. 

I'm not forcing things. Hopefully, my furbabies will be just as happy as Dakota is with the change. Here's hoping!

And for the record: not one person asked to see my documentation for my animals' rabies or health certificate. Not the airline to Anchorage, not at the Canadian border, and not at the U.S. border....fantastic.

Dakota & I

Cuddling my boy on the drive