Conference misery::feline

Hi Mark,

I lived in Colo Spgs for two years and had a part-time Siamese cat who lived
with me and a neighbor.  Long story....

Anyway, during my stay, I never, ever saw a black widow spider, nor a rattle
snake.  And since "The Springs" is even more built up, I don't think there
could be much in the way of wild life left anyway.  Maow used to love chasing
grasshoppers (the Colorado State Bird ;^)), however...

Mary

    Am I recollecting correctly that coyotes are a danger to cats in the
    Colorado Springs area....  Not indoor cats, of course, but something
    else to turn your hair grey if one should get outside?
    

	western USA = coyote problem for outdoor or indoor/outdoor cats...

Coyotes learn very early in life that a domestic cat is an easy dinner...In
particular, females with young in the den like to settle near an area with
a good supply of cats and they will return regularly to get food.      

and, when I say western USA, I also mean IN AND AROUND LOS ANGELES.  Seeing
my neighbors cat taken one day from the deck of the house where he was napping
convinced me once and for all that my felines were indoor-only forever.  This
house was in a well-populated suburban neighborhood.  However, across the
nearby freeway, there was an area for the coyote dens...and people lost cats
as fast as they got them.

another threat for colorado springs/denver, etc. cats is the number of dogs
which are allowed to roam at night.  They form packs - and a domestic dog
pack will destroy any living animal they can catch...whether hungry or not.
A zoo's rare antelopes got decimated approx. 2 years ago - the culprits were
pets - well cared for, obviously very domestic pets - which had formed a pack
and broken through a fence.

    dogs are also a problem in our area, unfortunately.  My neighbors'
    sweet little cat got taken by a pack of dogs in our "normal, suburban"
    area.
    

Folklore....amazing....  Colorado Springs is a very tightly populated city
of about 350,000 people.  If you get out of the urban area, I'm sure that
everything but grizzly bear would be out there.  I've seen more wild life
in my back yard here in Nashua than I ever did in Colo Spgs, even at the
Digital plant, which is a fairly rustic area.  The most I ever saw was an
occasional bunny out there.  Within the city itself, I think the most that
a cat has to fear is traffic and the neighborhood doggy.

We do have some Colo Spgs readers out there....what do you guys have to say??

Mary

    I've only been to Colorado once in my life. (beautiful!) We went to the
    plant there, and out the window we saw an eagle flying, and a beautiful
    deer on the grass quite near the building. 
    
    Also, on a previous business trip, my husband was staying near a strip
    mall that had dart boards. (They had Andy Capp on their T-shirts. Can't
    remember the name of the place) Anyway, he used to cut across a field
    to make the walk over shorter. This was at night.
    
    About 3 months after he got back, we were watchiong a PBS program on
    rattlesnakes. Much to his horror, he saw the strip mall at the back of
    the field! They were capturing snakes right where he had walked several
    times! I'm sure he didn't have much to worry about at night unless he
    actually sepped on one. It was also in September, so it was pretty
    chilly at night by then. He almost fainted when he saw the program
    though.
    
    Just goes to show you though. He was used to Massachusetts, where there
    are very few bad snakes, and you can walk almost anywhere, anytime. We
    have to remember where we are, and what may be there as a potential
    danger. He never even imagined that there could have been a danger in
    that field!
    
    BTW, this was not really a residential type area, if I remember
    correctly. It was in 1979 that he was there. It could be very built up
    now. It's a little way from the Raintree Inn.
    
    Y

      Re .6
      If I were you I would not be so quick to chalk this up to "folklore",
    and in the East is is ALSO a problem. I've talked to more than one
    person from the Denver area and they have stated that Coyotes are a
    very clear danger to both free-roaming cats and free-roaming small
    dogs. Coyotes are not foxes nor wolves...they do not have the fear of
    man that the wolf and fox have, and have learned to live WITH man in
    man's environment. There have been more than one article in some of the
    farm and homesteading magazines in recent months on this animal. The
    creature is amazing!!
    
      A Coyote's den was found in a fairly large town in Connecticut...in
    the front yard of a house--under a spreading evergreen. The people who
    lived in the hous neve saw it, but from the amount of bones found when
    this tree was removed it was determined that the Coyote had lived there
    for approximately 4 to 6 years! Anothe Coyote was seen trotting along
    nonchalantly in the median strip of Rte 85----in DOWNTOWN Hartford!!
    Another had at least 6 litters of pups in an abandoned car that was not
    more than 200 feet from a farmhouse in Vt.
    
