PCSing with Pets: A Cat’s Point of View

March 3, 2018August 13, 2021 Angie Andrews 0 Comments Military Life, PCS, pets

Let me curl up here and tell you a story.

It’s been weird around here for a few weeks now. My humans are always busy, and I only get to cuddle them when they sink into the giant blanket-covered sleeping spot.

The first weird thing was a borderline creature’s rights violation. The Lady Human grabbed me up one day and squirted goo all over my neck. Who does she think she is? My best squirming did me no good, so goo it was, and to make it worse, I couldn’t reach that goo to clean myself off with a few good licks. Then, she went and grabbed up my brother and did the same thing to him!

“Ha ha, Sucker! You have no idea what kind of no good she’s up to.”

A couple of days later, I heard her fumbling around in a drawer. Suspiciously eyeing her, I saw the green and blue necklaces come out, and I darted as far as I could under the big sleeping spot. She didn’t forget though. Leave it to Lady Human to snap that green necklace on me right when I came out for dinner. My brother wears the blue one like it’s nothing, but me, I use every chance I get to try and leave my necklace behind. Necklaces are for girls or poodles or something.

The weirdest thing that happened was this: Boy Human, he grabbed up both me and my brother and put us in a tiny dark place and left us there! Some familiar things were found—our food plates, water—but not our normal nice water that flows and makes noise. Just a pool of it in some old Human dish. Our boxes were there, but nobody wants to hear about our business.

There was also some stuff that wasn’t ours. Wait! I bumped into something familiar. The Humans only use this thing when they go away for a long time. “Oh no!” I thought. “Are our Humans going away? No, that couldn’t be right. We’ve never had to wear these fool necklaces whenever they go away.”

Oh, purrrfect. This meant we were all going away… this has happened a few times before. Yes, yes, the goo, the necklaces, the being left in a tiny dark space only to be let out later and find everything gone—even the giant sleeping spot!

Hey there, Lady Human here. I hope you enjoyed that rendition of the days leading up to a PCS as told by our sweet kitty Hunter. He neglected to share, but his brother’s name is Matthews. Boy Human and I love our little kitties so much! Getting ready to PCS with pets in tow does require some planning for them too. My rephrasing of Hunter’s tips are below:

1. “The Goo”

For indoor pets who may not regularly be treated, make sure to use a good flea control medicine a few weeks before hitting the road and up through the first month or two in your new home. You never know if prior pets brought pests to a hotel or a “new to you” rental.

2. “The Necklaces”

Pets who are going to be traveling should always have collars with ID tags containing contact information for their humans. Our kitties are also microchipped, and I bring their up-to-date county tags even though I don’t place those on the collars.

3. “The Tiny Dark Place”

On moving day, we secure our kitties in a closet or bathroom so they aren’t tempted to try and run out while the movers are loading and unloading household goods. We also tape a big note on the closet door to let the movers know our kitties are hanging out in there and please don’t open that door.

Stretch. Yawn. Scratch. Where were we? Oh yes. The story about going away.

So, our home was empty. Mostly. The stuff I found in the closet was good to still have around—food, water, and our personal business boxes.

Our humans had set up flimsy chairs that are really hard to jump on, so we had to parade around their feet until they picked us up for any cuddles. They also set up some weird big bubble with blankets instead of the giant sleeping spot we all share. I didn’t even understand it. It was squishy when I walked on it. Why would they ever want something besides our own giant sleeping spot?

They figured out pretty quickly that the big bubble was not a great sleeping spot, but man, how they dealt with it, well, I could have done without. Here’s what happened.

That big bubble was only around for one night. The next day, they packed it up, packed up their flimsy chairs, and Lady Human grabbed me up tight while Boy Human grabbed up my brother. They stuck us in Lady Human’s moving house that has windows all around it. Sometimes we have to go in there when she takes us to the vet, but this… this was different. We were in there way too long to be going to the vet.

It was loud when it was moving. I got dizzy when I looked out the windows. That never happens at our real home where the world doesn’t race by through the windows. So, I tried to be good and curl up in little nooks and crannies.

My brother though, he must have really been scared of all this noise and stuff flying by the windows, because he had an accident. A stinky accident! I mean our boxes were with us. I knew that, I thought he knew that, but all of a sudden Lady Human stopped this moving house. She had an angry voice and she was somehow talking to Boy Human who was in his own moving house.

Once Lady Human cleaned up her moving house, we got right back to moving with the noises and the stuff flying by the window.

I thought I would go ahead and find a new little nook to take a nap. Right by Lady Human’s feet. She’d probably like to know I was still happy and cute even though we were trapped in this dumb and loud moving house. Oh boy, was I wrong!

She stomped one of her feet on the levers I was near and her hand came down to try and scoop me up. I tried to curl up even further back in this little spot. The moving house stopped again. Lady Human was sounding angry again. This time, my brother and I ended up in our jail. She left us in our jail until it was nighttime and we were in some other home.

It wasn’t even our home. I knew because there was no big bubble set up to sleep on. Our regular giant sleeping spot wasn’t around either. Somebody else’s giant sleeping spot was there. It smelled different. Boy Human and Lady Human seemed not to notice, so we stayed there overnight.

Then, we did it all again the next day. Lady Human didn’t even give us a chance to be good that time. She put us right in jail and we had to stay there the whole time until we ended up at someone else’s sleeping spot that night.

It was a crazy and confusing time for sure, but I’m glad I’m here now—in our new home, cozy and curled up, living to tell about it. What do you say, time for another nap? You bet! Snooze you later.

Lady Human here again, with my rephrasing of Hunter’s PCS tips below:

1, “Flimsy Chairs and the Big Bubble”

So this tip, it’s not even entirely for the kitties, but my husband and I always try to keep camping chairs and an air mattress after our household goods have been picked up. I will say, though, don’t expect your air mattress to last forever if your sweet pets are not declawed.

2. “Moving House with Windows all Around”

Sweet Hunter’s best description of my car. If you will be road tripping to your next duty station with your pets, consider how having them in tow will affect your trip. You may need space for litter boxes, food, water, or to plan pit stops for your pets who don’t use a box. I try to keep the food and water accessible in one of my car’s cup holders.

3. “A Stinky Accident”

Well, folks, the moral of this story is to be ready to clean up after your pets. Travel can be stressful and confusing for your furry friends. If it so happens that they choose your purse over their litter boxes, well, be thankful that you keep napkins in your glove box!

4. “Jail”

The cat crate. I am not going to lie, I hate using it. This is the best tip I can offer though. Use your pet’s crate or a safety harness. Being on the road when Hunter decided to go after my feet while driving was a scary situation and I learned the hard way that we are all safer if our cute kitties travel in the confines of their crate.