My Rizza.

This cat.

At the vet. Terror face.

Every time I move, this cat always costs me a ton of money.  It is lucky that I love this little kitten, because it has become quite a hassle to get her from place to place.

I'd like to give you a taste of the types of things that she requires as she moves about.

To leave Cambodia:
She got spayed in Phnom Penh on a special weekend down in the city.
She got one set of her shots in Siem Reap with a local expat vet, then had to get a second round of shots in Phnom Penh with the French doctor.
She had to have a shot booster before we left, which led to me sending her down by herself in a taxi.  It was lucky I understood the taxi systems.
She had to get an export certificate from Cambodia, which barely got me through the airport in Siem Reap, with her new case, which came from PP.
Call the air company, pay the moneys, book in advance.
On the flight back home, her hard case was right at my feet, and my feet sat atop it most of the flight.
When we made it to Chicago, I had to take her to the bowel of the airport in international customs, press a strange button by a door, and wait for a human to come out and sign a paper.
Then, her case wouldn't fit on the flight home, so we got kicked off the airplane until I found a case to purchase down at the check in counter and got rebooked.

To leave America (for Thailand):
Microchip.
Another round of shots (maybe 2?).
Call the air company, pay the moneys, book in advance.
International Health 10 days before flight, which consists of a doctor visit, any bonus shots she needs, fees at doctor and for the paper, then a visit to the Des Moines office to certify/notarize the document.
Get a Thai Import License at the airport, with another fee and another mess of paperwork.

To leave Thailand (for America):
Another round of shots (for current Rabies vaccine, which was close to the flight but not too close).
Call the air company, pay the moneys, book in advance.
Thai Export License: This consists of visiting a strange office near the airport, in a place that even my taxi driver got lost in, seeing a vet and presenting paperwork and money, then waiting a couple of hours for the papers to be completed.  Also, it could only be done on a business day 3 days before flight.  All in all, a fairly simple process, but also long.  With lots of times where you wonder just what is happening.
She was in a soft case in this one, because I learned my lesson, and stayed under the seat the whole time.
I for some reason didn't need to visit the dark room in Detroit when I arrived... but ended up missing the flight home because of the customs line.  Not pleasant, the customs line and the second security check for no reason, but that's a different post.

And now to leave America (for Russia):
She had her rabies shot in Thailand, which turned out to be fine.  Otherwise, a rabies shot no earlier than a month before we leave, and no later than 10 months.
A call to the airline, and this one required me upgrading to switch seats for ample space beneath the seat in front of me.
Another International Health Certificate, which we went for yesterday.  So, a visit to the vet (Rizza was shaking and terrified), for a check up, some paperwork that she did, lots of cash money.
Then, since the Des Moines office that I visited before had since stopped accepting the paperwork, I have sent this paperwork into a Madison, WI, office by FedEx (because it is time sensitive), with a SASE (which is surprisingly difficult with FedEx).  Of course, this involves more money.

She's worth it, though, a constant part of my inconsistent life.  A totem that keeps me sane while I am traveling the world.  Plus, the vet said it was nice to see how much she trusted me. That was so good.