Car sickness is a common cause of marital strain, it’s true. I counsel many animals of all different varieties, and I’m starting to feel like animals were simply not meant to be in cars, along with some humans. I just finished a counselling session with Vern and Romulus, two cats who had a lovely marriage when the late spring warmth was still upon us, but have now fallen upon hard times and fight constantly when they have to go in the car. Then they get sick, things get messy, and…

Well, there was apparently an incident when the owner went to see a mechanic close to Preston. Some of it wasn’t cleaned up correctly, and the whole car was just covered in scratches and signs of struggles, and questions were raised. I understand from both sides, because if I was working as a mechanic, I’d probably find all that a little bit suspicious. These people have to look at the interiors of cars all day, and one in such a state is going to raise a few eyebrows.

What I think lies at the heart of this problem is not that Vern and Romulus are having marital issues, but that car rides are bringing out hidden frustrations, to the point where they now see the car as a place to vent them, and it’s unhealthy. These little niggles and irritations have to be worked out in an organic environment; they can’t all be ‘stored’ until they’re in a stressful situation! That just makes the whole thing so much worse. 

I’m also going to make a recommendation that if the owner wants to take the car in for a service or tyre repair or some such…at least clean it up a little bit first. I don’t want to get too personal, but I, as a mechanic, would like all cat sick removed before I do any work. Perhaps the scent- to which cats are very attuned- is exacerbating the issue.

So…action points! Clean up the car. Encourage the married couple to air their grievances in a healthier, more comfortable environment. Send a gift basket to the car service garage near Coburg who had to deal with this.

And maybe…don’t take your cats on so many car trips?

-Ashleigh