      It is thought that MANY of the cats that turn up "missing" are being
    caught by Coyotes. The EASTERN Coyote is not the same creature as the
    45 pound canine that populates the West. It is a "new" animal, and it
    is believed that--while genetically it IS a Coyote--it probably is a
    combination formed by interbreeding of Minnesota Timberwolves and the
    Western Coyote as it moved east. The mythical "Coy-Dog" has been
    recently proven to be just that--a myth. While the Coyote and dog CAN
    breed and will produce offspring, the pups have been found to have a
    genetic defect inherent inthe interbreeding that causes their death
    within the first month after birth. 
      THis NEW Eastern Coyote is a formidible creature, resembling the
    Timberwolf in appearance and size, while retaining the genes and
    audacity of the Coyote. Weighing in at over 75 pounds for an adult
    male, it is fearless of humans and will live unseen in man's abode,
    striking small dogs, cats, rabbits and other small rodents and wild
    creatures for it's food supply. 
      A prolonged study of the Coyote as related to deer kills has proven
    that the hunting folks are dead wrong about Coyotes killing deer and
    decimating the herds. Yearly studies of fawns have shown that more are
    killed by domestic dogs (around 8%) and automobiles (6%) than are
    killed by Coyotes (less than 5%). Theses studies have been conducted
    for over 5 years, and have run consistent. As for adult deer, Coyotes
    have been known ONLY to take injured or sick animals. They are not
    interested in hard-to-get prey, but would rather take someone's cat or
    Cocker Spaniel than tackle an adult deer. Coyotes don't run in packs
    like wolves do, so taking adult deer would be very difficult if not
    impossible.
    
      Hunting, trapping and poisoning the Coyote has been proven recently
    to be very stupid and totally counterproductive. It is thought now by
    more intelligent wildlife experts that man had better learn to live
    WITH the animal, because it has a very cunning way to balance the
    scales. Studies of Coyote populations in areas of man's killing
    pressure have actually INCREASED as the hunting/trapping/poisoning
    pressure has been applied. Poisoning works very poorly,for tha naimal
    had an 'instinct' for detecting poisoned bait, and will soon learn to
    stay away form it. In "normal" times, a Coyote's litter will consist
    typically of 3 pups, and occasionally as many as 5. However, as
    pressure is exerted on the population, litters will increase to 18 to
    20 pups!!! And the Coyote has a unique 'family' bond while raising the
    pups...so this is why the population actually increases when man tries
    to eliminate the creature. A recent 'hunt' in one of the Canadian
    provinces attracted around 400 'hunters' and they 'drove' an area where
    a fairly large population of the animal was known to live--from tracks
    and kills of smal animals. In 6 days, not only were there no coyotes
    taken, there  were none SEEN!!
    
      Truely a ramarkable creature...maybe we'd be better off to learn to
    live with this animal???
    
      John McD

    Welcome to Colorado Springs.  
    My wife and I, three dogs and two cats relocated here from New
    Hampshire thirteen years ago.  We traveled by plane and stuck all the
    pets in pet carriers on the plane. The only problem we had was the
    switching of planes at Denver.  If we had to do it over again, we would
    have rented a van out of Denver and drove to the Springs.
    We lived ten years outside of Woodland Park (near Deckers) and lost one
    cat that year by a coyote. That was our fault by leaving him outside
    all night.  Now that we are city folks we lost a second cat by a car.
    This was also our fault for leaving the cat outside at night. 
    Looks like the only predators you will have to worry about is Coyotes,
    Cars and people with guns that like to take pop shots at animals.
    At any rate we are very carefull now and stay with our pets when they
    are outside. 
    Good Luck and have a safe flight to colorful Colorado.
    /jerry

>>>    Western Coyote as it moved east. The mythical "Coy-Dog" has been
>>>   recently proven to be just that--a myth. While the Coyote and dog CAN
>>>    breed and will produce offspring, the pups have been found to have a
>>>    genetic defect inherent inthe interbreeding that causes their death
>>>    within the first month after birth. 

