have you ever zipped yourself into a sleeping bag only to have the zipper break?  have you ever been inside a bathroom stall and couldn’t get the door to open?  were you ever shoved inside a school locker by someone who wouldn’t let you out?  that’s what i experienced the other day when my gal loaded me into a pet carrier and flew me across the country.  now mind you, i have no quarrel with going to the atlanta part of atlanta fe and having the pleasure of visiting with/chasing the house cats i left behind, but i do dispute the mode of transportation.  can we talk about the whole concept of pet carrier?

i think of my gal as a pet carrier.  i’m her pet, and she is my carrier.  pretty simple, right?  in fact, i had no objection to flying, and i would have been delighted to ride in her arms all the way to atlanta.  however, the airlines don’t see things the same way we do.  they think a pet carrier is a cage small enough to fit under a seat on the plane.  the absurdity is that NOTHING will fit under the seat of a plane.  yet much to my chagrin, that’s where i spent three hours; under the seat, in a cage, all alone, and the flight crew didn’t even think to offer me a drink or a kibble snack.

so here’s some advice for traveling cats:  remember that once you get to the airport, you are no longer in charge.  not only that, but your human is not in charge either.  both of you are at the mercy of people with the power to decide who stays and who goes, and you don’t want to provoke them into deciding that one of you can go but not both.  so when you must fly, plan on taking a nice long nap.  you’ll make the experience easier on yourself and your human, and you’ll arrive at your destination rested and refreshed, which, in the end, is what life is all about.  purr, y’all.