“A day in the country is worth a month in town”Christina Rossetti

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Three Cats To the Vet

This is Pekoe. The cat you usually see sunning amongst the flowers. He is a bit angry in the back seat of the Explorer. Correction. More than a bit angry. He hasn't gone for a ride in a while, but I wisely did not put him in a crate. I made that mistake once, and the day only got ugly for Pekoe, me, and for the vet. I had a back up crate just in case. But things went okay. He rode next to the crate with the barn cats, snarling and hissing, just to make sure they didn't bother him. They didn't make a peep, or bat a paw. A couple of the turns I made were commented on when he rolled into the door. Nothing like a feline back seat driver. Snickers and Mia

Snickers has made this trip a few times, and she prefers not to be reminded of the embarrassing photographs of her in the sink after the drugs the vet gave her in February. She must have recognized something about the crate, because she did the four paw brace against the opening. Looked just like a cat in a cartoon. So Mia got out, while I got Snickers in. Then I had to catch Mia again. Such a comedy. Lucky for me she has a weakness for any food at all.
The girls waited in the crate while Pekoe got to explore the examination room. Pekoe gets treated extra special because he is extra special. He has cerebellar hypoplasia. His health history is a blog on its own. Briefly, his condition makes him a handicapped cat. He has vertigo and depth perception that give him major balance problems. He walks like a drunk. That he is 11 years old amazes me. He is the anti-cat when it comes to agility. He has never killed anything in his life, unless the legend is true about him smothering a baby mole with his body.

Sparing Pekoe the crate better prepares him for the rest of the vet experience, although he was not a gentleman at all. Mia was a doll and behave like a real trooper. Snickers was Snickers. Cautious of strangers anyway, so after one shot, she was not going to just stay there and let them give her another. The ears were so flat, and the claws were out, but the vet and her assistant were up for the task. Then came Pekoe who had been put on alert by Snickers' snarls and hissing. After one failed try at the shoulder, Pekoe got wrapped in his towel and got both shots in the hip. I know it smarted. He rode all the way home with that hip up.One again Pekoe started in the back seat, but was still quite upset about the shots. He was spitting and hissing his opinions about my driving again. He flailed his way onto the floor and then clawed his way up the center console and into the front seat. He then spun around, and up and down, until he was riding along like a king. Somehow we managed to get home without further incident Mia was not amused at the preferential treatment. She feels she has earned a ride in the front seat next time. We'll see Mia.

Once in the garage, all three cats made amazing time getting away from the crate and car. Even Pekoe. Hopefully they'll all forget this by next year.

1 comment:

Kittie Howard said...

I truly looooved this blog...could visualize it all...and we had a cat, Chester, who never killed anything...but loved chewing Christmas lights :) And, I chuckled at your description of feline backseat drivers...so true, so true!! Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful felines!!