I got a notification this morning that today is my thirteenth blogiversary. I wasn’t prepared to write anything, but I found a screenshot that I saved from an internet site called The Wayback Machine, which saves websites from the past. Fortunately, I saved this because when I went there now, I encountered an error when I entered BadCatChris.com.
I am amazed I lasted this long. I think it’s the community that’s built around blogging that inspires me to continue. Even though I have never met anyone in person, I feel as though I have made many friends.
There is so much work to do at our West Virginia home that I have not had much time for anything else; therefore, here is a photo of our little catio in Myrtle Beach. The photo was taken on June 1, 2010. Chris is hiding his face behind the table, and Tigger is relaxing in the chair.
Here is a post from September 2016. This was more than two months after we adopted Floki, and the eye issue he brought into the house was still going around.
The second half of our trip started well. The cats seemed to be comfortable in the Ikare Pet Carrier I bought for them. With the pullouts on the side, there was plenty of room for two cats and a small litter box. I think three cats would have done well in it. They never used the litter box but we had to deal with cats pooping in their carriers at least twice in the past, so it was worth having.
The second time we stopped I gave them a little food while we were charging the car.
By the time we got to Charleston, West Virginia, we were tired and looking forward to the trip being over. The GPS indicated that we would arrive in forty-five minutes, at 2:37, but then a warning light appeared. The rear passenger tire pressure had dropped to 28 psi. There was an exit ahead, so Rose got in the right lane. I was hoping the tire was just low and I could fill it with my portable tire inflator, but thirty seconds later the pressure dropped to 15 p.s.i.
Fortunately, there was a gas station just off the highway, so we pulled in there. By then, the pressure had dropped to zero.
Rose first called our insurance company, and they put us on hold for a long time as they tried to find someone who could tow a Tesla, which requires a flatbed. While she was doing that, I called Tesla and spoke with a woman who was very nice. Since we were nowhere near a Tesla service center, she tried to help us find a local tire shop that could change a tire. Since Teslas do not come with spare tires, there was no option for changing it on the spot.
After much hemming and hawing, we decided to arrange for a tow truck to bring our car the 41 miles to our house. Tesla would have paid for a tow to a service center, but a tow to our house cost us $370. We did that because there was no room for three people and two cats in the tow truck. If it were just Rose and me, we would have gone straight to a tire shop, if one could have been found that had the right size tires.
Rose called the maintenance supervisor at the property she oversees, which is in the same town as our house. He came to pick up Rose and the cats. Meanwhile, the tow truck arrived a few minutes before he did. The driver was nice enough to wait until he came, then Rose and the cats left while I stayed with the tow truck.
I arrived at the house just before five and spent a fair amount of time bringing all the items from the car to the laundry room, which serves as a buffer zone between the cats and the outside. I couldn’t believe how much stuff that car holds.
I wanted to get a video of the cats exploring the house for the first time in three and a half years, but I was way too late for that. Instead, I got a picture of Frankie finishing his dinner.
Two of the doors on the catio had ripped screens, so we couldn’t let the cats out there, which was a shame because they loved that catio. Frankie discovered the room that used to be my office, but now contained much of the stuff that we left behind.
Unfortunately, our renters moved bedding that they didn’t want into that room. They also moved heavy furniture from downstairs to upstairs and other furniture from upstairs to downstairs, so we had to move them back over the next couple of days.
We found a cat perch that Frankie took to and spent much of the remaining Saturday on. I don’t remember that perch, but I am getting old.
On Sunday, I found a large screen in the garage and slid it in front of the doors. Since my tools and everything else we had in storage won’t be here until sometime this week, that will have to do for the cats to enjoy the catio.
I took Frankie for a walk on Sunday. I wanted him to get used to the area but he just wanted to stay near home for some reason.
We went for a walk yesterday, too. That time we walked down the alley until the end, then came back down the next street. He wants to go out today, but there is a cold drizzle right now.
All the tire shops were closed for Memorial Day weekend, so I made several calls to shops this morning, but none had the right size tires, which are over $500 each, by the way. When did tires get so expensive? One shop in Parkersburg ordered them and will be here sometime tomorrow. I will then have to travel with the tow truck driver for forty minutes. That is the downside of living in a small town.
Tomorrow will be four days without a car at a time when we need supplies. We learned Walmart delivers, so we have been ordering stuff from them. The interesting thing is that there are no Kroger stores near us in Florida, but we can still order Kroger delivery. Here, there is a Kroger in the next town, but we can’t get delivery from them.
Anyway, the good news is we are here and safe. Ultimately, that is what matters.
I put together our new Ikare Pet Carrier last week. I wanted to put it in the car along with some of the luggage we planned to bring so we could get an idea how much more room we had. It turns out we had exactly enough room to bring what we brought. It’s funny how that works.
Anyway, Floki thought it was a good place to hang out.
We were ready, we needed to get Floki first because he would be the most difficult. We hope he would be on the patio, as usual be he is our Mind-Reading cat and knew something was up so he hid under the bed. After much effort and a broom handle I managed to get him and barely hold on to him long enough to put him in the crate.
Frankie was easy to get. Once we had them both, my wife and I carried them together to the car. It was then a one person job to heave them into the car. we were ready to leave at 6:45 a.m.
With the extenders open, they had plenty of room to move around or take a nap, even with a small litter box in there with them, but neither wanted to rest for the first few hours.
Here they are on either our first or second stop. You can see the litter box in there with them. Neither used it but we thought they should have it just in case.
There wasn’t much crying going on until almost three hours into the trip and then Floki gave us the cat version of, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet…?”
We stayed at a Tru by Hilton in Orangeburg, South Carolina. This hotel didn’t have traditional luggage carts. Instead they had oversized hand Dollies which were too small to hold our large carrier. Instead, I removed the litter box and Rose and I carried them inside by hand.
They were happy to be in the hotel. They have been to hotels several times and I think they understand this is just a temporary break.
On the way we fed them each what Rose calls a “squeezy tube.” I don’t know the real name but it wasn’t enough. They were quite hungry when we got to the hotel.
Once their hunger was satisfied the became social.
We got up early this morning at 4:30. Our room has no coffee maker. We assumed if they were not giving guests coffee makers it must be because they were providing coffee in the lobby 24/7. Not so. There was no coffee nor were there any employees to ask about coffee. When I returned to the room empty handed, my wife called the front desk but nobody answered.
Here is a photo of Chris on November 20, 2020. We had just bought our house in West Virginia and made the long drive up there with the cats. We were worried that Chris’s arthritis would prevent him from going up the stairs, but he was the first cat to investigate the second floor. You can see he is still wearing his locator tag.
The reason I chose this photo is that we are preparing to make that trip to West Virginia again this morning. I am looking forward to being there, but I am not looking forward to two days of driving with cats. Wish us luck.
On another note, my son, also named Chris, is celebrating his birthday today. I feel bad that I can’t celebrate with him.
On our walk on Tuesday Morning, Frankie decided to check on our neighbor’s female cat, who is also named Frankie. He first peeked through the door, but the inner door was closed, and he couldn’t see anything, so he climbed onto her chair and looked through the window.
Here is a photo of Chris from May 17, 2011. I don’t know if someone yelled at him to get off the refrigerator or if he had seen enough and was on to the next thing.
Bad Cat Chris 