I have to admit, I really wanted to write this entry before now, long before. I wrote the first entry from the motel in Bakersfield, CA, which was the only motel we stayed in that had internet access. The next day I was in Foster City at my new apartment, and it all got crazy again (and still is). So now I'll try to fill in the blanks and hope that I remember it all.
We got to my dad's in OKC at about 10:30 that night, Monday, 8/3. The cat only said one word to me on the whole drive up there, which was, "Me?" I took that to mean, "We're not going to the vet this time, are we?" That was about the time her tranquilizers should have worn off so I thought she would start talking up a storm like she does on our drives to the vet. She never said another word. Not for a very, very long time.
We brought her into a house that belonged to another cat, one that does not get along nicely with other cats and barely with people. The plan was this: Lock Sugar (Dad's cat) in one bedroom while we snuck Dipper (my cat) into my bedroom and shut the door, where she would stay for the week while Sugar spent most of her days outside and her nights roaming freely about her house. Easy enough. We brought in the litter box, her food and a couple of toys. We set the carrier down on the floor and opened the door. She peeked out, sniffed a bit, and went right under the bed, where she stayed for just about the next week. She didn't use her litter box for another 24 hours. She didn't eat. She didn't even wake me up in the morning for her wet food. She smelled that other cat but they never saw each other, and she heard strange noises in a strange house where the only safe place was under the bed next to the wall. I couldn't get her to drink either, so I had Dad drain the water out of a tuna can for her. I put it under the bed and she lapped it up. But I still worried about her until the next day when she finally peed again. I never thought I'd be so happy to see a cat pee. I had to ask myself what my life was coming to. I also decided that I wasn't going to give her tranquilizers again and we would just see how the drive to CA went without them.
As long as she felt safe under that bed, I felt pretty free to roam the house myself. I did some work on the web site, I saw some family I hardly ever get to see, I got new tires. For the first couple of days I would go in every once in a while and lie down next to the bed and talk to her as if everything was normal. She would wag her tail and roll over on her side, and if I could reach her, she would let me pet her. She would eat a little if I put it under the bed but no way was she coming out... that is, until about the third night. She figured out that things got really quiet at night and that there might be something outside that bedroom door that needed her attention. So she started wanting to follow me out of the room late at night when I had to go to the bathroom. If she had ever seen Sugar she probably would have changed her mind but luckily for everyone involved, that never happened. By the time we left she was pretty comfortable in her room, she had gotten used to a lot of the noises of the house and she was starting to eat a little more regularly, except she still wasn't waking me up in the morning. I had to set my alarm to keep her on a schedule. She was even starting to spend more time on the bed than under it. And then we disrupted her life again and took her to California.
But while all this was going on, the humans in the house were dealing with their own complications. Over the course of that week Dad studied his road atlas and planned a route. I had to have my lease and first month's rent there on 8/10. The movers wouldn't be there until the morning of 8/11. However, since the movers would be there long before the apartment office opened, we still had to get there in enough time on 8/10 to do the walk-through and get the keys. We even FedExed the lease and rent just in case we were delayed on the trip. It all sounded reasonable except for one thing: Dad insisted that my sister come with us. The problem was, Deanna had a leadership retreat she was required to attend (college stuff) and it didn't end until 4:30 on Saturday. So somehow we had to figure out how to start in OKC at about 6 on Saturday (when Deanna finally got home and got her stuff together) and get to the Bay Area early enough on Monday to take care of business. We were looking at probably 30 total hours of driving and driving most of the night on Saturday to start with. I had only one thing to say to that. HELL NO.
HELL NO was I risking my life driving all night so she could come with us. Sure, I would LOVE for her to come with us. But was it worth risking our safety on the road? No. And after the last two months of my life and as exhausted as I was, I knew I physically wouldn't be able to do that. No way was I driving all night. No freakin' way. No way.
