What a performance!

This is most certainly not a post about some wonderful West End stage performance or anything even nearing it, it is in fact about 'two cats' who should know better and who on the occasion of this recent holiday created mini mayhem between them!

Bear in mind here that Poppy in particular is a very well traveled cat indeed, she has done countless car journeys of hundreds and hundreds of miles and never been a moments trouble, Ditto for her part whilst not as widely ventured is more than well versed in the rules applied to car travel.

But nay, it was not to be, rules were not adhered too on this occasion and the whole 'cat in transit' issue consequently fell to pieces rather spectacularly last Sunday

PG was charged with the task of taking said cats to the cattery for their holidays whilst I was at work, thus enabling us to leave on our travels in the wee small hours. This is a much practiced 'carry on' though usually performed by the two of us as negotiating cats into boxes is not always without incident. Happily there were no incidents at this point in the the cat transport operation and both duly allowed themselves to be deposited on nice, clean, cosy bedding in their respective carrying equipment and off they all set.

Almost immediately things began to degenerate from there with Poppy deciding that now, in the close confines of PG's car, it would be a good time to hone her projectile vomiting skills and in her endeavors, created a new design of interior car design 'stippling'. The man was not amused but duly stopped the car, did the best job he could of a clean up operation and they continued on their way.

Barely was the engine running again than Ditto decided that not to be left out of the proceedings she would do her best to make the short journey memorable by making new use of her travel compartment in the manner of a litter box! There was little to be done and a rather less than amused PG was forced to drive the remaining miles with sun roof and all windows as wide open as he could get them! Eventually himself and said, now disgraced cats, arrived at their destination where 'very nice cat lady', full of sympathy for the cats, rather than PG's trauma, whisked them out of their various unpleasant surroundings and began the clean up process. Why does that happen? I have to admit to being just very slightly amused, PG doesn't 'do' animal nastiness where it can be avoided, rather leaving such tasks to yours truly and here, when I thought he would be forced into some action someone comes to his rescue, had I been there no doubt it would have been down to me!.

This was not to be the end of the cat troubles.

Home at last!
On Friday a good friend kindly offered, as he always does, to collect small furry creatures and deposit them home enabling us to arrive home late and therefore miss the traffic.

On Friday evening, still in London we received a phone call from 'very nice cat lady' saying she had retained Poppy for a further night whilst Ditto has been collected by aforementioned friend to be taken home. Given that in her elderly and less than well state I was already concerned about how Poppy would fare on her 'holiday' I immediately went into silent panic mode as PG took the call. When he eventually got off the phone I discovered that rather than being a panic situation it was a 'stubborn old cat' situation, Poppy in her annoyance at the whole malarky had refused point blank to be incarcerated in her travel box and no amount of gentle, or less gentle physical persuasion was going to budge her! Both our Friend 'L' and the cat lady are well practiced at this maneuver but nothing was going to beat old puss and eventually she began to hyperventilate causing a rapid cessation of all attempts to get her securely 'jailed'.

It was thus that we arrived home, as mentioned, to only one small confused cat in the small hours of Saturday.

Immediately we saw what the problem had been with Poppy. The carrier that Ditto had been 'packaged' in was the big one we have...... which meant that attempts at inserting Poppy had been into the smaller one, usually inhabited by Ditto. One has to understand the specifics of cat life here and know that Poppy just does not go in the small carrier, it is not an arguable point, it just doesn't happen, we know that, she knows that but it had never occurred to us to tell anyone else, we just assumed that as they arrive in that manner they would come home in that manner.

So yesterday morning we set off on the Poppy rescue mission, BIG box in hand, upon arrival we were met by verbal protestations uttered loudly in 'cat-eze' by 'someone' having been left behind an extra night, despite it being her own fault it suddenly became our fault! Her behavior had caused much amusement once she had stopped her overbreathing lark it seems, and much was said of her ability, despite declining health to dig her heels in when she chooses. She was duly and happily placed in her big box with no nonsense, and off we set happily homeward.

You thought that was the end? Well you are wrong! As a final act of defiance, this cat, who had traveled thousands of miles over her lifetime without any incident now, on this 15 mile journey decides that she must have the last word so to speak.....and followed Dittos lead of a few days earlier by making inappropriate use of her carrier as a litter box!!

Feisty old bag!