Traveling with Cats

I went to the Panhandle to see all the family there this weekend. I stayed at Uncle J's house and, because it's so expensive to board the cats and they HATE it, I asked if I could bring them with me. He's got a great sunroom, said the guys could stay there, so I packed them into the car and off we went.

I got harnesses and leashes for them to travel and packed them into the car with toys, food, dishes, litter box.... Maxie howled for the first hour. After that, he whined and voiced his displeasure for another three hours and finally, for the last hour, settled down and napped some. Buddy was quiet and except for the shaking violently, was okay. He figured out he could put his paws in my lap while sitting on the center console and relaxed doing that. He was fine after that. It was like traveling with kids (I assume) with all the "stuff" I had to take for them.

When we got to Uncle J's house, we unloaded all the stuff and packed them into the sunroom. Buddy immediately hid in the box Grandmother provided for hiding. She said she likes to spoil her great grands... so she gave them a box. Hmmm... don't kids usually like the box better anyway? It was all good as long as they couldn't see me. That was easier said than done since there were French doors between the sunroom and living room. Anytime we were in the living room, they could see me and Maxie would howl -- especially at night because I slept on the sofa bed and he could see me. But, by night three, he had calmed down and wasn't quite as vocal.

The grandparents are doing okay. Granddaddy is about the same as the last time I saw him. He is so quiet and just sits and listens or watches TV so it is hard to know how he was really doing. I did notice some short-term memory problems, though. He would ask a question and then a little later ask the same question. He'd do this three or four times in a row. That is a little hard to see. It is also hard to accept that he's a frail old man now. I know, he's 87 and had a full life and all, but he's MY Granddaddy and he's supposed to live forever... :::sigh::: yet, the way I saw him this weekend is the best he'll be.

Grandmother is a mess... and by that I don't mean doing poorly.... she's just a mess. She had the pacemaker put in on Thursday. Friday she seemed to be in quite a bit of pain but was reluctant to take the pain meds. She groused about being waited on. She grumbled about not being able to cook for her family. By Saturday, though, she was doing much better. The pain, she said, was all but gone. I think she was just frustrated because she can't use her left arm because she can't raise it up or lift anything with it until she goes back to the doctor next Monday. There was only one scary moment with her, really. She complained Saturday morning that she was light headed and dizzy and it felt like her heart was racing. Uncle J called the doc's office and they told him to take her blood pressure and check her pulse. We did and everything was normal. I don't mean that she didn't feel that way, but for the first time in recent memory, her BP was within normal range AND her pulse was 72. I am sure that it did feel like it was racing since before the pacemaker her "normal" pulse rate was about 48 beats per minute!

By Sunday, both Grandmother and Granddaddy were feeling good and we (Uncle G, Aunt J, Uncle J, G&G) were able to go out to dinner. It was nice and relaxed and I heard stories about when Granddaddy was a boy and had a hot pepper eating contest with his friends.

Monday morning it was time to come home. I loaded the guys up and off we went. Maxie and Buddy both settled down pretty quickly and it was an uneventful ride home -- only minimal whining from Maxie.