Holy Cat Crap!!

The BIG NEWS is that my cat Sunset is now with her daddy!!!  Thanks to the teamwork of both my ex-partner Tom and my friend Carol, last Wednesday Sunset became a trans-Atlantic and international cat.

You may be wondering how this came about.

Background

When Tom and I decided that we should separate for good we started talking about how to divide our assets, including the two cats that we owned.  Although Sunset and Sienna are sisters, they never got along.  Sunset is the smaller one, but she dominated Sienna.  They were always fighting and hissing.  It didn't make for a happy household.  So it was a no-brainer that they should be separated.  Sienna definitely had more of an affinity with Tom and Sunset seemed to gravitate toward me, so that decision also was pretty simple - I would get Sunset and Sienna would stay with Tom.

Delay

Of course, when I came to Spain in March, I had no permanent location.  The first 20+ days was in an

AirB&B apartment and then 2 months in a rented room.  I definitely couldn't have a cat with me during that time.  Tom had to keep Sunset with him during the last five and a half months.  Tom told me various times that the fighting between the two cats only seemed to get worse over this course of time.  None of them (including Tom) were happy campers.

Process

So what does it take to bring a cat to Spain from the U.S.?  Luckily the person who translated my original documents into Spanish also worked for the Agriculture Department for the Embassy of Spain in Washington D.C.  She directed me to webpage with the steps I needed to take to transport Sunset here.  Spain does not require a quarantine for house pets.  What it does require is that the pet be microchipped.  Sunset already had an imbedded microchip.  Then the pet needs to be checked by a USDA certified veterinarian a maximum of 10 days before the cat arrives to Spain.  The Vet fills out the official document and signs it.  Then that document has to be sent to a USDA office to certify the document.  Since one only has 10 days or less to do this, it usually has to be shipped overnight, in this case to Richmond, to get it back in time before the pet flies to Spain.

Travel Mode

When I first started talking about having Sunset follow me a few months after I would arrive in Barcelona, I was pleasantly surprised when my friend and then-colleague Carol offered to bring Sunset with her to Barcelona.  Carol already had plans to visit me.  The icing on the cake was her offer to take the cat with her.  I would buy a carry-on cage that could fit under the seat in front of her and she would carry the cat with her in the cabin.  Sunset is only 6 pounds so that would not be an issue.  After hearing a number of horror stories of pets that were stored with luggage in the storage compartment of a jet, I really did not want to subject Sunset to that difficult experience.  I was so happy that Carol would bring the cat personally to Barcelona.  Bringing a pet on-board limited Carol's options of airline carriers that permit international travel with pets in the cabin, but she found that United allowed for this kind of travel.  I had to pay for Sunset's ticket, which was $125 - not bad for a 4,000 mile flight.

Arrival

On Wednesday, August 28, Carol and Sunset arrived safely at El Prat airport in Barcelona.  There were no issues.  Sunset can be a little chatty, especially when she is in a cage.  So Carol gave her a half of a tranquilizer pill to calm her down.  There were no issues on either leg of the trip nor in the airports.  No one seemed concerned about Carol carrying a cat with her on-board.  In fact, when she arrived at the Barcelona airport, she had to get the attention of a customs agent to let her know that she was arriving with a cat.  The agent seemed to be more interested in the make of Carol's handbag than in the cat, but she finally did review the paperwork that cost over $300 in vet bills and document shipping costs and gave her the official stamp of approval.  It was wonderful to see Carol walk through the doors and it was a very happy reunion to be able to touch and hold Sunset again.

Adjustment Period

I always felt that of the two, Sunset would be able to adjust  better to the stress of travel and be in a new environment.  She was pretty fearless compared to Sienna, who was more skittish.  But I started to have my doubts during the first couple of days.  Sunset immediately hid herself behind the washing machine or under the bed.  It was difficult to coax her out.  She wasn't eating hardly any of the dry food that she was used to in the beginning (although she did chow down some wet food that I gave her) and the litter box and the litter itself was very different and I didn't know if she would have problems with that.

She did start to use the litter box, and finally she had her first poop.  Success!!!  Slowly but surely she began to explore more of the house.  The amount of noise that she was hearing from the streets seemed to freak her out.  But in a few days she seemed okay with that.  She was spending more time out on the balcony, something she had never experienced before (being outside on her own, that is).

Furniture and Scratching

I bought a number of cat products for Sunset, including a scratching post.  Up until now she has not used the post.  But having purchased some leather furniture, I wanted to be sure that she would not use the leather sofa as a scratching post.  So, before Chris came this summer, I purchased a product called Soft Paws and Chris brought it with him.  They are soft rubber claw coverings which you use glue to attach to the cat's front paws.  A friend of mine used it for his cat a few years ago and I thought I would give it a try here.

By now Sunset seemed to be pretty comfortable with her surroundings.  So with Carol's help, I decided  to put on the soft paws.  She was not very happy and afterwards she immediately ripped off one of them.  But I quickly put on another one and then spent some time playing with her and distracting her so that she would get used to the feel.  So far so good!  And they look great on her - gold sparkle nails!!!




Other News

Carol is my first house guest.  She broke in the guest bed and the guest bedroom.  I think she is pretty comfortable in the apartment. She is a fluent Spanish speaker and she is meeting some of my friends here and seems to be enjoying herself with the language, culture and food.

Coincidentally, an ex-colleague of mine, Doug, who had retired 10 years before me, has been staying here in Barcelona for the month of August.  He previously was living in Florence, Italy for a number of months.  We met a few times earlier this month and one last time with Carol, who also knew Doug when he worked at the OCC.  He is seriously considering relocating to Barcelona come April.  It was great to spend some time with both him and Carol together.

Carol, Doug and me at Restaurante Mirador in Montjuic