Saying good-bye...

I’ve been MIA from blogging for awhile because I’ve been struggling with my next entry. I wouldn’t call it writer’s block…more like emotional block.

A couple of weeks ago Thomas and I said good-bye to someone very special, someone who would normally be sitting in my lap right now as I type. Of course, he wouldn’t like being moved every three minutes while I get up for more tissues. But then again, if he were here, I guess I wouldn’t need any.

Boots was a very special kitty. He’d been abandoned and abused and was feral when I first encountered him near my apartment in Tucson, Ariz. It took months of coaxing, but he finally calmed down and started his new life as a pampered house kitty. He even, maybe not surprisingly, completely lost interest in going outside. 

Boots, the sweetest cat with the saddest eyes

Unfortunately, he’d been cursed with several health problems over the last couple of years. And as were preparing for our move to Germany, our vet cautioned us about the stress that traveling may cause on Boots. But, what other choice did we have? I was afraid (and admittedly, selfish) that he would feel abandoned if I left him with friends or family.  I would never put him through that again. And after all, you never leave behind a member of the “herd” (as Thomas and I say in regard to us and our kitty family).

The first few months here in Germany, Boots was fine. It wasn’t until earlier this month that we started seeing signs of his health beginning to decline, and I started to get a horrible, sinking feeling in my stomach.

We took him the vet on a Thursday evening. Fortunately, Thomas came with me as the entire visit was in German. She ran some tests. We waited. Had a coffee. Petted Boots. And worried. Thirty minutes later she called us back in. Even in my elementary German, I could tell from her tone alone that the prognosis wasn’t good. Now I know how animals feel when they hear people speaking. She gave him some medication and sent us home with some special food, which he hardly touched.

The next day, his condition worsened. It was painfully clear that Boots was dying. I always knew that one day I would have to say good-bye. But that didn’t make one bit easier.

We took him back to the vet, desperately hoping something could be done. But it couldn’t. The vet explained that only humane option was euthanasia. I kept hoping I misunderstood and held my breath as Thomas choked out a translation.

Giving consent was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make.

We stayed with him until the very end, something I’d always promised him – and myself – that I would do. Thomas and I stroked him until the vet told us in German that his heart was “still.”

I still have a hard time believing he’s gone. And I’ll always have so many what-ifs. What if I hadn’t moved him across the Atlantic. What if I tried more types of food. What if I’d taken him to the vet a little sooner… But for all the what-ifs, I can’t help but remember all of the good years we had together and how much he’d changed from that beat-up feral cat to a loving, gentle member of our family.

Shortly after his death, Thomas and I were in the kitchen washing dishes when a soap bubble drifted in front of us. Normally, I wouldn’t have noticed it, except that it lingered in the same spot for an unusually long time before it disappeared behind the laptop on the counter. Now, I’m not the religious type and maybe this sounds odd, but I’d like to think that maybe that was Boots, just stopping by to let us know he’s still here, watching out for us and the other furbabies.

A lot of stress, a few cocktails and a little cat pee

We’re finally in Munich! Well, actually, we have been for a couple of days but I’ve been horribly sick since the day before we flew out. I credit that in part to the intense stress mounting up to our departure…and to the numerous cocktails I had at our farewell Madison party.

I’ve only been here a short while and already there is much to write about. Today, I’ll start with the beginning – getting here.

Thomas and I drove to Chicago and stayed 1.5 days in a hotel to limit the time the cats had to be in their carriers. We made a couple of trips to the airport to drop off our luggage and then ourselves and the cats. (It’s important to note here for everyone wondering – no, all of my remaining clothes, shoes, accessories and assorted household goods did not fit into our luggage. We had to make a last minute run to the post office and begrudgingly hand over $172 to ship a box which should arrive next week).

When we got to the airport with the cats, the people in Lufthansa were awesome. They even gave Thomas and me an entire row of four seats all to ourselves since having a carry-on-cat under your seat means less legroom.

At Chicago O'Hare, kitties and luggage in tow

I also learned a few important things about flying with pets. Whether your pet is flying under the plane or under your seat, you’ll need to be prepared to remove Fluffy or Fido from the carrier for airport security:

• For under-the-plane, this was easier since we were off to the side, away from most of the foot traffic and chaos. But you’ll need to hold your pet for a good three or four minutes while the official examines the crate and bedding.

