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This is the second post in a series of our trip to Columbia Missouri.  To read what Padre, Panda Bear, and Meerkat were up to in our absence, check out the Furry Bambinos blog. 

On Tuesday, July 29, David and I went over to Patty’s apartment to help Patty clean her place.  We chose the divide and conquer technique: Patty took the bathroom, I did the kitchen, and David washed all the windows and vacuumed all the carpets.  Meanwhile, Chris headed to my parents house for some much needed napping, since Rainbow and Muse spent most of the night trying to alert Patty and Chris about all the missing furniture and boxes.  Chris did not get much sleep Monday night.

While we cleaned, Rainbow was tucked into the living room closet, and Muse was on top of the kitchen cabinets.

In a few hours, we were done, packed up, and ready to drop Patty’s keys off at the management company office.  This is a photo of Patty in front of her apartment building.  She lived there for 13 years!

After dropping off the keys, we headed back to my parents’ house to unload items that were staying with my parents, rather than going to Missouri, and reloaded the vehicles.  Given the steep grade of my parents’ street, it made for an interesting experience!

We took a few photos before heading out.  This is a photo of “The Fambly”: Jim, Patty, Dad, Mom, and Chris:

This is a photo of “The Four Intrepid Travelers” (well, the human travelers that is).  David, Sue, Patty, and Chris:

We set off at about 5:10 pm EDT, with Bruiser, Rainbow, and Muse riding with Patty and Chris.  Cinnamon and Toast rode with David and me.  I took this photo of Patty and Chris’s vehicle in the side mirror of our mini-van:

We stopped to gas up the van right away at the Sunoco in Crafton, PA.  Bought 10.6 gallons at a total cost of $42.40.  Mileage at 163.6.

Westward bound!  We took I-79 South, then changed to I-70 West.  We crossed into the panhandle of West Virginia at about 6:09 pm.

David’s quote: “The speed limit is 70!  Sweet!”

We took turns taking the lead.  This time, we followed behind Chris and Patty.

In about ten minutes, we left West Virginia and entered Ohio at 6:21 pm.  The stretch of West Virginia that we crossed is very narrow, only about 10 miles wide.  They don’t call it a panhandle for nothin’!

Once we got to Ohio, the traffic thinned a little, and we let Cinnamon and Toast out of their carriers, AKA PTU’s (Prisoner Transport Units).  Both of them did not like being cooped up, and let us know, LOUDLY and REPEATEDLY.  Cinnamon apparently thought that David could use some help driving, and within three minutes of being let out of his carrier, climbed into David’s lap.

David told Cinnamon to get OFF his lap so that he could drive.  So Cinnamon climbed onto the dashboard instead:

We finally got Cinnamon settled in the middle seats where he had a great view, sitting atop a cat carrier:

Fur covered the inside of the van within an hour!  Every time I opened a map, fur flew everywhere!

At some point, we passed Patty and Chris, and Cinnamon waved to them (with a little help from me) as we drove by.

We stopped for a rest break at 7:12 pm, and ate the sandwiches that Mom packed for us.  At this first rest stop, a mere 2 hours into the 2-day drip, we learned from Chris that his muffler pipe had broken away from the catalytic converter!

Fortunately, the pipe was still connected to the vehicle, but the noise was deafening for Chris and Patty!

Cinnamon calmed down during our rest stop.  He sat and napped on my lap from our rest stop for the rest of the drive on Tuesday.

We made it as far as Dayton, Ohio by 10:15 pm EDT, where we stayed at a pet-friendly Motel 6 for the night.  “One pet per room”.  Um, yeah, close enough.  Cinnamon and Toast hung out under the beds most of the night.  Cinnamon occasionally climbed on and around David overnight.

Miles travelled from Pittsburgh: 250.5

5 hours on the road, 4 hours of driving.

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David and I had a very busy weekend of running errands, doing laundry, mowing the lawn, cleaning the bathroom (Thanks Babe!), packing, and preparing extra litter boxes for our three cats, Padre, Panda Bear, and Meerkat (AKA The Furry Bambinos).  To read what Padre, Panda Bear, and Meerkat were up to in our absence, check out the Furry Bambinos blog.

On Monday morning, July 28, David and I set off to pick up the rental car.  After considerable debate concerning the pros (space) and cons (cost, gas mileage), we settled on renting a mini-van.  I was worried that after our own suitcases were packed into the car, there would be little room left over to help transport Patty and Chris’s cats and valuables not traveling on the moving van.

We loaded up the mini-van, kissed The Furry Bambinos good-bye, and told them to be good for “Aunt Deb”.  Deb is a close friend of ours who would be checking in on The Furry Bamabinos while we would be away.

We set off for Pittsburgh at 1:00 pm.  The mini-van was brand new!  Only 336 total miles on it when we picked it up!

Our first state crossing was from Ohio to PA at about 2:00 pm Monday:

We arrived at Patty’s apartment in Pittsburgh at 3:00 in the afternoon.  The movers had already loaded up Chris’s apartment, and were busy loading up Patty’s place.

