Le chat

a.k.a. Ezra

Poor quality photo: Cat's are no good at following directions.

Well, yesterday he arrived. I can't say I'd really been missing him, but on the positive side, I can't say I'm not happy he's here. It does make it seem like we're really home now. The boys, for one, are thrilled that he's here. And, really, that's the whole point.

All the experts, whoever they are, really really recommend that you bring your pets with you on an expat tour, especially if you have kids -- apparently it helps a lot with the transition, providing an attachment to home. This is the reason that Laura's employer covers (most of) the cost of bringing a pet. You couldn't imagine how much it costs to move a pet overseas. In our case, it will end up costing over $3500!

Here's an overview of Ezra's journey:

• Sometime in November: Ezra gets up to date on rabies vaccine. Also, a Feline Leukemia shot. Also, a rice-grain-sized RFID chip injected into his shoulder. This is required for entering Switzerland. Ezra already had an RFID chip in his shoulder, but of course we're from the US, so we use a 9 digit transmitter that is incompatible with the standard 15 digit RFID transmitter that the rest of the world uses. So, now Ezra has two RFID chips in his neck.
• December 21: We put Ezra into the kennel at our vet. It would be nice if he didn't need to be there so long, but our house closes on December 22.
• December 27: Our vet examines Ezra and fills out required entry paperwork that will have to be reviewed and approved by the USDA. This has to happen within 10 days of entering Switzerland. We're supposed to be there, but Laura pre-paid and pre-approved on 12/21 since we're touching down in Geneva about the same time Ezra is being looked at by the vet.
• January 3: Someone picks up Ezra from the vet and kennels him near the airport. Ezra will fly out very early the next morning, before the vet is open. I'm not sure who kenneled him or how much it will cost  (but I'm sure we'll be getting the bill soon).
• January 4: Ezra is picked up from the kennel and then flies from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Houston, then from Houston to Newark. He spends the night at a "kitty hotel" at Newark airport.
• January 5: Ezra flies from Newark to Zurich, landing in the morning on Jan. 6.
• January 6: Some poor soul (who we later find out is a pleasant man named Pasquale) greets Ezra at the Zurich airport, shepherds him through Swiss customs, and loads him in a van for the 2-1/2 drive to Pully. I know how Ezra travels -- not well. 

Ezra's cage, complete with stickers.

We were just finishing lunch when the doorbell rang. The kids shouted with joy, leapt from their stools, and sprinted for the front door. They were extremely happy to see Ezra and very curious about his trip. Do you remember those old Loony Tunes cartoons when Bugs Bunny would streak around the world in 5 seconds and return to the screen with a suitcase covered in stickers and stamps from all the cities he'd been through? Ezra's cage reminded me of those cartoons with its variegated appearance: dotted with bright fluorescent stickers and labels and covered in various types of packing tape. He had some of his old food strapped to the top of the cage, so he's actually been enjoying American cat food before we switch him to the better Swiss stuff. (I mean, it has to be better, right? It costs twice as much as the special natural food we'd been buying him in the US. Like most pets, he probably eats better than we do.)

I did have to repeatedly remind the boys not to bother Ezra as we opened the cage and let him out. He tentatively moved out of the cage, and they dutifully stayed 9 - 12 inches away from him (away, not far away) as he examined every square inch of his new territory three or four times. Finally, after about three hours he came over to us and started rubbing up against us asking for rubs and pets, and since that time he's been the same old cat just as if he'd never left our Minnesota house. Apparently, cats get over the stress of moving quite a bit faster than people do!

*** One last note about the move. It required a lot of coordination and effort (and money) on our part to get him here, but we couldn't have done it without the help of a pet relocation company (another thing I never knew existed three months ago). Petrelocation.com was really great about the move. They coordinated all the flights and drivers, coordinated with our vet, handled much of the paperwork, etc. They did a great job. Maybe too great a job, in my mind. I mean, he is just a cat, right? But, I think petrelocation.com is really a great service, especially for people who see their pets as a true part of the family instead of just as a pet. (I'm kind of "just as a pet" guy, but I may be in a minority in our family on this one. ***