Rehoming Our Cats

Trying to pick up the shattered pieces of a life back in New Zealand comes with some compromises. One of which is that we have no home of our own. We know what it's like trying to rent a place with pets. It's quite frankly a nightmare. In the UK all the houses that accept pets are pigsties. Totally grotty. The only real solution is to rent a place that doesn't accept pets, and try to go about making sure they don't do any damage to the property whilst you're there, and hide them when the landlord/estate agents are around. You cant do this with dogs because they are foulest creatures on the planet, and those people that don't really know about cats just think of them as animals with claws that scratch everything. Well, cats don't scratch everything if they are trained properly, and if you provide scratching posts. As long as you keep the house clean from cat hair, they can be pretty easy in this regard. However this doesn't stop the fact that most of the time, you can't hide pets from nosy landlords. Anyway even though we lived in a house for a year that doesn't accept pets, we did pretty well to hide our cats. And the house was cleaned before we left to the best standard we could achieve.

A few years ago we looked at rentals in New Zealand after our 1 year lease at Ayr Street came to an end. Nowhere did rentals that accepted pets, and all the landlords were locals that lived nearby. This is one reason we can't have cats anymore.

The other reason is that we have no time for them anymore with Mioni in our lives. Yue, our tabby, begged for alone time. Every cat is different and this cat loved having us around without the other two. He was a totally friendly cat who begged for a fuss and headbutts when alone with us. We would give him this time during the evenings. But once Mioni was on the scene, he acted aloof, just the same as he acts with Calcifer and Hermione around.

Hermione loved Mioni, surprisingly, and Calcifer didn't really get on. All cats loved their interactions with us before Mioni was born, but they couldn't get the lap time and the fuss they desired anymore.

The last 5 or so months with our cats was disheartening. Calcifer was depressed and bored, Yue was messy in his litter tray in protest, and Hermione was actually not so bad.

In December we looked at the adoption process in the UK and most of the organisations have bad reviews. We contacted Blue Cross and even visited them, but they wanted money from us to re-home them, plus they had a policy that those that give up their cats have no say in where they will go, with no contact ever again. It's horrendous. There is simply no human element. And who spends money to give away their pets? For fuck sake. Most people get money back by selling them. We were aware of Dunedin's Cat Rescue charity and knew how they ran, which is far superior than that.

Simply put, there was no way we would leave the cats in the UK under these conditions.

Sabine was in contact with a lady here in Christchurch that runs her cat adoption business from her own home. After an extensive phone call and even meeting her yesterday, it reaffirmed our decision of bringing our cats into the country and putting them back into adoption from here. The lady's policy is that previous owners are allowed to have updates and even a say in who can re-home them, and what sort of home the cats need. Calcifer and Hermione need a home together as they are brother and sister, Yue needs a home that doesn't have other pets nor children, and all 3 of them need to be with a family that can give them the time they need.

Our cats arrived at Christchurch airport at 4pm this afternoon at the Air NZ Cargo building. The lady was there too. We had to wait until roughly 4:30pm before we had them. The lady took them back to hers and we followed some minutes later.

At her place she allocated a bedroom for them and we were allowed to spend a good amount of time seeing them. Typical cats, they didn't care about us. They were too busy exploring the room. They looked great though. Very healthy. Yue was hiding under the bed for the most part.

Kitty Haven is the name of this lady's business. They will be in a household full of other cats up for adoption, so they certainly wont get bored. We are allowed to visit them and even have a say in who will eventually own them. So that's that. Sabine is very upset. She bonded very highly with them, especially Yue. I bonded with the cats too, but this will be harder on her.

End of Quarantine. Beginning of Christchurch.

The last week of quarantine was boring and samey. The internet was playing up a lot and dead slow, which didn't help matters. The second Covid test we had was longer than the first, and much worse because of it. There were a few new people to talk too, but otherwise not much else to say.

