Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s not hopeless, and we’re not helpless.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

I really should read my own blog.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

I’m more Christian than these people and I’m an atheist.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.

Russia bombs Ukraine’s maternity hospitals; Republicans in the House can’t sort out supporting Ukraine.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

I’m just a talker, trying to find a channel!

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

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91Comments

  7. 7.

    squid696

    I am a former submariner, so I have no idea, but does anyone on here know how long it would take to give basic training to Ukrainian pilots to enable them to fly and fight using our US-made attack helicopters or A-10s?  I would think it would take longer to teach them how to fly our fighters, but the ground support aviation may not take as long, but I have no idea.

  8. 8.

    scav

    @Ken: It’s easier in interpretive dance.

    I’m going with eyeroll, uneven shoulder shrug and a bit of pursed lips puff, but I tend to have a French accent when attempting the combo.

  10. 10.

    J R in WV

    i will always remember that short video of Richard Spencer, senior Nazi, making a speech with a bullhorn after TFG’s inauguration, and getting sucker-punched into next week.

    Was both hilarious and sorely needed to let Spencer know exactly what most actual Americans think of his ilk. Russian traitorous scum~!!~ He could share a very small cell with TFG, Shite for Brains.

  11. 11.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    John Cole @ Top:

    Feh.

    That’s it.

    So is that “Feh” a Meh with an F, or is it a Fuck with eh?

  13. 13.

    geg6

    It’s feh because you are probably still obsessing over Ukraine news. I know I have been for days now. But I decided I could not do it another moment last evening and wanted something to take my mind off the relentless bad news in the world.

    Well, dammit, I found it. And I can’t recommend it enough for those who need a bit of a laugh and to take your own minds off the crazy all around us. HGTV’s “Ugliest House in America.” I had recorded the series a while back and it may still be available OnDemand. Holy shit, they weren’t kidding about bringing the ugly. They broke up the country into regions and picked the ugliest house in the region. That winner, in turn, went up against the winners of the other regions for the prize of a $150,000 remodel. The winner’s house was most definitely ugly and super creepy. But for my money, the first house they cover (Midwest region) is the ugliest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. I can only speculate that they decided $150K could not get rid of all the ugly.

  14. 14.

    oatler

    From Guardian UK:
    “A Ukraine-born oligarch has been found dead at his home in unexplained circumstances, Surrey police have said.
    “Officers are treating the death of 66-year-old Mikhail Watford, who made his fortune in oil and gas after the demise of the Soviet Union, as unexplained. But they said it was not thought to be suspicious.”

  17. 17.

    brendancalling

    “Feh” and “meh” are Yiddish words with similar meanings. “Feh” expresses general disgust. “Meh” expresses boredom or general indifference.

    “What do you think of the New Kid Rock video?”

    “Feh, that garbage? I wouldn’t listen to that crap if it cured cancer.”

    “What about the new album by Kenny G, where he does smooth jazz version of easy listening songs and yacht rock?”

    “Meh. I’m not a big fan of Kenny G, but at least he’s not a racist like Kid Rock.”

  18. 18.

    FelonyGovt

    I know “feh”. My grandmother, who was born in what is now Poland, liked to demonstrate the shaddash (sp??), a native dance. Her husband would watch with curled lip and would comment “feh!”

  19. 19.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @oatler: Is he supposed to be a buddy or an enemy of Putin? I need to know which conspiracy theory to believe in.

    Not saying it isn’t suspicious. Where Russia is involved, it’s usually best to believe in the conspiracy theories.

  20. 20.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @oatler:

    “Officers are treating the death of 66-year-old Mikhail Watford, who made his fortune in oil and gas after the demise of the Soviet Union, as unexplained. But they said it was not thought to be suspicious.”

    Uh huh. Uh huh.

  21. 21.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    @John Cole:

    Sure.

    [Blank gaze.]

    [Blinks.]

    [Looks down at desk. Eyes rove, searching for elaboration there.]

    [Fails to find it.]

    [Looks back up.]

    [Pause.]

    [Shrugs.]

    Okay.​

  25. 25.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @brendancalling:

    I love the ad with Larry David pooh-poohing every great idea in history, right up to the moment where the last thing he’s dismissing is crypto. No, crypto company, your pyramid scheme is not equal to the wheel or the fork.

