Traveling With The Felines

Last Sunday, I went to my home sweet home Malaybalay. I was supposed to depart last Saturday, but we had our company’s 10th anniversary activity on that day, so I had to move my travel sked on a Sunday. Guess what was unusual on that travel? I was on board with… uh… well, my kittens, hahaha! Ain’t that something odd and funny?

At first, I was a bit apprehensive on the idea of taking my kittens with me back home. Would I have to secure a permit for bringing kittens with me on travel? What if the bus driver doesn’t allow animals on board and would rather have my kittens thrown on air? The worst thing was, what if the driver would send me out of the bus in the middle of that long, cold, lonesome trip? These are some of the thoughts that bothered me a bit. Murag medyo praning ba, hehe! Well, it’s because I’ve never seen any passenger bringing kittens on board yet - not in my twelve years of traveling! So there goes my paranoid self, haha! My apprehensions just faded away upon the thought that I’d be leaving for Manila in four days time and that nobody’s gonna take care of these little creatures for almost a week! So I really have to take the guts to bring my kittens to my hometown. Hmnn.. why do I have to bring them home when I can have somebody else to take care of them during my absence? Well, it’s just that the people around me here hates cats, haha! So I’d rather take my kittens back home ‘coz I can be assured they’ll be taken cared of in there.

So on the dawn of October 1st (as in nangadlawon ko ug byahe, 3:30 a.m.), I prepared my kittens for travel. I placed them in a shoebox with tiny holes for air passage, and gently tied the box for secured grip. While I was on my way to the bus terminal, the kittens started crying “meoowww!!” Uh-oh! Pang-lingion man kaha ko ani sa mga pasahero sa bus! So I tried asking the taxi driver how much would he charge me if I’m hiring his taxi service straight to Malaybalay. “P1,800 akong singil, pero pwede taka ipa-hangyo ug P1,600!” was what he replied. Ngeng! P1,800?! I’ll take the bus instead! Bahala lingion ko sa mga pasahero, hahaha!

When the taxi arrived at the bus terminal, the kittens still kept on crying. Good thing there were only a few by-passers (kay alas tres pa baya sa kaadlawon), and the loud videoke music from a nearby eatery was of great help then ‘coz it outshone the kitten’s wail, so it wasn’t so obvious that the “meow” sound came from the box I was carrying, hehehe! When I finally got on board with a bus, there was a quick relief on my part as the kittens stopped wailing, whew! Salamat naman! I was sitting peacefully near the driver’s seat when I hear that sound again “Meoowwww!!” Oh no, not this time, miming! Pleeasse! I said to myself. But it was of no use, ‘coz the passengers started looking at my direction, hehehe! I then asked the bus driver if it’s okay to have kittens with me on board. “Dili raba na pwede sa aircon nga bus, kay manimaho kung malibang. So balhin nalang ka sa non-aircon nga bus!” was what he said. Uh-oh! Poor Yvonne! Poor kittens! But hey! Wait a minute! I’m not gonna get out of the bus without convincing the driver that I should remain in his bus, hehe! Kulit sab ko no? So I assured him that my kittens’ not gonna have that smelly discharge (tae in short) ‘coz they don’t eat solid foods yet, and that they’re not gonna be a mess in the bus ‘coz I have placed them securely in a neat box. Haayy! Salamat naman at na convince ko rin si Mr. Driver! And there I was, enjoying the two-hour travel with my kittens.

It was my first time to take a long trip with felines, hehe! And when I arrived home, I felt so relieved seeing my mom and dad smiling from ear to ear as I untied the box and showed them those white-furred, blue-eyed little creatures waiting for their caretaker’s cuddle. Mwahh!