Saturday 26th-

We evicted the quarantine hotel at 7.30am. We took the super shuttle to the airport and got our luggage checked in. We had to wait an hour or so but it didn't matter. Our plane to Christchurch was on time at 10:30am I think. I played my switch on the plane and time went by pretty quickly. Mioni was on me for take off and landing. The journey was only an hour long. Sabine and I split up at Christchurch. She took a shuttle to the car hire place, and I took the Super Shuttle to our new AirBnB for the next month with a few cases that wouldn't fit in the hire car. I wasn't at the new place for very long before Sabine showed up. The car is a saloon. Its purpose was to be used for the sake of taking on our cumbersome cat crates, but even with this car it wont work. We have to work something out.
Our AirBnB is pretty good with stunning views right across to the mountains looking west. The rooms are spacious and the house is a newer build, yet still a terrace house. But don't be fooled, its huge inside. I'll do a video to show it off when the mountains are visible.
There is a family of plovers on the green outside, right on the other side of the fence. The green beyond this is very flat with not much else happening, making it very scenic and quite.
We shopped in the Warehouse and Pac n Save nearby, which was fun, and this evening visited the local Joes Garage restaurant chain, but the prices have gone up. The food is still good though. Interesting from our perspective how there isn't any social distancing happening. Kinda isn't needed right now, and the government are managing it very well compared to other countries such as the USA or the UK.

Mionis first time sitting in the trolley.

Sunday 27th-

We went to the Botanical Gardens today. The sun was shining and glorious! There were baby ducklings running around our feat, and pecking on Sabines shoes. We had a nice walk around. There was a small patch of woodland with bluebells. that was cool.
We later went to the mall and looked in the baby shop for things, then we shopped at Pac n Save for dinner food.
Sabine contacted a lady who takes on cats for adoption. This evening we visited her and explained our situation. Her house is full of cats, and Sabine thinks she's good enough for our kitties. We have arranged for her to help pick up our cats tomorrow.

Continuing Our Stay in Quarantine

Tuesday 15th-

Jet lag. We were awake at 3am. I went down to get us coffees at the 6am cafe opening time. An hour later, instead of waiting for todays breakfast, I ate the two prawn & mussel cocktails from the fridge that we didn't get round to eating from a few days ago. Delicious!
Todays breakfast which I chose was the French Toast, which was naff. There wasnt much else to say regarding today. It rained a bit, but we still got outside 3 times, and I have blisters from my new shoes.
We got over our daytime jet lag by staying awake the whole day, at least until 8pm.

Wednesday 16th-

We slept throughout the night with no issues other than Mioni needing sorting out, which is normal anyway.
Sabine went to get her morning coffee at 6am, and saw kingfishers outside on the fence. Naturally we went outside at the 8am opening time to try and see if they were still on the fence, but they weren't. The sun is shining outside again today, much like day 1.

The internet is down today. Has been since 2am.
There was a bus load of new people today, meaning we weren't allowed out of our rooms until they were processed and in their rooms. I still managed to get out though for a bit. We got a negative Covid result from the other day.

Thursday 17th-

Not much to say. We had a pizza for lunch, and lamb in the evening. There are new people here and some are from the NZ Black Caps. One of which isn't wearing his face mask properly, and everyone is telling him to put it on, but he only swears as a reply. One old guy looks like Grant Nesbit, the television commentator. Might actually be him, But he wears sun glasses as well as his mask, so its really hard to tell. He doesn't have anyone else in his bubble which makes me think its him. Its probably not him, but simply by having semi famous people around, It makes me question who is who.

Friday 18th-

I took part in Tims Listening Party on Twitter, listening to Bis' New Transistor Heroes album at 7am / 8pm UK time. I was listening and discussing about this album at great length at the same time as all 3 band members, and fans alike. The internet can be a wonderful thing.
It was raining off and on all day today.

Saturday 19th-

Our Countdown shopping arrived and was in the lobby for pickup. We bought some things online yesterday such as baby milk powder and a few other things such my favourite smoothy drink. We also bought 2 Vodaphone Sim cards, so at least we can have telephone numbers again.
Outside this afternoon I had a chat with a guy who recognised me from the plane last week.

We had the burger again tonight so I can show what I mean about it keeping its shape

 

Monday 21st-

The weather was nice. There was a guy throwing a hissy fit in the lobby. Probably a guy not used to the idea of being in quarantine. Quite a few staff members were buzzing around the area making sure things didn't escalate.

Monday 14/09/20

Monday 14th-

Mioni woke up in the middle of the night. I only got 3 hours sleep at that point. I still managed to get 5 hours sleep in the end.

