Goodbye for now, Kitty Boys!

Tomorrow we are being officially packed up for our air and sea shipments, so we took Ralph and Diamond to their new home for the next couple of months. Thanks, friend, for being willing to take them for us!

We forgot some things,  including the litter boxes. So we went back home and came back with them. Diamond was still in the carrier.

Ralph was having a hissy fit, literally hissing. He was NOT happy with us. 

Hopefully the kitty boys will adjust soon. C,  our sentimental child, seemed fine (we are planning to move them to be with us), but at dinner he was looking really sad and started to cry when we asked him what was wrong. Change is hard, for everyone. I keep wanting to call the cats (not that they would come, but I do it anyway), and I thought I saw Diamond for a second in the office, where he liked to spend time while Papa P is working. It should all be worth it in the end, though. 

Thunder Shirts

To make them more comfortable for their journey to Japan, we bought the cats Thunder Shirts. It's like getting a hug, the same idea as a weighted blanket, but uses pressure. We're going to work on getting them used to wearing it. I think maybe I will make it looser around the neck to give their front legs more room to move next time. 🤣🙃 

 "Why?! Why did you betray me?!"

I'll just drop right here...

Family Picture

Our younger son, C, asked to take a family picture with the rats before we move to Japan. This was the best one; I am holding Princess Peach and Princess Daisy is on G's shoulder. We won't be taking them with us to Japan, so our son wanted to make a memory with them.😻 He has been so much better lately about spending time with them. Our current plan is to take them back to the rat rescue where we got them in 2020. 

The Good News and the Bad News: Cat Edition

The good news and is I got a message from the vet's office yesterday and the immunization levels in the cats was good! So we are on day 43 of quarantine!

The bad news is we talked with a parent at the international school and he says he doesn't know anyone with pets. This week we finally got the information with our date and links to find housing and not a lot of places seem to want cats...

Packing, Sorting, and Organizing

This part of our journey east is rather boring. We're living our lives as usual with school and work, but trying to pack up things we want to go to storage, give away things we don't need anymore, and organize what we want to keep out that will eventually be shipped to Japan. Here are a few pictures I have taken of the chaos. 

Diamond is under the impression that we're making him beds with our boxes.

I must make sure all the boxes are safe...

It seemed Ralph wanted to get in on the box fun.

He did get into the give away pile. That's a DVD holder. 

I forgot to mention I crochet. Last weekend I organized my yarn stash. I may have a problem. 😂🤣 I am planning to take all my yarn, but not sure if it is feasible. My sister "volunteered as tribute" to take care of said yarn "while I move around the world." Oh what a sacrifice, ha! 

Papa P answered more questions this week regarding our move and is working on making sure we have all the documents in order for our visas. We may end up taking a road trip to our nearest embassy which is four or so hours away. 

Veterinary Prep for Export

Exporting an animal from the United States to Japan is a lengthy six month process. For the most accurate information, here is a link to a usda page about it: USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service

Japan has strict laws to prevent an animal with rabies from entering the country. They must be:

✔️vaccinated for rabies

✔️have microchip identification 

✔️take a blood test that checks for levels of rabies antibodies

✔️quarantine for 180 days, which is six months (quarantine in this case, is really just a six month waiting period)

✔️inform the Japanese import office at least 40 days before arrival in Japan

✔️get a health certificate for each animal prior to export

Our cats were microchipped by the cat rescue we adopted them from. Last week I took our cats to a local veterinarian for their titer test. Hopefully the levels of antibodies for rabies will be high enough (they were vaccinated in December). If they are we are now on day 4 of their quarantine. 

As I mentioned in my prior post, Diamond is a scardey cat. After I open up both carriers so he couldn't hide in them, he hid here.

Here is Ralph. He is a bit more easy going about a lot if things...

...except for when he heard a dog bark in the lobby and hid behind me!

In total, we were at the vet nearly two hours! There was a lot of waiting, but at least we were in a room. They drew their blood individually and they each were gone 10-15 minutes, maybe more! 

We should hear in 4-6 weeks about their test results. Hopefully all is well and we'll be 4-6 weeks into the 180 days! 

I saw this on the veterinarian's wall. It's a good reminder for me, especially since we have busy days ahead of decluttering and packing. 

Meet the Family

Meet our Pokémon family! 

On the left in yellow is our 14 year old, G. He is a freshman in high school and has Turtwig on his head.  He loves Pokémon, writing, and playing video games, of course! He can grow a pretty CrAzy 'fro! 

To the right of G in red, is Papa P. It's his job that is taking us to Japan. He speaks fluent Japanese (he lived there two years shortly after high school). He loves red, Japan, role playing games, and playing video games with friends! His Pokémon is Dragonite; he made a cross stitched picture of Dragonite that is now hanging on his office door. It's pretty awesome! He can also grow a pretty good 'fro!  He once dressed as Napoleon Dynamite and he was a dead ringer!!!!

In the blue striped shirt and riding Solgaleo, is our 12 year old, C. He has long hair, but NO, HE IS NOT A GIRL! He is seriously tired of the gender stereotype that long hair automatically equals female. He loves mystery/ adventure/ fantasy novels, playing virtual reality (VR), and his favorite food is pizza. He could eat it for every meal.  

In pink is me, Jen.  My Pokémon is Sylveon, I love pink and girly things, even though I don't always dress girly.  I currently work in special education at an elementary school.  I love ladybugs running, crocheting, and playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons.  I'm pretty obsessed with Animal Crossing. I am managing three islands on different family members' switches...

The other two family members are Ralph, the dark tabby cat, and Diamond, the white one: he is a Flame Point Siamese.  Ralph is the dominant one and Diamond the literal scaredy cat!  Ralph is "standard issue cat" as Papa P says.  He really is. He can be a BIG JERK when he wants to be! He randomly picks on C. Diamond is sweet, but finicky.  He doesn't like it when other people come to our house and he hides under the bed. He loves drinking from the sink or shower and he shakes his tail at us when he wants attention.  

We are ATTEMPTING to bring our cats with us to Japan.  It's a lengthy six month process.  I will be adding more related to this. We have already started the process.