    There’s definitely a “feh” feeling throughout but I don’t think he actually says “feh” anywhere in it. Amazing how many other ways there are to convey “feh”.

  29. 29.

    Leto

    @squid696: retired AF popping up here, but in simplistic terms it would take a while. The basic flight training would be established, but at that point it would be familiarization with the aircraft and it’s capabilities. That’ll take some time as you want them to be effective with the tool, and not just an opposing pilot notch.

    Here’s the larger issue with that plan: logistics. How do you supply this new fleet with replacement parts? How do you train the maintainers to service the new aircraft? For the region, MiGs are more plentiful and it’d be better for Ukrainians to simply upgrade to a newer version of what they’re familiar with. It would expedite their training, as well as make servicing them easier

    Edit: back in, roughly, 2003, I read an article in Air Force Magazine about a former Russian AF pilot who fell in love with an American, married her, then moved to the US. He then joined the AF as a pilot. He didn’t need to do the Undergrad Pilot Training program, he went straight over to the fighter pilot training portion. It still took him roughly 2 years to get qualified.

  31. 31.

    Amir Khalid

    I got my new Firefly 338 budget semihollow guitar to feed back with my Fender budget solid-state amp, and the feedback sounded beautiful.

    Then someone immediately told me to turn it down. Feh.

  32. 32.

    Jeffro

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: they must have thought they were going to send their forces about 100 yards into Ukraine while their hit teams knocked off Zelensky and his cabinet.  Install pro-Putin puppets, go home in under a week, problem solved!

    There are underpants gnomes and there are underpants gnomes but my lord…

  33. 33.

    Primer Gray (formerly Yet Another Jeff)

    I agree.

     

    Also, apparently it’s Kidney Cancer Awareness month, so…be aware. If not, I’m aware enough to cover a lot of people. Still enjoying not being dead, though…got a new t-shirt for my bloodwork/immunotherapy/oncologist visit tomorrow. Black shirt, white writing in a big white heart “Surviving Purely Out of Spite”

  36. 36.

    UncleEbeneezer

    So we received the official Go Ahead from my wife’s employer to relocate to NY if we want to.  Her employer has offices in NY and LA.  After 20 years in SoCal we are kind of dying to get back somewhere with real seasons/weather.  But man, the prospect of a cross-country move, with only one car and three cats is daunting, to say the least.  If we do decide to do it we would probably aim for sometime after our Anniversary vacation in September and target somewhere in Hudson River Valley close enough so that she could commute to NYC once in awhile but mostly work from home.  Exciting.  But also a bit scary since we are both pretty settled where we are.

  37. 37.

    Ruckus

    @Lacuna Synecdoche:

    That’s how you know it’s feh.

    Now I’ve got zero idea of any translation other than:

    “I don’t know who else doesn’t give a fuck but I can’t seem to find any urge (whasofuckingever) to do so.”

    It’s ennui spelled wrong (onwee) because you just don’t give a damn.

  38. 38.

    West of the Rockies

    Captain Obvious reporting in to say that I don’t believe the Russian government has any concept of the worldwide ill will they are creating.  I welcome every last brutality and indignity and humiliation awaiting them.  Bring them on forthwith, please.

  41. 41.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @brendancalling: I was just going by Ioffe’s thread. I haven’t followed her regularly so I don’t know if she’s likely to put up something in a longer form.

  42. 42.

    Leto

    @UncleEbeneezer: man, that’s child’s play! But I do understand the anxiety/excitement that comes with this potential move. If you guys decide to do it, hope you find a great place for all the things you need.

  43. 43.

    brendancalling

    @West of the Rockies: I feel badly for the Russian people who don’t want this war, but if they have to suffer (and suffer badly) for the actions of their dictator, and that suffering is what it will take to end the war, then I am all for it.

    Let Russia’s mothers cry. And let them take it out on Russia’s leaders.

  44. 44.

    catclub

    @UncleEbeneezer: ​
     

    But man, the prospect of a cross-country move, with only one car and three cats is daunting, to say the least.

    I have only one cat, but she is a terror. so also daunting. Replay of the time we told our daughter before a move “there is a chance that one of these crazy cats will run off at the wrong time (eg, interstate rest stop) and we won’t get her back.”