So Dad's plan became this: I start out with my stepmom Saturday morning and we drive to Gallup, NM. Dad waits for Deanna to get home and then they start out, probably arriving at 2 or 3 in the morning. I knew I could do that but I wasn't sure they could. But Dad thought he could take naps during the day and then be able to drive. He had certainly lived worse schedules in his firefighting days. So I decided that while I thought it was STUPID to take a risk like that, who was I to tell someone else what their limitations were. If he really thought he could do it, let him do it. He wouldn't risk Deanna's life anyway if he thought he couldn't make it. So that was the plan, and that's what we did. But as usual, all estimates were wrong. When we were just getting into Albuquerque, he was texting us telling us that they were finally leaving OKC. That was about 7pm their time. Bali Ree (my stepmom) said they probably wouldn't get to Gallup until 6am. I thought about 3 or 4. Still, I was glad it wasn't me.
Bali Ree and I started out at about 9am on Saturday. We stopped in Amarillo to see my great aunt and uncle who are both 93 years old and who I rarely get to see. We spent about 30 minutes with them with the cat in the carrier just inside the front door. They thought we were tackling a lot going all the way to Gallup that day but we did fine -- it took 12 hours before it was all over but we started early enough that it wasn't that big a deal. It was actually a very enjoyable drive, and I found out that I like my stepmom a lot more when she's not around my dad. Dipper got used to hearing her voice in the car and by the time we got to the motel that night, she would actually come up and sniff her hand. Believe me, as skiddish as this cat has become in the last year or so, that was big.
I didn't give Dipper any drugs this time and she did fine. She never said a word. We even opened the door to her carrier so she would feel a little less confined, even though she didn't step out. She also didn't eat or use her box, but I knew she was stressed so I didn't worry too much. At least there were no drugs in her system to shut things down again. The only real problem we had was when we got to the motel in Gallup, which we chose specifically because it said pets were allowed. We walked in at 9pm ready to check in, only to find signs throughout the lobby saying, "No pets allowed." We didn't say anything. We just got our keys (we each had a room, I would share mine with Deanna) and went around to the back of the motel. Luckily the doors were on the outside of the building so it was relatively easy to sneak her in. But we also had to unload everything out of my car. I had boxes, cat litter, a feeder, A CAT, luggage, my laptop... we moved fast and hid the carrier under a blanket until we got her into my room. When we let her out, she headed for underneath the bed and found she couldn't get there because it was on a platform (thank God, or we would have never gotten her back out). We had also stuffed extra pillows in any holes she could squeeze through to get between the bed and the wall. So she would hide between the platform and the bed skirt and form a little lump along the edge of the bed. Well, as long as she was happy.
I, however, was PISSED. I had told Dad, just make reservations at the La Quinta. They always allow pets and they don't charge extra for them. But no, we had to go to a Choice motel (Comfort Inn, Sleep Inn, Quality Inn, etc). You know why? Waffles. Their free continental breakfast includes waffles you can make yourself. So here we were, sneaking in a cat under a blanket so my dad could make his own waffle. Just shoot me. Better yet... never mind. I told Bali Ree about the La Quinta. She said that if she had known I had had that conversation with him, she would have insisted we go there instead. Yeah, I mentioned it to him at least three times... lesson learned. Next time, tell someone who can actually get through to the guy. I suspect she has her ways. Waffles. Good grief.
After we unloaded the car into the room we went next door to Applebee's. Bali Ree ordered a margarita (which I've never seen anyone on that side of the family do, ever) and we finally ate at about 10pm. Gallup was extremely dry, as in no humidity whatsoever. My lips were chapped as soon as we got there and they didn't heal for two weeks. I mean it was DRY. So when I took a shower, I left the bathroom door open to get some steam into the room. And then the cat did something she's never done before. She got up on her front paws on the edge of the tub behind me and howled at me as if to say, "You've been in here long enough and I don't know where I am so COME OUT AND KEEP ME COMPANY!" That was the only thing she said to me on the whole trip.
I went to bed at about 1am and woke up at 4:30 to some noise outside. I figured Dad and Deanna had finally arrived and were unloading the car into Bali Ree's room. I went back to sleep.
At 6:30 my cell phone alarm went off. It was time to feed the cat. Ten minutes later my phone rang. Bali Ree says, "Are you awake?"
"Uh, yeah, just fed the cat, although she's not all that interested."
"They're just pulling in."
"NOW???"
They got there at 6:45. Dad was going to get his waffle and then we were going to get on the road again. And I know Bali Ree was thinking exactly the same thing I was, that two people who had been driving all night were not going to drive anymore today. So we had another 12 hours ahead of us to Bakersfield, CA, and we had to do it ourselves.
