How do you do pet care without a car?
My cat is freaking out.
My boy cats are normally super chill, like the kind of cats you can pick up, dress up, lay on and they don’t care. We even got a new kitten in December and both the three-year-old male cats we had took to her right away as if she’s always been here. But now, now, when the whole world is freaking out, he’s freaking out too. Maybe it’s the collective anxiety of the world, or maybe he’s just really pissed at the racoons this year, I don’t know, but he’s starting to spray. We’ve got an appointment to figure it out, but I’m a bit concerned about getting him and his brother to the vet on a regular basis.
When we got the kitten I carried her to the vet in a traditional cat carrier, but even with her tiny body, that was cumbersome and awkward in the rain. I don’t really want to subject people on the city bus to my cat, so I bought one of those backpack bubble carriers to bike her to and from getting her vaccinations and spay. Worked out great because she’s tiny and didn’t really do much.
My boy cats are massive. They’re 18-plus pounds a piece and can stretch out over three-feet long. We tried them out in the backpack and they try to claw their way through the bottom. Weight aside, the last thing I want to do is stress out a cat on my back…. that’s asking for some sort of bio-hazard-Tasmanian-devil-action.
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How do you do pet care without a car?
I’ve talked to a friend who said Lyft and Uber drivers won’t take her with her large dog. I’m not sure rental car companies would be cool with me putting a cat in the car either. I’m always laughing too hard about the “Don’t do drugs in the car” warning at the Enterprise car pick-up to pay attention to the rest, but I’m not cool subjecting others who may have allergies to my cats anyway, so that’s out. It’s even extra strange now with the COVID-19 quarantine. The vet clinic instructions are to take the cat to the parking lot, “stay in my car,” and call when I’m there. The vet office staff will come out to get my cat from me and my car…er, bike, and that was before reports of possible transmission to animals.
Sigh.
You know BP folks, you’ve been with me through this winter since I started out being carfree, and now we get to go through a pandemic together! Just a quick thank you for all of your encouragement. I’m so grateful I can go out on my bike right now. Thank you for making that happen, and thanks to those of you out there pushing to get some more pedestrian and cyclist real estate on the roads, pushing hard against the I-5 expansion, and pushing to get some accountability from state leaders.
As always, thank you so much for hanging out with me here.
— Becky Jo, @BeckyJoPDX
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