  46. 46.

    brendancalling

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Translation, via google:

    Sources: The Russian authorities were not ready for the sanctions imposed against the country. Possibly because Putin hid the invasion plan from many of his subordinates.

    Many high-ranking officials – members of the cabinet of ministers and heads of large state-owned companies – were not ready for Vladimir Putin’s decision to start a war in Ukraine. According to one of the senior officials, it follows that he “did not know” that this would be a full-scale invasion. Some of them were shocked by the news about the introduction of troops. “That’s fucked up,” a senior White House source replied laconically. According to a source close to the government, the cabinet was preparing for sanctions in response to the recognition of the independence of the LPR and DPR, but was not aware of the decision on a major war.

    It turned out that the government was not preparing for the level of sanctions pressure that the whole world began to exert on Russia in response to aggression. All the last time Russian officials seemed to be the most terrible measure to disconnect from SWIFT, says a source in the leadership of one of the state-owned companies. They were preparing for such a scenario – since the beginning of the year, several meetings were held in the government on the topic of possible sanctions, and in large companies they conducted so-called stress tests in case Russia was disconnected from SWIFT, a ban on the supply of Western software, servers and chips. However, the effect of the most terrible sanctions – for example, against Russian reserves – as well as the withdrawal of almost all Western companies from the Russian market – no one calculated, follows from the words of our interlocutors.

    In the past, the Russian leadership has shied away from overly aggressive policies under the influence of economists’ scenarios. For example, in March 2014, the government calculated the risks of joining the Donetsk, Lugansk and Kharkiv regions to Russia, and then this step was not taken, among other things, because the Russian economy, according to calculations, was not ready for this, recalls a former government official.

    “Everything is in a frenzy,” says a source close to the presidential administration, answering a question about the prevailing mood among Kremlin employees. But officials cannot resign, because it would be a betrayal: “You can only resign to the zone,” ironically an interlocutor close to the government.

  47. 47.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: So much for any Palace Coups if everyone in the Russian government was that deep in the group think.  This sounds like the geo-political equivalent of the 2007 Housing Bond Crash

  49. 49.

    Immanentize

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:  2000 year old man:
    “What was the greatest medical discovery in your 2,000 years?” asked Carl Reiner of Mel Brooks….
    “Liquid Prell.”
    “…. But what about the heart-lung machine? It’s saved thousands of lives?!”
    “Eh, that’s nice too, but a heart‐lung machine is in your medicine chest; it falls out, and it breaks. But entire families are held together by liquid Prell.”

    Not verbatim but from memory.

  50. 50.

    Squid696

    @Leto: Thank you. I would assume that the 2 years could be shortened dramatically in war time. I am trying to get a sense of what could be done in a national survival situation like this to enable them to get a step increase in their ground support aviation, assuming they already have pilots with some ability.  I know there would be some maintenance needed, but in a worst-case scenario they could treat the aircraft as disposable.

  52. 52.

    FelonyGovt

    @UncleEbeneezer: I can’t conceive of leaving Southern California but- my friend lives in Hastings on Hudson in NY; you might consider it. Cute little town within commuting distance of the city.

    As someone who made the cross country move in the other direction with one car, you can do it. I wish you the very best with your move.

  53. 53.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    NPR’s 1A now hosting Kurt Volker, whose defense in trump’s first impeachment was pretty much “I was just the wheelman!”, to comment on the invasion and US response.

    On September 26, 2019, the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence released the unclassified text of this whistleblower complaint regarding the interactions between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.[30] In this document, Volker, along with US Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, were described as having “provided advice to the Ukrainian leadership about how to ‘navigate’ the request that the President had made of Mr. Zelensky“.[31]

    That same day Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani posted on Twitter a screenshot that purported to be a text message from Volker to Giuliani, stating, “Mr. Mayor — really enjoyed breakfast this morning. As discussed, connecting you here with Andrey Yermak [Wikidata],[32] who is very close to President Zelensky. I suggest we schedule a call together on Monday — maybe 10am or 11am Washington time? Kurt”.[33][34]

  56. 56.

