Unintentional Kitty Torture

It was one of those days. The kind that you don't think you will ever get through. It will never end. One bad thing after another will happen. There is no end in sight, you will live this day over and over and over for days on end. Whew! After dealing with a number of phone calls I had to make, and getting a piece of information that I would just as soon NOT have had (nothing bad, just not what I would have liked!), I realized it was time to get changed and gather up the kitties for their annual visit to the vet. Not a red letter day! Especially since I was just finishing changing and getting shoes on when I got the phone call with the information that I would have preferred not to have! Oh well. It was one of those days, right?

So, the phone call took longer than I expected, and I got off the phone at about 2 minutes to 2 p.m., and the kitties were due at the vets at 2.20!!!!! Horrors! Anne and I had been closing the doors to rooms that had things the kitties could hide far away under, like beds, etc. I finished my shoes, and got the carriers, while she finished up her bits of preparation for leaving the house. Then it was time to snag the kitties. Meggie is the easiest to get these days, I think she finally realizes that it is inevitable, she ca't elude us forever, and it is less stressful for her to cooperate. So, she makes only a token run for it, "hiding" in the living room, at the side of the chair. It took a little bit of effort to get her from between the chair and the little table, but in the course of kitty snatching, it was minor. She went into her carrier quite nicely, so that was pretty quick and easy.

Then it was time to catch Mickey, who is fast as the dickens, and still hasn't learned yet that being caught can not be escaped. "Escape is futile, you will be assimilated....."---oops, wrong story! Anne managed to catch her, and reports that once she was caught, Mickey seemed to catch the idea that it was futile to resist, and she cooperated. We got her into her carrier without incident also! We were out the door and in the car at 2.10!!!! The vets' office is close by and we were there a few minutes before appointment time. What a relief!

So, we eventually get into the exam room, and eventually the tech comes in. You really have to wonder, just how much experience do some of these people have? Is it an indication of the primary pet they deal with, when you see 4 dogs and no cats besides yours in the waiting area???? When the tech doesn't realize that it is best to have all things ready and be able to complete all required actions with each cat before she is removed from her carrier???? Evidently not! I will have to remember this for future visits though!

Mickey was chosen by the "cat-clueless" tech, to be the first victim. Not a good plan, as it agitated Meggie also! Anyway..... first she tries to weigh Mickey, while I am finishing paperwork. She does manage, although there was quite a bit of cat hair scattered about the room after she finished. Then, she planned to take Mickey's temperature. Well, I held Mickey and the gal went at her with the thermometer. Mickey wasn't having any of that! She acted like she was being skinned alive, and finally escaped my grasp, leaving me with a good set of scratches on my right forearm, and half jumped off the table, with the thermometer hanging out of her butt!!!!! The tech quickly grabbed it and decided "close enough!" Good call! So it was now Meggie's turn. She wasn't interested in taking part in any of that, but she is a good girl, and older, and so didn't fight it as much. I carried her to the scale for her weigh-in, and put her on the table. I held her while the tech tried to take her temp--only problem is that she is a bit hairy back there, and the tech couldn't find the proper spot!!! Oh my goodness! Meggie was getting a bit irate, and the tech was afraid I was going to get scratched again, so she went to get more help!

She eventually came back with the vet, who was able to get the temp, as the tech and I gently but firmly, held Meggie down. She was much more cooperative, and that worked out okay. She examined Meggie, who is fine, except for tartar on her teeth. Meggie got her rabies shot, which was minor after all that had proceded it! Then it was time for Mickey to be examined. Anne had managed to extract her from underneath the bench seat in the room, and we got her on the table. She was a big baby through the whole thing, but did get examined, also has tartar on her teeth, and took the shot like a pro. I guess it was about time she was good about something!

Needless to say, we were glad to get the kitties home, minus a ton of kitty fur, which was being swept up while we were getting checked out and paying! I am so glad it is only once a year!

Meanwhile, all continues to move along slowly. No changes on the Anne front. I will take her tomorrow for her blood work, as the endocrinologist's office said a week before the appt, to make sure the results are back in time. Please keep your fingers crossed for us, say a prayer, whatever!!!! We are sure hoping and praying that Anne's thyroid levels are back up and they can schedule her surgery!!! Anne sees the doc on 11 October. Hard to believe it is so close already, it has taken ages! Take care and I will keep you posted!