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Location: USA
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 20
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Mimi is going to Europe... please, wish me luck
Hello, everyone. You may remember Mimi that I adopted in July. She was rescued from the streets of Houston, TX. I forgot how to post a picture here - once I find out I'll post one. But you may not recognize her: her hair is grown and she gained 9 lbs, the little thief. Everything goes in her mouth, even cardboard.
Well, my 96-year-old father in Belgium has lost his partner of 25 years and has asked me to go and live with him for now. So in 2 weeks I'll be flying from Washington, DC to Brussels and Mimi will go in cargo as she is too big to be taken in cabin. I am really worried about this - with all the horror stories being told. And also the cold this time of year. So please, do say a prayer that she may be safe.
And until now I had another big worry. I have a 16-year-old cat, Sammy, that I didn't want to bring along because I thought it wasn't fair to put him through all this change. So I spent days alternating between "better for him to be dead" and "let's find a foster/boarding/new owner/someone who will give him a good and peaceful last years (months)". I couldn't find anyone. It was killing me. I've contacted dozens of places. Some do not take from individual persons, just shelters. Some have a long waiting list. Finally, tonight, I just couldn't take it anymore and ordered a cat carrier.
My father doesn't know I am bringing a cat too. Every time I spoke to him on the phone, I mentioned I didn't know what to do with Sammy, he just changed the conversation. My father has a little Shi-Tzu and he is worried that our two dogs won't get along. I think they will. It's up to us to make it work.
My father never had a cat in the house and I thought it wasn't fair to impose a cat on him on top of my dog. But sorry, Dad. If you want me to come and stay with you, my "family" is coming too.
Sammy is very quiet and sleeps a lot, so he'll be in my bedroom during the day as he is here. Poor Sammy. I am sorry to put him through this, but in the end, it's better than dumping him at the shelter, don't you think?
I just hope he won't holler the whole flight. He does cry a lot in the car going to the vet. Has any of you traveled with a cat? How did it go?
Thanks for reading this and letting me vent. It's been a rough couple of weeks. I would never have thought there were so many things to do: from finding a mail forwarding company to finding someone to take care of the yard (not done yet) to the vet visits for all the shots and microchipping and paperwork. Oh yes, and finding a rental car large enough for the crate to get from one airport to the other, and deciding where to leave my car for months. It is at times like this that I really feel the pinch of being stranded in a foreign country with no relatives to turn to for help. Tough!