Friday, April 27, 2018

traveling with Chanel

Here are some things mom learned traveling with Chanel last week:

1. The Sleepypod carrier is great, but crate was a good idea. Mom put up a small wire crate in the backseat of the Escape. It gave Chanel a little more room to stretch out, access to water and a litter box, and allowed her to see out more.

2. Water Faucets: mom keeps the bathroom door shut here at the house. It started when that was where the foster kittens were kept, now it is just habit and allows mom to leave stuff laying around that she doesn't want us getting into. So she had NO idea that Chanel was into water.

3. Litterbox location is more important than you think. The last couple of conferences, the cabinet in the bathroom was far enough from the floor that the boxes fit UNDER the cabinet. Not so much in this hotel, so we needed a new configuration. The picture below seemed fine....until you realize that the tub faucet had a slow drip....and both tuxedo kittens liked to play in the tub..... (the clay litter got moved to the other side by day 2). (and yes, we left a very nice tip for housekeeping)

4. More space is better: we knew that re-introducing Chanel and Cupcake could go either way. Fortunately, there was some hissing but nothing much further than that. And on Tuesday, Aunt Dee (who adopted Calais from us) showed up and was in the adjoining room. The doors were left open and having a little more space cut down on some of the name calling at 2am.

5. That dumb stroller is handy. Keep in mind that mom hadn't used it much before leaving for the conference. Turns out that Chanel LIKES having her own ride....and it certainly made it much easier to take her around the hotel and conference (plus there was room to put stuff underneath).

7. Adding to your list is OK, though remembering before you leave is better. After some thought, a pheromone diffuser might have come in handy. And while mom actually BOUGHT a night light in Nashville, she forgot to pack one. If she is going to leave the plastic box packed with some basic essentials, she needs to get one for the box.

8. Start using a blanket for trips and bring it with you. Cupcake has a blanket that she takes to Starbucks and that Miss Julie brought on the trip. It gave her a safe landing place both in the hotel room and out in the hotel.

Overall, it really was a good trip. Mom made sure to bring a scratcher for Chanel since she not only uses them but likes to lounge on them. The Sleepypod was a nice safe space to have in the room as well. More than once mom came back to the room and Cupcake was asleep on her blanket on the bed and Chanel was in the Sleepypod.



18 comments:

  1. Sure sounds like those two kitties were well taken care of. And thanks for all the tips. Glad you had a good trip.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You rocked it, Chanel! And you got a ton of pets for it too, I'm sure.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Around here, turning on a water tap almost guarantees the arrival of a tuxedo cat to investigate. The head peep wishes she had done a video of how it worked when it called TWO tuxedo cats at once!

    Chanel, you were such a good girl for this trip, and you did a great job putting up with your cranky sister.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. were they ever at the sink together? that would be a question for Aunt Dee.

      Delete
  4. Sounds like it was a good trip for Chanel. I like the crate idea.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Living and learning! In thinking we need a cat stroller too!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great post! We'd never think about stuff like night lights or diffusers. And a stroller, too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Our mom loved seeing Chanel! She's learning a lot about traveling with pets from you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hard to remember or think of everything until you find out you need it and don't have it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. chanel....add sum fish two that sink N yur talkin de BEST of timez ☺☺♥♥ 984 pawz up on yur moovee !!

    ReplyDelete
  10. It is so cool that Chanel will travel so well!
    Yours sincerely,
    Margaret Thatcher

    ReplyDelete
  11. These are good insights! And my human says she had some Feliway spray that she could have/ should have lent you! (Especially because I don't really need it.) How funny that Chanel is a faucet girl.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have a permanent crate in my back seat, humans that travel with me think it’s weird lol but you never know, sometimes a cat just goes for a ride. And I was really glad I had it when a guy showed up at work and just dropped off a kitten. I call her my bonus kitten.

    ReplyDelete
  13. It amazes me how well Chanel does in different spaces. I can't imagine any of my cats behaving well in a different place. Saku gets so distressed with any type of change, Sasha is just too old, and Sheldon is too crazy!

    Well done Chanel!

    ReplyDelete
  14. We are glad that the trip went so well for you and Chanel! Chanel, that water thing made us laugh, and reminds us of our Angel Moosey. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. All valuable points for the next trip. And if a hotel is cat-friendly, I'm sure the staff are used to the odd cat-mess.

    ReplyDelete

We love to hear from you.....