Tumbler: The Traveling Cat

7/5 Trip 4, Day 6

Tumbler: The Traveling Cat

Once again, our usual routine of getting up, eating breakfast at the hotel, and going to my sister’s to keep working on setting up the cats for a safe summer. It is amazing, reading my notes, and looking back at what we did, we really spent a lot of time and money getting the cats set up. From driving from California to Oklahoma, gas, hotels, food for the trip, to fixing up a safe and healthy living environment for the cats. When we were in the middle of all this work, we just took one day at a time and focused on doing what had to be done for the cats. And on this day our 6th day of relocating our cats, we continue with our same mission. Knowing what we had to accomplish and planning before heading back to California, we were running out of time to get things finished. We knew what we had to do today. And plus, Gizmo was coming with us, as we were going to set her up in her new home. Just as a group of cows is a herd, or a group of dogs is a pack, a group of adult cats is called a CLUTTER or CLOWDER.

Gizmo was truly one of the easiest cats we have traveled with, besides Tumbler. I promised I would tell you about Tumbler, and with his name coming up again, I want to share with you the story of Tumbler.

The first thing you notice is “Tumbler” is a strange name for a cat. We adopted him from the local animal control when our kids were very young and he was no more than 10 weeks old. He was common looking, nearly an all white body with black markings spattered on him like someone was trying to paint him but didn't finish the paint job. Being raised with young kids, he became accustomed to being picked up, carried around, put into strange containers for the entertainment of the kids, and other harmless interactions in our home. As he played with the kids, he would start running away, but then would do a summersault (tumbling) to reverse his trajectory and head back toward the kids. And thus he was named Tumbler.

One day, not long after he came home, possibly 2 weeks, he slowed down, almost instantly, and by the evening he wasn’t eating. We instantly knew something was wrong. We took him to the veterinarian the next day, who diagnosed him with a respiratory virus that would flare up at unexpected times, and tax his immune system. With some prescriptions, they sent us home and we focused on getting his immune system back online. He would have bouts of this illness once or twice a year, throughout the rest of his life.

Nevertheless, Tumbler grew up to be a strong cat with the patience of a saint. Extremely friendly to strangers, but at the same time, a strong bond with his family. Within a year, we decided to move, rent out our house and take a month long RV road trip across America. And of course, Tumbler went with us. But instead of hiding somewhere in the RV, he decided his rightful place was laying right on the front dashboard. We had to move him off of the dashboard many times, because he would start to get too warm laying in the sun, but he endured, he loved it there. Other favorite places in the RV were on the top of the dining table and in the over-cab bed, always being ready to interact with anyone willing to give him a pet. Once, when we were stopped at a campsite, the door to the RV didn’t close fast enough, and he pushed it open, jumping to the ground. I panicked thinking he was going to run off, or get scared and we wouldn’ t be able to catch him. No, instead, he tumbled onto the rocks, and started scratching his back on the rough surface. When he was finished, I called his name, and used a familiar sound, “ticky ticky ticky, come here”, and he came right over to me without a concern.

After our 30 day trip was over, we rented an apartment, as transitional housing. Neighbors around us would ask if the white and black cat was ours, we would confirm, "Yes, that’s Tumbler". They then would proceed to tell us how he comes into their apartment with strong curiosity, scouting out anything to keep himself entertained. After 10 months we found another house to rent, and again, he quickly adjusted to living in the new house, and would jump into our car if I left it open as I emptied the groceries I purchased, then run after me as I carried items into the house. He was easy going about everything. He never messed out of his litter box, and never fought with the dog. He was just a perfect traveling partner.

When our renters moved out of our permanent house, we began moving our items back into our house. We were being evacuated from our rental under the threat of flooding. For safety we moved Tumbler back to our house where he was raised, as it was familiar and he would be safe. We left him food and water, and would return in a few days. Once we closed up the rental house, we all moved back into our home. But something wasn’t right with Tumbler. We were unaware of it, but during the few days we were gone, he stopped eating. Possibly thinking we abandoned him, I don’t know. We never could have imagined it affected him the way it did. We noticed he wasn’t doing well, so immediately I took him to the veterinarian. He was an obese cat, and the veterinarian said that when obese cats stop eating for even 2 days, the liver has a difficult time processing the lack of food, and begins to shut down. Never in my wildest thoughts did I know or even imagine he would take the separation so hard and stop eating. The doctor suggested we put him to sleep because by now his liver shut down, and probably wouldn’t recover. I was heartbroken. I felt guilty. We lost our Tumbler, our best travel cat ever and arguably the best cat ever. All because he wasn’t with us, and we weren't there with him, which broke his heart. Never again…..never again will I leave my cats.

Looking back at that experience with Tumbler, I believe it is what fuels our desire to do the best we can for our current cats. Now understanding that they need to know they are part of a loving family and cared for, our cats live in the comfort of my sister’s extra empty mobile home. She visits and feeds them daily, cleans them and brushes them. She has developed a bond with each cat, some trusting her immediately, some taking a little bit more time, but all being loved and talked to. And now, introducing Gizmo to this amazing set up, she too will adjust quickly and will bond even quicker with my sister.

The day was filled with moving as many kennels and cats, from one room to another. We also fixed the backdoor of the mobile home, rescreening and securing it so it too could stay open to allow maximum airflow into the larger living space. Putting a few more screens over windows, and then we ran out of self-drilling tapping screws, so, we called it a day.

Completing this window project will have to wait until tomorrow. Oh well, another hard day's work, but we are getting there. Just a few more windows to cover.

Tumbler...our inspiration to "never leave a cat behind"!