We have brought our cats with us to Europe for four months. Because we are crazy people. Because two transatlantic trips with a cat were not enough for one lifetime—we needed to add two more, this time with TWO cats, just to keep things interesting. Because I have repressed most details of
the first time around. (Although I do have a hazy memory of walking the mewling Bossy Cat (in her carrier) up and down the plane aisle like I'd seen mothers of fussy babies do. Possibly that was a dream?)
You may remember the Bossy Kitten from such posts as
this and
this (#tbt). Man, was she adorable. And still is…in her way. But also very bad. She bites with what feels like increasingly sharp teeth, she swipes at us as we walk by, we have to
cover her claws
so she doesn't destroy the furniture (we figured this out too late for our own stuff, but just in time for subletting, yay), she hisses at children. Also, on a road trip this summer, and I can tell you this now because we already sold our car no questions asked to a Kia dealership, she emptied her apparently very full bladder in the way back, staring panicked into my eyes as I screamed for her to stop. That was a rough day. We have grown fond of referring to the cats as The Fat One and The Bad One. My mother tells me this is not good parenting.
One thing that helps on the plane: sedatives. For the cats, too, haha. We have now mastered the art of scruffing the cats and shoving a pill down their throats. Although one thing I don't recommend, if the pill wears off and the kitten starts crying, is teaming up with your husband to take her into the tiny airplane bathroom together, letting her out of her carrier, and trying to do the whole scruff/pill shove maneuver a second time in there. Also I don't recommend flying with your cats to Europe via Istanbul, where your second flight will probably be delayed, and which is technically not even on the way to where you're going, although it is on the way to everywhere when you fly Turkish Airlines, which is the airline where they give you Turkish delight almost the minute you come on board.
After we got through the TWENTY TWO HOURS of travel time to get here, it took the cats a while to settle into their new life in Vienna. We had to try a few different kinds of food before we found one they liked, we got them a
toy that has become their obsession, we invested in
this magical substance
, and after about ten days all was back to normal.
But in the past week, The Bad One has transformed into a whole new cat. A BED cat. In Houston she used to sometimes sleep on CM in the mornings, but now she's in bed through the entire night, often curled up on or against CM (someone's a daddy's girl...). If I sit in bed during the day (it's the warmest place in our chilly apartment—CM calls it my "office") she sits in CM's spot and falls asleep. I've taken to sending picture messages to him at work practically every day: "Look who won't stay out of bed!" "Somebody's a sleepy bed cat...." etc. I don't know if it's because she's rarely been cold in her life (Texas girl) or whether she's just enjoying being where we are, but it is the cutest thing that has ever happened since
this. Sometimes we're both in bed with a cat on each of our respective chests, and we just look at each other and laugh and say THIS.
Because we are crazy.
 |
| Here is a grainy shot of the Bossy Kitten sleeping in the crook of my knees. Couldn't you just die? |
. I adored it. She is sassy and wise, and I defy you to read this book without wanting to become her best friend. A position that has already been taken. By Tina Fey. Sigh.
, and Netflixing endless Gilmore Girls episodes. I visited friends while wearing yoga pants (this is not normal here, FYI), essentially just transferring from our couch to theirs for the evening.
has a NY Times Magazine column now!
I devoured this week. Even better than I imagined.
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