Dear Edgycat fans, In February of last year I ran away from Chicago. It was just too cold. I felt trapped in the house. My cat, Sally Cookie, felt that way too. Sally could not be left behind. She was ill, an illness with unpleasant symptoms. I couldn't ask anyone else to take care of her so I decided to take her with me to Berkeley, California. Here is our story...

1) Sally Cookie's Journey Begins

Sally Cookie and I are at O'Hare waiting for the plane to California to board. We're both in first class. She's in her carrier; it's soft and caramel colored and sitting in a spot of sun. I’m carrying a backpack with a mystery, a pair of socks and some handy-wipes.

While we were in the security line, the young woman in front of us asked me: "How much to take a cat on the plane?” "$100 bucks each way," I say. Then she's in front of the security guard and he says to her: "Are you still modeling?" I whisper to Sally, "He's flirting." Sally says: "Pretty lame." Actually she didn't say a thing, but only because Sally knows that she is somewhere unsafe, full of people who are exuding a strange nervous energy, and she wants to get through the experience in a state verging on the unconscious.

I want the girl to respond to "Still modeling?" With "Still got that funny rash?" but she says something self deprecating about her age which gives him a chance to say she doesn't look a day over 20 and then I'm in line and taking Sally out of her carrier so it can be inspected for explosives... as if! And then we're released and looking for our gate.

Once on the plane I am touched by the fact that a couple my age, one of whom is sitting in my seat are flying separately because they couldn't get seats together. I offer to change seats and I sit down in a seat in the bulkhead — "No," says the flight attendant you can't sit there with your baby, you have to put her under the seat. "My baby?" So I scurry around to get my seat back and meanwhile the couple changes seats with another couple and both couples are sitting together, and I wonder "Do they really want to?" and "Baby" and I are sitting by ourselves. Mainly I worry that Sally will have a bout of her irritable bowel syndrome and we will cause all of first class to be repelled. But her comatose state serves her well. She refuses water, though she does take a few semi moist treats. She holds everything in until we get to a litter box. Bravo Sally!

Helpful hints: If you are taking your pet with you, she must have her own reservation. Reservations must be made in advance because only 7 cats can be on a plane at any one time. I have no idea why 7 is the magic number. You cannot print out your boarding pass if you are traveling with a pet, because you must appear with her at the reservation desk to pay for her ticket. I flew in first class on miles and made my reservation 6 months in advance. I then changed the date a week before I left and had no problem getting a seat for my cat or me. I was not aware of any other cat on the plane.

Join us for next week's entry, "Sally Kicks Over the Traces or Who Let the Dogs Out?"