Stay tuned for Part 3, coming tomorrow.
We got to my dad's in OKC at about 10:30 that night, Monday, 8/3. The cat only said one word to me on the whole drive up there, which was, "Me?" I took that to mean, "We're not going to the vet this time, are we?" That was about the time her tranquilizers should have worn off so I thought she would start talking up a storm like she does on our drives to the vet. She never said another word. Not for a very, very long time.
We brought her into a house that belonged to another cat, one that does not get along nicely with other cats and barely with people. The plan was this: Lock Sugar (Dad's cat) in one bedroom while we snuck Dipper (my cat) into my bedroom and shut the door, where she would stay for the week while Sugar spent most of her days outside and her nights roaming freely about her house. Easy enough. We brought in the litter box, her food and a couple of toys. We set the carrier down on the floor and opened the door. She peeked out, sniffed a bit, and went right under the bed, where she stayed for just about the next week. She didn't use her litter box for another 24 hours. She didn't eat. She didn't even wake me up in the morning for her wet food. She smelled that other cat but they never saw each other, and she heard strange noises in a strange house where the only safe place was under the bed next to the wall. I couldn't get her to drink either, so I had Dad drain the water out of a tuna can for her. I put it under the bed and she lapped it up. But I still worried about her until the next day when she finally peed again. I never thought I'd be so happy to see a cat pee. I had to ask myself what my life was coming to. I also decided that I wasn't going to give her tranquilizers again and we would just see how the drive to CA went without them.
As long as she felt safe under that bed, I felt pretty free to roam the house myself. I did some work on the web site, I saw some family I hardly ever get to see, I got new tires. For the first couple of days I would go in every once in a while and lie down next to the bed and talk to her as if everything was normal. She would wag her tail and roll over on her side, and if I could reach her, she would let me pet her. She would eat a little if I put it under the bed but no way was she coming out... that is, until about the third night. She figured out that things got really quiet at night and that there might be something outside that bedroom door that needed her attention. So she started wanting to follow me out of the room late at night when I had to go to the bathroom. If she had ever seen Sugar she probably would have changed her mind but luckily for everyone involved, that never happened. By the time we left she was pretty comfortable in her room, she had gotten used to a lot of the noises of the house and she was starting to eat a little more regularly, except she still wasn't waking me up in the morning. I had to set my alarm to keep her on a schedule. She was even starting to spend more time on the bed than under it. And then we disrupted her life again and took her to California.
But while all this was going on, the humans in the house were dealing with their own complications. Over the course of that week Dad studied his road atlas and planned a route. I had to have my lease and first month's rent there on 8/10. The movers wouldn't be there until the morning of 8/11. However, since the movers would be there long before the apartment office opened, we still had to get there in enough time on 8/10 to do the walk-through and get the keys. We even FedExed the lease and rent just in case we were delayed on the trip. It all sounded reasonable except for one thing: Dad insisted that my sister come with us. The problem was, Deanna had a leadership retreat she was required to attend (college stuff) and it didn't end until 4:30 on Saturday. So somehow we had to figure out how to start in OKC at about 6 on Saturday (when Deanna finally got home and got her stuff together) and get to the Bay Area early enough on Monday to take care of business. We were looking at probably 30 total hours of driving and driving most of the night on Saturday to start with. I had only one thing to say to that. HELL NO.
HELL NO was I risking my life driving all night so she could come with us. Sure, I would LOVE for her to come with us. But was it worth risking our safety on the road? No. And after the last two months of my life and as exhausted as I was, I knew I physically wouldn't be able to do that. No way was I driving all night. No freakin' way. No way.
So Dad's plan became this: I start out with my stepmom Saturday morning and we drive to Gallup, NM. Dad waits for Deanna to get home and then they start out, probably arriving at 2 or 3 in the morning. I knew I could do that but I wasn't sure they could. But Dad thought he could take naps during the day and then be able to drive. He had certainly lived worse schedules in his firefighting days. So I decided that while I thought it was STUPID to take a risk like that, who was I to tell someone else what their limitations were. If he really thought he could do it, let him do it. He wouldn't risk Deanna's life anyway if he thought he couldn't make it. So that was the plan, and that's what we did. But as usual, all estimates were wrong. When we were just getting into Albuquerque, he was texting us telling us that they were finally leaving OKC. That was about 7pm their time. Bali Ree (my stepmom) said they probably wouldn't get to Gallup until 6am. I thought about 3 or 4. Still, I was glad it wasn't me.
