The good news, from NewDealFarmGrrl:
The last little kitten from the bleg needs to relocate to Maryland. A number of folks chimed in that they’d help with relocation costs. Is this something Balloon Juice can get rolling?
Kitten is staying at my house and is scheduled to see the vet this afternoon for well-kitten and shots visit so we can make sure Kitten won’t endanger Jefferson’s (Barb’s cat) stressed immune system.
First pic is Kitten playing with a tassel toy in the basket-with-heating-pad I set up for her.
Second pic is her enjoying ear skritchies — for such a tiny kitten she sure has a huge purr! She loves tummy rubs with a passion, but I couldn’t manage a pic of that. Very affectionate but lonely kitten wants to go to her furrever home!
I don’t have the faintest idea how to arrange transport, so I would be forever grateful if Balloon Juice can help.
I have a small carrier for her that my cats have long since outgrown, that can go with her as well as the food my brother bought. Plus my too-small surplus litter pan and some litter.
.
Debit, as regular readers will know, took in another one of the kittens. She also recommended TLC Pet Transport, the people who got Walter from Cole’s home to hers.
But, the less-than-optimal news, from B Lamb:
I talked to TLC Pet Transport and they are sending a more firm estimate later today, but said the cost is over $1000. They have relays that run regularly on certain routes, but Minnesota is not part of that. We have to pay for the additional cost to get from Minnesota to their central location.
They wont take the kitten until she is 8 weeks and has all her initial shots. I may need to pay for another vet visit to be sure she has all her shots, which is fine.
I will let you know when I get the quote.
I am in and out right now. My new preemie granddaughter, born on the 4th, is now home, and I need to help my daughter and son-in-law today by watching their sons while they go to a bunch of appointments. I will check email for the quote, as I can.
I’m going to be away from the computer until later in the evening myself. But once we know exactly how much Miss Calico’s Big Adventure will cost, I’ll re-up this post with the details. I have an email for Barb, so anyone who wants to chip in can send me a message (‘Contact an author’) or [email protected] ) and I’ll reply with the link…
ThresherK
I’m a sucker for calicos and torties.
Spousal Ms ThresherK and I are moving also, but just six miles to a new town over a hill. We’re giving up a phone number we’ve had for 19 years.
MazeDancer
Teeny kitten will easily fit in underseat carrier to go on plane. Maybe someone in Minnesota would like a free trip to Maryland. Or DC. Or someplace to which Barb could easily drive.
Or someone on the East Coast might like to round trip to Minnesota.
Kristine
@MazeDancer: that’s a good idea.
Mnemosyne
@MazeDancer:
There may be some travel restrictions for a kitten that small — a vet should probably be consulted.
Where is the “central location” that’s causing the extra cost? Would there be a better price if a kind Juicer could take Miss Calico that far?
Also, did I overlook the donation button, or is that waiting for the final transportation cost?
debit
OMG she is so adorable! Her sister is maybe not as dramatically pretty, but we think she’s pretty awesome.
When all was said and done, Walter’s transport was about $1200, so I’m not surprised. There are other pet transport services, or the option of flying her, or a BJ pet relay if the cost is just too prohibitive. I could do the first leg east, say to Madison, if someone else could take her from there.
Capri
I have used Uship to find folks to haul horses across the country, but it’s used for all types of animals (and other stuff). You might check it out.
mskitty
Least traumatic – NONtraumatic – is a two person drive: one to drive, another to sit in the back and play with the kitten. A baking dish for litter. Hand feed. I’d volunteer myself – hell, I’d have TAKEN a couple – if I weren’t on the wrong coast. Houston, dammit.
And regarding which, do Texas jackals ever get a meetup?
Amaranthine RBG
I volunteer for Fix Our Ferals out in the SF Bay Area. They offer very low cost spay/neutering of feral cats for $40.
They take donations: https://fixourferals.org/rate-sheet/
debit
Let me hasten to add, I’m still in for donating for transport if that’s how we decide to go.
ETA: It looks like airfare right now is about $180.00 roundtrip. Hmmm.
Amaranthine RBG
Put up a snail mail address and I’ll send $30 today.
5 other people and it’s done.
Percysowner
@debit:
I’m in for donating when the time comes. If you can wrangle it, it sounds like someone making a round trip with kitten in a carrier under the seat would be the way to go.
Mary G
I think the vet said kitty is too young to fly? I will contribute, love that two-tone face on Kitty, so be sure to keep us updated with photos.
rikyrah
Awe, so cute ??
Mnemosyne
@rikyrah:
She looks like a troublemaker to me. An adorable, adorable troublemaker. ?
