Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Getting an international cat passport in Ukraine

It's happened.


A certain furry someone has his own international "passport" now.

He says he's ready for a high-flying, jet-setting lifestyle, expecting to be served only the finest caviar and freshest cream. (I said he should look for an oligarch to adopt him in that case :P)


This morning we took Kit to the vet.

He traveled as usual and did really well, sticking his head up when outside and hiding himself away on the metro.

He's happier than he looks, I promise!

It was an absolutely beautiful day (63F / 17C currently). I can hardly believe that when we were here a week ago, the ground was covered in snow and both of us were coughing and sneezing in the throes of serious colds. What a difference a week makes!

Oleksiivska metro
Green leaves soon, maybe?
I noticed lots of recent planting... perhaps there will be flowers soon too?
Kit looking awkward but determined to get a good look at what's going on.

The vet clinic is great!! The vet, Nikolai Ivanovich, is really friendly. He's actually friendlier than any human doctor I've ever seen in Ukraine :p The clinic was recommended to us by another expat and is at 21 Akhsarova street, behind the Troika supermarket and about 10 minutes from the Oleksiivska metro.

phone: 050-708-4633

Kit did pretty well, getting through the indignity of having his temp taken and then receiving both a vaccine and a microchip (ow!). The vet laughed when he heard the name Kit, but I think it's perfect. It pays homage to the bilingualism of the city- it's Ukrainian for cat (кіт), Russian for whale (кит) (and he's grey like a whale and I want him to grow as big as a whale)- and since it rhymes with "sweet", his nickname is Kit heart, sweetheart.

I got a copy of the local news, by the way, and flipped through it on the way home. Whereas the newspaper used to be 100% about Euromaidan, now it's down to 50%. The first half showcased articles about the killing of a Praviy Sektor leader, Crimea, Dobkin, and authorities in Kiev banning Russian TV channels and accusing said channels of disseminating propaganda. The other half was filled with sports updates, entertainment news, and health advice.* It's been a long time since I've seen those kinds of generic topics in the papers here.

*And, of course, a special article dedicated to that give-Alaska-back-to-the-Russians petition.

As for Kit, it's not all over- going back in 3 weeks to receive another shot and then I think it's another month of waiting before he'll be ready to travel. At this point we don't have any solid travel plans but I'm seriously inspired by Moscow Polly's travel plans. Anyway, we should have jumped through all these hoops with Kit a long time ago so this is just us catching up and getting ready for whatever the future might bring.

Now the little guy is back home, resting comfortably.
Napping in his domik (little house)
Helping out in the kitchen. He loves to watch the table get wiped off (either that or he's merely amused by human labor!)

10 comments:

  1. Re-posted here: https://plus.google.com/100146646232137568790/posts/QRWyfCU5S7Q

    Excuse my use of "Yank", but fewer characters than "American", and as some of my best chums are Yanks, always used in an affectionate guise :-)

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  2. My cat's name is "KitKat" - like the chocolate bar....we have cousin kitties!!

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    1. Aw, so sweet, Joyce, and who knows... maybe they'll get to meet in person someday!

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  3. Haha my first thought was whale! But, the cat passport doesn't have a picture???

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    1. It will have a picture, yes. The vet told us to glue one in ourselves... I guess the standards of authenticity are a little different than those for human passports :p

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  4. how adorable!! I didn't even know cats got passports! Love that last shot..

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  5. OMG I went through hell getting my cat home to the US...documents and vets and regional vets...a nightmare! Good luck in your travels!

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    1. Joanne, I remember you mentioned that on your blog. Your cat's name is Miss Mouse, right? Will she come to Indonesia with you or stay in the US? I think Kit is good to go, got his rabies vaccination recently. According to the US Embassy website, he needs a final check-up in Kyiv within 10 days of departure. Is that the procedure you followed for your cat too?

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