about CATs & CODDIWOMPLE:
Ciao!
Welcome to Cats & Coddiwomple!
My name is Amber, and you have stumbled upon my website dedicated to 2 of my loves: traveling and cats! While I was reluctant to start this venture at first – I mean, aren’t there a million travel blogs out there by this point, and who would care to read mine? – a little encouragement from friends made me finally decide to give it a go.
Cats & Coddiwomple is my attempt to inspire you, my fellow travelers, to expand your world through travel, whether that means heading to another country or exploring uncharted territory in your own backyard.
Started in 2019, this website is still a work in progress. While you may come across some sites ran by full time digital nomads or travel companies with a full staff, this is not one of those sites. I work full time, take care of my cats, indulge in my favorite hobbies, & spend time with friends. In other words, I travel and work on this site in my spare time. Not that I am complaining! While I absolutely love traveling, I am also not ready to give up my steady paycheck and coming home to my cats. Not just yet, anyway!
Although this site may be slower growing than some others, I hope you find the content that is provided to be super helpful and inspiring when planning your own epic adventures. Since I write from the perspective of someone who travels mostly over long weekends, with the occasional splurge on a 1 – 2 week vacation, that is what you can expect to find here! But you can also expect that each of the trips, regardless of length, will be full of exciting and unique experiences!
And since I always look for cats during my travels, you will find a sprinkling of cats and cat related businesses throughout most of the travel posts as well!
What You Can Explore on Cats & Coddiwomple:
Travel!
- Travel Stories
- Sample Itineraries
- Recommended Travel Gear
- Camping & Other Activities
- Cats I Meet During my Travels
Cats!
- Cat Care Tips
- Recommended Products for Cats
- Cat Related Businesses
- Cats I Meet During my Travels
- RVing with Cats
My Mission:
To inspire and provide tools for fellow travelers to make every trip an epic adventure
I hope this website is entertaining and helps you when planning your own epic adventures.
If nothing else, I hope you enjoy all the cat pics!
Thank you for visiting!
Please let me know if you have any questions or have suggestions for new posts!
Also, feel free to request recommendations for your next trip!
Email Amber: catsandcoddiwomple@gmail.com
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States Visited
Countries Visited
Continents Visited
About Me:
My name is Amber, and I am the writer, designer, and photographer for Cats & Coddiwomple. I also do most of the trip planning for all of our adventures.
I have been traveling within the USA for most of my life, but my first international trip did not happen until 2007. I am currently working my way around the world with goals to visit all 50 US States & every continent on the globe. My ultimate goal is to travel to every country/territory in the world (between 196 – 251 depending on who is counting). But if I am being realistic, I know I may fall short of that one since I do not plan on giving up my day job to travel full time. I do, however, plan to travel as much as possible in the meantime. And it is absolutely ON when I retire in 2031!
Meet the CATS of Cats & Coddiwomple!
Last, but certainly not least, I would like to introduce my feline companions that help put the CATS in Cats & Coddiwomple! Some currently living with us, others living in our hearts, our cats are a never ending source of love, laughs, and lets be honest… frustration at times! And they are the willing (and sometimes not so willing) models and product testers for this site!
Andi came to live with me, my roommates, and their cats when I was only 19 years old. I had gone to the Humane Society of Athens to meet the cats, and had actually decided on a different cat when Andi stuck her speckled grey leg out of her cage and grabbed at me. I still can’t explain the connection, but she chose me and I brought her home.
Her first act was to knock over a picture frame containing a picture of the cat I had lost the previous year. That tortie-tude is still fully in tact 20 years later.
No matter which cats come and go in our lives, Andi is the queen of the family. She likes things her way and doesn’t accept anything less. You can’t help but love her though, as she gives purrs and snuggles to her humans and even washes the heads of the other cats. She loves playing with her stuffed rats from Ikea, sleeping in heated cat beds, and keeping the rest of us in check.
I met Cassi while taking Andi to the vet soon after I had moved into my own apartment – our first time without other roommates & other cats.
Someone had found a litter of kittens outside and brought them to the vet for care & adoption. Since Andi didn’t seem to enjoy being completely alone, and I’m a sucker for cats, I went in the room to meet the kittens. Cassi showered me with relentless snuggles & head butts, how could I say no that?
Cassi is my snuggle bug. She can’t get enough cuddles and attention, and can be very demanding with her intense head butts. She also has quite the voice when she wants attention. Cassi loves the yellow boomerang toy, blankets, and being brushed – but mostly snuggles.
Andromeda & Cassiopeia are named after constellations found next to each other in the sky. Those constellations get their names from Greek Mythology.
Chris got Willy from Paws Rescue Inc. after purchasing his home in Fayetteville and wanting a companion.
Chris and I were co-workers at that time, and soon became friends outside of work as well (the dating would come later) so I got to meet Willy when he was still a rowdy youngster. Being a cat lover, I often cat-sit Willy when Chris was out of town!
Chris often joked that Willy was going to be a fat Garfield cat, although at the time, he was quite small and active. But he did grow into quite the chonk despite our best efforts to slim him down!
Willy’s two favorite activities are eating and sleeping. He likes cat shelves & perches, and laying on my feet on the couch. But we can still get him running around with a good wand toy or by making him chase dry food for a treat.
After Chris and I moved in to our 2nd home together, we made the decision to get another cat in the hopes that a playmate would help our youngest cat leave the two old ladies alone. That is how Chip came to join the family.
We saw a photo of a lanky kitten from Louisiana on the Humane Society of Atlanta webpage (his name at that time was Spaz) & went to the city to meet him.
After some playtime in the cat room (and me trying to adopt every cat there), we knew Chip was the right one after all. He came home with us and immediately took to the other cats.
Chip is a super outgoing cat who loves to hug people and play with other cats. He is almost always running and playing, but in his down time he loves sleeping on the heated mat or in our bed. We are teaching him to walk on a leash because he loves to be outside. Although we changed his name to honor his Louisiana roots, he definitely still lives up to his original name: Spaz.
Max chose to come live with us by showing up at our workplace early one Sunday morning. He was at risk of getting hit by cars, his face was scratched and bloody, and his lip was torn down from who knows what. Chris scooped him up and got him setup in a spare bathroom until I could get him to the vet first thing the next morning.
I said… we already have 4 cats, we can’t keep him! We will make sure he is okay, get him fixed up, and find him a good home. Yeah… that was years ago. After spending the day with him at the vet, I gave up and knew Max wasn’t going anywhere.
Max is our only fluffy cat, which comes with its own challenges. Anyone with a fluffy pet knows the joys of attempting to trim/shave a booty. But he is so soft and loves the belly scratches! He loves boxes, basket shaped beds, kicker toys, and snuggles. But whatever you do… never touch his feet!
Thanks & Acknowledgments:
Cats & Coddiwomple Logo created using free tool at logomakr.com
Thank you to Ashley from My Wanderlusty Life for encouragement and tips on starting this blog. Check out her blog – it’s as funny as it is informative. One of my favs!
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!!