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
Depending upon the schedule, I could also be talked into driving the little girl as far as Madison.
debit
Okay, further info: Delta is the flight I’d looked up for the weekend of Dec 2. However, there’s another fee of $125.00 for carry on pets. The pet must also be at least ten weeks old. Details here for the curious.
CaseyL
@Mary G: Yes, 2 weeks too young. Gotta be car transport. I like the idea of two people in the car, one to soothe the wee kitty while the other drives (two are also company for each other).
I’ll pony up once there’s a fund established.
Mnemosyne
@debit:
What about Southwest? Their pet fee is $95 and you can keep the kitty in the cabin with you:
https://www.southwest.com/pets/
Yarrow
The driving route for this trip would almost go right by Cole’s front door. Maybe he could do a leg of the trip. Someone should contact him on Twitter.
Mnemosyne
Although, anyone even considering flying should keep in mind that even a tiny kitten can be VERY LOUD when it’s scared. Your seatmates may treat you like you have a crying baby.
debit
@Mnemosyne: If she’s anything like her sister, yep. Dani has already learned that sometimes being picked up means being put back in her kennel (which is a large dog kennel with a full sized litter tray, pet bed and food/water dishes plus toys) so she bolts and does a nya nya you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread kitten! routine that works really well until she forgets to run when I wiggle a toy. She is such a charmer and has already coaxed Oliver into playing with her, which consists of him “running” away so she can catch him and then gently waving a paw in her general vicinity. Then he grooms her forehead. And when she’s finally tuckered out, she climbs on my shoulder and hides under my hair and goes to sleep.
In case it’s not clear, I utterly adore this kitten.
Sab
@Amaranthine RBG: Me too.
B
I looked at the rules for flying earlier this week. It definitely would be cheaper, but the kitten has to be older.
Reilyn
I am a cat loving and cat owning former Minnesotan currently living in the DC area. I’d be willing to take her along for the ride back to the DC metro area with me when I come back from leave over Xmas but that won’t be until New Years. Alternatively I’d be willing to try and make the flight sooner if there was help with ticket and pet fee costs, but it would have to be timed to not tick off my boss (so a quick round trip over a weekend or such etc). Southwest will fly cats starting at 8 weeks with vaccines I know (in cabin as carryone for a 95 dollar fee plus the biped ticket). I have no car so transport to areas of Maryland that are not in the DC metro area would require her owner to be willing to drive to the DC area to pick her up….
debit
@B: Well, by Dec 2 she’d be at ten weeks, unless my math is really out of whack. Is that an option, or were you thinking of transport before Thanksgiving?
Josie
@mskitty: I spend half my time in Houston playing nanny to my grand daughter and would love a meetup at some point.
ETA: I could also donate a little towards transportation.
Steeplejack (phone)
Haven’t read the comments yet, but I’m willing to drive the final leg to Maryland from Pittsburgh or, at a stretch, Cleveland, depending on circumstances.
satby
Please everyone, when in a car with a small pet, it needs to ride in a carrier. You haven’t lived until a kitten escapes and tries to hide under a brake pedal as you’re driving down the interstate at 70+ mph. Loose small animals are a hazard for everyone in the car.
I used to do pet rescue transports between Lafayette, IN and Kenosha, WS and still have contacts that do regular transports. If a car relay is the way we go, let me know because we can probably fill any gaps between WS and Ohio. I’m in for the IN leg.
Edit, or can stretch into OH.
Diana
Still in for the donation. If the kitten can stay until someone can fly for thanksgiving or Christmas, and the only issue is the airlines pet fee, I hereby pledge to donate said pet fee….
Steeplejack (phone)
@satby:
Seconded on pet carriers in cars. SteepTrans LLC has access to a big greyhound-sized carrier that would be luxurious for a kitten, including litter box and water bowl.
As I said above, I could possibly stretch to Cleveland, but that’s my limit (about six hours each way). Pittsburgh or environs would be a breeze.
debit
@satby:
Yes, this. I was once rear ended by a guy with a Capuchin monkey at liberty in his car and he wasn’t sure if it was under his brakes. It was entertaining while we waited for the cops to show up.
If we were to car transport I would advise a set up like the one I have for Dani. A kennel with a litter box and a bed with breaks for food and water.
Amaranthine RBG
@satby:
Not only that – all pets should be in a solid kennel when in vehicles. They become projectiles in a collision. And those flimsy plastic crates – even the ones certified for airline travel – are worthless: scroll down: http://www.centerforpetsafety.org/test-results/carriers/2015-carrier-study-results/. This one is particularly disturbing: https://vimeo.com/133808345
Gunnar kennels are the way to go, unless you can go with custom metal fabricated kennels http://www.centerforpetsafety.org/test-results/crates/2015-crate-study-results/
I
Manyakitty
@satby: I can help in Ohio and maybe PA
satby
@Manyakitty: between you, me, and Steep, we’re about 1/2 way there!
