Remember this feral guy who needed a permanent home? Commentor TomatoQueen in Virginia stepped up, so now he needs to get from Minneapolis to Virginia. New message from commentor Edith:
Black Kitty had a clean vet visit this week, and will be ready to travel to his new home after his neuter. The current plan is to schedule his surgery as close to transport date as possible, and then have him stay at the vet until pick-up.
I’m hoping the Balloon-Juice community can help get him from Minneapolis to Arlington, VA. I know a few people in the comments offered to drive, although I wouldn’t want to call them out in a front page post in case it doesn’t work for them now.
I’ve gotten some quotes on transport that range from $750 to $900. I also know that some commenters have closer ties to non-profit groups that might work too. This is all new to me, so basically I’d like to throw it out to the jackal hive mind for help.
You guys know the drill: If you have suggestions about the best transport methods, leave a comment below. Once we’ve got a firmer date and cost quote, I’ll have another post, ask people who want to donate to email me, and I’ll forward Edith’s PayPal-or-similar address to each of you directly. (After I chip in a little myself, of course!)
geg6
Keep us informed and I will be happy to donate. I still owe BJ pet rescue for Koda. Always happy to pay back.
Edith
Hi everyone. Black Kitty, possibly soon to be re-named Merlin, is definitely ready to join Tomato Queen in a cozy new existence. Both Satby, whom I consulted for advice, and our vet, think he probably isn’t a true feral. He’s been really gentle at the vet and is so interested in being held and cuddled. I’m absolutely chuffed that he’s going to a Juicer.
Amir Khalid
Yay Merlin, and congratulations to TomatoQueen!
post-blockquote text
ETA: Wasn’t quite expecting that. ?
Amir Khalid
Merlin looks quite a bit like my Bianca, all black with the same dab of white at the throat. I’ve heard that black cats are especially friendly.
Auntie Anne
No suggestions, but I am in for transport costs.
Wolvesvalley
As a staff member for two black rescue kitties, I will be happy to chip in for transport, too.
chris
That’s a long drive, is it possible to fly him to DC or wherever is close? A little sedative and 3 hours later he’s there.
Mary G
Also ready to chip in a bit and so happy to see yet another BJ adoption. I am sure Maybe Merlin and Tomato Queen will have a lovely life together.
TomatoQueen
I just noticed something, it’s a trivial detail but just in case we need accuracy, it’s to Alexandria, VA, which is the next blue town over from the People’s Republic of Arlington as some call it, but in either case, I live right on the border between the two. Many, many thanks to all in advance. Merlin (full name Merlinus Ambrosius, for you Mary Stewart fans) has his home with me.
Edith
@chris: I’ve thought about it. One of the people on the transport quote site offered it up. My vet on the other hand, thinks they generally do better in the car. I’m pretty agnostic either way.
Desargues
Yay, Merlin! So happy for the sweet little guy! And for the humans who let him into their lives. Win-win-win.
Would love to help out financially with his move.
b
Almost exactly 2 years ago BJ help pay for another BJer to do a round trip flight between National and Minn to bring Callie to us. Callie was happy and not traumatized by the trip at all.
I just checked and flights are running under $500 roundtrip.
So, would Merlin fit in an airline approved cat carrier that fits under the seat, and is there a BJer in either DC area or Minn who wants to travel to the other place.
And, hopefully this works -first time on new site- the obligatory pic of Callie.
Callie
chris
@Edith: I drove two cats 1200 miles over two days once. One thought it was fun (still miss Charlie) the other was freaked out the whole time and for weeks after. I guess it depends on how Merlin does in the car. It looks like flying would be much quicker and probably cheaper.
Edith
@chris:
@b: Hi b.
He would fit in a carrier under a seat. He’s a little bigger than I thought at the vet @ 9 lbs. In comparison to our 16 pounder Maine Coon mix most kitties look tiny. I would be happy to go this way if there is a volunteer to take him. Toddler cold season in February left me with very little PTO left, plus you know, toddler.?
chris
Charlie was a little chonky.
Charlie and the 16 litre pot. He liked car rides and would sit in the passenger seat and purr while watching the scenery
ETA: He was around 28 pounds in these pics, down from his peak of 34 pounds. He had food issues.
Edith
@TomatoQueen: Oops sorry about the mix-up in destination. Glad it’s still close.
Elizabelle
@Amir Khalid: Bianca’s a black cat? I never knew!
Amir Khalid
@TomatoQueen:
All I know about Alexandria is that it’s where Fox Mulder lived in apartment 42. I’m curious to know a bit more than that.
zhena gogolia
Is it possible to send a check? Merlin looks just like my very first love, black cat Buddy, one of the greatest cats who ever lived, who showed up on Friday the 13th in 1985.
zhena gogolia
@chris:
Sweetie!
Edith
@zhena gogolia: sure. If you send an email to Anne Laurie I can send you my address.
satby
Flying can be cost effective and much faster, and lots of cats freak out on long trips in a carrier in the car too.
