The Cat Report--Travel

If you read this blog regularly, you might remember I was worried about our vacation and how Old Cat would react to living in a travel trailer for a few weeks. She's 21, though she wears her age very well, and she hadn't been on many car trips in her lifetime. Because she's so old, we weighed the possibilities carefully. Leave her home with a drop-in sitter? She'd be alone most of the time. Take her to relatives? She'd be just as upset in a strange place as she'd be in a camper. Boarding has never been something she enjoys. In the end we decided she'd come along. If it was traumatic, at least she'd be with Mom and Dad.
There's no telling what she thought, of course, but Old Cat did okay. The going-down-the-road part wasn't her favorite, but she accepted it if she could crawl into the pillowcase on the camper bed and stay there until the movement stopped. Since she sleeps all day anyway, that worked well.
Once we were set up, she did exactly what she does at home--ate a little, napped a lot, and harassed Mom and Dad. She woke us up around 5:00 each morning her time, which was actually 4:00 in Kentucky. What does a cat care about time zones?
Going outside the camper held no interest, though she did get up in the night to look out the windows from time to time. I know this because she'd bash her head into the blinds to get them swinging then get under them so she could see out. Hubby didn't hear a thing, but the first time she did it I thought the trailer was falling apart. After than it was just irritating.
Then there was the tornado. Sirens went off at around 4:30 one afternoon, signaling one had been seen in the area. We headed for the shelter, and I took Old Cat in my arms, thinking she'd be comforted by Mom's embrace. Why didn't I wrap her in the beach towel I'd brought along just for such a situation? Put her in her carrier? I guess I was in a hurry.
Things were okay until the dog arrived. The owner said he loves cats, and I think Old Cat assumed she meant for dinner. Though I tried to calm her down, suddenly I had four holes in my shirt and a bloody belly. Hubby managed to catch her as she leapt from my arms, and Old Cat soon returned to the trailer. The tornado did not get her, I'm happy to say, but my shirt was a total loss.
She showed no real emotion when we returned home safely, but then, she doesn't show much emotion about anything. We'll probably take her along again next time. She might not love it, but Old Cat is going to see the U.S.A.