Going to Seattle

[cos]

I'm transferring to a team at Google Seattle, much to my surprise (well, to the surprise of me a month ago or anytime in the past few decades, more accurately). Planning to move there, along with Alice, around early February, but keeping the house in Cambridge with intent to return in a few years...

Oh, we also have to figure out how to move a cat.

Comments

[points.livejournal.com]

Erk! Well, luck with the move! :)

[mzrowan.livejournal.com]

Wow! That's quite the news!

If you want, you can fly with the cat under your seat.

[rednikki.livejournal.com]

Congratulations?

[fyfer.livejournal.com]

Wow! Have a fun adventure.

[cheshyre]

will you be driving or flying there?

when my family moved from Wisconsin to Florida, we owned a passenger minivan, and drove down with the cat.
Clyde was allowed to roam loose, with food, water & litterbox set out for him.
We also got some sedatives from the vet. He was kept heavily sedated the first day, and we tapered it off over the trip.
The only problem I remember involved my father having to slam on the breaks just as Clyde was stepping into the litterbox - partly tipping it over.

iff you're driving, so long as the car isn't totally jam-packed with stuff, you should be able to do something similar in the back seat area.

good luck!

[missionista.livejournal.com]

Seattle!? Shock! I have such a hard time imagining Boston without you. But Seattle is a great place to live, and I have very happy memories of my time there. I hope you also enjoy it!

As far as the cat, when we moved to SF, we found a company that would pick the cat up from one's house, fly it out, and bring it to your new house. Very convenient!

[ron_newman]

Wow! Best of luck on the opposite coast. We'll miss you here.

(Should we recruit a replacement moderator for davis_square ?)

[rightkindofme.livejournal.com]

Congratulations. I hope the left coast treats you well. :)

[sweetmmeblue.livejournal.com]

Mazel Tov on the job front? Hope this is a good and fun adventure for you.

[notadoor.livejournal.com]

Wow! Congrats!

[eirias.livejournal.com]

Holy cats! A big shocker. Good luck with the logistics. I love Seattle and hope you enjoy your years there.

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

OMG!!!

Sounds like a fun sojourn. But I'm glad you have it in mind to return to Boston or my world would be too rocked. :-) (says the virtual expat)

[42itous.livejournal.com]

Yay for you, boo for us in Greater Camberville. I'll miss you!

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Dude. :-} Enjoy it. I'm sure you'll find ways to be just as involved there as you have been here!

[eccentrific.livejournal.com]

Have fun in Seattle!

If you want, we have a spare cat carrier of the kind that is airline approved for carry-on. You need to tell them in advance that you're bringing a cat, they'll charge you something like $100 extra and you have to bring a vet certificate showing that the cat is in good health and up to date on rabies shots.

I'm curious, why Seattle?

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

What? Wow. Congrats? Eep, will miss you from Bostonish

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

For driving we would keep the litterbox in the footwell of the back seat, with the cat(s) roaming

[rawrin.livejournal.com]

Wow! Hope the move goes smoothly, and you enjoy your time there.

[mackelzinzie.livejournal.com]

Just take her on the plane or in the car with you! I'm excited you will be on this coast!!

[dphilli1.livejournal.com]

moving a cat is easy.

convincing it to stay moved is hard

[wombatbanana.livejournal.com]

We flew with two cats PETC BOS-SEA. At least in 2013, you had to take the cat out of the carrier to go through security. (Carrier must go through x-ray without the cat in it.)

If your cat is freaked out by the travel experience, you can request a private screening room. I'm not sure exactly how it works since we were told about this option by a TSA agent on the *far* side of security, but I imagine this would look something like:

1. Take cat out of carrier in enclosed, relatively quiet room.
2. One of you takes carrier through x-ray.
3. **Maybe** the person from #2 can now take the carrier back to the room, put the cat back in inside the room, and take cat+carrier through the metal detector (now that the carrier has been x-rayed)??? Not sure.

Contrast with our experience:
0. Get in security line. Be told by TSA agent that you'll need to departure cats. Swear. Look around at your two cats and baby and shitton of crap that you're traveling with. Rub back that's sore from carrying previous plus being rear-ended on the way to the airport. Ask TSA agent if there's a way to make this easier. Sigh resignedly when he says no.
1. Open carrier in middle of noisy, crowded, hectic security line.
2. Grab onto super stressed ball of fur and hold on for dear life because if the cat escapes in the airport you're missing your flight trying to get it back and probably never seeing the cat again anyway.
3. Try not to scream in ways that will alarm the TSA as the cat scratches you and you bleed all over.
4. Try not to step in the poop the cat has shat on the floor from stress.
5. Go through magnetometer.
6. Try to get the ball of stress and claws back into the carrier in the middle of the hectic et al security line.
7. Bleed more.
8. Since your travel partner is managing INFT and thus is not capable of doing 1-7, go back to start of security line where she and the INFT and the other PETC are waiting and repeat with second cat.
9. Encounter a nice TSA agent who helps you with #6 and cleaning up various human and feline fluids. Be asked by her why on earth you didn't just request a private screening room.
10. Curse the TSA agent from #0 who assured you that there was no way to make this easier, along with his descendants unto the tenth generation.
11. Buy a new shirt for travel companion who has suffered the wrath of a leaky INFT diaper sometime during #0-10.

[geoffroi.livejournal.com]

Congrats and best of luck!

[drwex]

Congratulations. That is quite the surprise. I hope it's a good move.

[dreams-of-wings.livejournal.com]

ACK! I'm just catching up on not reading LJ for...a really long time and saw this. I'm kind of in shock, even though I've been a terribly absent friend since I had Mo, and selfishly relieved you're not planning to live there forever and always.

I hope it's a grand adventure. I'll work on scheduling some time with you before you do the big move.
*hugs*