Ella

Ken Anderson

Ken Anderson

Greeter
Staff member
Ella is an only kitty for now. She seems to have settled into that, as she is no longer walking around meowing as she did for a few days after Bubba died. She's not a talker, so that seemed significant. I still think she'd be happier with another cat in the house, though.

My wife drives for a non-profit transportation company, and she drove someone to Boston today. She just called to say that she'll be staying in a hotel because she's too tired to drive home tonight, so there will be just Ella and me.

Ella divides her time between us pretty evenly, but she is very much Michelle's kitty. When we're both here at night, she usually sleeps alongside me. If I sleep on the futon downstairs, as I'll do sometimes if either of us is sick, so that we don't spread it to one another, Ella will go back and forth between us, but when Michelle isn't home, Ella rarely sleeps on the bed with me. I don't know what that's all about, but she's consistent with that.

She is 13 years old, by the way. She came to live with us as a kitten in December thirteen years ago.
 
When Miki was a year or so old, I thought she might want a friend like her. We found a Chihuahua mix and brought it home. He was bigger than Miki and she was terrified of him. He was very playful and wanted her to play with him. I kept him for three days and Miki stayed hid from him the whole time. So, she has been an only dog since then and likes it that way.

Maybe Ella likes being an only cat.
 
Ella thinks she'd like to be an only cat, but she also doesn't like being left alone. Watching her with Bubba for over five years, she complained about his presence, but she also sat next to him sometimes, played with him sometimes, and I think she enjoyed having someone to hiss at.

We will be heading to Michigan tomorrow morning and will be bringing Ella with us. She will hate that too, but I don't feel good about leaving her alone here so soon after Bubba died. We will have to find pet-friendly hotels along the way, but we can stay at my oldest brother's house while we're there. He is flying from Florida to Michigan, where he stays during the winter, but he has a home in Menominee, Michigan, and has had cats before. Ella is small, quiet, and not destructive. Although I'll bring a transport cage with us, I'll hold her while Michelle is driving. Where she goes when I'm driving will be up to Michelle. Ella has never been on a long road trip; the longest was when we brought her here from Fort Kent, about a 2.5-hour drive, but she was one of three cats then. It means we'll have to eat takeout on the way there and either have something delivered or one of us pick stuff up while at a hotel, because I don't know how quiet Ella would be if we left her alone in a hotel room.
 
Last edited:
She did great with the trip. We had to refer to her as a support animal to get her in to the Sleep Inn, but she's not being very supportive. She managed to find a way under the bed, despite there being a barricade. She manage to squeeze over the top of it, I think, and now she's on top of the lining within the box spring. I sure hope she chooses to come out sometime because I don't know how I'm going to get her out otherwise. She has never been in a hotel room, she's scared, and she's found a place to hide. Right now, I'm just hoping that some calm moments will draw her out. She didn't need to use the litter box, or wouldn't, and while she took a couple of bites of canned food, that was about it.
 
I've never traveled with a pet, except maybe as a kid the family dog came on vacation with us and I guess someone watched the cat. We had a trailer my father would park for the season, and we would stay for weeks while he went back to work. The drive was usually about 4 hours, so there was no extended travel time. I can't imagine taking a cat on such an extended trip.
 
When we moved from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas to Maine, we brought four cats with us, one of them a feral cat who we had only recently taken in. We had two cars so we bought two very large cages and carried two in each, rotating cats and cars each morning, so that the other cats would get acquainted with the feral one. Our vet gave us something on the order of a kitty valium to give them each day, but we never had to use that. They protested for the first fifteen minutes or so and then settled down. One of them threw up in the cage once, but no one urinated or defecated in the cage, and they were pretty okay.

Other than that, we don't usually take the cats, so I think they are afraid they're going to the vet every time they are put in a car. Some cats travel better than others, but we usually get someone to sit with the cats and feed them when we're gone. She's not there with them the whole time but spends some time with them other than what it takes to feed them. However, having lost Bubba only a couple of weeks ago, we didn't want to leave Ella alone, even with a sitter. I think it was a good idea. Cats hate new things so she panics at first, but then settles down. Once we get to my oldest brother's house, where we'll be staying in Michigan, she'll panic again, but then she'll get down to the business of exploring.
 
Last edited:
The dogs here have a wee tray …wonder if it comes in a cats version ….the dogs have the artificial grass with wouldn’t suit cats
hubs changes the wee pads daily ,they are also taken on 2 extensive walks a day ….we get up with the sun at 5 am …go walking
as it’s an appartment

The dogs are Beagles ….oh dear the amount of hair they loose ….hubs “vacuums” them most days with a special grooming tool that fits the Dyson stick vacumn
to try to prevent the mess on furniture…everywhere …

IMG_2005.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Even without the litter, Ella recognized the litter box as the place. As she got into position, she looked at me with a helpless look that said, "This doesn't seem right but I don't know what else to do."

We're at our second hotel on the trip, and she's snooping. No yelling this time, so she's getting to be a pro at road trips.
 
Last edited:
Ken Anderson said:
Even without the litter, Ella recognized the litter box as the place. As she got into position, she looked at me with a helpless look that said, "This doesn't seem right but I don't know what else to do."

We're at our second hotel on the trip, and she's snooping. No yelling this time, so she's getting to be a pro at road trips.
Click to expand...
Better be careful in future @Ken Anderson she may get to like travel and expect to go with you or Michelle each time you go out even if it’s only to the shops ….we already know most of us can’t even visit the loo without the company of the cat

One such cat in Adelaide follows hubs around like a dog would …..

Don’t think I posted this ….just 2 weeks before flying up here ,we took care of Sam ..his sister Tilly and Bailey the caviler King Charles spaniel
For about the 20 th time …..

Anyway ….we planned to strip our bed at home of the quilted quilt cover and the bulky mattress protector / comforter so we could wash them while in the city for 2 weeks …..at a huge laundromat very close to where the above pets live ….

Anyway I said to hubs after we’d got settled in made the bed at the sit …..put our fridge stuff in fridge ….we planned to drive to the laundromat…..but where’s Sam …..he was in the garage following ….hubs the last I seen of him …..we searched the garage ..searched the car …( cause he’s even …gets in the car while we are getting out stuff out) ……searched inside ..( very small house size block ) …had to give up looking 👀…..and go wash the bedding ……we got 1/2 Km from the home ….and he came out from under our folded bulky mattress protector ….stretching and yawning …gave us the dirtiest look ….as if to say …You woke me up….you know …


1767665153452.png


IMG_6730.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top