This past summer I decided to move my family’s cat down to my place in San Diego, a major change for both myself and the neurotic MeowMeow. The prospect of her coming to live with me was always a discussion, but it was never a serious consideration as I lived on campus my first two years and my sister was living at home in Orange County with Meows last year. But upon my sister’s departure to law school, MeowMeow was about to be all by herself while my dad worked his 9-5 to keep a roof over all of our heads. 

But given MeowMeow’s status as queen of the castle, we were all worried about how to best accommodate her with these upcoming changes. MeowMeow is one to grow quite lonely, crying out in agony every time she thinks she’s been abandoned when we were just upstairs. Our fear of MeowMeow’s mental state was why we opted to move her down from Orange County to my townhouse near school, a scary endeavor when you consider it’s an hour-and-a-half car ride with a screaming cat.  

Let me tell you, I was worried. My girl is a strange little being, she’s a big muncher, a big sleeper, and she’s got one sassy mouth. She’s pretty easy-going if you disregard the vomiting, but the carrier and the car bring out the ugly in her. I was worried about moving her down, especially since my new roommate would also be moving in with his cat sometime after. She would have to suffer a long car ride on top of adjusting to a new place and meeting another cat? I didn’t feel confident this would go well.

But alas, I packed her fluffy gray butt up and drove her ass down, accompanied by my whining sister. Unfortunately, Meows protested the whole time and proceeded to take a royal piss in her carrier, which resulted in my sister bitching and moaning about the smell for the remainder of the drive. Yet upon our arrival, the meowing stopped and my moon-faced girl was quiet. My sister was still dry heaving and yapping but MeowMeow did not make a peep. 

When we brought her inside and she emerged from the carrier, Meows appeared to have forgotten the trauma of the car ride. She was nothing short of curious about the new place. She explored every crack, rubbed her back against every corner, ate some wet food, and used her litter box as usual. My sister departed later that day and Meow settled in fine, sleeping beside me on the bed. 

All the worry was for nothing as I had forgotten that as neurotic as MeowMeow is, she’s also dumb as a box of rocks. The poor thing is a real bimbo. When we arrived, she had already forgotten about her former home. Things seemed fine, but we would soon learn that our troubles were far from over. 

Those first couple weeks went smoothly with Meows exploring and settling in just fine, but then moved in the tiny terror dressed in a tuxedo. BMO, my roommate’s cat, is just under a year old and while he is a bundle of cuteness, he is also a master of destruction. 

We attempted to introduce them gradually, separating them and trying to build positive associations with treats and play. But upon their actual meeting, MeowMeow was nothing short of furious. He would jump attack her and stare while she hissed relentlessly. My girl has never been one to swipe or bite but around BMO, MeowMeow got nasty!

Ryan and I collectively decided to keep them apart, opting to give MeowMeow downstairs during the day and BMO at night. Given that BMO is one for midnight acrobatics on the stairs, our situation has been working pretty well. MeowMeow goes exploring in the bushes outside our complex by day and BMO hangs from the bottom of our stairs by night. 

I will admit, BMO has continued his reign of terror, waiting outside my door every morning in the hopes of getting a glimpse of or a jump at MeowMeow. Fortunately though, when BMO succeeds, MeowMeow forgets about him and all of that anxiety the moment the suited menace is out of sight. 

So while there have been times of stress in all of this, moving this little kitty down to college with me has been one of the greatest joys of my senior year. MeowMeow is growing more adventurous and I am enjoying the daily serotonin that comes with waking up next to something I love. It will continue to be an adventure as these two very different personalities cohabitate, but we are hopeful that BMO and Meows can eventually learn to live harmoniously, perhaps one day even becoming friends.