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.

Blog Paws

OK - so there was a little cheating going on while mom was gone. She got to meet Stillwell and his siblings (who were less interested in getting their pictures taken).

As many of your know, our friend Miss Julie adopted Dior, now Cupcake, who is Chanel's sister. Mom and Chanel roomed with them this year and it was pretty interesting. No one was sure how things would go since we knew the sisters wouldn't remember each other. There was some name calling and hissing, but it went fairly well all things considered. It helped that our Aunt Dee arrived on Tuesday and had the adjoining hotel room so the doors could be opened and everyone had a little more space.

And of course there were cupcakes:

Some liked them more than others.

 

Cupcake in the cat lounge

 

Kylo Ren from Kitty Cat Chronicles

There were several cats there this year - though apparently mom didn't get as many pictures as she normally would since she was with Chanel and making sure things went smoothly for her.

We got a swag bag that mom has YET to bring up from the car. Plus some of our friends gave us some of their stuff so they didn't have to ship it back, so we will be donating that to our rescue. THANKS to everyone - the food will come in handy as we head into kitten season.

Chanel did great and mom was impressed. If you follow us on Instagram, you would have seen the #backseatdriver jokes as mom was traveling. Considering Chanel has never ridden that far in a car and has never attended an event like this, she did great. Blog Paws next year is in Florida and depending on dates and everything else, mom is hoping Chanel can make that trip (especially since mom won a ticket to the conference using a picture of Chanel....seems only fair).

Blog Paws

Our posting this week may be a little sporadic. However, be sure to follow our links to facebook or instagram and you can see mom and Chanel over there. That's right - mom took Chanel with her to Blog Paws!!

Good think mom has that new bigger car....geez between her stuff and cat stuff, the back of the Escape was pretty full. Chanel traveled in her Sleepypod for the first hour and then mom moved her to the crate in the back seat. It was a long trip....made longer by a bad accident in Indiana that stopped traffic and then just slowed it down. Mom wasn't sure how Chanel would do for that long in the car but she did very well. She was a little chatty for the first 30 minutes but then settled in for the haul.

Mom also wasn't sure how she would do in the hotel room. Mom got everything to the room and then set up the stuff in the bathroom before letting Chanel out of her carrier. She climbed right out and wandered around checking everything out. She found the food and the counters and the bed and the hotel window. What a good girl.

Year in Review - Part 1

Happy New Years and we wish you a safe and healthy 2018!! As we have been doing, we are going to take a look back at last year....it will be a 2 parter so be sure to come back tomorrow. Let us know your favorite parts of the year as well if you have one.

January
We started out 2017 with Dandelion and Cassis still hanging out here. Plus we got a groovy new carrier from our Aunt Dee. Mom found the strawberry house and it became Mozart's private domain (basically due to the fact that he was the only one that could fit inside it). And we had a couple of episodes of homewreckers. (see also part 2) Mom also talked about fostering for Change a Pet's Life Day. The patriot girls were still at the store waiting to be adopted and got a hammock to hang out in.

February
Daiquiri showed off a very growly obsession with those spring toys. Dandelion started a new course of medication for the ongoing and perpetual snot that he was experiencing. The homewreckers were still working on the gingerbread house. Cassis was spayed and adopted!! We feared for the end of times when mom caught Ivy and Junior sleeping VERY close to each other. And we got our first foster kittens of the season - Coyote and Roadrunner. (#thelooneykittens)

March
We didn't realize it until we started looking back, but we did lots of adoptions in March: Dandelion, the patriot girls Liberty and Freedom, Coyote of the looney kittens, and Roadrunner of the looney kittens.

The looney kittens got a visitor. We celebrated Napping Day (isn't that really every day though). Mom did a post about reviews online about the rescue. There was a new guy in the foster room. Mom headed off for a weekend to visit her family. Mom also went on a rant about a tv show and FIV cats. (seems March was also the month for the ranting mom).

April
For mom's birthday this year, she got a very special present - Millie and the #designkittens. (Dior, Chanel, Versace, Gucci and Armani) The kittens were officially named and weighed. There was much ongoing cuteness. There was a couple of videos of flailing cats. We did a 3 week old kitten weigh in session. Mom posted about some of the "cat things" we have around the house. Daiquiri and Ivy had their annual vet checkup and the kittens managed to escape the box.

May
The design kittens discovered toys. Mom got a new router (and set it up herself) so the web camera works much better now. Daiquiri managed to get into the foster kitten room and Millie was NOT having it. There were several epic battles involving the incline scratcher. Mom started laying out the contestants for kittens going to Blog Paws. The boys got their own picture day. Mom headed off to Blog Paws. The kittens got to meet new friends at Blog Paws. And then it was surgery day for the design kittens.