The rule for ANY travel with cats (as I told Edith) who don’t know you or where they are is, no letting the car out of the carrier at all on the way. I could tell you loads of transport horror stories when people disregard that rule. share
It’s a 17 hour, 1118 mile trip one way if we wanted to do a relay. That involves breaking the route up and asking for drivers to relay the carrier, customarily into segments of 2-4 hours one way depending on driver tolerance. Volunteers have to be willing to share cell numbers, vehicle descriptions, and licence plate numbers for ID at hand off points. Transports go on all the time, I can put feelers out to see if one is scheduled around the same time, but most of those go south to north, not laterally.
Amir Khalid
@Elizabelle:
I chose a misleading name for her, partly as a private joke.
satby
@satby: ok, no edit for typos: so no letting cat out of carrier the entire time ever… No idea where that “share” word came from, and I forget what else was wrong.
Amir Khalid
Blockquote test II
outside the blockquote
b
@satby: You started to help figure out a relay for Callie, but it just seemed easier for her to fly. Its a long road trip, with iffy weather. The flight worked out well with a lot less issues.
Steeplejack
The last time this came up I said I might be able to handle the last leg of a car transport, from an extreme of about Pittsburgh to Alexandria, VA. Ideally, I would leave NoVA in the morning, pick up the little beast around midday somewhere and then motor back to Alexandria.
My schedule is usually pretty open, but right now I don’t think I could do a drive until early next week. I’m willing to do it if the situation goes on until then. If not, I’ll chip in for expenses.
Patricia Kayden
Here’s a plane service that rescues pets. https://petairways.com/pet-rescue
TomatoQueen
@Amir Khalid: I suspect he lived in the next building over.
Elizabelle
@Patricia Kayden: Sadly, Pet Airways is no longer flying. It went bankrupt in 2011.
Edith
Betty
@satby: Good advice. I witnessed this once when security insisted on opening the crate. Cat freaked out, lots of blood and much screaming.
Palindrome
How do I give the money?
WereBear
So many cats get abandoned and just want a home again. It’s delightful he’s getting this chance.
WereBear
@TomatoQueen: Love the name!
chris
@zhena gogolia: He was! Possibly the nicest, most sociable and fearless cat I’ve ever known.
Ruckus
@Patricia Kayden:
When I could no longer keep my dog I had to send him back to the rescue org. There was a fellow out of Van Nuys airport who flew pets all over the country in his private plane. He got to fly a lot and the cost per pet was pretty small, I recall $75. He had a plane full of crates, probably 20+ animals.
I imagine that there might be others out there that do the same.
zhena gogolia
@Palindrome:
It sounds as if Anne Laurie will do another post with info.
debbie
@Amir Khalid:
Try entering what you want quoted and then go back and highlight all of it and then click on “blockquote.”
debit
When we shipped Finn to Aleta I used a transport company based in Florida and thought they were very reasonable and did a great job. We did luck out, since they already had a puppy scheduled for transport from Minnesota to Maine the week he needed to go. Would love to recommend the shipper we used for Walter, but they never schedule transports from here and the price would be prohibitive.
As always, I’m in for transport fees. So happy this beautiful boy is getting his forever home.
Percysowner
I’ve never flown with a cat, but I have moved a couple of times with my guys. Not long trips, only about 2.5 hours. It was 2.5 hours of two cats telling me as loudly as they could that THEY WERE NOT HAPPY!! If you can find someone to make the flight, it might be less stressful, especially if the vet can sedate them first. I’ll pitch in for transport costs when the time comes.
Edith
@WereBear:
One of our four is from the Humane Society, and the other three are local strays we took in, all of them dumped pets.
One, the aforementioned Maine Coon 16 pounder was pretty happy on his own, until we had one of our periodic awful winters. He came shooting out from under the deck when we came home one evening as the temp was dropping far below zero, meowing up a storm, and has been with us ever since. I think sometimes he misses his independence but the steady meals and being warm make up for it.
Bobby we took in right after he’d been dumped. I will never forget his confusion and fear. It’s a terrible thing to do to an animal.
Edith
@debit: Thanks debit. I’ll send in a request.
cain
I’m in to give some money. Shitty week for Trump and Republicans but awesome week for me! I have two job offers right now and I got to pick one that was giving me some amazing compensation.
germy
Elise is literally imitating 45’s tweet style. The nicknames, the capitalization… she’s all in.
germy
@Edith:
That literally sounds like what I remember hearing some of my uncles say about their marriages during family gatherings when I was a kid.
WereBear
When my life melted down and I had to let go of almost everything, one bright spot was the way my Long Island rescue community rallied around and got great homes for almost all my animals at the time.
Because I would never abandon them.
germy
@WereBear:
Was it around 2008/2009? That’s when my life melted down.
I feel very fortunate though, that we were able to keep our little polydactyl girl despite the rest of our losses.
WereBear
@germy: I was able to keep my two shyest cats, who would not have done well “on the market.”
It was 1999, but Republican related. As so many tragedies are.
germy
@WereBear:
It’s the shy cats who need us the most. I hope things got better for you.