We speak with a few families around the complex when we are walking around outside. There is a family in the room next door to us who have a 6 month old baby who we're on good terms with. They were also on our 2 flights from London. They are staying here from the UK for roughly 4 months. It's great getting to know them. Everyone in the hotel just has to wear face masks when outside our rooms, and keep 2 meters away from each others 'bubble' on a compulsory level. the word 'compulsory' being used here, unlike in the UK where during lockdown such terminology was never used.

We are also friendly with the police and army staff that patrol the perimeter. Everyone is up for a chat, including the nurses when we get our daily temperature checks. We didn't know until today that this hotel is chosen for families with babies and those who suffer from mental health issues. At the airport we were specially directed to a bus that would take us here. That's why we were bumped up the queue like we were. Others are taken to less impressive places with no real outdoor space.

We have to choose our food the day before from an order form which we place outside our room for collection. Yesterday I ordered a burger for lunch for today, and I had no idea it was going to be so good. Im sure it was 'medium steak' with pink in the middle, with a very slight layer of cheese and relish and nothing much else to be honest, but boy was it good. The whole burger kept its shape right up until the very last bite, with the top and bottom of the bun easily meeting in the middle somehow. It's a shame I didn't take a photo of it. We were told by staff earlier that some adults are apparently ordering the kids food cause of the portion sizes. lol

At around midday we were called down for Covid-19 testing. We had to go into a room where a team of people in full PPE had to administer a swab right up our nose and twist it around for a full 4 seconds. 6 month olds and over have to get it done too, but luckily for Mioni it's only an in and out job. Its a weird sensation. The scratchy effect is one thing, but it takes about 15 minutes to get over it. My nose felt like it was suffering from a cold afterwards.

I tried to go for a brisk walk around the outside this afternoon, but after 15mins the rubbing in my new shoes caused blisters on my heals. Ow.

Tonight's dinner was a lamb roast. It was tasty, but full of inedible fat.

Lamb dinner

 

Sunday 13/09/20

Sunday 13th-

Mioni woke up at 1.45am. after that we got little sleep. We had fun eating the dinner at 5am. Though we skipped the chicken and went straight for the pasta and chocolate cake. Each meal comes with something cold and hot, with a bit on the side. It's actually too much food, but better too much than too little as we heard from how other isolation facilities are operating.

I didn't keep tabs on today. Too tired for the most part. I slept a bit here and there. We managed to walk around outside in the morning and afternoon. We saw our first Fantail and Welcome Swallow this morning, and Rosella's this afternoon. The food is too much, though the carrot cake was something special.

I took photos of the outside space. It isn't much area to walk around, but better than nothing.

Heading Back to New Zealand!

September 2020.

Thursday 10th-

Sabine set the alarm for 1.30am, after a second rough night sleeping on the floor in an empty house In Swansea, Wales, UK. Finishing off things until our taxi at 4am was a mad rush. I took a whole heap of black bags to the refurbished church near the house as they have a great big black bag bin for their residents.

The local taxi we booked (Phoenix Cabs) was on time and had a car seat for Mioni, our daughter, as promised. I should rate them really well as they were a great service. He dropped us off at Davis Homes, the estate agents so we could drop off the keys for the house through the letter box. Approaching the local supermarket, Lidl, Sabine realised we forgot to get the final meter readings of the gas, electricity and water. The water we could still get as it's outside the property, so the guy drove us back and I got a photo. Along the M4 he wanted to make light conversation but being a typical welsh guy, we hardly understood what he was saying. I just agreed and picked out a few key words from what he was saying to piece together what he was talking about.

We stopped off at Readings service station quickly and got to Heathrow at a reasonable time. In fact the drive there flue by. I've never traveled that distance before where it felt so short. Mind you I did get some sleep along the way. The airport was slightly more sparse than usual, but to be honest it de-stressed me. I used this time to phone Colin, the landlord, and the estate agents regarding the recycling pickup for tomorrow and next week. Someone needs to put the green waste bags back into the greenhouse tomorrow, and deal with the pink bag for next week, as well as take photos of the 2 indoor meter readings we forgot. It wasn't long before our flight. We took off just before 12pm, and this flight accepted smartphone use for take off and landing, So I videoed Mionis reaction at take off (currently viewable in the google share folder as of this posts publication date). 