    Ruckus

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    I’ve moved a few times in the last 15 yrs and my biggest discovery was how much of a big deal it isn’t. We think it is because we show up and are the new kid(s) in school – we don’t know anybody. Let it be a discovery rather than a task.

  58. 58.

    Leto

    @Squid696: Here’s some of what we’re doing right now that’s of immense help:

    US Air Force Discusses Tactics with Ukrainian Air Force as Russian Advance Stalls

    A defense official who spoke to Air Force Magazine on the condition of anonymity said the U.S. Air Force and NATO are conducting “a lot” of tactical-level discussions with the Ukrainian Air Force.

    Earlier in the day, DOD confirmed that the air space over Ukraine remains contested with Ukrainian aircraft and air defenses still viable.

    The ISR shared with the Ukrainian Air Force by the United States and NATO includes NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) data and data gathered by AWACS in NATO eastern flank air space as well as by satellites, radar systems, and radio and communications. The data is being used to help the Ukrainian Air Force develop an air picture of what’s flying and where, the official said.

    Roughly 25 KC-135 and KC-10 refuelers from the United States, Turkey, and the Netherlands are supporting the effort, the defense official confirmed.

    The U.S. Air Force is also sharing sensor data picked up by some 30 American fighter jets, including F-15s, F-16s, F-18s, and F 35s, operating on air policing missions on the NATO eastern flank.

    “They can see a long way into Ukraine,” the official said.

    Like I said above, you could theoretically shorten the training program but it’s going to be the logistics issue that’s the biggest problem. Planes won’t do you any good if you can’t service them.

    For the people monitoring that flight tracking website, those refuelers that you see up there, this is what they’re supporting and why they’re flying the holding patterns.

  60. 60.

    trollhattan

    @geg6:

    JUST IN CASE you haven’t had the pleasure, McMansion Hell is a deep, deep exploration of the separation of wealth and taste, as loudly communicated by hideous, oversized homes. The author knows of what she speaks, teaching architectural design and review.

    It’s delicious.

  61. 61.

    CaseyL

    @UncleEbeneezer: Wow!  That’s going to be an adventure, moving somewhere different in just about every way from where you’ve been.

    Does your car have a cargo area at all? Or just a back seat?  Are the kitties going to be sedated for their cross-country adventure? I was going to suggest turning the entire back seat/cargo area into one big kitty confinement area, but then it occurred to me putting them in carriers would be better as they won’t get jostled as much in a smaller space.  (You might also ask a professional pet moving service for advice, the people who use their own vehicles to move pets across the country.  This blog has done that a couple times on a volunteer basis, but there are professionals and they might have some tips.)

    Good luck!

  64. 64.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Leto:

    My fondest wish is that some moronic Russian commander orders an attempted intercept of one of those flying over Poland, Slovakia or Romania….

  65. 65.

    satby

    @UncleEbeneezer: @catclub: As a former rescue transporter, take this to heart: never, NEVER,  NEVER travel with cats not in a carrier, which you open only in an enclosed space like a hotel room. Put a shoebox of litter in the carrier (one carrier per cat) and a dish of wet food, which also provides moisture. Even calm, compliant cats freak out at travel disruption to familiar routines. Do not open the carrier in the car or at a rest stop, or the cat may escape; we had newbie volunteers who had freaked out cats climbing on their heads and crawling under the car pedals at interstate highway speeds when cats got out of carriers in the car. Make it easier on all of you.

  66. 66.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Jeffro: I also think about what will happen if, God forbid, they manage to depose Zelenskyy and install a puppet government.

    I would not sell life insurance to anyone put in that position. Emperor Maximilian comes to mind.

    Zelenskyy is clearly a courageous and inspirational leader, but Putin has made yet another huge miscalculation if he thinks that Zelenskyy and Zelenskyy alone is what is holding the Ukrainian resistance together.

    Edit: I put the two y’s because that’s how all the news sources are spelling it. But is that how we’re supposed to be transcribing the Russian ending ий now or is it some special Ukrainian thing? Is Tschaikovsky now Tschaikovskyy?

  67. 67.

    trollhattan

    @satby:

    Reporting I heard from a refugee train in Ukraine related, “On board it’s mostly women with children…and cats. I’ve never seen so many cats.”

    Just thought I’d note that Ukrainian kitties are headed west.