June
We got a bunch of kittens (the #ratpackkittens) in June....6 little tuxedo kittens that just spelled trouble from the beginning. The design kittens were all spayed and neutered. We played "meet your new partners" with the rat pack kittens and the design kittens ALL in the foster room together. There was a big weekend adoption event and mom took the design kittens. The design kittens were almost all ready to head to the adoption center (Dior had an umbilical hernia and was around a few more days). Versace, Armani, Dior and Gucci were all adopted but Chanel came back to the house with a cold. The rat pack kittens all got names. Panache and her kittens arrived from a hoarding situation. We broke the VERY special news about the adoption of Dior - now known as Cupcake. Finally mom made a chart for the names of the rat pack kittens - Harlow, Bacall, Rooney, Romero, Bogart and Flynn.

almost wordless Wednesday

Back in May when mom went to Blog Paws, she drove and discovered that North Carolina plants wildflowers in the medians of the freeways. They were so pretty too look at and mom said she could even smell them as she drove by. (yes, we know you shouldn't take video and drive, but mom was very careful, doesn't do it except on weird occasions and there wasn't much traffic).

lots of fun

Our final post about Blog Paws:

There is a running inside joke from several years ago along a few cat bloggers about cupcakes. When mom and Miss Julie (from Sometimes Cats Herd You) and Mom Paula (from Sweet Purrfections) found out there was a cupcake shop nearby, they took a road trip. The kittens got a cupcake of their own to try out. Dior wasn't interested, but the boys got a little bit of frosting to try. (not much - we know it isn't good for them).

Dior and Gucci hanging out in the room

helping the head peep from Sometimes Cats Herd You 

sell Rescued 2

no, he wasn't allowed to sample the candy

conferencing is hard

Thanks to everyone who was kind about handling the kittens and helped their social skills. Especially thanks to Miss Julie - we know she had fun with the kittens as roommates, but they were certain that morning started each day at about 6:30am.

We are back and settled into our routine. Millie was spayed on Friday and will be up at a partner store for adoption. The kittens go for surgery tomorrow and will either go to the adoption center or may hang around for a few days to go to a big adoption event.

meeting new friends

Among the other things the kittens got to experience, our friends from Kitty Cat Chronicles brought Sophie to the hotel room for a visit.

Everybody put on their stranger danger suits at first.

And then Gucci decided Sophie wasn't so scary. As she walked around the room checking everything out, he started following her. It was pretty cute.

*OK - some of you saw this yesterday....dang technology outsmarted mom again  MOL

all sorts of fun

Mom headed off last week for the Blog Paws conference. This year it was in Myrtle Beach SC.

The drive was about 10 hours and mom made it in one shot. The kittens traveled pretty well - some protesting for the first hour or so. Once mom got there, she got everything out of the car and up to the room. First step was to set up the kittens in the bathroom and safety check the room. Mom and Miss Julie shoved pillows at the head of the bed, but then discovered the box spring was bigger than the platform on the floor. Which meant the kittens could actually get under the bed. Fortunately after the first day the kittens got comfortable and were usually out and about.

mom's roommate was the head peep from 

Sometimes Cats Herd You

 

Miss Julie  brought presents, including

this kitten sized camper

Mom loves that the kittens get a chance to experience so many new things when they travel like this. New spaces, new people, new smells and spaces. Harness and leashes and wide open spaces. Armani was the most bombproof and went lots of places. Gucci also did very well though the exhibit hall wasn't his favorite place. Dior was a little more hesitant out of the hotel room, but after a little more exposure, they did very well and seemed unfazed by the whole thing.

A quick note

Mom had a great time at Blog Paws. She got home yesterday after stopping to see her family on the way home. She took today off from work and hopes to get unpacked, laundry done and a couple of posts done. Of course to do that, she needs to remember where she packed the camera (or stumble across it as she unpacks).

Blog Paws

Mom is headed off to Blog Paws. She is going to try to get a few posts up in advance, but no promises. And she isn't taking the laptop, so nothing will get done while she is gone. Be sure you are following us on facebook, twitter and/or instagram as she will be posting. And follow the #blogpaws to see our friends as well. Mom is looking forward the most to seeing her friends again as she only goes every other year. 

Random Fridays

Oops - mom forgot that Junior's birthday was on Wednesday. HAPPY 7th Birthday!!

By the way, mom would like to know how the heck it has been 7 years!!
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We have contestants for the Blog Paws trip. Right now mom is sure she is taking Gucci and Armani, and is leaning toward including Dior.

Gucci was so excited he fell asleep

Dior is stunned that she made the list

Armani knew he was in all along.

Here's the deciding factors: they have to be outgoing and people friendly. They have to be pretty calm about weird things going on. They have to like to be picked up and carried around.

Gucci and Armani have this in spades....they are the first to jump on mom for attention. They do get squirmy being held, but all kittens do. However, they don't immediately fight to get down.

Dior is a little behind them. She comes over for attention and likes it but seems to sometimes have better things to do.

Chanel is a little skittish and shy right now. Mom is concerned travel and being around crowds would freak her out.

As for this hairy orange monster:

Versace

the kitten about to be renamed "ouch dammit"

He's a biter.....and he has no remorse or shame. He will let you hold him but he has much more interesting things to do somewhere else thank-you-very-much. He comes right over for attention and love, but just is WAY more trouble than anyone needs in a hotel room. Seriously.... And did we mention he bites???

Why 3 kittens? It actually works out....if mom takes one out of the room, there is still a pair to keep each other company. Mom feels bad if she takes one and they don't have a friend in the room or if she takes 2 and one spends time alone when the other is out of the room. She took 3 kittens to Nashville and it seemed to work out very well. Plus, if she gets one that absolutely freaks out being in a crowd due to noise or whatever, she has other options.