Our flight to Munich

Tuesday morning was going well.  Ruckus was in a good mood and suspected nothing at all.  Little did he know, he would be in for one of the roughest days in his kitty life!  It all started as fun and games when it came time to feed him his sedative.  I say "feed" but in reality I had to open his mouth and stick my index finger (sans pill) down his throat.  Even then, he was cool as a cucumber and went about his kitty business, sunning himself and watching birds from the upstairs window.  Then came the wobbles and wall-eyed look.  Alex was having fun, taking pictures of our poor sedated cat, and it got to be about that time to leave.

He might have taken a sedative, but Ruckus fought us literally tooth and claw when it came time to go in his bag, let alone stay in it. The whole hour drive to the airport Ruckus clawed and bit his crate thinking he could possibly escape and retreat back into his country chateau (AKA:the parents' home).  But all his fighting would prove fruitless. We got through TSA having to take him completely out of the bag and hold him through the metal detector.  He did great, way better than he did in his bag.  

Then we sat for a good 2 hours and I got pretty concerned as he completely destroyed the pee pads I had put in the bag for him, and as he continued to bite through the bag.  At this point I figured that the sedative had worked the opposite in his body and made him aggressive.  Just our luck.  I felt horrible for him. This pill was supposed to make his fears much less, not freak him out even more!  And just in case you are thinking about brining your cat on a trip and need a sedative, the medication's short name is "Ace" which is short for the full name that I do not have access to while writing this.  I recommend either trying a different sedative, going without one, or if you must have it try it on your cat a week before at a half dose and see how he does.  Hopefully this advice will help someone out there!

At the midway point across the Atlantic Ocean, Ruckus has been silent for a few hours now and has curled up.  I dropped him some pieces of dry food and tried giving him an ice cube.  He seemed to only meow a little when we were taking off, probably due to all the new sensations and noises.  Only 4 more hours to go until we get to Germany, I wonder if there are some surprises for me to clean when we get there!

For some surprisingly good news...Lufthansa is quite possibly an airline after my own heart.  I mean that oh so very sincerely.  From the early takeoff, the comfy seats, complimentary headphones, plenty of storage space for carry ons, and even the food.  Dinner was the best airline food I have ever had, and this was one thing I thought for sure I would just have to "endure."  As soon as I heard the captain read over the intercom in a thick German accent that we could have penne pasta, I knew we would be alright.  Not only did we get a steaming hot plate of penne with sauce, we were delighted to find a salad, cheese, butter crackers, a roll, and an amazing chocolate brownie.  Ok, if you know me, you know that all these Germans had to do was give this girl some chocolate and they would gain a rave review! True story.  

Update: just after I finished writing this Ruckus went into a fit so I took him to the lavatory and held him.  He is still under the effects of the medication as his 3rd lids are covering most of his pretty green eyes. As I was cleaning his bag, he tried to sneak under the sink ( got his head under) and I pulled him back in.  When he realized that the bathroom noises were just as scary as his under seat assignment, he curled back up in his bag and didn't fight me closing the hatch.  I hope we get there soon!

Landed in Munich at 7:30am German time.  The sedatives finally wore off and Ruckus is back to his happy go lucky self.  Thank heavens!  Above are some pictures of our German breakfast, enjoy!