  69. 69.

    Ohio Mom

    @UncleEbeneezer: If I were you, I’d probably look into having the cats moved professionally. You’ll have enough on your minds, driving for days, without worrying about them, and you’ll have a lot more flexibility.

    Maybe have them stay behind at a trusted sitter for a few days or a week, to give you a head start? I admit I’m not a cat owner but I have driven across the country.

  70. 70.

    Old Man Shadow

    I’ll see your “feh” and raise you a “FUCK YOU” directed at the universe in general.

  71. 71.

    frosty

    @UncleEbeneezer:  My brother is on the west side of the Hudson north of the Tappam Zee bridge. He drives to a ferry, then takes Metro North into Manhattan. Long commute, but nice views. Check out Nyack and north.

  72. 72.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @catclub: This is why we are leaning toward flying the kitties out (and then I’d probably fly back and drive the car out solo).  Still no picnic but at least we get it all over in one day instead like five very long days driving, motels, etc.

  73. 73.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @satby: Oh believe me, I remember the cat under the accelerator lesson that I learned with my cat Jasmine, when driving cross country in ’99.  If we drove with them, they would be in carriers the whole time.  My wife wouldn’t even want us letting them out in motel rooms.

  74. 74.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @frosty: We had a part-time apartment in Tarrytown for a few years. I agree, nice area and pretty commute. Express train is about 40 minutes. I’ve known people with longer commutes than that on the subway, sometimes much longer.

  75. 75.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Ruckus: Those parts don’t worry us.  I have some friends in NY and Philly etc.  It’s really more just the damn logistics (especially with pets) that are daunting.  Also figuring out what I would do for work (tennis coaching options much more limited than in SoCal where you can coach year-round).

  76. 76.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @frosty: We are thinking Newburgh because it’s fairly affordable, not too far from NYC and close to alot of hiking.  Buddy of mine lived in New Paltz so he gave me a list of areas to check out based on our tastes.

  77. 77.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: I would not sell life insurance to anyone put in that position. Emperor Maximilian comes to mind.

    They would control every square centimeter one of the Mercs Putin just hired is standing on at any given moment. I suspect the Russian army will still be more concerned about finding food to be bothered about what the locals are up too.

    TMP on how the potential Putin puppets waiting seem to be bailing.  Almost like they know it would be only be matter of time before they were murdered as Quisling style traitors.

    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/what-happened-to-russias-supposed-puppet-leaders-of-ukraine

  78. 78.

    Primer Gray (formerly Yet Another Jeff)

    @UncleEbeneezer: We moved 3 cats in the back seat of a Volvo wagon from Texas to NoVa, got a big collapsible tube pet carrier thing on Amazon, mesh and nylon, took up the whole back seat, gave them food and a litter box, only opened it in hotel rooms. That worked ok, they didn’t get jostled too much and couldn’t escape (after the first 20 minutes when the smartest one figured out how to unzip one end of the tube) if you use twist ties on the zipper handles to keep them from coming undone.

  80. 80.

    E.

    @UncleEbeneezer: ​
      I am likely facing this too. A three-day drive (four, realistically) in a U-Haul with two cats, one of whom absolutely hates being in a car but is okay when it stops; the other is untested but generally speaking more relaxed. I don’t even know how to travel with a cat. Do I carry a litter box with me and look for motels that say pets are welcome? How do I do this?

  81. 81.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    Please forgive me if this has already been posted- Apparently the Russians have taken Kherson, which stands where the Dneiper river exits to the Black Sea/Crimea (which Putin annexed in 2014).

    For a good explanation of why this is a big deal:Kherson in Russian hands – Why it is a big deal  

    “The city of Kherson, strategically located in southern Ukraine at the mouth of the Dneiper River’s exit into the Black Sea, is the first significant urban centre to fall since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.  Late on Wednesday, Kherson Mayor Igor Kolykhayev said Russian troops were in the streets and had forced their way into the city council building.”

  83. 83.

    geg6

    @trollhattan: ​
     
    Oh yes, I know it well. Money can’t buy you taste, for sure.

