The Corona kitten, now travel cat
Some of you might already know Avenger. Especially if you’ve read our post In the middle of the Corona virus. For those of you who don’t, this is the story about our beloved and beautiful travel companion Avenger.
During lockdown in the spring of 2020, we were totally isolated from the outside world at a closed-up campsite in Spain. One day a very pregnant stray cat decided that she liked us and before we knew how, she’d moved in between the front seats. Here she gave birth to six adorable kittens. We didn’t plan on becoming “parents” but honestly, it was great to have something to keep us busy. And they sure did!
It didn’t take many weeks before the stray cat got tired of her kittens and all she did was to come and feed them and clean them a few times a day. The rest was up to us. So we taught them how to use the litterbox, eat solid food and how to play and behave. Soon she’d left for good.
I don’t know if you can imagine how much trouble 6 kittens can make in the limited space a motorhome provides? We had homemade toys all over and every time we took a step or sat down, we had to look out for the furballs.
Who’s Avenger?
Especially one kitten stole our hearts. The little red one with the A on top of his head. Malthe quickly named him Avenger because of that A. He was always playful and he often teased his siblings when they were sleeping, but he also loved to cuddle. A lot! From the beginning, we’d told each other, that we weren’t going to keep any of them because it would limit us in so many ways. After all, we didn’t really ask for those kittens, so we had to find homes for them. That was easier said than done.
We tried to talk to the Spaniards that we knew and we tried to put them up for adoption in Spanish Facebook groups, but no one wanted them. We were getting a bit stressed, because we had to drive to Denmark and without passports, the kittens couldn’t cross any borders. And to get passports we had to go to the vet to get them vaccinated against rabies. Remember, we were in the middle of a massive lockdown, so the vets weren’t open.
We didn’t have the heart to just leave the six kittens at the campsite so we decided to break the law. After all, the kittens had never been outside, so for them to have rabies was impossible. That’s why we decided to take them to Denmark. Hiding them whenever we crossed a border and hoping they wouldn’t get caught.
They were so well behaved all the way through Europe. When we started the engine they went to sleep in the cage we’d made them and when we stopped they came out to eat and play. At night they slept with each other all cuddled up in the cage. All but one. Avenger’s favorite spot was with us. He simply stole our hearts and after reading about other people who had a travel cat, we decided that we couldn’t give him away. He was going to be our very own camper-cat.
Finding forever homes
On the way to Denmark, we posted pictures of the kittens and wrote that they were looking for forever homes. Before we reached the danish border, they were actually all spoken for. The story about them being Corona kittens born by a stray cat went straight to the heart of the animal-loving Danes.
5 days after our arrival in the driveway of Malthe’s parents all the kittens were picked up. Or almost all of them. Of course not Avenger. It was time for him to begin to explore the big world outside the motorhome, so we bought him a harness and a leash. He was so tiny though, so I had to crochet him a harness. The size small one we’d bought was way too big.
He loved the outside and had no problem with being on a leash. After all, he’d never tried to be outside without one. Quickly he sat by the door in the morning when he woke up. Just waiting to get his harness on and go outside. When we took him for walks, people often mistook him for a squirrel because of his size and color, and he got lots of love when they found out that he was a cute kitten.
Now he’s 1½ years old and he loves to be a camper-cat. He loves watching people passing by, saying hello to them, and exploring the area when we stop for the night. Still on a leash and still happy about it. Even though he’s grown up now, he sits by the door in the morning, waiting to get his collar on.
Running free
When we’re at our home base he runs free. He plays outside, finds friends, chills in the shade, and brings us all sorts of animals that he’s caught. A sure sign of love. In the evening he comes home around 11 pm and goes to bed inside. Obviously, he finds that it’s too dangerous outside at night or maybe he’s just used to sleeping with us. No matter what, we enjoy every second of his company.
So, now you know Avenger the travel-cat and where he came from. If you want to see more of him, head on over to our Instagram profile. His followers expect to see him there on regular basis. And we can’t help posting pictures of him either.
E&M
– Text, video, and photos: Eva // Video photos, adding, and editing: Malthe
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