A little vet craziness

[judecorp]

There is a cutesy lesbian couple on A Baby Story right now! (I know, I know, ABS is a terrible show but there's seriously nothing on right now.)

~//~

This has been a hectic morning. I had an appointment to take Daedalus and Ralph to the vet at 9. I am not one of those people who take my cats for annual checkups (if you think that's mean, sorry) but I do keep them up to date on rabies and their 3-year shots were almost up. I found a vet down the road, a total townie vet, when I was in the midst of the Great Prescription Cat Food Debacle, and they seemed pretty chill so I made the appointment last month when I got the food.

Because I've always been a 9-5er, I've always brought my cats in for appointments on weekends. So I wasn't really thinking this morning that not only would I have to carry the cats to the car (Jen's been really vigilent about not letting me carry things) but I would have to actually get them INTO the carriers. And umm, with Ralph, that's a two person job.

So I frantically called Jen at 8:30 hysterical because I couldn't get Ralph in the carrier bag, had tried four times, was covered in scratches, etc. I had intended to put Daedalus in a smaller carrier (smoosh him) because the big one doesn't have a handle, but he wouldn't go in it... so I got the big one and stuffed him in before getting totally abused by Ralph. And then proceed to chase Ralph all over the house, under the table, behind the bed, etc. etc. I give up on getting her into the carrier bag and instead stuff her into the big carrier with Daedalus.

And then I realized how HEAVY that carrier (with no handle) was. Oof.

I lugged it to the car (it's snowing, it's slippery, I nearly slid to the car) and got to the vet, called Jen again to tell her how heavy it was, had a panic. Nothing beats a little Monday morning panic.

However, I had made a correct judgment of the vet and he was the most chill vet ever. I had both cats in and out by 9:15, no joke. I said I wanted a 3-year rabies and they asked if I wanted distemper. I told them they hadn't had a distemper shot in 3 years and they don't go outside, so the tech said, "Okay, you don't have to." He "examined" the cats by weighing them, looking in their mouths, and feeling them around, popped them with the shot, then they were done! SO FAST. He asked if they had any problems, I said no, he said they looked great and we obviously love them very much.

I also love that there was NO talk about Daedalus being obese or fat or whatever. He actually weighed less than I thought (he was 17.something) and they both said he looked great and very healthy. Ralph weigh 8lbs even and she hated every minute of it but he was super understanding.

I am loving this townie vet! My last two vets have been so hardcore about having these long, detailed appointments with stool samples and nail trims and temperature checks, etc. This was so refreshing! (Not to mention CHEAP - my cats are set for 3 years for $107 total for the two of them!)

Comments

[skatured.livejournal.com]

Nice! We have two cats that still need to go in for check ups. All of our cats weigh about 10lbs or less. Of course they are midgets ....

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I run the gamut of cats. There's the Big D, and he's 17-something. And Ralph is a wee 8lbs. And Fin is in the middle, and was 10-something. But he's still growing I think. Oops.

I love big cats!

[jadefu.livejournal.com]

which vet?

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Easthampton Animal Hospital on Main Street. It's so cute - it's in a converted ranch house (SO Easthampton) and I can't remember the vet's name. Dr. Jeffrey Something-that-starts-with-L, I think.

They charged me one office visit for both cats ($65) and then like $20 each for the rabies shots/tags. I've never been to a vet that hasn't at LEAST tried to milk a double office visit fee out of me.

He was incredibly nice.

[thatpatti.livejournal.com]

man, i'm totally bringing my aniimals to your vet. :P

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh I know, right? I mean, I'm sure I'll pay more if I have to bring one in for an emergency or something, but they seem really nice and really reasonable. The kind of place where they know all the people and animals by name.

[chrryblossomgrl.livejournal.com]

*psst, add me!*

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Okay. :)

[vlindinhauer.livejournal.com]

~~~
$107 4 2 cats 4 3 years ....

That's far less than we now pay for Cat Insurance per year!

Good Luck, happy Mews!, and Carry on!

~~~~

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Well, we've never bought Cat Insurance but I certainly thought about it when Daedalus first had his urinary tract problems 8 years ago. Thankfully it hasn't bothered him since and it's all been routine maintenance.

This vet didn't give me any of the usual vet harassment, like overweight pets, brushing pets' teeth, etc. He saw that they HAD teeth and ears and everything and just left it at that.

But I bet that Cat Insurance will be worth it if you ever need to use it!

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

Bunny insurance is worth it all the time. Especially with clumsy Echo and her big feet!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Well then, I'm glad you have it!

[(Anonymous)]

I want to take our cats to your vet! The last time we took ours in (we have always gone annually) they old us they no longer do the shots once a year, and after doing the routine check up and weight, charged us close to $100 (2 cats) for a five minute visit with NO shots! I felt ripped off! i am sure the cats loved not getting shot up!

e.
http://twomomsarebetterthanone.blogspot.com/

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

You should totally come out here to the vet! That is so crazy the way they jack up the $$ for people!

Your cats must have gotten the 3-year shots. Maybe?

[livinganthology.livejournal.com]

Loading a BigBoy(or Girl) Kitty:

prestep: Put on a sweatshirt.

1. If you have a top loader, great. If not, make it one by proppin the carrier upright, door opened, against a wall.

2. Pick up cat, love, pet, coo. Let it know "something is up."

3. Eventually, standing next to the upright carrier, shift to hold cat by front paws and back paws, as if putting it on a spit, and lower head-first into carrier.

4. Let go of front paws, FIRST.The cat with twist, placing its front paws down, and naturally pull in the hind legs. Remember, it can't jump OUT until it's got its hind legs down below it.

5. As it is shifting, close carrier door and latch, gently putting it down.

(Instructions per my vet when I had a wrestle my old, fiesty persian into her carrier. It really works.)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Well, the Big Cat isn't a problem, it's the little squirmy crazy calico with the hypodermic-needle claws. She is REALLY high strung.

Sometimes you can do the blanket or towel thing with her, but she is so squirmy that she usually gets out. It is awful. She is just so miserable and scared and it breaks my heart!

[gimmeapony.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, the idea of shoving Ralph in a cat carrier gives me hives.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

At least SOMEONE understands what I'm talking about.

[hoo.livejournal.com]

Our last vet visit, the vet strongly recommended having two of Tip's teeth either removed by their dentist. It would have been $500 and an overnight stay for the cat, and it would have required a general anesthetic. Also, there was no way to be sure beforehand if he actually needed the procedure, and if he didn't they'd simply clean his teeth. If that were the case, they might want to do it again sometime later.

I've been feeling guilty about it for a year now, despite Tip remaining a happy, healthy cat.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

That happened once with Ralph about 4 or 5 years ago. They told me she had really bad gingivitis and was going to need to lose a couple of teeth. I am REALLY leery of doing things like that because they require anaesthesia but they scared me so I did it.

I paid a bazillion dollars and they said she didn't need any extractions and they just did a cleaning. I was so angry. I was bamboozled!

Don't feel guilty.