uh....I'd like to talk to the experts on this one.  My first pet animal
when I was a small child was a coyote/GSD MIX.  We KNOW that
is what the pup was - my father rescued the GSD female, and being ignorant
about dogs didn't get her spayed in time...one day he arrived in time to
see the breeding by a coyote male.  The vet in NM said we should have the
litter as the resultant offspring would be desirable.  Indeed, Dad placed cubs
and the GSD female - we kept several cubs - one, a "blond coyote", I named
princess - well, I was only 8 years old, what did I know?  Anyway, Princess
was definitely NOT a dog - she was more coyote than domestic...but she was
devoted to me and was a loving and protective caretaker during my adventures
in the New Mexico desert.  My parents allowed me an amazing freedom to roam
in the desert (we lived on the edge of town at the time)...because they
learned that Princess would take care of me.  She would not allow any
dangerous animals near me, nor would she allow strangers to touch me...and
when dinner time neared, she would drag me home if I didn't cooperate - my
clothes took some damage when I got stubborn....but, I was always on time
for dinner, and, more importantly from her viewpoint, so was she.  He demise
came because she insisted on hunting some of her own food regardless of how
well she was fed - she caught a poisoned rat and died.

So, while I am willing to believe that some coy-dogs do not have a genetic
inheritance that supports life, I KNOW that some do reach maturity and beyond
in perfect health.  They are not, however, a good pet.  As much as I loved
her company while a child, I now realize that Princess was an accident
waiting to happen.  Had I been injured and required assistance, she would
never have allowed anyone but my parents near me - she interpreted anyone
coming toward me as a threat to her "cub".  Strangely enough, she seemed to
understand that other children were okay.  Coupled with her determination
to hunt, Princess's approach to strangers was not a desirable characteristic.

    
    Another Coloradan welcomes you to the Springs. 
    
    I have been here for 5 years.  I have 2 cats (did have three until one
    became coyote lunch) and one horse.  I live outside the city (Black
    Forest) and have a coyote that lives in the ravine behind my house. But
    loose dogs are probably as big a danger (as well as the two-legged
    kind).  By the way, there are coyote and deer in the area around the
    DEC buildings on Rockrimmon as well as many predatory birds and other
    wildlife.
    
    I keep my cats inside except for supervised trips outside.
    
    I wouldn't worry about snakes or spiders--not any more than any other 
    place in the U.S.  
    
    The biggest BENEFIT is that fleas are almost unheard of out here.  So
    you might want consider defleaing your babies well in advance of your 
    trip.
    
    Depending on where you live, you might have specific problems. 
    Colorado Springs is mountain lion country.  And last year there were
    many cases of small pets being carried off down around the Broadmoor
    area (on Cheyenne Mountain).  But that is really unusual.  Again,
    keeping pets in at night is the best prevention from all kinds of
    dangers.

    Marybeth,
    
    Off the subject a tad, but did you grow up in Framingham, MA?  Your
    name sounds so familiar.
    

re: keeping cats in at night.

in the LA area, we know that coyotes will hunt when "breakfast" is available..
this means they quickly learn to hunt in the morning if you let your cats
out in the morning.  The reason these critters are so successul at survival
is because they are adaptable.  Keep you cats inside unless you are with them
or they may end up IN the local food chain.

    Thanks everybody for your thoughtful replies.
    
    I guess alot of the apprehension is relocation-jitters too. 
    We do keep them indoors, so I guess I don't have too much 
    to worry about. 
    
    So.  What do you think is the best way to get them there?
    Airlines?  Rent a motor home?  We love them dearly, and 
    want to make it as easy as possible for them.  Like I mentioned
    my wife has read some horror stories about the airlines.
    She likes the idea of a motor home or something and driving out 
    with a friend or two to share the driving.  We'd leave them in pet
    carriers of course, but somebody could maybe keep 'em company.
    I don't know if this would be too costly though.
    Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Mark

>>>    So.  What do you think is the best way to get them there?

Mark, remember cats are like old stuffy republicans - they hate the idea
of change, they hate change while it is happening, and until they forget the
change occurred.  Get them there quickly, and painlessly.  Airlines are much
more responsive to pet issues nowadays.  Contact the airlines, get all data
on shipping them WITH NO STOPS - this can be difficult, but do try - at
all costs, do not ship them on a flight where plane changes are required.
A short stop to drop off and pick up passengers is alright if you have to
have it.

