Kitty Transport. a New Addition (Question Mark). O-Town foods.

D & I were postponing things and putting off tasks at the new house so that we could go home and check on the cats in the apartment.  We stayed there a few days last week because we felt so bad about leaving them alone. 

Okay, we missed them.  So even though we are only halfway moved from the apartment, we decided to bring the kids to the new house.  So this past weekend, along with some furniture and almost our entire library (minus about sixty lbs of books we sold to Half-Off Books for a pittance (a welcome pittance)), we corralled the kitties and put them in the van.  We wanted to make sure that we had their belongings prepared for them when they were finally unloaded.  The cat tree, the cat bed (which is too small for either of them but they fight over it and the victor curls his body inside like a clown in a teeny car), whatever smelled home-y to them.  We hoped that would make the change less jarring. 

Max is a trooper.  His hero moniker would be Adapta-Cat.  Max's so easygoing, and he likes the cat carrier and car rides.  He just settles in quietly and watches the scenery fly by.  He got to the house and wandered from room to room, his paws tap-tapping on the hardwoods because of the claw-caps we have on him.  The only thing that gives me pause is that he goes down to the basement and begins a litany of MAO MAO MAO, until I go and call him from the top of the stairs.  I wonder if he forgets where he is, or (like the dog in Hyperbole and a Half) forgets how stairs work. 

Yuuki, on the other hand, does not travel well and never has.  He began bleating and panting crazily from the moment he was forced into the cat carrier.  The entire way there his anxiety was giving me anxiety, as his tongue was out like a dog's and his chest was heaving in and out so much I thought he might have a feline heart attack.  He yowled without letting up until we got him into the house, where he promptly settled into his post-travel routine of snobbish mistrust.  He's still startled by every little noise, jolting his entire body, and he's displaying some kitty -uneasyness.  But its only been a day.  I  think he's come through fine. 
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During the process of moving, D has mentioned several times that he wants to adopt a dog soon-ish.  I've been wary of doing so, beacuse I feel your animals shouldn't outnumber you unless you live on a farm, in which case the mere fact that some animals are taken away and eaten keeps the others in line.  But dogs are so cute, and we could make a habit out of dog walkies, which will be great for our health also, and having a dog helps you to meet your neighbors, and it might help us settle in to the community, and these are doggies that need homes, and he/she could play in the yard, and chase our kitties and ... well just see for yourself:

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/19757338  Dazzle
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/19663004 Penny
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/19831327 Nayla
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/19831161 Sunday http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/19100044 Murphy
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/19873310 Madison

It may be somewhat of a challenge because the dog needs to be young enough to settle into a house with pre-existing feline conditions.  And the place needs to be reputable, and have programs that enable us to meet the dog beforehand, or see them interact with cats, or allow us to return the dog to the foster family if problems arise among the kids.  We want to save a dog, but not at the expense of our cats.  We are responsible to them first.

We like programs like Recycled Doggies (http://www.recycleddoggies.org/Available_Dogs.html ugh, what a terrible name).  But we need to do our homework and find a good local source. 
...

Here we are halfway through the moving process, and I totally want to sell my earthly belongings because I'm sick of moving and boxes, and "maybe I'll use that at some unforseen time in the future," etc.  We did reward ourselves with a night out of the house(s) and away from packing/organizing/renovation at Oakley Pub (AMA-ZING stuffed Portabellos, awesome craft beer list) and Aglamesis Brothers.  I think I enjoy the Oakley Pub more than Habits (seemingly better food) and much more than the Oak, because we did not have to go and look for a drink/a server/our food after ten minutes, which has been our experience both times we've tried it.  But maybe its been a fluke both times that we've had to wait a reaaaaaally long time for beers and/or food.  We'll see.