My babies are busily exploring their new home, and we are a
family again!  I moved to Arizona on October 30th, having
boarded the cats for the previous three days to spare them
the chaos of the move.  We then drove from California to
Fountain Hills, spending one night in a motel. The cats were
good as gold, scarcely a peep out of them.  (I think having
them share a carrier, since they are on good terms, was a
great idea - they comforted each other.)  As planned, I
stayed with my brother for a bit over a week, boarding the
cats at a nearby vet (He told me his complex does not allow
pets - although I suspect it was he who did not want to
share his dwelling with felines.)  I moved in here (Paradise
Lakes Apartments - the address is Phoenix, but I think the
area is Paradise Valley) on November 9th, after the movers
had to wait out a two hour delay because maintenance had to
clean the place "to remove the dead bugs".  (I assumed
because the exterminator had been, the day before - which
was true as far as it went, and they DID remove the DEAD
bugs.)  However, when I opened the dishwasher to see what
kind of appliance I'd be dealing with, it was simply
SWARMING with cockroaches, all very much alive!

When I complained to the management, they said the
exterminator would be back the following, Wednesday (the 9th
was Thursday).  Consequently I've been camping out, living
on frozen dinners because I didn't want to unpack my dishes
and cooking utensils until they'd sprayed the cupboards.  I
bought some roach spray myself, too - sprayed inside the
cupboards and have been zapping any I found crawling
anywhere (mostly in the kitchen and the bath, although none
of the walls are entirely exempt).  Considering my bitter
complaints, and a very strong letter I hand-delivered to the
management office, they got the exterminator out on Monday,
and it has had some effect (most of the bugs I see now are
either dead or dying).  However, he was supposed to come
again Wednesday and did not - that is he did the rest of the
complex but skipped me, because he'd been here Monday.  Now
I have to wait until NEXT Wednesday!  I can't really blame
the management, judging by the varying sizes (from tiny
hatchlings to inch-and-a-half-long great-grandfathers) the
problem has existed for some time, and the former tenants
apparently said nothing (just put a few roach traps in the
clothes closets).  Apparently they also ignored the fact
that the kitchen sink drainpipes were leaking like a sieve -
every time I ran water in the sink, I found water on the
floor, and you can see where there is long-term water damage
 on the bottom of the cabinet under the sink.  THAT got
fixed within two days, but the roaches are still with us.  I
was supposed to pick the cats up last Saturday, but didn't
want them around when the exterminator came, so arranged to
board them until today (at $13 per day per cat).  Today the
office suggested that, since the problem was so bad, they
should fog the place on Wednesday!  I told them that was
simply not an option, since I'd already incurred more
expense than planned in boarding the cats to allow them time
to deal with the problem this past week.

In the past, I had excellent results with ant problems when
I used a shelf-paper called "No Bugs M'lady" (which was
supposed to deal with roaches, too, and used to be available
in any grocery store).  I discover that now I must special
order it on the internet, it's a lot more expensive than it
was, and will take nearly two weeks until delivery.  It's
worth it, IMO, but in the meantime, what do I do with all
the stuff I haven't unpacked?  (More to the point, how do I
cope, when I've no idea where anything IS?)

Well, at least I have my babies with me again, and they seem
to be adjusting well, so far.  (But we wouldn't refuse a few
purrs.) It's really a nice apartment, part of a complex of
1200 units, with swimming pools and exercise rooms, a
recreation building, and various community activities.  I
expect we'll be happy here, but I'll be lucky if I have
things in order by Christmas, never mind Thanksgiving!

Anyway, thought I should post an update, and let you all
know I am now living in Arizona instead of California.

Evelyn