Some folks out there on the east coast might have a "carry on board and
transport" service - I thought I heard about it sometime...do some scouting
around.  Also, make whatever airline you use aware that you are on top of
this - they will be VERY careful if they fear bad publicity more.  Maybe
they will take the cats onboard for you - if you cannot fly with them.
Ideally, you fly with a cat and your wife flies with a cat (on different
planes if need be)....of course, if you have 6 cats, that can be a problem...
how many friends can you afford to fly?

Talk to the vet about tranquilizers - and test drive them a week or so
before you ship the cats.  Get good carriers.  Be there on time to pick
the cats up.  In fact, be early in case they show up early.  Don't wait
too long - shipping west, you will have hot weather bans on shipping to
deal with.  Ship to a large airport - not to the colorado springs airport,
but to denver...better resources to handle the cats gently and efficiently.

I don't recommend the RV idea because it takes a long time, making it all
more stressful for the cats...there are opportunities to escape and get
lost each time you open the door of the vehicle.  They can get overheated
in the vehicle very fast if you stop to eat at a restaurant.  There are
just a lot of problems you can avoid if you ship them by plane...a few
hours and it is over.  

It works.  I know it does cause I got a 10 week old kitten from New Jersey
to S.F. in good health - she is now known as the Jersey Flash.

    
    
    	Mark,
    
    	This is kim. I have lived in Colorado Springs since '87.
    	I brought my kitties with me from Connecticut to Phoenix
    	(July...) and brought them again from Phoenix to Texas
    	and then Texas to here. These are well travelled cats.
    
    	Planes are hard on them but so can cars, vans, etc if
    	the trip in the vehicle is going to stress them out.
    	Some cat's really hate it. Mine have gone via car in
    	a little cat carrier. They hated that. I have flown them
    	both in cargo on the plane and have bought them a ticket
    	(it was $50 per cat and you could only take one cat per
    	cabin on the plane) on the plane. Good thing I had called
    	the airlines in advance and went down to pay for the
    	ticket because a lady showed up at the last minute with
    	a little dog and they had her check him through with 
    	baggage.
    
    	The deal on airlines as I recall is that you need to get
    	the single pet per cabin into a cage in which they can
    	stand up. That is a big no-go with the space under the
    	seat where you must stash them. You can purchase a cage
    	that fits precisely under the seat on the plane, which
    	I did, from the airline. What I did next was to tranq
    	the traveller for the flight. Some of them tranq quite
    	well and others get totally wierd and holler a lot. At
    	least that has been my experience. I don't like moving
    	cats over long distances but I see it as lessening the
    	long term stress if you tranq them and fly them. The airlines
    	have been ok with my kitties. They keep them in a special
    	room till it is close to time to batten hatches. Then I can
    	usually look out my window and see them being driven on
    	the seat of one of the little baggage cars and getting
    	loaded on. They take them off first thing and get them
    	right to you in the baggage area. I generally find I have
    	heaps of groggy fur in the cages. I get them to a nice
    	house asap and get them a TON of water and holding if they
    	need it.
    	
    	I still have one of the Connecticut cats. Two others have
    	succumbed to things like coyotes, hawks, etc. from what
    	I can tell. Those two were not what I would call "savvy"
    	about what the world is like. Everybody was their friend
    	and would play with them. My survivors are friendly and
    	sleep all over me during the nights in the winter but they
    	don't want back in during the hot summer nights and must
    	remember to be careful of things.   A kitty down the street
    	from me got struck by a rattlesnake last year. He is dandy
    	now though. The vet fixed him up. The snake, IMO, was there
    	as a result of some digging that was going on. You get to
    	know some of the more "snakey" areas and just leave them
    	alone in the spring and summer.
    
    	Good luck moving your kitties. If you want to talk about
    	this, send me mail. Will be happy.
    						Kim
    
    					CATNIP and ATILLA
                                        

    
    There are lots of direct flights (nonstop) from most large eastern
    cities to Denver.  And Denver is only an 1+ hour away from the Springs. 
    That might be your best choice.  Have someone put the kids on the plane 
    back east and meet them at the Denver airport. 

    
    
    	re. 17 And don't forget, we are getting to be a big time
    	airport too. There are some good non-stops into COS as
    	well. If they work out, it will save a trip to Denver.
    
