How To Travel Across the Country With a Cat

I've made it back to Ontario safe and sound! After a long 40 hour drive across Canada, with zero leg room, I'm back in Ontario. I wish I took some pictures to share with you the beautiful country of mine, but we didn't make many scenic stops. One of the obstacles we had to endure during out roadtrip was travelling with a cat. If you're a cat owner, you know how difficult it is to travel with a cat. Unlike dogs, cats don't spend their afternoons poking their head out of car windows. Cats don't like change, and being put into a car is something unknown to most of them. We discussed how we were going to travel with Duke, and most of our decisions were made during the trip. Here are some tips if you will be traveling with a cat.

Duke is lying comfortably on Mommy.

1. A (big) pet cage

I hated the thought of having Duke in a cage for forty hours, but in order to travel as safely as possible, it needed to be done. We purchased a medium-sized dog cage for Duke. Small cat cages would of given him no room at all, the dog cage was a little bigger, provided more air (especially in a packed car), enabled him to relax comfortably and had enough room for food (and later a litter box). When we would stop, we would let him out of the car for twenty minutes to stretch his legs. We felt bad having him in a cage for so long we attempted to let him out while we drove, but cats are curious animals and wanted to explore the whole car and jump on the driver's lap (not safe). As sad as it is to see your little guy stuck in a cage for a long period of time, it would be worse to have an accident because your little guy was jumping around everywhere. A pet cage is extremely necessary. 

2. A good music playlist 

Summer, what does music have to do with a cat? Well, it has to do with your sanity. Unlike dogs, cats aren't used to sticking their head out of the car window on sunny afternoons. Cats don't like change, and therefore are scaredy cats when it comes to driving. They will meow, this is inevitable. But the good news is, they won't meow forever. The first hour they will meow, and they will cry, and you will try and give them attention, and give them lots of treats, but it won't work. They are scared, because they are not used to driving in cars. After an hour or two, they will get used to the car motion and they will quiet down and relax. But for the first hour, you are going to need a good music playlist to try and drown out the sound of the meowing. 

3. A litterbox (in the cage if possible)

Referencing back to the first tip, we got a bigger cage for Duke so he could move around, but he pooped everywhere in the cage. By the time we found a safe spot to pull over and clean his cage out, he got it all in his fur. After this disturbing incident we decided to put the litter box in his cage. This makes it much easier to clean out. We cleaned it out as soon as he went to the bathroom so he wouldn't be sitting in his own filth. It saves you, and the cat a lot of time cleaning up. Trained cats are also hesitant to go to the bathroom without their litter box, we realized this is a big reason Duke was meowing so much because he had to go to the bathroom and he didn't know where to go. Just make sure to clean it out asap! 

4. Treats!

Give your cat treats. Especially if they have been a good boy/girl. They aren't used to driving in cars, or being enclosed in such small spaces. They deserve one!

5. Give them love

Let them out of their cage once in a while, lots of kisses and petting. Duke calmed down a lot after the first time we let him out, he realized we didn't hate him and this wasn't punishment. He was such a good kitty on the trip!

6. They need exercise

Again, they are not used to be enclosed in such small spaces. And even though cats aren't as active as dogs, they need to stretch and walk around just as much. Being in a cage for as long as they may be isn't fun. 

Overall, we thought Duke would be meowing the entire way, and we would need to invest in top of the line ear plugs. He was actually the most amazing kitty. Of course during the first hour we thought that's what the rest of the trip would be like, but it was the complete opposite! Sometimes we were like "Duke, Duke, why are you not meowing, are you okay?" and we would stop to make sure he was alive because he was so silent, but he was just relaxing and being a "bro" as Paul would say. 

Tips For Surviving College Roommates

I currently live with three boys. No estrogen in the house at all, just me and my three favourite boys. Originally there were seven of us (four girls, three boys) one of my roommates moved out, and my other two female roommates rarely ever come by (I can literally count on my hands how many times I've seen one of my roommates). 

At the beginning of the year our house  was hectic. A lot of us didn't respect each other's boundaries which may have caused one of them to move out. Lights were left on, people didn't do their dishes, friends were over too late. Seven of us was way too many. 

Last year I lived in a dorm room with two other girls. One room, three girls. Both my roommates were really clean and I wasn't. I'll be the first to admit I am an extremely messy person. No matter how hard I try I just cannot keep my room organized (I blame it on the amount of stuff I have). My roommates and I still got along but I knew that me be being messy caused a few issues (except for the random times I would clean the entire room and they would check my forehead for a fever). 

My roommates this year and I get along perfectly now (maybe because there is less of us) but if you are having issues with your roommates here are some seven tips you need to set:

1. Cleanliness

This is what has gotten me in trouble with roommates in the past. Although now I have a single room to myself and my messy room doesn't bother anybody I still hate cleaning. I am respectful in the point I don't like doing dishes so I do my dishes as soon as I finish eating (most of the time if I'm not in a rush). In my house we have two kitchens one upstairs and one downstairs. It used to be three people using the upstairs and four of us using the downstairs, now it is an even two and two. I still see my roommate downstairs doing the garbage every Sunday and the upstairs kitchen is still never clean. When I visit my other friend's they always have a schedule for who cleans what and when (mind you these are all female houses I don't know how well it would work with the boys I live with) if you want your house to be clean you need to set a schedule with who cleans what or else your house will be messy. You need to respect the fact you are living with other people and if you're messy (like me) you need to change it.

2. Noise

This has been an issue in my house for sure. Boys are loud. I have two older brothers and I forgot how loud boys are. You really need to set boundaries for when you should make noise. Also you should choose the room you will be sleeping in wisely. I chose a basement bedroom right under the living room (not a good idea). I have had countless of nights without sleep because I can hear the television even when it is at it's lowest volume (I'm an extremely light sleeper). I also have had some of my roommates bring people home during exam time or when I have a test the next day (not fun). I can't even tell you how many times I have been woken up at eight in the morning by the boys being overly excited about something ridiculous. If you want respect in the house you need to be respectful of how loud you are. I can get real cranky when I get woken up. If you need to study I highly suggest just sucking it up and going to the library because sometimes no matter how hard you try your roommates will not be quiet and you need to respect that they also live here they can't be quiet forever. If you need to study go to the library but if it is exam time your roommates should understand you need a good night's rest and should shut up. If you are having this issue with noise try setting up a noise policy in your house. Between 11 PM - 10 AM on weekdays is "quiet hours" where on weekends 2 AM - 11 AM is "quiet hours" (or however you and your roommates decide what quiet hours are) 

3. Boyfriend/Girlfriends

My boyfriend lives a million miles away so I haven't had much of a problem with this (although one of my roommates told me I had to shower with him when he was visiting for a week because he isn't paying for utilities.... no) but there is a difference if your boyfriend is visiting every day and using up all your utilities. Last year I had a boyfriend who my roommates hated and I would be lectured over and over about how I need to break up with him and how they don't want him in the room (he didn't like being in the room anyways). If your roommates don't like your boyfriend they have a reason and you should probably break up with him (wish I had done that sooner) and if your roommates don't like your significant other find a happy medium. If you are living in a dorm room like I was last year say okay well my boyfriend is coming over today is it okay if I have the room for an hour? Or just make arrangements to spend more time at their place than yours. Just make sure that they aren't sleeping over every night because it will cause issues, they aren't paying rent and your roommates shouldn't have to deal with that.

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