Made the trek from Cali to Colorado and am staying at my buddies place for a couple days before heading back home.
Made the 1000 mile trek in one shot and have just over 1000 miles left to go so its a nice halfway point as well.
But now that i have a computer to use i can fill you guys in a little more on the cat
He's actually sitting right here helping me type this
So, how the cat came to be, i was headed down the 101 in northern california and was looking for a place to pitch my tent for free as it was getting later in the day.
I stopped at a beach and asked these people sitting on the beach if they were local and knew of any place that was free to stay. We ended up talking for hours about all sorts of things and the lady offered her living room floor to sleep on and that she would fix me a hot meal, to which i graciously accepted.
When we got to her house, there were two cats there to greet us, this being one of them. What happened, is he used to be the neighbors, but they would abuse him and concurrently their kids would hit him, and eventually they just let him go because they didn't want to take care of him anymore since he was no longer a tiny kitten.
Roxanne(the lady who took me in) wanted to take him in herself, but her cat was clearly not a fan of no longer being the only cat in the house, as well as having the expense of another cat just wasn't in the cards at the time. She was however feeding him and letting him sleep inside while trying to find him a forever home.
I ended up sticking around the next day helping her move some things around in her house as she had just moved in a few months ago and due to some health issues she was only supposed to only lift things 10lbs or less.
I have always loved cats, have had them all throughout growing up and have some back home at my folks place, but since going to school and living on my own i have been cat less, besides frequently going to the humane society to pet them
I just had been waiting for the right time to adopt one, s its a big responsibility, both time wise and financially. I like doing things spur of the moment(this trip being an example) and love to travel, so i've always thought it would be best to wait a bit more.
But this cat stole my heart and I couldn't leave him behind. Plus, if he's cool to ride 3000 miles across the country on a motorcycle, I'm sure moving around wont be an issue. I have tons of friends who would help me if i ever needed a cat sitter, as well as roommates.
So i emptied out my trunk, put in it his favorite blanket, and took him on a little test ride to see how he would react. At first i went slow, making sure to turn slowly and not lean too much. But then i realized that I wouldn't be riding home like such, as there were winding mountain passes ahead to be ridden over! So twist went the wrist, blasted through some twisties, dug into the corners, buried the needle, and gave him a taste of what the ride home would truly be like. I figured that if he hated it, i would have left him there as it wouldn't be worth traumatizing him putting him through that all the way home.
When i got back to roxanne's home and opened the lid, to my surprise, he was laying down, purring away. It blew my mind, haha.
I think what may have had something to do with it is him having lived right on hwy 101, which has tons of motorcycle traffic on it. The house/apartment that i stayed in with roxanne was actually the old barracks that the workers who BUILT hwy 101 through the redwoods had lived in during the construction of the highway. That was a cool part of history to experience as well, pretty wild how it all came to be.
So anyway, the next day, i repacked all my stuff, left with a bag of food, a water cup for him, and with the cat in my trunk, i headed to the next town in search of a cabinet shop. I found one, popped in, and asked if i could borrow a hole saw. The guy was super chill, and hooked me up with a drill and a 2" blade, and in a short second i turned my trunk into a kitty carrier, haha.
The holes are plenty big, lots of air to keep him cool, and he can stick his nose and see out of them, but no worry of him falling out.
Back on the road we went, and i stopped 50 miles later, to find him still laying, happily purring away. He's seriously the chillest cat ever, which is surprising after what all he went through being abused and all.
That day was just a few hundred miles, and that night he slept with me in my tent, happy as can be.
- Which is super crazy, as i was considering riding through the night, and would have been RIGHT where that crash was on I-80 a couple days ago - 27 cars, one dead, crazy stuff-
Anyway, we hit the road the next day, and he stayed calm and chill the whole time. I decided to ride through the night and so we rolled into ft. collins yesterday morning, just over 1000 miles later. He was still in good spirits, still purring when i pulled in the driveway. just blows my mind!
I let him out when i fill up and he just sits on my bike and watches me, so so adorable.
So yeah! Thats the story of my kitty and how he came to be, i would find a person hard pressed to say his box is inhumane treatment, when inside the trunk is a purring happy kitty, so I know he's not uncomfortable in there.
Its been such an adventure, such a great time!
Here's some more pictures, haha
Happily sleeping in the tent:
He tried convincing me to let him drive....
At his fueling perch:
Took him into my buddies work and he passed out on the workbench
haha
He likes to sleep alot, but this was from when he was recovering from spending 1000 miles on the road:
Headed home saturday or sunday, then he'll be home for good!
More to come later, and other trip stories and pictures, not just cat updates, haha.
Chris