Bali Ree and I started out at about 9am on Saturday. We stopped in Amarillo to see my great aunt and uncle who are both 93 years old and who I rarely get to see. We spent about 30 minutes with them with the cat in the carrier just inside the front door. They thought we were tackling a lot going all the way to Gallup that day but we did fine -- it took 12 hours before it was all over but we started early enough that it wasn't that big a deal. It was actually a very enjoyable drive, and I found out that I like my stepmom a lot more when she's not around my dad. Dipper got used to hearing her voice in the car and by the time we got to the motel that night, she would actually come up and sniff her hand. Believe me, as skiddish as this cat has become in the last year or so, that was big.
I didn't give Dipper any drugs this time and she did fine. She never said a word. We even opened the door to her carrier so she would feel a little less confined, even though she didn't step out. She also didn't eat or use her box, but I knew she was stressed so I didn't worry too much. At least there were no drugs in her system to shut things down again. The only real problem we had was when we got to the motel in Gallup, which we chose specifically because it said pets were allowed. We walked in at 9pm ready to check in, only to find signs throughout the lobby saying, "No pets allowed." We didn't say anything. We just got our keys (we each had a room, I would share mine with Deanna) and went around to the back of the motel. Luckily the doors were on the outside of the building so it was relatively easy to sneak her in. But we also had to unload everything out of my car. I had boxes, cat litter, a feeder, A CAT, luggage, my laptop... we moved fast and hid the carrier under a blanket until we got her into my room. When we let her out, she headed for underneath the bed and found she couldn't get there because it was on a platform (thank God, or we would have never gotten her back out). We had also stuffed extra pillows in any holes she could squeeze through to get between the bed and the wall. So she would hide between the platform and the bed skirt and form a little lump along the edge of the bed. Well, as long as she was happy.
I, however, was PISSED. I had told Dad, just make reservations at the La Quinta. They always allow pets and they don't charge extra for them. But no, we had to go to a Choice motel (Comfort Inn, Sleep Inn, Quality Inn, etc). You know why? Waffles. Their free continental breakfast includes waffles you can make yourself. So here we were, sneaking in a cat under a blanket so my dad could make his own waffle. Just shoot me. Better yet... never mind. I told Bali Ree about the La Quinta. She said that if she had known I had had that conversation with him, she would have insisted we go there instead. Yeah, I mentioned it to him at least three times... lesson learned. Next time, tell someone who can actually get through to the guy. I suspect she has her ways. Waffles. Good grief.
After we unloaded the car into the room we went next door to Applebee's. Bali Ree ordered a margarita (which I've never seen anyone on that side of the family do, ever) and we finally ate at about 10pm. Gallup was extremely dry, as in no humidity whatsoever. My lips were chapped as soon as we got there and they didn't heal for two weeks. I mean it was DRY. So when I took a shower, I left the bathroom door open to get some steam into the room. And then the cat did something she's never done before. She got up on her front paws on the edge of the tub behind me and howled at me as if to say, "You've been in here long enough and I don't know where I am so COME OUT AND KEEP ME COMPANY!" That was the only thing she said to me on the whole trip.
I went to bed at about 1am and woke up at 4:30 to some noise outside. I figured Dad and Deanna had finally arrived and were unloading the car into Bali Ree's room. I went back to sleep.
At 6:30 my cell phone alarm went off. It was time to feed the cat. Ten minutes later my phone rang. Bali Ree says, "Are you awake?"
"Uh, yeah, just fed the cat, although she's not all that interested."
"They're just pulling in."
"NOW???"
They got there at 6:45. Dad was going to get his waffle and then we were going to get on the road again. And I know Bali Ree was thinking exactly the same thing I was, that two people who had been driving all night were not going to drive anymore today. So we had another 12 hours ahead of us to Bakersfield, CA, and we had to do it ourselves.
Stay tuned for Part 3, coming tomorrow.
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