I apparently failed to erase the word sucker from my forehead. So, I have decided to formally announce that our house is now closed to any further animal adoption. Don’t bring any more by my door, don’t call, don’t write…we are closed.
Just a few months ago, we only had one outside dog and one outside cat who lived happily in our large, fenced-in back yard. Then, the inside wiener dog literally was brought to our door. Then, my sister’s neighbor was moving and could not take her cats.
She had tried to place them with “rescue” groups. They refused them because they were too old. Yeah, they said they were too old. I know we live in a youth obsessed society, but apparently it even applies to our animals as well.
So, long story shorter, I ended up agreeing to bring them back with me.
Their now former owner took them to get their shots updated and purchased them new travel crates. The crates were small crates sold for cats. They had a plastic grid, held in place by plastic levers. This turned out to be a big problem.
The cat crates were smaller than the little dachshund’s crate. The cats were twice the size of the dachshund. Thus, they were not happy on the seven-ish hour car ride to our house. They vocalized their displeasure all the time they were in the crates.
The other problem was that they did not stay in the crates. The white cat was able to move the crate enough to get the grid off about three hours into the trip. He finally settled down on top of the dog’s crate next to my sleeping daughter.
The black and white cat vocalized his displeasure with what sounded like the words “no” and “out.” Two hours from home, the he managed to get out of his crate also. He wanted the same spot as the white cat; this caused a conflict. They both started climbing around the car including up to the passenger seat. Then, they settled in for a while – both sitting on the dog’s crate.
Why didn’t I stop and put them back in the crates? My daughter was asleep and I knew that stopping would only cause more problems. I was the only other human in the car. Plus, they seemed to settle down after their initial exploration.
I don’t know if it was that I left the Interstate and I had to stop and go for lights and signs, or if it was just that almost two hours had passed, but the last 15 minutes or so of the trip were something.
First, the black and white cat decided to go from the passenger seat to the drivers-side floor. I managed to stop him. Then, as I started driving up the mountain, the white cat decided to stand on my shoulder, and them on my head.
So, here I am at midnight driving up a mountain with a 12 + pound cat standing on my head with no where to pull off. I finally made it to the next spot for slow traffic pull over and managed to pull over and get the cat off of my head. Luckily, my daughter slept through it all.
We managed to get home, get everyone into the house, and get the car unloaded without further incidence.
They are very nice cats. They are de-clawed, so my plans to let them go in the back yard as well did not work out. So, now we change the litter box once again. (At least, they are not allergic to it like our now outdoor cat).
The entire clan seems to get along well, although the latest cats do not interact with the outdoor animals. They like a lot of attention, just like the dachshund. They all love my daughter and my husband.
However, our home is now closed to further pet adoption. I believe my forehead label may be gone. Although, my daughter does remind me that we have a couple of tadpoles on the way for a home school project :O