    	As an aside, this is a nice time of year to fly the gang.
    	Weather is not unreasonably hot and muggy. May be a tad
    	chilly at 20000 feet but runway waits, etc. are pretty
    	good right now.
    

    There is at least one other note in this file about traveling with
    cats.  Check the keywords, travel_with_cat is the one to look for.
    
    I have shipped many cats to many locales, being a breeder.  I have
    never had a problem.  I also travel with my cats to cat shows all over
    the country.  In my experience, my own cats do much better without
    tranquilizers.  The tranqs make them woozy, and they feel out of
    control.  This usually results in more stress and much more noise from
    my bunch.  Without the tranqs, they usually just go to sleep during the
    flight and I don't hear a peep out of them (except Limoges, I always
    knew she was there when the meals were being served!).  
    
    If you are traveling with the cats, you can carry one on board, and put
    the rest in cargo at a cost of $50 per carrier.  A small blue kennel
    cab (must be the blue one with the recessed handle--will cost you about
    $15.00 at a cat show) will fit under most airline seats and provide 
    more room than the type kennel that the airlines provides for under 
    the seat travel.  Plus, the airline provided kennels have less secure 
    latches.  I have known several people who had had those top latch kennels 
    pop open while they were carrying them through the airport.  Not a 
    situation I would want to have happen.
    
    If you cannot travel with the cats, I have had excellent results with
    using Delta's Dash service, or American's counter-to-counter service. 
    If the cats are shipped alone, they are priced as cargo.  The cost on
    Delta Dash is about $119 per kennel.  American is comparable.  I am
    about to ship a cat from San Jose, CA to Pennsylvania and that will cost me
    $116 on American.
    
    The way I see it, it will be less stressful on the cats to just get the
    trip over with as quickly as possible.  That is why I would ship on an
    airlines rather than drive cross country with them.
    
    Jo

One phrase a few notes back particularly caught my attention.  So why is it
that fleas are pratically nonexistant in the Springs?  Could it be the Dry
Sunny weather?  High altitude?  Inexpensive housing costs?  I know that fleas
thrive in the sandy soil here in VT.

BB

    
    
    
    I suspect it is a combination of high elevation (CS is at around 6200 
    ft), the cold and the dryness.  But I don't know for sure.  I am just
    delighted this is the case.  Mosquitoes are rare here also. 

    Some of it is the cold winters.  The colder the winter, the more flea
    eggs and fleas that die.  Here in Seattle, we are probably going to
    have a bad fleas season due to the mild winter we had.  The winters of
    89-90 and 90-91 had some really cold spells that helped with the flea
    problem.  
    
    Karen

Not sure I agree with the cold weather as winter here in VT typically runs in
the teens and below for several weeks.  Cold spells are -15 with daytime highs
approaching 0.  No shortage of fleas here.  I watch the squirls in the feeders
digging away all winter looong.

dry weather reduces/controls fleas - they cannot get enough water to 
live when not on the host.  The eggs die out when it is too dry for too long.
This is the basis of why spreading borax on the carpets, floors on a regular
basis also works.  It is a salt and absorbs latent moisture - ergo the fleas
go live elsewhere.

    I think that the Colorado flealessness is due to the altitude.  Salt
    Lake City is notoriously flea free too.  I only wish I could be so
    lucky here in CalifornIA.
    
    Jo

    
    I grew up in Colorado Springs and we always had a houseful of cats
    and yes, I never really thought about it before, but none of them
    ever had fleas.  Geez, how could I have been so lucky and not have
    know it. :^)     BUT who ever said there aren't many mosquitoes must 
    have stayed in the city.... buzzzzz  
    
    We lived near Austin Bluffs (Palmer Park) and there were certainly
    some rattle snakes there, but I never saw one venture into our
    neighborhood.  There were coyotes there at the time but that was
    15+ years ago and the area has grown so much that I suspect they have
    been mostly driven out.  The only place around the Spirngs that I ever
    heard of packs of dogs, was in Black Forest.  Gosh I sure miss the
    view of the Peak every day!  Must plan a visit home this summer.
    
    Hope you enjoy CS as much as I did... Of course, good ole Prunedale,
    California isn't so bad - my 2 kitties sure love THEIR house, and THEIR
    yard and THEIR bed ....  I think I need 3!!! :^)
    
    

    
    
    Mosquitos-- I live out near Black Forest.  And we just don't have
    many out there.  Now the national forests are another story...

    re. -1
    
    You are in Prunedale?  I live in Morgan Hill which is only a stone's
    throw away.  Which office do you work in?
    
