Sleepless in Seattle

We have arrived in the Seattle area, and have now spent roughly 36 hours traveling full time with Kiki the Kitten.

We reorganized the Jeep before departing Oregon, and made it so her new cat carrier would fit nicely (and securely) in the middle of the back seat. She and her siblings had been raised with a carrier being their safe place, so she was already quite comfortable retreating there. She would cry for about the first 5 minutes of leaving on any leg of the trip, and then fall asleep. I didn’t let her out while we were in travel, as it was dark during our travels and I didn’t want to risk anything. As we start some daytime travel, I’ll start experimenting with having her on my lap, or shoulder, or wherever else she wanders. But so far, I’d say in transit motion is a success and Kiki-compatible.

She seems to be quite happy in the trailer. I suspect it’s like a giant cat carrier on wheels to her. Hmm, and the Oliver kinda looks like one too now that I think about it. She never seems to be distressed inside. When we leave her alone for a bit to go out to dinner or such, when we come back she’s either zonked out waiting for us on the bed, or sitting on the front seat so she can see us come in the door. She’s yet to make a beeline for the door to escape.

She is definitely a kitten, and has her spazzy play moments of intense hyper activity. Pouncing, playing and her attentions quickly diverted to whatever is shiny. I think our biggest challenge will be finding ways to disperse the kitten energy in such a small space. We’re working on some kitty-proofing, and training that power cords, sync cables and human legs are not kitten play toys. It’s only partially successful so far.

But all and all.. things are going well. Tomorrow will be her first day all alone, as we’ll be onsite at a client’s teaching classes. Let’s hope there’s not much damage a kitten can do to a fiberglass trailer!