We helped Patty pack some of the last remaining items into boxes.  Patty’s cats, Rainbow and Muse, were safe in their carriers while the movers carried furniture and boxes out of the apartment.  Rainbow is a calico kitty:

Muse is a tuxedo kitty.  Both are girls, and Patty believes that Rainbow may be Muse’s mother.  Patty adopted the girls several years ago from a Pittsburgh animal shelter.

In addition to helping pack, we helped by taking Patty’s dog, Bruiser, for a walk.  Bruiser is a beagle and basset hound mix.

Bruiser is a bit overweight and has a tendency to walk slowly and deliberately.  Furthermore, whenever he runs out of steam and has “had enough”, he usually just stops moving until prodded repeatedly!

We eventually made it back from our walk with Bruiser.  He collapsed on the front lawn of the apartment building and refused to go any further.

The movers finished up at around 7:30 pm and drove off.

The four of us, Patty, Chris, David, and I went into Oakland for dinner at “The Original Hot Dog”, known locally for decades as simply “The O”.  The specialty is their french fries, so, of course, we had a big basket of fries to share.  The last time I had been there was with friends in high school back in the mid-1980’s.

After dinner, David and I headed back home to stay at Mom and Dad’s Monday night.  On Sunday, Patty and Chris had brought Chris’s cats, Cinnamon and Toast, to my parents house for safe keeping while the movers were at Chris’s apartment.  Cinnamon has a reputation for “exploring” so they didn’t want to take any chances that Cinnamon would escape.  When we got to my parents house, Mom and Dad were hanging out with Cinnamon and Toast. 

Patty and Chris stayed at her empty apartment, with Rainbow and Muse, who were upset that nearly all of Patty’s possessions seemed to have been “stolen” while the cats were confined to their carriers.  So, all Monday night, Rainbow and Muse kept telling Patty and Chris that they really needed to call the police and file a report.

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Last summer, David and I took a cross-country trip to attend the wedding of David’s cousin Jeff to his finacee Jamie.  We had such an amazing time on the whole adventure, that we have been saying that we would definitely do another cross-country trip sometime.  By “sometime” we were thinking probably in another five to ten years.

Well, this summer, my sister Patty got married on July 18.  Patty and her husband Chris would be relocating to Columbia Missouri soon after their wedding, because Chris would be starting work at the University of Missouri in August.

Patty has two cats, Rainbow and Muse.  Chris also has two cats, Cinnamon and Toast.  In addition, Patty and Chris recently adopted Bruiser, a beagle / basset hound dog from a local rescue organization.  David and I had offered to help Patty and Chris transport their “Petting Zoo” from Pittsburgh PA to Columbia MO.  Professional movers would be arriving on Monday, July 28 to move the furniture and boxed items.

So, another cross-country trip “sometime” turned out to be one year later!

This week, David and I will be sharing stories and photos from this adventure.  Check back tomorrow for the first installment!

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We took our three cats (”The Furry Bambinos”) out to play in the snow and they started a snowball fight with us! Here’s a video of what happened!

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Oh, the fun we’ve had trying to name these three adorable kitties!  We’ve played rounds and rounds of “how does this sound?” and “How about ….?” to come up with suitable monikers for our new housemates.  For your enjoyment, we give you some insight into the process. 

First, we thought of the situation:  two boys and one girl.  Hmmm … sounds like the main characters from the musical “The Producers”!  How about “Leo”, “Max”, and “Ulla”? 

Nah.  “Leo” and “Max” are much too common names for cats.  And our little lady cat doesn’t strike us as an “Ulla”.  Would have been fun, though! 

Well, let’s take them individually then.  First, the brown-and-gold female tabby.  She came into our lives with the name “Blynken”. 

Naming the Brown and Gold Tabby

She was actually the easiest to rename.  We’re fans of the show Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet.  For the uninitiated, Meerkats are animals of the Kalihari desert.  For a point of reference, they are kind of like the prairie dogs we saw in Wyoming on our trip this summer.  They sleep in burrows under the ground at night, but spend the bulk of their day above ground foraging for food.  They eat scorpions and bugs in a chomp-chomp-chompy way smacking their mouth loudly.  Meerkats also make little chirpy-vocal sounds to communicate.  They are sleek brown and gold looking animals, that are able to stand up on their hind legs. 

Our little girl doesn’t do the stand-upright trick, but she looks like a Meerkat, she eats her food in the same indelicate way Meerkats eat theirs, and she makes little Meerkat-like chirpy vocal sounds.  So … she is hereby called “Meerkat“!

Naming the Silver Tabby

Next, the silver tabby that looks like our dear beloved Clyde who passed away back in February.  He came to us with the name “Silver”, which was given to him by the PAWS Foster Mom. 

We briefly thought about following the model of the cat on the cartoon show, “The Simpsons”.  Lisa’s cat “Snowball” died, so they got a new cat and called it “Snowball II”.   However, our silver tabby doesn’t really strike us as a “Clyde II”, so we dropped that idea. 