• For under-the-seat, this was a little more stressful. Quickly removing coats, sweaters, scarves, belts and shoes is challenging enough, add a stressed out feline into the mix and you’ve got quite a carry-on obstacle course! For obvious reasons, you can’t run a pet though the x-ray machine. So you’ll need to remove him, run the carrier through, and walk through the metal detector with 10 terrified claws latched into your skin, praying you don’t trip the sensor. Surprisingly, my cat was not nearly as hard to handle as I had feared. And he was more than happy to return to his carrier after it had cleared x-ray.

Once we were aboard the flight, my neighboring passengers were treated to the often loud, and not-so-musical sounds of periodic cat cries. Luckily, it only appeared to annoy one older lady who I didn’t care for anyway since she kept annoying the flight attendants with various non-cat-under-the-seat-related questions and complaints. I figured the mutual annoyances cancelled each other out.

At last we landed! As Thomas and I walked through the Munich airport, he noticed something wet had dripped onto his shoes. He thought it was from a drink. But I had a sinking feeling that said otherwise. It took a quick carrier sniff to realize it was cat pee. Poor baby couldn’t hold it. Not his fault, but now we had to find a pet supply store for shampoo pronto!

Thomas found one (without the navigation system that was supposed to be in our rental car from Sixt). We rushed to our new apartment, and before I could even take a tour, I had the bathwater started and a soaped up stinky little furbaby and his carrier. Unfortunately, I’d forgotten to take his medication out of the side pocket before submersing it in the bathwater. So now it looks like I’ll be taking on the “finding a vet in Germany” challenge on a little sooner than expected.

In the meantime, I’ve managed to dry out some of the pills (which have been reduced to white powder) on a paper plate. That, combined with the plastic syringes I use to administer the medication (without the needle) will no doubt make a great impression should our landlady open the cabinet when she drops by tomorrow…

Cats, cars and carelessness

Today was an important day in our move. And it started at the unreasonable hour of 5 a.m.

My morning mission was to prepare the cats for their pre-flight vet inspection (which must happen no more than 10 days before the flight). This is just one of the many steps required to relocate a pet to Germany. I trimmed nails, applied kitty claw tips (to avoid carrier destruction) and carted each cat up and down the stairs and across town through terrible rush hour traffic. But at least the appointment was a success. My vet cleared them to fly and filled out the ream of required paper documentation on them. Next up in the feline department: the USDA endorsement appointment this Wednesday. At least that appointment is sans mes chats.

After dropping the cats off at home and assessing the copious amount of cat furring re-coating my normally red coat, I hurried off to work -- a place where time hasn’t yet told my to-do list about its rapidly approaching departure. So I worked until it was time for my next move-related task: forgoing my vehicular mobility...

I met the buyer for my car at the bank. For the most part, everything went smoothly. We exchanged money for keys and signed the necessary papers. I took my photocopies and license plate (unlike many other countries, in the U.S., the plates belong to the person who paid for them. The buyer must purchase new ones when he or she registers the vehicle) and was on my way.

I boarded the bus to my apartment slightly numb from selling my beloved car, but relieved the sale was complete. I got off the bus and walked home in the same oblivious state of mind. It wasn’t until I laid my purse down on the counter that I realized something important was missing – my license plate and copies of the documents. I frantically called the bus’ lost and found office, but it was closed. So here I am still dwelling on my blunder hours later, hoping someone will turn my stuff in. Maybe the universe will take pity on me and my hopeless forgetfulness. But I guess I'll have to wait until to tomorrow to find out...

Finding that "just right" airline-approved cat carrier

Since we’re moving to Germany with cats, I’ve had to do a lot of research on flying with pets. There’s also a lot of paperwork, vaccinations and specific microchipping rules, but that’s another post.

Some airlines won’t let fly pets in the cargo hold during peak summer and winter months, as the area is not adequately temperature controlled. And most vets strongly discourage the use of tranquilizers (and some airlines forbid it) as the mixture of drugs and changes in air pressure could be fatal for your furry friend.

