We got to our hotel room yesterday a little after 2:00 p.m. It was relatively early but the cats needed a potty break and my back was hurting from the car ride.
On the way to West Virginia we stayed at a Home2 by Hilton in Columbia South Carolina. It was a nice room inside the hotel where I didn’t have to worry much about Frankie escaping because even if he got out of the room he would still be contained inside the hotel.. This time we stayed at a Best Western in Walterboro, South Carolina. It was an outside room and not nearly as nice.
Going both ways I wanted our second day to be slightly shorter than our first because I figured we would be sick of driving by the second day, plus we needed more time to settle in at home. So with that in mind, Walterboro was the only option.
Rose typically likes to stay at Hiltons or Marriotts but those hotels, at least in Walterboro, did not allow pets. My only choices were Best Western, Econolodge, Motel 6, etc. We both thought Best Western would be the best of the worst so we picked that one. We may have been wrong.
We got a room near the end and when we pulled in a calico cat immediately came up to our car with a big story. I happened to have Stella and Chewy’s readily available in the truck so I put some down for her while Rose put the top down so we could remove our cats.
Rose thought she was pregnant but then we noticed she was ear tipped. I think she is just smart and knows how to get food out of visitors. It worked on me.
When we got in the room we noticed it smelled like dog. It also was covered with old carpet and Rose was worried about fleas. I wanted to put the litter box on a hard floor, not carpet, for ease of cleaning, but the only hard floor was in the tiny bathroom. I couldn’t put it there. Rose suggested putting it on a towel, which I did.
It wasn’t long before Chris pulled the towel back and then dumped a bunch of litter on the exposed carpet. It was then that I realized I had forgotten to bring a broom and dustpan. All I could do was pick it up with my fingers.
What surprised me was when Chris got into the crate that he was trapped in all day. I found Floki in the smaller crate too but I did not get a photo of that.
I went out later to get dinner and brought some food out for the stray. It was then that I noticed a shy black cat hanging out with the calico. Frankie noticed too.
We left this morning around 6:30. The first thing I did was bring out bowl of wet food and a bowl of dry food for the calico and black cat. The calico was there eating the wet food as I loaded the cats in the car. I never saw the black cat again. Perhaps he was waiting for us to leave.
It is now 8:00 a.m. and Floki is still howling. Yesterday it lasted three hours and then another two hours of on and off crying. Hopefully today will be better.
Bad Cat Chris 
What a shame about the Best Western room…..I bet Frankie enjoyed being in the cage because it smelled familiar. The cats are maybe a little confused but that cage smells like home! Nice of you to feed the strays – maybe they belong to whoever manages the hotel? They don’t look like they starve that’s for sure. Hope Floki doesn’t “sing” all the way to Florida!!
Pam
Thanks, Pam. He is calm now. It would be nice if hotel employees help these cats but I don’t know because they were far from the main doors.
Blerg. Even I don’t like a room that smells like a dog. And I AM a dog!! Gross. In case you ever need to test for fleas, take a white towel and drag it around across the carpet. Or put on white sweat socks and walk around dragging your feet. Usually, if they’re there, you’ll see them. Double-gross!
Love and licks,
Cupcake
Love and licks,
Cupcake
That is a good idea. I’ll have to remember that.
That hotel sounds pretty disgusting, yuck. I’ll bet your calico pal misses you already. Be safe!
Thanks. It was not good but I have seen worse.
That was kind of you to feed those kitties. It makes me so sad to see homeless cats.Hope the rest of your trip goes well.
Thanks. I feel bad they are stuck in the cold.
Those hotel cats really know how to work the guests! MOL That does not sound like one of the better Best Westerns. My human and I have stayed in a couple, and they are usually better than Motel 6 or Red Roof (my human avoids both). Yours sounded pretty crappy.
It was tolerable. I think it is just time for a renovation.
That hotel sounds like it was pretty bad. We’re sorry, but glad it worked out. And thank you for feeding the calico and black kitty. That sure was nice of you.
Thanks. It did work out and we made it back safely.
we R late ta de partee az all wayz; high paws ta mom and dad for helpin de hotel catz 🙂 ♥♥
and we hope de journee bak ta florida iza safe one ! ♥♥
Thanks. 🙂
That must be so difficult to find a good room for pets. Sounds like you will not be going back. Sounds like you have a serenade while driving so no need for finding radio stations which can be difficult on travels
Yes, it was a sort of opera with fingernails on a chalkboard. 🙂
I can never get my cat to travel with me (unless it’s s short stroll around the town). She is afraid of being far from home or moving at a high speed. Luckily, my neighbors are always willing to watch her when our family is away on a trip.
None of our cats like it and Floki was especially stressed out. We plan on buying a bigger vehical for the next trip. Maybe a mini van with something like a playpen for cats would be better.
The few Best Westerns we’ve stayed have been quite decent, clean and odor free. I think it probably depends upon who the franchise owner may be. Your minivan idea sounds great.
That is why I picked the Best Western because I thought they were at least halfway decent. This one wasn’t terrible it just needed the carpets tore up and maybe some tile put down.
I don’t know if you had any, but using one piece of cardboard to push the loose litter onto another piece of cardboard will get most of the litter up. If you do it twice, you will have a lot less to pick up.
That might have helped but I don’t remember if we had cardboard.