Willis is on the move

Willis is a well traveled cat, like his momma.  He loved living on Marquesa, except for that one time he went overboard. He loved hanging out in the mangroves, and sneaking off to the Kit Kat Lounge with One Eyed Jack. Dern cat was always stealing my laundry money to go out cattin' around. Oh, that Willis.  He is going to love sailing again on Kantiya :)

Well, his momma up and moved to China for three years, so Sissy Elliebug took him in.  They road tripped to Arkansas together, where he and Maxwell Todd became best friends. When Ellie took a news reporting job in Ft. Myers, they all packed up in the UHaul truck and made the move south.  A year later, when Ellie left reporting to get married and move to Oregon then Okinawa, Willis road tripped to Indiana this past spring. There he moved in with his other Sissy Emily Tess, until momma returned from China this summer.

Finally, momma was settled in Florida, with her new boat Kantiya, and it was time to go get Willis T. Cat and bring him home for good. While Willis is well traveled, it would be a gross over statement to say that he is a good traveler.  

Far from it.  

I could not bear a two day drive with a howling Willis, so I opted for the quick and dirty route- his first plane ride ever, on a nonstop flight from Indianapolis to Ft. Myers.  That was the plan, anyhow. Mother Nature had other plans in mind, i.e., Hurricane Irma.

I flew up on Friday, September 8th, while Hurricane Irma was leaving Cuba and entering into the Florida Straits, bearing down on the Middle Keys.  I had a return flight for the following afternoon, hoping to make a quick turn around to bring the boy home.  The Ft. Myers airport then closed for Saturday and Sunday, in anticipation of the hurricane making landfall on the mainland.  In fact, all of the southern airports were closed by early Saturday morning as the wind was already up to 40mph with gusts over 50mph.  It looked like I was staying put in Indiana until the storm passed.  

Since my return flight for Saturday was already cancelled, when I landed in Indianapolis on Friday, I went to the counter and rebooked my return flight before I left the airport.  The earliest and closest non-stop flight back to Florida was taking me to Tampa on Tuesday, September 12th.  I assumed it would be a safe bet to be able to get home on the 12th.

In spite of the weather forecasts, no one could imagine the immense damage to much of the entire state of Florida.  If it wasn't the 12-15 inches of rain dumped which caused massive flooding, it was the 130mph winds that uprooted trees, snapped power poles like twigs, and tore off roofs, reeking havoc east to west and north to south. We sustained some roof damage, and one section of wall on our 'utility room' where the 900 gallon rain barrel is kept. (Did I mention the rain barrel was filled in just a few hours?!) Kantiya fared just fine, thanks to all the preparation Len did in my absence.  All of our glass doors along the east and south end of the house also survived without a scratch.  In retrospect, it was probably best that Willis did not return before the hurricane. He would have been scared to death. Len and the neighbors were all huddled in the hurricane shelter for nearly nine hours through the worst of it Sunday afternoon and evening.

Because the storm was slow moving at only 9mph, it reached Tampa on Monday, which cancelled my flight there for Tuesday.  While it was great to spend time with Emily, to meet her boyfriend's parents, and to see the grandkids on three different occasions, I was ready to get home.  I felt badly that I was not there to help with all the clean up.  Len worked his fool self for four days straight, on our home and property and helping our neighbors, too.

I spent Monday the 11th on the phone with Southwest Airlines.  The wait time to speak to a live person was 119 minutes!  When I finally got Beverly on the line, the earliest I could get back to Ft. Myers was the following Monday, September 18th.  No way that would work! The earliest and closest nonstop flight anywhere in south Florida was for Friday morning, September 15th, bound for Ft. Lauderdale. I grabbed it. I would hate to have been a reservation agent last week; they were swamped with rerouting and rebooking stranded passengers. The good news, when all was said and done, was that Southwest waived all pet fees due to the hurricane- saved me $95.00! Thank you, Southwest :)

I then called my former veterinarian to see if I could get some sort of tranquilizer for Willis for the plane trip. Knowing it was his first plane ride, and knowing how he howls on car rides, I wasn't taking any chances. No deal on the tranquilizer.  His response was I would simply have a drunk howling Willis on my hands.  I went to the local Petsmart and found a 'lavender and chamomile calming cat collar'. It was worth a shot.

We were up at the butt crack of night, at 2:30am on Friday morning.  I desperately needed coffee, and Willis needed his calming collar on for a bit before he was stuffed in his TSA approved cat carrier. He is a mere 16 pounds, after all.  We bid our goodbyes to Sissy, and got settled in to the rental car for the 1.5 hour drive to the Indianapolis airport.  Willis was doing his usual whining and crying all the way to I-465.  Then his howls really picked up, and that means only one thing. He was about to throw up.  Generally when I hear that distinctive howl, I can grab the nearest tissue or paper towel and catch the nastiness on it's way up and out. (We're experienced like that...as the boy has also been known to get seasick, sadly, like his momma.) However, at 4:00am on the interstate, there wasn't a damn thing I could do, but say, "I'm sorry, buddy."

I felt bad when I returned the rental car- the stench was unbearable.  As soon as I got my receipt we bolted out of there making a beeline for the nearest family restroom.  I knew this was no simple clean up job.  I sprung the boy the minute I locked the door, and he bolted, sending puke and turds a flyin'. That furry beast cut loose from every orifice.  He peed, and he $hit, and he puked all over himself. We were in the family restroom for a good twenty minutes.  First I had to clean up him (no less than twenty cat wipes), then I had to clean the cat carrier. Thankfully, I packed some environmental friendly oil absorbent sheets from the engine room of Kantiya. I figured it it will soak up diesel engine oil, it's good enough for cat piss and puke. Lastly, I had to clean up the floor of the family bathroom. Geesh. It was a rough start to the day- for both of us.

All cleaned up, and he was not liking idea that
he had to get stuffed in the carrier again.
I considered wearing the calming cat collar myself.

Surprisingly, the boy never made another peep
through the check in or boarding the plane.  We did
have to go to a private room to be felt up by TSA :(

Wish us luck!

Minus the Yorkie that barked, who was under the seat next to Willis, he did fine on the plane.  If he howled, I couldn't hear him, which was just as well.  We still had a two hour truck ride home, which turned in to three hours, because we needed gas and some provisions- post Hurricane Irma.  Len is highly allergic to cats, but I pinky swore that I would brush him daily, wipe him down with a cat wipe daily, clean the cat box daily, and sweep the floors and sofa daily.  The things I will do for Willis. And Len. I love my boys. <3  

While Willis quickly bolted and went in to hiding mode for the next twenty four hours, I took his eating and using the litter box as a good sign. Actually, Ellie, Maxwell and Willis all lived with Len for about six weeks when she first moved to Ft. Myers, until she could get settled in her new job and find an apartment. I don't know if cats have much of a memory, but I was hoping that after the initial shock wore off, he might begin to recognize his surroundings.

By Saturday evening, he came out from under the guest bed
and made himself comfy on the guest bed comforter.

By coffee time this morning, he ventured out to
the living room and found a laying spot on the sofa.

By the time I was fixing dinner this evening,
he was flopping by my feet in the kitchen.
All is well in the world of Willis :)

G'nite, y'all!