I love cats. Like any good internet dweller, I spend far too much of my free time looking at ridiculously cute cat memes. But my adoration for cats doesn’t stop there. When my husband and I go on vacation, we often bring our brown tabby McQueen along for the ride. She travels surprisingly well, usually meowing at us several times at the start of the trip before settling in for a nap for the remainder of the drive. No muss, no fuss, right? But some people just can’t leave well enough alone. This week, for our first vacation of the year, we have a new addition to the lineup: our calico rescue kitty, Rose of Sharon. (And no, she’s not named after the flower; she’s named after the Joad.)
Poor little Rose showed up on our front porch in the middle of January, terrified and half-starving. Someone clearly decided to kick her out in the dead of winter because she had no idea how to hunt or do anything except cry mournfully. It’s taken us months of rehabilitation, but she’s adjusting to her new life with aplomb. Now it’s time to see if she can join the rest of us on our latest weird wanderings across the state.
While travels with cats (or pets of any sort) can be quite exciting and make a getaway even more fulfilling, it can also be exhausting. Even though we’ll be staying with my husband’s parents, which means everything can be arranged to the cats’ preferences, right down to separate bedrooms (seriously, are they pampered or what?), that doesn’t mean either Rose of Sharon or McQueen will be happy about it. We always try to preserve the cats’ routine (same feeding time, etc.), but if you know cats, you know how finicky and disagreeable they can be. Plus, things only get more difficult because Rose of Sharon is completely obsessed with McQueen. Like “little sister looking up to big sister” obsessed. Oftentimes, McQueen can’t even squeeze in a nap without being bothered. This picture totally says it all:
So only time and a possibly botched vacation will tell if Rose of Sharon will be joining us on future excursions or hanging out at home for some solo cat time. I’m hoping for the former option, but I know of at least one brown tabby who’s eager for the latter.
Happy haunting, and happy travels with or without cats!