5 cats, 4 days, 3 winter storms, 2 thousand miles, 1 Honda Civic - Part 1

So, the significant other and I moved from Oklahoma to Oregon in early January, driving the southern route (I-40 to I-5) to, we hoped, avoid bad weather. We were in the trusty Honda (4-door Civic) with my 5 cats, 4 in carriers, one sitting in my lap/at my feet. The first day, Jan 2, we moved the remaining furniture to the OKC pied-a-terre, then hit the road shortly after noon. There was considerable yowling protest for the first 1 1/2 hours or so, but the cats settled down by the time we reached Texas. The Texas panhandle has to be one of the ugliest, most boring drives in the US, so I was glad when the sun went down. We got into Albuquerque around 10 PM, checked into a motel, and smuggled the cats inside. Second floor room of course. Took three trips to get them and their paraphernalia in. Psycho kitty, who we were afraid to release from the cage equipped all the comforts including private litter box, set up a very loud protest. Terrified that the neighbors would complain and we would be kicked out, I took her carrier into the bathroom and released her. I spent the night on the floor with 2 pillows and my coat, trying to keep her calm. I was exhausted, but every time I started to drop off, she would begin to howl. At 5 AM, tired and sore from spending a night on a bathroom floor sober for the first time in my life, I woke up the boyfriend and suggested we hit the road. I tell you, that night gave me a whole new respect for those who've had babies. I was ready to break after one night. I cannot imagine dealing with that for months on end. Hell, I was threatening to feed Psycho kitty to the New Mexico coyotes by the time we stopped for food & gas.