Our little girl is shy sometimes. If women visit our house, she’ll come out after a while (very cautiously) to make friends. But if men visit, she’ll hide when she hears their voices.
I wonder what she went through before we rescued her.
Edith
@germy:
Yes, that is very much the dynamic with Shoes. For all that, he’s an affectionate fellow. Deeply concerned about the well- being of everyone in the household. I love him dearly.
Kelly
@germy: Tedra Cobb reports she’s collected $900,000+ off Elise Stefanik’s Trumpian grandstanding
https://twitter.com/TedraCobb
The Lodger
@cain: So you got your pick of two jobs? Excellent!
HinTN
@cain: Congrats on the job situation.
@everybody – I’m in for transport costs.
germy
I’m pleased to see that. We donated. Unfortunately, I assume Elise’s contributions have gone up also (from ignorant people who don’t understand the rules both parties agreed to)
HinTN
@Kelly:
Trumpstunting
Laura Too
I’m in for drive or air transport. I will be leaving for Australia on 11/27-12/9 so it would need to fall before or after for me timing wise. I’m also in for transport cost. I’ll send info to Anne Laurie my info Edith, you can feel free to contact me anytime.
WereBear
@germy: thanks I have rebuilt in ways which astonish me. Hope you are doing okay.
Redshift
What does the vet schedule look like? For Thanksgiving, my niece is driving with a college friend from Northfield, MN to St. Louis and then flying to the DC area. If the timing works out, I could ask if she’s willing to transport Black Kitty.
Edith
@Laura Too:
Oh wonderful. Thank you so much. Looking forward to hearing from you.
cain
@HinTN: hells yeah! Both jobs told me I can continue to work on my community stuff as part of the job and we’re willing to use a percentage of it.
The best part though is the one employer took my initial ask and added $10, 000 and kept going with bonuses. I am being paid very handsomely and that means I can be more generous on giving to political stuff ???
cain
@The Lodger:
Thank you!
Reilyn
@b: This is Reilyn; the DC area lady who grew up in MN and helped fly Callie in fact. :). The key to flying with cats is to fly them in the cabin with you (not as cargo). Assuming we could swing it work schedule and flight timing/funding wise, I’d be willing to do so again for Merlin potentially.
Edith
@Redshift: It looks like Laurie Too offered to fly him out but thanks for offering to check.
TomatoQueen
Oh thank you all so much.
Redshift
@Edith: Excellent!
satby
@cain: woo-hoo! Congrats!
Edith
@Reilyn: Thanks Reilyn. It sounds like Laura Too is willing to bring him out, but I appreciate the offer.
satby
Ok, so if the details work out with Laura Too (or Reilyn as a backup), all we’ll need is the costs of airfare and incidentals for our transporters. You guys are awesome to offer!
Laura Too
I will take any and all advice on kitty flying. I will ask my friend the ASPCA transporter, but she usually drives hers. I have’t done it before but I the adventure sounds like a good time. I won’t open the kennel no matter how much he complains, but anything else?
J R in WV
Will kick on on cost of transport. Medical issues (knees) prohibit participating in long drive right now. Agree that a short flight would be better than crazed drive.
TomatoQueen
@Laura Too: Assuming Merlin will fit under the seat in front of you, I think as little disturbance as possible is the goal, & this would include keeping the carrier covered with a towel or little blanket. So grateful to you.
J R in WV
@cain:
Congratulations on the new job, and the respect your new employer showed you with their great offer.
Laura Too
@TomatoQueen: Should, as long as I don’t fly Spirit.
Lymie
Is it any help that #1 daughter is flying home from uminn in Minneapolis next Tuesday afternoon to Logan airport in Boston?
Reilyn
@Laura Too: Cat harness in case you do have to open it. If I recall I did have to remove Callie from the carrier thanks to the paranoia of security for dc area bound flights, and so I put her in a full body “holster” style harness and leash before putting her in the carrier, plus a small blanket or etc I could purrito in while the carrier went through the X-ray. Make sure you find out carrier dimensions for the airline and get one that fits them; soft sided is best so it can squeeze in.
Mel
@Amir Khalid: My sweet Brunhilde (ebony fur, big green eyes) was a cuddly kitteh with a wicked sense of humor. She had a big personality and lots of heart.
Sounds like Ms. Bianca is a fabulous kitty girl!!
Sab
@Steeplejack: I live in northern Ohio, just south of the turnpike (I 80) near I 77 and I 76. My husband and I could do the Ohio leg into PA.
CliosFanBoy
any updates on the Pet Calendar for 2020??
I’ll chip in for a kitty plane ticket
cain
@J R in WV: thank you!! The fact that I had two employers like that is really nice.
Johannes
La Caterina and I still remember how the jackals rallied around our Sandy-hit feral cat colonies. We’ll help; just tell us were and how too donate.
Steeplejack
@Sab:
Noted.
TomatoQueen
We’re firming up plans for Merlin’s travel, I’ve asked for an update bleg post for this weekend. Meanwhile, send magic wishes and good thoughts and sparkles for December 11th.