Zero The Cat

Zero’s First Ferry Ride

Way back in January, we set off to the Duke Point Ferry Terminal to hit our reservation bright and early. I’ve never brought a cat on the ferry before..

As I drove, I looked in the rear-view mirror. Random Guy held Zero in his arms in the back seat. We found this seems to be a little nicer for Zero. Glancing back, I asked “Did we bring this?” and “Did we bring that?”, I allowed my anxiousness to bubble out verbally.

Random Guy answered calmly yes to every question. We have everything.

“Did you grab the litter box?”

Silence.

“Oh.”

Hmm. I look at him through the mirror, the break pedal feeling awkward under the shadow of my undecided foot.

“That’s okay we should buy a travel litter box anyway.”

“Yeah, that’s okay.”

Cat on the Ferry

We continued and made our reservation. Loading the boat began minutes later.

Zero calmed down as soon as we stopped. His meows objecting to the movement of the car are usually consistent. We loaded the boat and he was confused but quiet.

We stayed in the car on the deck of the boat as we made our way to Tsawwassen. Zero paced around the car and eventually settled down in the front passenger seat. We brought the backpack and scarf he always sleeps on so he was able to get cozy. Random Guy and I curled up in the back seats and fell asleep. When we woke up, I pulled Zero onto my stomach and he slept for a while longer.

Unloading

Getting off the ferry was a stressful event. Random Guy drove and I sat in the back seat holding Zero. The ferry and all the equipment was creepy. Zero ducked as if the large metal structures were falling on him as the vehicle clunked loudly over ramps and grates. He sat on my lap, wrapped in a blanket with wide eyes.

We made it onto land again, a real stretch of road which seemed much nicer than the clunky metal we were traversing. Zero meowed again as we looked for a spot to let him out for a walk and a stretch. Everything was frozen in the shade, so it was harder than it sounds. We went to Tsawwassen Mills mall and found a patch of grass in the parking lot. As I searched for his harness with Zero in my lap, I realized something smelled off. I checked around his bum and found that he had peed in all the stress of the journey. I felt thankful for the blanket and I tossed in out into the nearly empty patch of parking lot we parked in.

Regrouping at the Mall

We discussed the blanket briefly and decided to throw it away in a nearby trash can. Zero sniffed around a little but was distracted by all the cars and for once wanted to go back in the car. We put him in and set off for PetSmart so we could get a litter box.

I was in and out quickly, underwhelmed by the selection and stifled creatively by the need for something compact and functional. A regular rectangle and a bag of litter was what I ended up with. And a scoop.

We parked at the mall and decided to leave Stinky in the car while we quickly ran in to use the bathroom. We ended up grabbing some fries to go with our pasta salad we brought, and a treat from Purdy’s. Zero was waiting for us when we returned, peeking out the window.

Lunch time at the Park (Ladner)

We made our way to a park. I was told we were in Ladner! Zero and I got out and walked around as Random Guy set us up for lunch on a bench nearby. He brought out the litter box as a nice gesture. Zero and I walked a bit. He was scratching at the grass which seemed odd. I realized pretty quickly that he had to poop. And just like magic, he pooped in the grass like a dog. It was awesome. I loved it so much. Thinking about it brings me joy. Our little cat-dog.

After some wandering, we put him in the car so we could eat and had a nice little picnic.

Then we packed everything up and set off for a coffee shop with Zero on foot. He sniffed around some yards, was oblivious to a big lovely white cat, and we slowly made our way down the road. We turned up toward the towny area and only started to carry him where it got a little busier. Many dogs passed by. This one dog was so baffled by Zero. It was a scruffy dog with bangs and it was literally taken aback and then got so excited. It was so funny to see that reaction. Dogs and people are always so delighted when they notice he’s a cat.

Caffeine Hunt

We got to a coffee shop and Zero and Random Guy waited outside while I went to order a coffee for us to share. As I waited, I looked out the window and saw Random Guy and Zero surrounded by fans.

Zero is a celebrity. We sat outside and people came up to us throughout our visit, sharing stories about cats they’ve had or just commenting on how cool Zero was. It was nice to talk to strangers about a common interest without any hesitations.

We headed back to the car. It was time to go to Random Guy’s family friend’s house and prepare for a pair of 1 year old’s birthday party!

Meeting Wonderful People

We got to the house and Zero made himself at home right away. Random Guy’s family friends were so welcoming and kind. They welcomed us all so warmly and treated Zero so nicely. It was not lost on me how odd bringing a cat with us was and how incredibly accommodating they were to us.

We stayed on the top floor of their lovely duplex home. Zero slept on the bed. He popped downstairs each time we ducked out of the party (held in a shared area at the strata) and into the house. Zero mostly stayed in the room we were assigned to. He was so nice to be patient all night as we shut him in the room with us while we slept.

The next morning, we went to another friend’s home to have breakfast (without Zero because of Homer, the dog). We had a nice visit, and a tasty breakfast then headed back to the duplex. After chatting for a while, I began cleaning up the litter box and Zero’s toys. Random Guy chatted more with his friends, and we eventually hit the road again.

Back to the Boat

We got to the ferry terminal with about 20 minutes to spare. I took Zero out for a walk while Random Guy sought out a water refill. I held Zero in my arms, walking toward a building with some grass nearby. I set him down in the grass in the shade of a small but established tree, when suddenly this became the loudest place on earth.

Back to the Island, Please

From branches above, birds began shrieking, startling this sweet tabby prince and poofing his tail up. He would remain poofed for the next several minutes. The crows in the tree were battling with the seagulls, they circled and dove in and out of the leaves above. Zero turned to go inside the building, where a humorless man was coming out. The door shut in his face, and he detoured to squeeze in beside the vending machines nearby. I coaxed him out, and he slunk around the perimeter of the building, the sounds of engines running and a dog barking in the near distance.

We neared a peaceful looking spot, but it wasn’t so. A man loudly smashed around within a semi-truck, unloading supplies with the stealth of a blind elephant ninja. As Zero re-poofed, we turned to continue back around the other side of the building. He had either decided he preferred the birds or had forgotten about them. When we neared the place we had just come from, I was impressed to hear the birds had moved along. This time instead, a dog stared at Zero, barking and just being kind of unchill. Finally, I picked Zero up. He grunted and struggled to escape my grasp. I looked around for Random Guy, without success.

Zero insisted to be put down and hurried toward the other building in the line which felt backward to me, but I just let him follow his heart at this point. He was upset and there was really no way to console him currently. Random Guy appeared in the distance and walked over, with water and a small cup of ice cream.

We took Zero across the car line ups to the other chunk of grass and wandered around as we took bites of ice cream shivering in the crisp January wind, fresh from the ocean. I would guess it was colder on this day than later on, in February, when Zero had his snow day. A lady who mentioned she had just picked up her new dog let us know how cute Zero was. Her dog stared at Zero, confused. Then we went back to the car. We boarded and made it home without any trouble. Another trip in the books!

Final Thoughts

I’ll never cease to be surprised by Zero and how calm he is under pressure. He really is such a good boy. When he has hard times, I remind myself that he’s a cat and he’s always doing all he can.

Although this trip happened in January, and it is now March, I can’t stop thinking about how brave Zero was. I really thought not documenting this would be a shame. It was his longest trip to date and I felt everyone should know how big of a trooper he truly is! #ZeroForPresident