Shana
Why don’t we try to set up a system where someone drives part of the way, hands off to another BJer to drive the next leg to someone, etc. That way no one has to spend a lot of time or money on transport.
debit
@Shana: The only issue is timing. It will have to be a period where everyone is available and can have a back up in case of car trouble, family emergency, etc.
I totally think it’s doable, and as @satby: said, a fair portion of the route is already covered. Let’s see what B thinks after the quote comes in, and also check out @Reilyn: at 24, which may have been in moderation earlier. I think that’s also an excellent idea if the timing still works out for all involved. If NewDealFarmGrrl can’t continue to foster until then, I could step in.*
So, we have options. :)
*if anyone would actually be foolish enough to let me get my hands on another kitten. Soon they shall all be mine!
newdealfarmgrrrlll
You folks are seriously awesome!
Ok, Kitten saw a vet at our clinic Tuesday, Nov. 7; he thought she looked about six weeks old, and gave her her first set of shots. She will need a booster shot every 3-4 weeks until she is 16 weeks old, so the next shot will need to be last week of November/first week of December. He was relieved to hear car transport was likely as he thought it unwise for her to travel by plane before a minimum of 8 weeks old.
It’s no problem for me to have her stay here, my only worry is her being lonely because she needs to stay separate from my cats. My two girls barely tolerate each other, they are Super Mean Girls to other cats. Their brother is pretty mellow, he’d probably end up loving her as a playmate but the vet said not to risk it since she won’t be a permanent resident. (I fostered two more sisters from the same litter from May 2016 to May 2017 while their human dealt with giving her Mom nursing care 24/7 while Mom struggled with cancer. Glad to do it, loved those two girls, but boy howdy was it a circus around here for a while! And my respiratory system firmly let me know that three cats was my maximum, not four or five. Darn! And it was my goal to be a Crazy Cat Lady. And it foils my plans of keeping this utterly enchanting and adorable kitten for myself mwahahaha.)
b
I have the quote from TLC: $1455 and will take 1.5 days of travel. That seems like a lot of money and long drive for a tiny kitten.
The kitten is old enough to travel on Southwest by the end of the month
If @Reilyn or someone else wants to fly with the kitten, then Southwest runs between Minneapolis/BWI (Baltimore) for around $500 or less roundtrip, plus $95 pet fee. The Southwest approved pet carrier is $58 (it is 17″L x 10.5″H x 10″W). I can pick up/drop off at any of the 3 DC airports, but definitely prefer BWI. If you volunteer to fly to DC, I can provide transport to DC or to Baltimore for the day. Hopefully NewDealFarmGrrl or Debit or someone at the Minnesota end can help out there. There are actually much cheaper Southwest tickets available, but you have to be willing to fly at a ridiculously early (in my opinion) time (I’m a night person). I also have enough hotel points to cover someone’s hotel overnight in Minneapolis, or in the DC/Baltimore area if you are willing to stay somewhere other than in DC or in Baltimore itself.
It looks like between NewDealFarmGrrl and Debit, that the kitten has a place to stay until we can arrange transport.
I thought the kitten was a calico and was going to name her Callie, but Google tells me that she would be mostly white with the other colors. Evidently she is a tortoiseshell, but I think I will still name her Callie.
While trying to arrange transport through a bunch of volunteers seems possible, I suspect schedules are such that it would take several days and people would be have to be willing to keep the kitten overnight.
Right now we have:
Tissue Thin Pseudonym would get kitten to Madison.
Satby can maybe help from WI (hopefully near Madison) to Indiana/Ohio with a pet rescue relay??
Manyakitty can help with Ohio.
I could pick up the kitten from Pittsburgh, PA or Morgantown, WV. I probably could get to the Ohio border area.
Need Satby to determine how much of the WI to Ohio could be covered by the pet rescue, and what part of Ohio Manyakitty can cover.
I will post this in various posts to see what interest there is in doing the driving relay, or volunteers for flying.
debit
@b: Yikes, yes, $1400 is a lot for a such a tiny kitten.
I can also do the drive to Madison or Kenosha if need be. Feel free to email, or include me on a chain once the ball starts rolling.
If flying is the final decision, yes, of course I’m happy to facilitate in whatever way I can, and also in helping fund the flight itself.
And Callie is an awesome name.
Retr2327
@Mary G: well, I flew an 8-week old kitty to Paris once, with my wife, a cat vet, so I doubt that it’s a vet issue. Different airlines might have issues.
SectionH
I’m in for some $, whatever method y’all decide on.