We threw around other ideas … “Buddy”, “Silver”, “Amigo”, and others.  He’s a bit of a pacifist when teased by the other two cats, so we thought about naming him something on that theme, such as “Quaker”, “Pacem” (Latin for peace, pronounced pahtch-em), and “Pace” (Italian for peace, pronounced pahtch-ay). Luckily he smacked the boy kitten after being ambushed, as if to say to us “Pacem this!” So we tried other names. We also thought about something like “Tagalong” because he likes to follow us from room to room.  But the names didn’t stick. 

We noticed he has a block of white fur on his neck, right under his chin, like a clerical collar.  (It also looks him look like he’s wearing the “puffy shirt” that Jerry Seinfeld wore in one of the famous Seinfeld episodes.)  That gave us the idea of naming him “Pastor”, “Reverend”, “Monsignor”, or “Father”.  All of those sounded funny on him … but the Spanish word for a reverend is “Padre”, and that seemed unique and fitting given our Hispanic surname!  We also thought that he could be called “Compadre” since he is “friendly” and a “close associate.”  So, the silver tabby is now “Padre“!

Naming the Tuxedo Cat

Finally, the hardest one of all … the black and white tuxedo cat.  He came to us with the name “Wynken” because he only has one eye.  The other was removed because of an eye infection. 

We didn’t want a name that highlighted his missing eye … so we stayed away from pirate names and such.  He’s a really affectionate little guy, rambunctious, and definitely vying against Padre (and me) for the role of “dominant male” of the household.  We thought about naming him “Capital T” because, per “The Music Man”, it stands for TROUBLE!  But, that didn’t feel right for him.  Even “Mr. T” didn’t fit him, despite the “tough - T” image he pretends to have. 

We also nixed “Buddy”, “Hobbes”, “Tuxey”, “Romeo”, “Valentino”, “Sherlock”, “MacGyver”, “Pepe” (as in Pepe le Pew, the skunk from Bugs Bunny cartoons), and several others.  So, we really were racking our brains for a name for him.  And then suddenly a name began to emerge. 

He’s a little bit rounder in the belly than the other two cats.  He is mostly black with white markings.  He’s soft and fuzzy and likes to have his belly rubbed like a playful little bear.  And, he kind of looks like a small … Panda!  So, we’ve settled on the name “Panda Bear“! 

So, please welcome our new kitties to Casa Caban!  Meerkat, Padre, and Panda Bear!  As a group, we’ve taken to calling them “The Furry Bambinos.” 

In fact, they banded together to create their own cat blog at TheFurryBambinos.com! 

“With cats, some say one rule is true
Don’t speak ’til you are spoken to
Myself I do not hold with that
I say you should ad-dress a cat
But always bear in mind that he
Resents familiarity

You bow, and taking off your hat
Ad-dress him in this form: “O’ cat!” 

… And so in time you reach your aim
And call him by his name
So this is this, and that is that
And there’s how you ad-dress a cat …”

(Lyrics in “The Ad-dressing of the Cats” from the musical “Cats”)

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Today, David and I adopted three felines!!!  We met them through PAWS (Public Animal Welfare Society), a local animal rescue organization.

PAWS consists of a network of volunteers who serve as “foster parents” for a time while permanent homes are being sought for the animals.  PAWS places animals in two-room “cages” in local PetSmart stores for a few days so that the public may view (and of course, fall in love with) animals ready for adoption.  PAWS gives the kitties temporary names to assist in the adoption process.

On Saturday afternoon, David and I went to our local PetSmart just to look at the kitties.  I had been there once or twice already, and wanted to bring David along to visit with the kitties as well.

We saw “Silver”, a grey tabby with yellow eyes, who reminded us very much of our dear Clyde, who passed away in February of this year.  “Silver” is male and is about 4 or 5 years old.  However, Silver weighs only about 12 pounds according to PAWS, which makes him smaller in length and weight than Clyde was.  Silver also has a white spot on his neck, so it sort of looks like he is wearing a minister’s collar.  Silver is very sweet and loves to rub up against you.  Silver was once a pet cat, as he is declawed on his front paws, and it is apparent that he once wore a collar regularly.  He had been dumped off at a veterinarian’s office with another cat.

We also met and fell in love with “Wynken” (male) and “Blynken” (female), who are siblings who are about 5 months old.  They were born under a porch and due to lack of veterinary care, had advanced eye infections while quite young.  Because of this, Wynken lost his right eye, and Blynken has a small amount of scarring in one of her eyes.  But it does not affect their ability to get around one bit!  The foster mother adopted their sister “Nod”, who is totally blind.  According to the foster mother, Nod does not appear to be adversely affected.  In fact, Nod even hunts bugs!

Wynken is a tuxedo kitty.  His back is mostly black and his belly is mostly white. 

Blynken is a brown and goldish tabby.

The kittens are very active.  They played several rounds of Thundering Herd of Elephants up and down the basement stairs.  For the time being, we are doing our best to keep the kittens separate from the cat.  Wynken thinks this idea is stupid, and has jumped every barricade we can build. 

 
One-eyed “Wynken” easily climbed this so-called barricade.

So for tomorrow while we are at work, the kittens will be in the basement, and the cat will have the run of the house.

David and I are still working on coming up with suitable names for the kitties, once we get to know their personalities better.

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