    My dog was purchased from a breeder in Black Forest, CO and when I
    asked her about flea control for dogs she was at a loss, never having
    had to deal with the little buggers before. :')
    
    Jo

    
    
    Jo,
    
    I work in WRO3..this week anyway :^)
    A looonggggg commute from Prunedale you must be saying!
    
    Are you still in WRO1?

    And I actually whine about my commute.  Shame on me!!  ;')
    Yep, I am still in WRO1, but not for long.  I will be going out on STD
    at the end of May to have some surgery.  
    
    Jo

    I'm going to be relocating to New Hampshire from Colorado Springs
    sometime this summer.  One of my biggest worries is how to move with
    the least amount of trauma for them and for me.  Most of them are
    fairly well adjusted, but one of them is very high strung, and I really
    worry about the stress moving will put on her.

    I have 6 cats of varying temperaments.  Ideally, I would like to fly
    them from here to New England and take them straight from the airport
    to their new home.  I don't know that I will be able to do this,
    so I'm trying to get a handle on what some of my alternatives are
    depending on how things fall out.

    - If decide to rent (either temporarily or permanently), how much
    problem will I have finding an apartment/townhome/house to rent that
    will accept 6 cats.

    - If I can't move into some place as soon as I get there, what can I do
    with the cats?  Are there hotels/motels that will let me keep 6 cats? 
    Are there people or services that can keep the cats until things settle
    down for me and how much are they?

    - Are there other things I need to worry about (shots, city or state
    laws against keeping that many cats)?

    I appreciate any and all help...

    	Jim

    Somewhere in here there's a recent note about airplane, etc. travel
    with cats.  I would be careful about a hotel situation due to the
    likelihood of a maid letting the cats out accidentally.  If you don't
    have a home waiting for you, I'd contact a locate reputable vet (NH
    FELINErs can probably recommend someone) about boarding options.
    

    Jim - Where in New Hampshire are you locating to?
    
    I can say in the Nashua, NH area the folks who want to rent find it
    difficult to find a place that will take pets. Most Holiday Inn's
    will take pets but don't know about 6 cats. We relocated a lot a few
    years back and always stayed at Holiday Inn's with our animals. Like
    Karen said, it takes coordinating with the hotel staff so your animals
    don't get out.
    
    I definately recommend a cat carrier for each animals (unless they
    are good size carriers) and that driving with them in the car would
    be a lot less stressful. Of course you would have to be VERY CAREFUL
    of the heat that time of the year.
    
    There are several boarding places in our area. Let us know where
    you are going to work and we can make suggestions from there.
    
    Barbara & her 3M's

    Gee, 6 cats?  Hmmmmm....I live in a townhouse in Nashua that I rent
    along with my 7 cats.  Does the landlord know?  Maybe--they think
    I've got 'a couple' of cats.  They'd probably have a coronary, but
    I'm a good tennant and they like me.  It's a nice two bedroom
    townhouse--if you're interested, let me know.  Tell 'em you
    got a cat.  It's true--you got a cat (or 6).
    
    As for how to get them here, I dunno.  Airlines will limit you
    to one per aircraft cabin.  I drove from Colo Spgs to Nashua
    (head south on Academy to Platte and turn left.  Keep going straight
    till you hit civilization....) with my plants and that was bad enough. 
    I had to lug them in and out of hotels cause it was winter.  I'd
    consider checking them on the plane.  There are horror stories, but
    I think all in all, it's safe.
    
    Good luck and you'll love Nashua...
    Mary
    

    Thanks for the help so far.  My job is in NUO, so I'll be relocating to
    the Nashua area.  Can anybody recommend a vet or a kennel in the area?
    
    	Jim

    Hey Jim,  I'm certain that you must have contacts in this part (New
    Hampshire) of the world because even I know who you are.  :^)  How
    about asking a soon-to-be coworker if he/she can look after a few of
    the cats for you before you get to your new residence?  Ask a couple of
    people because this is much easier than asking someone you don't really
    know to take on 6 cats.  :^) (except if it were Mary Tamir :^)  You
    might be able to send cats out two at a time via the airlines.  "Pawn"
    them off on friends in sessions.  