    Most of the families on “The Ugliest House in America” are, thankfully, not rich. They found really hideous houses that they got for a really good price, thinking they could fix the ugly. Some will fix it themselves, I’m sure, over time. But some just have too much ugly for non-professionals to fix. Really bad stuff. The person who won has to be questioning some of what she knows about her family. LOL!

  84. 84.

    Soprano2

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Listened to that this morning, didn’t realize it was that guy. He was probably the one advising that we do a no-fly zone, to which I posted on their FB page that it was a terrible idea and under no circumstances should we do that!

  86. 86.

    Soprano2

    @brendancalling: Man, you don’t know how much I miss “The Diane Rehm” show. I heard her take Pat Buchanan to task for insulting and interrupting another panelists, and then he was never on her show again. She didn’t put up with any of that crap, and was a good interviewer. I listen to her podcast but it’s only once a week now.

  87. 87.

    StringOnAStick

    @UncleEbeneezer: We moved 2 cats on a 20 hour drive, with one overnight.  Got the Gabapentin drops from the vet (slows down their reactions, thus reducing stress); hat tip: wrap them in a towel to give them the drops because they HATE the taste.  We did one hotel, pet friendly and requested the ADA room in case we needed the usually larger bathroom to keep them in.  A side benefit is the bed was much higher so they couldn’t go under it and refuse to come out later.  They actually did OK and slept with us on the bed.  The smart one did give me the ultimate “how DARE you do this to me again!” look when we gave her the drops the last morning.  That cat has always been quieter and I don’t think she ever cried out once the whole two days.  The other one is bit developmentally delayed (they were orphaned at 2 weeks) and about every hour on the last day she’d meep a few times and then pass out again.  We had a huge cage with a cover I made for it, but they never used the cat box except in the hotel room.

    Other hints: keep the carrier(s) fully covered, seeing the land rush by stresses them out but being in a darkened “room” while drugged means they mostly just chill.  Get the largest carrier you can and still get in and out of your car if keeping them together, though with 3 it might be hard to get them all back inside it.  Never, ever consider transferring a cat to or from a car in your arms or trying to transfer them to a smaller carrier to do so because I’ve known way too many people who forever lost a cat this way.  A drive that far might make flying them an easier option if you can do it directly.

    The other thing about moving when you are making that choice, not being forced for work is that it can be disorienting.  We moved from Denver to a smaller but fast growing town in central Oregon, and at first the excitement of having done this big change to a place we really fell in love with, all the work to fix up a very run down house, the excitement of “new” had us flying but then we hit the “OMG, what did we do?” wall once that wore off.  Luckily even with Covid we made a very close friend (met him while backcountry skiing: find your tribe!) and that helped, but I admit I got depressed at feeling so discombobulated from the change.  I never thought moving would be that hard, so do a long hard pro and con, and be ready to be uncertain at times.

  88. 88.

    tam1MI

    E. And Uncle Ebenezer: You might want to consider renting an RV and driving it across country. (You can get trailers to tow cars behind the RV). You would still have to keep cats in carriers while the vehicles are in motion, but the whole logistics of getting the kitties back and forth from the hotel and suchlike are negated.

  89. 89.

    E.

    @tam1MI: That’s actually a really good idea and I would take it if I had the cash. Also, this move is, unfortunately, not optional — I would much prefer to stay but cannot. I am wondering about the flying option. If one day of sheer 100 percent terror is better than three and a half days of 70 percent terror. I really don’t want to traumatize these kitties more than necessary and one of them, the calm one, may get taken by the neighbors. Then I’m going to be the one traumatized, as I will really miss that goofus terribly.

  90. 90.

    CCL

    Years ago, I moved 5 cats via a 30 hour drive (two days, one night).  Each in its separate cardboard carrier supplied by the vet.  Pet friendly hotel.  Vet provided stress reduction drugs.  Note that some cats have the reverse reaction.  One of ours got hyper, figured out how to get out, and went about thumping on the other cats’ carriers every time anyone of them so much as mewed.   She did most of the drive sitting on the lap of whomever was in the passenger seat.

    Most jackals have already given what advice I would have shared, but I didn’t see anyone mention the importance of keeping the cats indoors for at least two weeks after you move.   Our cats are all indoor animals but I have heard horror stories about cats, who once safely relocated and let out for the first time, lit out immediately to get back to their old home.

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