Random Fridays

Did you see the post mom wrote for Cats Going Places about her and Chanel and a fundraiser?

he says: Relax and Chive on

unless you want his spring toy....

then you are in trouble

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.

Chanel's ride

After letting the stroller sit in the living room for a while, mom took it and Chanel out for a ride on Sunday. She wants to make the outings short and fun for now. You can read the article about the purchase on Cats Going Places too. (there is video over there as well)

Mom moved her from the carrier in the car to the stroller and then zipped it shut. Since Chanel had never been actually shut in there before, she was a little surprised by the screen coming down. MOL

Once inside though, mom unzipped the top and moved it back so Chanel could see out better. There are two straps attached to the bottom of the stroller but mom left Chanel's leash on just in case. She acted like she was going to try to get out once, but mom settled her back inside and she was fine. They took a walk around a local pet store and Chanel did very well.

The only time Chanel really look startled was on the way back to the car. Mom stopped to get her out of the stroller and into her carrier and a breeze picked up. Chanel looked around and her ears flattened back but nothing beyond that.

Mom is learning though - when they got back in the car, she gave Chanel a couple of treats in her carrier. That may start to backfire though as some kitten had a few demands when the treats were gone. 

outing

With the weather being a little bit nicer this weekend, mom decided to get Chanel out of the house. Up until now they have just visited pet stores, but mom learned a local garden center is pet friendly (she should have known this considering they have adopted garden cats from the rescue) and decided to try that.

Chanel took it upon herself (again) to jump from the cart, so mom let her check out the plants from floor level for a while. She never really walked around to see what was going on - just sat there blocking traffic.

one of the garden cats

she was polite, but did a good airplane ears

Mom finally put her back in the cart and they continued looking around. The garden center was still getting their Christmas stuff packed up and it is WAY too cold here for spring planting, so there really wasn't much to check out. However, the clerks were all very nice and excited to see Chanel coming in for a visit, so once things get nicer out, mom plans to make another visit and check out everything inside plus their outdoor spaces as well. 

Random Fridays

We have some sad news that some of you have already seen on Facebook. Mom was gone from Sunday to Wednesday for the holiday. She got a call Tuesday morning from the pet sitter that Weaver has passed away over night. She was so very tiny but we had high hopes for her. The pet sitters are very experienced and said that everyone seemed fine Monday night. Sigourney seems to be OK and we will try to get her spayed next week.

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We have a new website to tell you about. Miss Julie - mom to Cupcake and aunt to Chanel - started a new site called Cats Going Places to talk about city cats and their adventures. Plus questions we all get and equipment we use. Mom and Chanel are contributors. If you have a Cat Going Places, join us on facebook, twitter and instagram using #CatsGoingPlaces
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Speaking of going places, mom had plans to take Chanel out this weekend, but DANG it is cold here. So maybe, maybe not....

Mom will be spending the weekend getting the final kinks worked out of the database for the rescue as well as our year end review (hopefully up Monday and Tuesday of next week).

Have a safe and happy new year celebration. And be sure to scope out your safe spot for all the fireworks.