Sigh, I wish I were still up for a couple of mileage runs. Sadly, no. But damn… old war horse to bugle…
Some thoughts on flying her:
I’ve flown with a couple of my own cats before on Delta – old ladies, differently terrifying issues, or maybe not that different: fragile animals. I will say the $125 In-Cabin fee was worth it, because I never worried that someone next to me would be able to kick us off the plane. (Oh, and tbc, only one animal/per cabin is the rule, so when you book, tell them, so your critter is the one.)
I did think to buy a harness for the first cat I flew with, because even her softsided carrier had to go through the scanner, and she had to go with me through the metal detector thing (thank FSM that was before the backscatter machines arrived here), and I was terrified that she might panic and wriggle out of my hands and… yeah. Nightmare shit, so she had a harness and leash. I have no idea what to do about a tiny kitten. Make a teeny elastic harness? That would be awesome, but fuck, JFC I hate the TSA. But that is the sort of shit you have to think about if a volunteer flies.
It’s totally doable, but I could have used more advice from ppl who’d actually flown with cats.
edited for pronouns
Reilyn
@b:
I actually have family in Minneapolis, so I would not need a hotel. I have several pet carriers including a jetblue brand one (which I originally got in case I ever had to fly w/ my cats) that I’m pretty sure would meet the specs to fly on Southwest, though I’ll have to measure to be sure. So basically what I would need to make it work would be $$$ help for ticket cost/pet fee, a ticket setup to work w/ my work schedule, and someone to bring the kitten to me and/or meet w/ the kitten in or near the Minneapolis metro area, and depending on where the kitten’s final home in MD is meant to be, someone to meet me at BWI and drive her to her new home (unless her intended owner can do so).
Alternatively, if a longer wait isn’t a problem, I have a flight already booked on Sun Country to go home to Minneapolis for Xmas and fly back to DC on Jan 3; I’ve already paid for that flight so if I could add her to that ticket, the only thing to cover financially if we went with that option would be the pet fee (which I think is similar to Delta’s).
Steeplejack (phone)
Looks like a previous comment of mine got eaten. If the kitten flies, I would be willing to transport her from the destination airport (BWI, National or Dulles) to her final home.
b
@Reilyn: It would be better I think for the kitten to be home before Jan 3, since I would like her socialized twith other pets and people. I am afraid if we wait too long that she may have trouble.
We can fundraise the airfare and pet fee. Can you look at airfare that works for you around your schedule, and let me know the cost and which airline to figure out the pet fee? Also, let me know if you intend to stay overnight (or couple nights) there to be sure we cover parking fees at the DC airports, since that isnt cheap. I am the intended owner, so I can meet you at any of the DC airports. Also we need to be careful of the airline – Southwest allows the kitten to fly at 8 weeks (Thanksgiving week), Delta requires 10 weeks (Dec 5). Given the crowds at Thanksgiving, I would avoid that week since the likelihood of not getting the kitten onto the plane is probably higher (all the airlines seem to have a limit of how many pets can travel in the cabin at once). Once we figure out the cost, we should get the funds to you directly so you can make your own airfare arrangements.
In the meantime, we can look at the driving relay.
Draco7
I’m impressed by the machinations planned to get this kitten a home. I will add that I have two of the kittens, and they are classic good kittens – I can’t imagine that the calico (Callie?) is any different. I am also hosting the mother, whose temperament is amazing. She was at the vet today and got her rabies and FVRCP shots, and struggled wildly – but her claws *never* came out. I have not seen that before even with mature mellow cats. So, if Callie has her mom’s temperament (looks like my two do) she’s a guaranteed keeper. That’s just by way of encouragement…
Reilyn
@b: Alright, a quick glance at airfare at the moment (airfare unfortunately fluctuates like mad from day to day) shows that Delta airfare for the weekend of Dec 9 is currently running about $375 or so plus the Delta pet fee for a flight leaving Friday night and returning Sunday evening. Southwest flights running that route appear to all have a stopover and some flights won’t carry pets on a stopover I’ve heard. Sun Country is much cheaper at the moment, only $246 plus the pet fee ($125; so a total of about $370 on Sun Country at the moment for the round trip airfare and one way pet fee) for a direct flight set leaving late Friday Dec 8 night and returning Sunday Dec 10 afternoon/evening via DCA and MSP, so I think that one may be our best bet. Sun Country’s flying with pets page doesn’t list a minimum age but since the weekend of the 9th the kitten would be old enough to fly on both SW and Delta and I can’t imagine SC wouldn’t take her. (A quick search of Sun Country for the weekend of Dec 2 shows that flights that weekend are slightly more expensive at about $300 plus the $125 pet fee; but still cheaper than Delta’s).