Riding in cars with cats

Today I brought home my parents' kitty - Nixie (Nixon for those of you new to this blog) to take care of her while my parents vacation in Hungary. Now, I've frequently driven with my cat, Kissy (Kissinger) and flown with her, and she's the world's calmest traveler - she curls up into a ball in her carrier and goes straight to sleep. We didn't hear a peep out of her on the whole drive to DC a couple of years ago (10 hrs by car), and I frequently get asked if she's been tranquilized when I take her through security or place her under my seat on planes. Nope, she's just really calm and lazy.

Nixie on the other hand howls. She meows, she whines, she utters guttural cries, and all without cease. About 15 minutes into the 50 minute trip, I'd cranked up the music, specifically choosing things that blended well with cat-song. Country music, oddly enough, goes really well with a cat's caterwauling (is that redundant?).

Anyway, by the time we hit Ann Arbor, she was shaking and panting frantically in between meows. She was not a happy kitty. Of course, as soon as I let her out of her carrier, she immediately began her usual greeting ritual with Kissy - repeatedly hissing at her.

This should be fun. Two kitties, one bedroom apartment. Oy vey! For now, I'm ignoring them - so now I'll return to the documentary I'm watching about Bactrian gold in Afghanistan. Mrrrrt!