    I don't recommend driving a few thousand miles with 6 cats.  You'll be
    bonkers by the time you get to Illinois, let alone New England!  :^)

    Regarding boarding animals, it's very expensive.  My vet charges $10 or
    $12 a day but they only board "special needs" pets.  The Bedford Animal
    Hospital used to charge about $6.  There's a place in Merrimack near
    the brewery that charges about $10 just for boarding and I find them
    way overpriced compared to other vets.  (perhaps it's because they
    recently did an extensive overhaul to the place and they are still
    paying for the construction loans :^)  I've never had any personal
    experience with this vet although I did rush a cat there once who had
    just been struck by a car and the vet was very nice (the cat died, by
    the way and they took care of the cremation expenses)

    As far as places in Nashua goes - I don't have a clue.  You will find
    that the closer to the Massachusetts border you go, the more expensive
    things are such as rent, dentists, auto repairs, etc.
    
    If you don't mind driving 20 minutes from Nashua - an excellent vet is
    Dr. Barbara Heald at Daniel Webster Animal Hospital in Bedford, NH. 
    603.624.4004.  She is a wonderful vet and a wonderful person that I
    trust explicitly, not to mention, she was partially responsible for
    finding my two new recent additions of Zelda and Chubs!

    Hudson Animal Hospital.  No question.  208 Central.  We live in Nashua,
    and now would not even CONSIDER any other place...and this is after 9
    years with another vet!
    
    There is no other place that I can recommend as highly.
    
    K.C.

Hi...I really like Ferry Road Animal Hospital in Nashua.  They've been so
very wonderful to me and my 7 peebrains.

As for boarding, Biff spent DECUS in the Village Sentry Kennel in Hollis,
just a few minutes from Nashua.  They charge $5 a day and he seemed to
be pretty happy.  They were recommended to me by someone who knows her
stuff about animal care (Betty Lewis).  The staff was great and they
even gave him Biffkisses, which is pretty good in my book!!

Mary

    I second Mary's recommendation. The Village Sentry is excellent.
    We have boarded our Saint Bernard there and when we only had one
    cat Mocha spent time there also.
    
    Both animals fared well under their care. We had a problem only once,
    it was after we got Ming and were going away for a holiday weekend 3-4
    days. The kennel was full and they put Mocha and Ming in the same cage
    (no problem) but they put small dogs in the cats cages in the cats
    area. Those barking dogs almost sent poor Ming to an early grave. We
    now have my brother house/cat sit for us as we are up to 3 cats.
    
    Barbara & her 3M's

I recommend

It's a Dog's Life Kennel
36 Barretts Hill Rd.
Hudson, NH
(603) 595-1488

They keep cats in a separate room and the
cages are huge.  They are only $5 a day.

Countryside Animal Hospital in Chelmsford (on border of Westford) MA
is excellent.  The proprietor is a breeder (Dr. Brian Holub) and it's
only about 20 minutes from Nashua.  The facility is incredibly up-to-date,
too.

As for renting with cats, we let DEC tell us where we could stay until
we got a house.  They put us onto a place that said "a couple" of cats
was OK.  It's across the street from ZKO/TTB and has a long-time arrangement
with DEC.  As long as they don't tear the place up, you shouldn't have any
problem.  FWIW, there is no law in Nashua arbitrarily restricting the number 
of cats you can have.

RE: flying/moving with 6 cats

We let them travel as baggage any time we have more than 1.  It's never been
a problem.  You could contact Debbie (ETHOME::) Bittrolff if you'd like to
talk with a Colo Spgs person about flying in and out of Colo Spgs with
cats.

Welcome to NH.

Karl B.

    I first moved to Merrimack about 1 1/2 years ago and had no
    trouble finding a townhouse for 4 cats (uh, and me and a
    roommate (: ).  The market here is kinda sour, so it might not 
    be as much trouble as you think.
    
    I have used Merrimack Veterinary Hospital (near the brewery)
    and have been more than pleased with the care given by
    Dr. Clough and especially Dr. Kaufmann, who may love Misha
    as much as I do at this point!
    
    Mary-Michael

    
    
    	Mary-Michael
    
    	Are you aware that Dr. Kauffman is moving to California
    	soon?  Her husband worked in my group and accepted a job
    	outside DEC in California.....
    
    	JJ