JAX: Short term lodging with a cat (Wilmington, Jacksonville: extended stay, apartment)

[goi_cuon]

This is kind of an SOS.

I'm moving to Jacksonville and will be on the road Friday. The complication of my move is my cat.

For whatever reason, all of the extended stay type of lodgings in Jacksonville are slammed and I can't find a room for the week of May 2-9 where we can go with the cat and have a kitchenette so we don't have to eat every meal out until I find an apartment.

I had found a realtor on Craig's List who had a bunch of vacation rentals that said "pet friendly," and tried to book a room.

Well, apparently "pet friendly" means "we accept dogs."

After I emailed the woman and told her this same story (moving to Jax with a cat), she acts all surprised on the phone this morning and tells me that none of her rentals will accept a cat. Can she recommend another realtor? Well, no; she doesn't want my business but she won't recommend anyone who might, either. I wouldn't have wasted my time trying to contact her if the website had disclosed that only dogs are accepted. I can look at the availability on individual properties and see that they are not booked for most of May at all.

I've searched all of the standard sources - Expedia, Travelocity, etc. I've googled for pet friendly places. They all give a description of being pet friendly but the details are always the same "you small dog is welcome. . ."

I can't call long distance from my office so I can only make inquiries via an 800-number. Cell phone reception here is too poor to be useful.

Any recommendations? I'm up against the wall.

[Ann in Oriental]

I work at a hotel that does not accept pets. What we have done is tell people we do not want to hear a thing about their animals and to take them with them when they leave the hotel for any reason. I'm afraid you have to be sneaky with this. Have a carrier and don't disclose that you have a cat. If caught act terribly surprised that they aren't welcome. Maybe don't book for more then 2 days per motel. What kind of cell phone do you have? You will see soon enough that this part of NC is not real pet-friendly. As you already saw, it's not too people friendly either if you are not the norm.

[LittleDolphin]

Could you board the cat for a few days at a vet/kennel while you apartment hunt? I know it's hard to be separated from your kitty, but it might be safer and more comfortable for your cat in the long run...when you leave your motel room, kitty would have to be confined to her carrier (or she could escape when maid service comes around) and it's likely to be too hot to leave her in the car...I would offer to cat-sit for you, but I have a dog...and I'm 45 minutes from JAX.

Maybe some cat-friendly JAX citizens might lend a hand? Maybe you could post on the pet forum, too?

[goi_cuon]

Originally Posted by LittleDolphin

Could you board the cat for a few days at a vet/kennel while you apartment hunt? I know it's hard to be separated from your kitty, but it might be safer and more comfortable for your cat in the long run...when you leave your motel room, kitty would have to be confined to her carrier (or she could escape when maid service comes around) and it's likely to be too hot to leave her in the car...I would offer to cat-sit for you, but I have a dog...and I'm 45 minutes from JAX.

Maybe some cat-friendly JAX citizens might lend a hand? Maybe you could post on the pet forum, too?

That's so nice! I wouldn't normally worry about boarding him, except he's got to be medicated. He has to have a thyroid pill every day and that costs extra - it's not hard to do; I just mash it up in some food and he gobbles it down, but that's an add-on fee. The last time I boarded him, he spent three weeks at the kennel while I was in Mexico. That trip coincided with his annual shots, and since he is old, he also got the geriatric cat blood workup. The boarding shots and blood work came to about $1000.00. I remember thinking to myself then about all of the el cheapo motels we stayed in while we were in Mexico that cost less than $47 a day. Even the decent ones only cost about that much. I thought, "wow, we could have taken him with us and stayed some place really nice."

Then he got constipated afterward (sorry - TMI, I know) and that cost almost $1000.00 (insert joke about giving a cat an enema here). Well, when you add another $47 a day to our Mexican hotel budget, we could have been staying in a resort (which would have been boring to us, but that's a different story). After that I decided it was just as cheap to take him with me and pay extra. So now he only gets the rabies vaccine which means I'd have to pay a couple hundred bucks to get all the rest in order to board him anywhere.

When we stay in a hotel, we just don't let the maid service the room until we leave; it makes life simpler.

There seem to be some rooms available in Havelock, so we may stay there. Otherwise my husband may stay here with the cat until I get settled and then bring him up.

It WILL work out. I'm not in freak-out mode anymore. I'm really NOT a high-strung person. Breathe in, breathe out.

[LittleDolphin]

Oh, don't I know--it's hard--and sometimes expensive to leave our pet pals.

We've an older dog and will be taking a vacation in June and for once, he's not going with us. Luckily I made a deposit into the dog karma bank and dog-sat a friend's dog for ten days, so now she's going to dog-sit ours. He's a good traveler, but getting older and more stiff in the joints...and this time we're staying in a couple of B&B's that don't take pets..

And though I know he'll be well-taken care of, and probably happier at home, when he sees the suitcases come out and he gets all excited, I'm going to feel very guilty about leaving him at home...even it's for the best...

Good luck on working out the details of your move--and welcome to Eastern NC...if you do end up staying in Havelock, there's a good Mexican restaurant on Hwy 70--El Cerro, it's at 1331 E. Main (which is the same as Hwy. 70). There's another one of the same name in Havelock, but this one has nicr decor and better food, I think.

[goi_cuon]

Thanks again.

I had a yellow lab mix, Dante, who lived to be about 16 years old. He was great traveler and he loved to go. He was a charming and winsome house guest; Dante always got invited back even when we did not.

But it got harder to take him with us. I boarded him at the vet's office from time to time. Although he did not like going there, he was ok boarding there. I could tell that the staff loved him and boarding didn't traumatize him. He was traumatized by a crate (he was an adult when I got him and something bad happened before then) and when he got older, he couldn't lift his hind feet over the threshold. So they would put his bed in the cat room in the clinic. The cats were all crated and they put his bed on the floor and he could move around the room. He seemed not to notice cats; he was a submissive dog unless I was being threatened.

I still miss him. I have a little sterling vial that I wear on a chain with some of his ashes in it. Dante never liked staying home alone,

Your dog will be fine. Staying at home is probably the best option for him,

My move will work out, one way or the other!

And thanks for the restaurant tip!

[Ann in Oriental]

If you stay in Havelock let me know. It's just a 20 min. ferry ride from Oriental!

[goi_cuon]

I'm booked in Wilmington Saturday through Tuesday. With any luck I'll have something closer by then.

I seem to be past the panic and the waves of anxiety. For the moment!