Ratso, travelin' cat

I never thought post cat pictures or a cat story to the web, but someone asked, "Does anyone take their cats for rides in a car, beside in a box to the vet ?"

Yeah...

Ratso, a big tom cat, was about a year old when we prepared to move from Seattle to Alaska. Up to that time Ratso didn't go near vehicles.

It took us about a week to condense our belongings down to the pickup truck, a utility trailer and a few crates of whatever we wouldn't part with. (Imagine a table saw in the middle of the living room for building shipping crates.)

Ratso would be riding with us on the journey and we were concerned he'd freak out at riding in the truck.

The day of our final trip to the dump, Ratso crawled all over the outside of the truck. Then inside the cab. When we were ready to drive to the dump he was in the cab. So, he rode along with us — curious and not agitated. We were, of course, delighted.

He was a fine travelling companion. As we drove through interior Canada and Alaska in the last week of Feb. 1982 most of the time he sat on the dashboard with his butt over the defrost vent.

When we stopped to eat or get gas, we'd put him in the canopied truck bed to use his cat box. He didn't seem to care much for the cold canopy. After about a day he got wise to the routine and whenever we geared down he dove under the seat.

After settling in in Alaska, he'd go for rides with us particularly to the dump. Just looking out the window watching the scenery go by — I guess.