LostWoods Blog

At our house, we call the laser pointer the “Little Red Fairy”. Our old one’s batteries have been dead for some time, so the younger cats in the house have never seen the Little Red Fairy. That was remedied yesterday when I bought a new one. Let the fun begin!

As expected, Taiba, Polgara, and Basia were wildly enthusiastic about chasing the fairy across the floor and up the walls. (Yes, up the walls — Polgara jumped about 5 feet up the wall in pursuit last night.) At one point I made the fairy go up on our bed and Taiba followed in hot pursuit. When the fairy disappeared a little later while they were chasing it on the floor, she jumped back on the bed and search all over for it, meowing — calling for it? — the entire time. Jeremy and I had a few moments of naughtiness when we tried to get the girls to whack Shira in pursuit of the fairy. We’d get them running after it and then aim it at Shira’s side. No sale. Buzz came the closest, but even she stayed about a foot away, just waiting for the fairy to move on. No way was anyone going to whack Shira, no matter how many little red fairies were perched on her.

Avi and Rand also liked the fairy. Rand was quite willing to chase it across the floor, while Avi preferred to bat at it as it circled around her. They didn’t get that much of a chance to play, though, because every time the bigger girls realized the fairy was by the little kids they’d come charging over.

The more surprising fairy chaser was Talia. Talia is often quiet and sedate, but she, too, was running like crazy through the kitchen and dining room after the fairy. Peanut, Bug, and Spaz were also having some fun — when the terrible trio (Taiba, Polgara, & Buzz) would let them have a turn.

If you’ve never played with your cats using a laser pointer or pen, go buy one now. Okay, the next time you’re out running errands. You can find them in the pet section of stores like Walmart and Target, at pet stores like PetsMart and Petco, and a whole number of other places. They don’t have to be the ones that are marketed for pets. Just remember when you’re playing not to shine them directly in your cat’s eyes. Most cats love them and it’s great exercise for them to chase the fairy all over the room or house.

Michelle asked about hotels so I thought I’d write just a little about that subject today, as the news from the LostWoods cats is sparse. (They are their usual rowdy, sweet, naughty, purry selves. All is well.)

When I go to cat shows I either stay with family, friends, or at the show hotel. Clubs usually –  not always, but almost always — make arrangements with one or more hotels in the area to offer a block discount to people coming for the show. Sometimes pet deposit policies are waived, as well. After all, if you want to attract people from out of town to your show, they need a pet friendly place to stay. The hotels’ quality have ranged from the “oh my goodness, I’ll never stay there again!” to the “I love this place! Can I move in?” and everything in between.  The really horrid ones usually aren’t a show hotel more than once…

If you’re traveling with your pets, one place to go for information and planning is: http://www.petswelcome.com/

This site has tons of lodging information, travel tips, and discussion boards about traveling with pets. You can even make reservations through the site. In the lodging section there is a list of chains that allow pets — usually. Some individual locations may have different policies, so it is advisable to check with the place you want to stay that their policy is the same. Also, keep in mind that some places that allow pets only allow dogs. If you are traveling with pets and are asking about pet policies, be specific about the animal(s) you are bringing with you to make sure there won’t be any surprises when you show up. I once made a reservation at a Super 8 that allowed pets with a $10 deposit. They weren’t happy when I showed up with cats — they only allowed dogs under 30 pounds. I managed to talk them into letting me stay anyway, but I had to take the cats with me every time I left the hotel for the next three days.

Oh, speaking of leaving the cats in the room — or not — another thing to check on is if you are allowed to leave a pet in the room during the day while you’re out sightseeing or at cousin Jenny’s wedding or at a business meeting or whatever brings you to this hotel. While allowing pets, there are a number of places that will not allow you to leave an animal in the room alone. So if you’re going to cousin Jenny’s wedding, you probably don’t want to  take Fluffy with you (how would you respond to the invitation? 2 adults, 1 child, 1 cat???) and if it’s the middle of a hot summer afternoon you sure don’t want to leave Fluffy in the car for hours. Do ask if you can leave your pet unattended in the room. I read a horror story of a couple of cat show attendees that left their cats in the room while they went out to dinner. The hotel had a policy of not allowing animals unattended in the rooms. The cats apparently (this is what the hotel staff claimed) were crying and another hotel guest complained. The hotel staff called animal control to take the cats. It was a big ordeal getting the “neglected” cats back.

Deposits and such… some places (it seems like more and more these days) require you to make a pet deposit when you stay. Sometimes the deposit is refundable if your room is left clean and undamaged. Unfortunately, usually it isn’t refundable. I’ve seen deposits anywhere from a flat $10 to $75, and now and then a per pet price. (If you have four cats with you, you’d pay $10 per cat or $40.) Also, the deposit can be by day or by stay. If price is a consideration, make sure you know up front what the total cost will be so you don’t end up with a costly surprise. (and for whom isn’t price a consideration?)

One of my pet peeves about some hotels that allow pets is that they will only put people traveling with animals in smoking rooms. Hey, my fur babies don’t need to smell cigarette smoke any more than I do. I’m mildly allergic to tobacco smoke and a night in a smoking room is a guarantee of a sinus headache the next day. If that is a concern for you, that’s another question to ask when making reservations.

There are a lot of places that allow pets and provide nice accomodations for people, too. Check out the site, make some calls, and have a great trip with your fur baby!