Confessions of a Cat Transporter
I mentioned how I took my cat to the vet yesterday. It was just for his annual checkup and some booster shots. The actual vet was no trouble, but the trip too and from the vet was quite an ordeal.
Firstly, I don't have a cat carrier anymore. Actually, this is okay, as I can't seem to convince Orion to get into a cat carrier. Instead, I put him in a pillowcase, which is supposed to actually be the better way to transport a cat. Needless to say, he doesn't really like the pillowcase anymore than he does the cat carrier.
So I had The Fat Man go out to the car to turn on the air conditioning for five minutes before taking Orion to the car (it was 86 °F yesterday, and my car was sitting in the sun). After the five minutes had passed, I snuck up on the sleeping cat, and stuffed him into the pillowcase. He started yowling almost instantly.
The trip to the vet wasn't actually that bad... just Orion letting out mournful yowls, and me trying to comfort him, and convince him this was for his own good. The vet visit only took about 10 minutes, then back in the car.
On the way home, Orion was even more restless. He kept moving around in the pillowcase, I was worried that he would get out of it. Finally, with home less than a mile away, he managed to move so his front half was hanging off the passenger seat. I couldn't really reach him while I was driving, so I decided I'd slide him back onto the seat when I stopped for the next light. Unfortunately, I miscalculated how far forward his weight was, and how much inertia would be generated by my breaking...
That's right, I hit the breaks (gently I will add), Orion's head went down, his back end flipped up, and slammed into the passenger side dashboard. Okay, so maybe it was more of a tap than a slam, but I was terrified I'd hurt him. Luckily for me, he soon emerged from the pillowcase, apparently none the worse for wear, jumped up on the seat, and spent the rest of the trip home looking out the window. I think I got a few funny looks... People are used to seeing a dog sitting like that, not so much a cat.
When we got back to the apartment, I was still left with how to get Orion back into the apartment. After torturing him at the vet's I didn't want to let him out right away, but Orion had no intention of going back into the pillowcase... well, it wasn't far, I could carry him...
Two scratches later, and a few attempts to get out the blocked cat door, Orion decided to sleep it off in the closet. An hour or so later he'd forgotten all about it. I'm so glad I only need to do that once a year.
Firstly, I don't have a cat carrier anymore. Actually, this is okay, as I can't seem to convince Orion to get into a cat carrier. Instead, I put him in a pillowcase, which is supposed to actually be the better way to transport a cat. Needless to say, he doesn't really like the pillowcase anymore than he does the cat carrier.
So I had The Fat Man go out to the car to turn on the air conditioning for five minutes before taking Orion to the car (it was 86 °F yesterday, and my car was sitting in the sun). After the five minutes had passed, I snuck up on the sleeping cat, and stuffed him into the pillowcase. He started yowling almost instantly.
The trip to the vet wasn't actually that bad... just Orion letting out mournful yowls, and me trying to comfort him, and convince him this was for his own good. The vet visit only took about 10 minutes, then back in the car.
On the way home, Orion was even more restless. He kept moving around in the pillowcase, I was worried that he would get out of it. Finally, with home less than a mile away, he managed to move so his front half was hanging off the passenger seat. I couldn't really reach him while I was driving, so I decided I'd slide him back onto the seat when I stopped for the next light. Unfortunately, I miscalculated how far forward his weight was, and how much inertia would be generated by my breaking...
That's right, I hit the breaks (gently I will add), Orion's head went down, his back end flipped up, and slammed into the passenger side dashboard. Okay, so maybe it was more of a tap than a slam, but I was terrified I'd hurt him. Luckily for me, he soon emerged from the pillowcase, apparently none the worse for wear, jumped up on the seat, and spent the rest of the trip home looking out the window. I think I got a few funny looks... People are used to seeing a dog sitting like that, not so much a cat.
When we got back to the apartment, I was still left with how to get Orion back into the apartment. After torturing him at the vet's I didn't want to let him out right away, but Orion had no intention of going back into the pillowcase... well, it wasn't far, I could carry him...
Two scratches later, and a few attempts to get out the blocked cat door, Orion decided to sleep it off in the closet. An hour or so later he'd forgotten all about it. I'm so glad I only need to do that once a year.
posted by Tam @ 4:54 PM
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