Thursday, June 13, 2013

Fatty and Skinny Ride Again

We're gearing up for the big move. In preparation, we sent Fatty and Skinny back to L.A. These are the nicknames for our two cats Honey Badger and Nallie (they have about 50 different nicknames a piece-- I'll spare you them all). We probably could have taken them on the plane, but then we'd be those people, the air-gypsies, boarding a plane with two cats and a toddler. We decided to spare our fellow passengers that hell and so sent the cats by cargo to the verdant fields of L.A. where they will be under watch by the sister-shepherdess, Sage.

Actually, the cats made it fairly easy to get rid of them. The night before they were to leave, the cats were making a tremendous racket in the back room, chasing each other and jumping around. Now there is a window between the backroom and our bedroom. I sat up to see what was going on and to chastise the felines when Badger took that exact moment to take a flying leap through the window. She's called Fatty for a reason and I got most of Fatty's heft right in the face. Also, did you know that if you startle a cat, that triggers a reflex whereby their claws will automatically extend? I was dealt this painful bit of knowledge as Badger tried to change directions in mid-flight and got me on the shoulder and the chin. Now, Badger is a sweet cat, probably the most loving cat I've ever seen, so I choose to believe that she felt bad about this.

The next day, with two long, deep scratch marks in my chin, I didn't feel a lot of remorse as I tossed the cats into their carrying kennels. My Korean tutor and I drove to the airport to take the cats to the customs / quarantine office. There, the nice customs lady attempted to scan Nallie's microchip (yes, our cats are robotic). I was unaware of this until I heard a hiss and one of those terrible yowling growl. Luckily, the woman got her hand out of the kennel without a scratch but she clearly was not going to make a second attempt and motioned for me to scan my damned cat. I must have looked a sight. Here I was with scratches on my face and devil cat in a cage. Ironically, Badger let me scan her easy. We never did get Nallie scanned.
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So now the cats are in L.A. Sage says they're safe and sound. It's nice to have them out of the way, it's nice to not have to deal with fur or litter boxes for awhile. It's nice to use the computer without the cats physically reminding me that they need attention too. It's nice to be catless for a bit, and oddly enough, it'll be nice when we are reunited with Fatty and Skinny once again.

 

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