I watched the new Sonic movie. Unbelievably it's a hell of a lot better than I thought it would be. My god it was actually awesome!
A little later I watched Batman 1989. Again, pretty good to be honest. Iconic, and Noir. Very similar to the animated series in its style. I guess that's the point. I started watching Birds of Prey towards the final leg of the flight.
The plane took 12 hours 30 minutes to Singapore, and Mioni was a good girl, though took to me better than Sabine for comfort.

Friday 11th-

At Singapore, we were directed to the gate next door, along with every other New Zealander. Because we have a baby, we were taken directly there and jumped the queue. Because I'm an idiot and was doolally, I forgot to pick up my bag after security. Our personal assistant noticed I didn't have my bag and escorted me back. What a star she was. We ended up in the same 3 seats in this new plane, but it was at the gate next door to our old one. Everyone from the previous flight pretty much came aboard and the whole procedure took an hour and a half before takeoff again. 

Mioni was very distressed at the beginning of this flight. She looked confused and borderline scared. I'm so pleased I previously downloaded some nursery rhyme videos from YouTube onto my phone. It was the only method to calm her down which resulted in her going into a deep sleep.

I watched the rest of the Birds of Prey movie. It's a pretty solid film, but at times feels like it's trying too hard to be Kill Bill.

After that nearly everyone got sleep for the next 5 or so hours, including us.

For both airplanes they served food at the beginning and end of the flights. I believe we were in Singapore in their Friday morning.

I think the plane landed in Auckland at 10.30pm local time, but as I'm typing this on the bus to our quarantine hotel, its midnight. The second plane was a 9 hour flight in the end.

Saturday 12th-

We arrived at the quarantine hotel just after midnight. Its called Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre, in Mount Wellington, Auckland. It's a 4 star hotel!

A quarantine guy told us what to expect before we left the bus. He said that he manages 8 different quarantine sites and said that this is his favourite one for sure. In the hotel we had to queue three times. First for a few minutes telling a guy who we are and why we're here, the second was with a nurse which was a more in depth paperwork procedure, and finally at check in to collect our room key.

We were finally alone in our room at 1.25am.

It was nice to finally be able to take our surgical masks off that we had to wear since entering the building at Heathrow. And the room had a welcome package with some food. We were showered and in bed by 2.45am.

I woke up at 5.45am after hearing a song thrush which would ordinarily sound weird to me in Swansea. Actually this isn't so bad as if you add this 3 hours sleep to my recent 5 hours in the second plane, that's a full night's sleep right there. I'll probably get sleepy this afternoon though.

It's a glorious sunny day in Auckland this early morning. We had a knock on the door at exactly 7.30am with breakfast outside. What a meal! It was 3x warm porridge, with warm flaky pastries, fresh fruits and yogurt. We had a sheet to fill in to choose our lunch and evening meals for tomorrow. We have so far experienced nothing but kindness the whole journey. Im so grateful. To the staff at Singapore airlines to everyone in NZ so far.

Sabine did some washing in the morning, whilst I had an MTV type channel on the telly, quite a good one too. Mixing good tunes of the past with the present.

We explored the outside area with grass which overlooks an estuary near Mount Wellington. It's amazing to think we are allowed to do this, instead of being stuck in a room for 14 days.

 

Lunch was at the door at 12 noon. A huge Curry! I'm so stuffed!

 

 

We got 3 hours sleep after that and went out to the cafe balcony and bought a hot chocolate each. Overlooking the estuary we saw a flock of kingfishers just at the shore. The tide was in so they were very close by considering. This isolation facility has a public walkway just up from the estuary and after that there is a double fence line. Unlike a lot of other isolation facilities which cater for family viewing times under time slot bookings only, this hotel doesn't need one due to the double fence line being next to a public footpath. There were a few families chatting through the fence too. Very well thought of. The space between the double fence line is about 5 meters. They closed the outside section at 4.30pm, and we got some more sleep. At some point dinner was at our door but we both couldn't eat whatever it was. To full. I woke up around 8.30pm and tiptoed around the room trying not to wake up the girls, and started on creating this blog post on the computer.

I forgot to say that today we did also see a Tui and a Myna bird, which was a nice welcome back.

The girls woke up around 11pm. We are all jet lagged. After a bit I got tired and fell asleep.

August 2019 - September 2020