Depending on the size of the pet, there are two flight options: accompanied cargo and in-cabin (a third option is to ship Fido or Fluffy separately (AKA “unaccompanied”), but I don’t know much about that).

Specific travel requirements may vary, so it’s best to call the airline fist. But here’s what we were told for our Chicago-Munich Lufthansa  flight.

Accompanied Cargo 

Cargo carriers, like the ones we ordered must:

• Meet IATA regulations.
• Be hard-shelled and held together with bolts (not plastic flaps).
• Be tall enough for the animal to stand, with a few inches to spare.
• Have an attachable water bowl and plenty of bedding for comfort and to help soak up…accidents.

In-cabin

You’re allowed one pet per passenger. But airlines often limit the total number of in-cabin pets to just a few. It seems the best way to book a flight with a pet, whether in cargo or under the seat, is to call the airline directly and mention the number of animals you need to transport and how. This typically costs a bit more than booking online. But you reduce the the risk of being turned away when you get to the airport.

Under-the-seat carriers must:

• Be no larger than 55cm x 40cm x 20cm.
• Weigh less than 8 kg (pet and carrier combined).

On a personal note, I’m a little nervous about travelling with my cat Momo in-cabin (Thomas calls him the Red Devil). He’s a loud meower…something Thomas says is karma catching up with me for all the times I complained about crying kids on flights. Plus he’s a skilled carrier destroyer.  But we got a Teafco Argo carrier as a wedding gift from friends last year, and so far he’s only managed to snag the wire mesh. We’ll see how it holds up after the 9-hour flight. Lufthansa also supplies carriers, maybe I should get one as a backup…

From 0 to kitty-papa in an Augenblick

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, we love our furbabies.  Although for Thomas, saying “love” was no easy task for two reasons:

1. While emotions are international, the words we use to describe them vary across languages. Germans typically reserve the word “love” (liebe) for their significant others. Even parents don’t tell their children they “love” them. Instead, they say something like, “Ich habe euch lieb.” which is more like “I have love for you.” It might at first sound odd in English. But when you think about it, we do love people differently. Not more or less, just differently.
2. This is a big one: Thomas never had pets growing up. Like never, ever. Not even a hamster or sea monkeys. I, on the hand, grew up with representatives from each animal kingdom. The first time he woke up with a furry feline wrapped around his head was at my Arizona apartment. So imagine his surprise when he witnessed his first cat hairball. (“Umm…is it supposed to do that??”)

So while Thomas sometimes still hesitates at close-contact nuzzling, he’s come a long way. He scoops the litter box, cleans up hairballs, assists with medication and freely admits he “loves” them…even when they occasionally race across his face in the middle of the night or claw his legs as he’s getting into the shower.

Even his parents (who never allowed animals at home) have warmed up to them. The other day his mom asked how one was doing after a recent battle with a kidney infection.

I may be a crazy cat girl, but he married me. That makes him certifiable in my book. :)

All paws on deck...to Munich

We just booked our flights to Munich! [BIG exhale] Even if we get nothing else done, at least we have somewhere to go come mid-November when our apartment lease here ends. ;)

Booking two airline tickets might not sound like much, but traveling with cats complicates matters a bit.

We decided to fly with Lufthansa as they seem to have a more pet-friendly policy than many other airlines. But we'll still have to divide them between in-cabin and cargo hold. Having heard numerous horror stories of pets not making it on connection flights, we knew flying direct was the only option that would keep me slightly above nervous-wreck status. Because it may be inconvenient when airlines misplace your luggage, but devastating if it's your pet that's MIA. I also learned it's good to avoid connections in London as animal quarantine regulations apply in England.

So we priced everything out (trying to steer clear of Thanksgiving, one of the busiest, most expensive flying times in the U.S.) and had numerous back-up travel dates planned since many airlines, Lufthansa included, strictly limit the number of pets that can travel in the cabin.

After several hours, we were ready. I had to call Lufthansa to book the flight since they have to make sure there's space on the plane for the cats. Nothing would be worse than showing up at the airport, cats in tow, and then finding out they can't fly.

I have to say the Lufthansa representative that took my call was very helpful and very patient as I bombarded him with questions. Thirty minutes (and about $2,500) later we had (all) our reservations. And in eight weeks, all paws (human and feline) will touch down in Munich, our new home!