Just the thought of having to move into a temporary housing situation with three cats gave me the jitters. Several years ago, my husband and I purchased a new home, and we were relocating from New York to Central Florida. But once all my ducks were in a row — much to my surprise — I found living with my husband and our cats in a pet-friendly motel room to be quite pleasant.
Because we had three cats — one of which was a special needs cat who had to be medicated several times a day — we decided it would be easier for me (and less stressful for the cat) to fly to Florida with him. My husband followed a few days later, driving with the two other cats in our SUV. Because it was a long drive, he made two overnight stops at pet-friendly motels, with all the major essentials the cats needed.
But due to unforeseen circumstances on the seller’s part, we were forced to wait almost three weeks before we could close on our new house. Because this was a long distance move, it was impossible for us to “scope” out the pet-friendly motel room in which we had made reservations.
However, we were able to take a “virtual tour” of the motel rooms via the Internet.
Prior to our trip, we shipped cat litter, litter boxes, cat food, scratching posts and other essential cat paraphernalia to a friend who lived close to the motel. With one cat already happily ensconced in our room, the other two cats arrived with my husband. The moment the carriers were opened, they tentatively began exploring the room — then head-bonked their feline companion, and started checking out the location of their “toilet” facilities. Within an hour, they had made themselves at home, pushing the curtains aside to peer out the window.
Although the motel staff was made aware of the feline residents in our room — to ensure their safety and to prevent an escape — we arranged with the cleaning staff that we would take care of the room, exchanging laundry items outside the door. And we made sure to leave a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door whenever we left the room.
We actually enjoyed our extended stay at the motel. Since we were well-prepared, the weeks flew by uneventfully with no problems at all.
