Lost Luggage and the Art of Traveling Light

Pre-Flight Preparations: Managing Cat Anxiety

Traveling with these two was not the most stressful part of my trip! As you read in Part 1, I had so many other bumps in the road and was excited to follow my dreams that actual moving day seemed to go pretty okay. I am so, so, so grateful for my bestie Rach who helped me haul the kitties overseas! I couldn’t have done this without her! This was such a stressed couple months of my life and it was so nice to have her as a travel companion and kitty wrangler.

The vet prescribed some gabapentin so the kitties would be nice and chillaxed for the big day. We were staying at my uncles’ house about an hour north of Seattle, so I wanted to time their dosages 8 hours apart and so they would hopefully just be vibin’ during all the scary parts of the day. Pill 1 was for the drive down to my dad’s house and he’d take me and my bestie to the airport, we’d go through screening, get on the plane and be in the air for an hour or so. Pill 2 was the flight itself and pill 3 got through landing, driving to the hotel, and arriving in a weird place.

Keeping Kitties Contained

They had to be in their big carriers for the flight. I got the Sherpa Delta™ Airlines Pet Carrier so there would be zero problem with the size of the carrier on the flight. And it was, indeed, not a problem with my Delta flight from Seattle to Amsterdam, however when I was booking my flight, I had to provide the carrier’s dimensions to the agent and she informed me that it was an inch too big for the KLM flight from Amsterdam to Rome and I needed KLM’s approval or something, I actually can’t remember. This was all for the flight I booked in March and if you read Part 1, you’ll know that that flight was not the flight I took the cats on!

A sad Oreo kitten looks out of her carrier

When I booked my flight for April, I talked to a different Delta agent who did not ask for the carrier dimensions and did not say I needed to call KLM for anything. So, yeah…

Delta also bungled my flights when I booked them, but luckily, I found out a couple months before even leaving so I was able to sort it all out. But it was frustrating and added so much extra stress to an already stressful time.

Shinx stares into my soul

Navigating Airport Security with Feline Friends

Getting the kitties through airport security took about an hour. Pro Tip: ask for a private screening when you get to the screening area. I did, and they told me to stand in a separate area and wait my turn for the screening, there was a family of four in front of me in line.

Meanwhile, stuff in my suitcase was being pulled by TSA because it looked suspicious, but because I wasn’t on the other side of the screening area, I couldn’t tell they were asking whose suitcase it was. I had a bag of kitty litter that was flagging the system because it probably looked like some sort of contraband and they couldn’t figure out who it belonged to! Everything eventually got sorted out.

Meanwhile, with the cats, we went to the private screening room where I took one cat out of her carrier at a time and held on to her as one TSA agent took the carrier to the Xray and another watched me to make sure I didn’t do anything weird. I just took this time to take deep breaths and remind myself that I was living the dream!

They hate to fly, and it shows

My fuzzy little warriors had such a scary day! The flight itself was uneventful. Another Pro Tip: use the lids from the fruit cups at dinner and breakfast to squeeze out some Churu and stir in a little gabapentin for a special in-flight treat for kitty

Oreo didn’t care much for the Churu, sadly. She stepped in it and got it all over her and the inside of the carrier. Shinx scratched Rach as she tried to give her hers. Shinx, as it turns out, turns into a gremlin at 30,000 feet. She bit and scratched both me and Rach (not hard, not ununderstandably). There were times I could hear her trying to claw her way out of the carrier. It seems like Oreo was trying to push her way out of the carrier with her nose; her normally pink little snoot had a big black bruise on it for about a week or so after the flight. And I could hear her sad little meows when we began to descend into Amsterdam. They were both quiet on the second, shorter flight though. Which was good, it allowed me to relax and rest a little myself.

Choosing an airline

As noted, I chose to fly Delta. They were the best airline that allowed cats in the cabin that had a connecting flight in Amsterdam Airport Schiphol where I didn’t have to go through another security checkpoint with the cats. There was no way I wanted to do that twice, especially if my other options were Paris Charles de Gaulle or JFK.

I think each cat was $200 and I had to pay at the ticket counter when I was checking in.

Living a mew-nificent life!

They settled into the new place easily, except for finding a food they liked. I think we tried 30 options before finding something they both wanted to eat consistently. Maybe I’ll do another post on cat food, there’s some impressive options here! To me, of course, not these two felines. There’s only one that they care for!

Traveling with pets is not for the faint of heart, but I’m so glad we endured the process. We have a wonderful apartment with two balconies that they love to go out on and watch the neighborhood, Oreo especially. She loves the Roma parakeets that hang out in the trees outside.

This move was more than just a change of scenery; it was a testament to the lengths one can go to follow their dreams. Settling in Italy with my fuzzballs by my side has taught me so much about resilience, adaptability, and love. As we embrace our new life in Rome, I am filled with gratitude and excitement for the adventures that lie ahead. Here’s to new beginnings and the joyous journey of a lifetime with my fluffbutts!