Cat Vacations

Clara, Chubby and Bored

I’m feeling batty. Or maybe I should say catty, as in catlike—not spiteful. My cats and I have been cooped up all summer long working on my book, “A Tour of the Heart:  A Seductive Cycling Trip Through France.” It has been a productive summer, but now we’re bored, tired of being inside all the time, weary of looking in the fridge or staring at our dish to see what kind of savory treat might perk us up in between time logged at the desk and on the couch.

Lately I’ve been dreaming about cat vacations. I’ve actually been fantasizing about taking a trip with my two babies, Leo and Clara. So I googled it. And boy was I disappointed with what I found. I read about a cattery—a cat boarding place—in England and then perused a piece on soothing cat vacation stress. I saw an article on cats and vacations from petMD and gazed at lots of pictures of people’s cats on vacation. Cat Island Vacations on TripAdvisor came up along with Kenya Vacations, experts in big cat safaris. My interest was piqued by Artistique Acres Pet Resort, but I was in the end disappointed to learn that their cat cottage presents just another option for boarding your cat.

I want to take a vacation with my cats. I live in a one-bedroom apartment in the Rockies and we need to get out and have some fun together. More than two years ago I made the difficult decision to stop letting them out. And as much as they’ve adjusted and I engage and play with them a lot, we need to get away. I’m envisioning a nice little cottage-type place with French doors that open up onto a grassy, enclosed area where they can sniff and play and I can lounge and read a good book (instead of writing one). It could even be a motel-type place; it doesn’t need to be fancy as long as we’re together amid cozy comforts with the added bonus of a change of scenery and a good blast of the outdoors.

There must be a place like this in or around Colorado, especially since this is not the safest state for letting little felines romp about. If you know of such a place, please contact me. I actually think this is a great business idea for anyone that’s inclined to work in the hospitality industry. We have enough charming  B & Bs, plenty of handsome lodges, lots of historic hotels—how about the perfect getaway for you and your putty tat? Pet friendly is big business these days, however, the canines are claiming all the action, most of the fun. Let’s design a place that really works for travelers and their cats.

As a travel writer, I promise I’ll give you a good write up on such a destination as long as it meets my cat standards checklist. (It would have to be the cat’s meow for Leo and Clara, too.) In the meantime, I’ll just keep dreaming.

Winter’s around the corner and they’ll be settling into hibernation mode while I’ll be hitting the slopes. Next week I’m going on a road trip with Mary Dawn and her two pups (see Travels with Valentino) to a dog show—no less! I’m sure this will be good for me, but I’d better not tell Leo and Clara. It’s bad enough that I’ll be feeling guilty part of the time for not booking a trip with them…if only I could find the right place.

Please, please let me know if you know of a special haven. Do share your cat tales and more.

Leo, Another Woeful Kitty

Copies of “A Tour of the Heart:  A Seductive Cycling Trip Through France” are being made available as I write this. I’ll be posting the link for purchasing it through amazon within the upcoming days. Thanks to Leo and Clara for nurturing me through this long process.