take my cat to the vet

...why I hate to take my cats to the vet.
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My oldest one becomes possessed by the devil when she senses that I’m taking her to the vet, and has to be wrestled into her carrier, and will not allow herself to be examined properly. At least she’s only 7 pounds of growling, hissing, biting fury, and could be pinned down to the exam table by me and the vet tech while the vet administered the vaccine shots.
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And my youngest one has hardly ever gone anywhere, and was so afraid of the carrier that I had to put him in the tiniest bathroom with the door shut to confine him and then take the carrier apart to get him into it. And he made the most unearthly noises when he was in the car, noises that I’ve never heard him or any other cat I’ve ever owned utter. And I found out that he weighs 19.3 pounds. 19.3 POUNDS, I TELL YOU!!! (The vet said he’s seen several 25-pounders!) But at least he did let the vet examine him, and then went back into his carrier without a fuss, thank goodness.
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So, mission accomplished, and this goal is done for now.

...I’m planning to take my two remaining cats to the vet tomorrow to get their shots updated and have a checkup. The vet was so nice and so reasonable that it seemed like the least I could do. Also, it is a good thing to keep their shots up-to-date, even if they never go outside, especially when I’m planning a trip soon.

The vet found nodules in my kitty’s intestinal tract and gave me a probable diagnosis of lymphoma, which he said would be difficult to treat. No easy answers. I made a decision to have the vet put an end to my poor kitty’s suffering this afternoon. It was quick and seemed to be painless for my kitty, as I held him in my arms. :(

I really did think my cat was getting better last Friday, but he really isn’t much better. And I had a hard time finding a vet that would see him today. But I found one. He’s going this afternoon.

This afternoon we drove Kitty to the clinic to pick up her meds and let Dr. Shamsher look her over. He said he was shocked (happily) with her improvement, especially considering her advanced age. He gave her a second antibiotic injection and then explained the lab results, saying that she’s very healthy – her kidneys look excellent, the anemia is so minimal that a little extra iron in her diet should correct it, and the abscess has drained and she’s healing incredibly quickly. We’re not out of the woods entirely, but it looks very, very good. Now… there will be pampering. And purring.

First of all, they were able to salvage the blood sample, so I didn’t need to take her back in to draw blood again. The vet said the tests showed that Kitty’s a bit anemic and may have a slight liver issue, but my guess is her feeling lousy and eating less contributed to that.

The good news is that her appetite has returned with a vengeance, she’s perked right up (running around, purring, rolling in the sunshine, greeting me with happy meows) and the facial swelling has shrunken down to almost normal.

The vet said that if she’s responded that well to the injection, then he feels we should try the antibiotics alone, so I’m bringing her back in tomorrow so he can check her out and I can pick up some meds to mix with her food twice a day. If that works, we may actually be able to avoid surgery altogether.

Did I mention how much I like this vet? I’m feeling relieved. I hope it isn’t premature. She’s feeling better though, that’s the most important thing.

I’m still waiting for the blood test results, but she seemed to be feeling a bit perkier today. She rolled around in the sun and gobbled up some extra fancy canned food we got while I gave her a nice brushing. If I don’t hear from the vet by noon tomorrow, I’ll give them a call.

I have finally taken my cat to the vet. He is doing well and he is up to date with his shots. I even got his claws clipped. He did well too. He’s an older cat so I’m glad to hear his health is good. :)

Although obviously not happy with jailing, a car trip, and being prodding by strangers, Kitty behaved beautifully, both in the car and once there.

Unfortunately, the news wasn’t good – my sweet old girl has an abscess of some sort, one that may have been there unnoticed for a while, and the vet (a lovely, unrushed man) feels it would be best to put her under and clean everything out. His reluctance (mine too) is her age, she’s 14, and old kitties don’t bounce back like young kitties.

We decided to do blood tests, and he gave her a few shots to make her feel better and start fighting infection. They’re calling me in the morning with the results, which may tell us more, or at least suggest how well she’d respond to surgery. He said there was a slight chance antibiotics alone might help, but a slim chance.

So after some hard thinking (and a big fistful of kleenex), I think, if after examining her bloodwork he feels she would be strong enough to recover well, I’d like to go ahead with the surgery. It would mean some serious belt tightening around here, but I think it would be the right decision.

I have had sad experiences with pets that were kept around for what, to me (and others) seemed a cruel amount of time, given exhausting and costly operations for a little more time that was much less enjoyable. On the other hand, I consider Kitty family, and I wouldn’t put Old Aunt Jane out on the ice floe just because she was aged and feeling poorly and needed extra medical care.

It becomes complicated, even more so when you’re the sole person making decisions, which I am. I have good sounding boards, but it comes down to me, and I feel that she still finds such pleasure in soaking up the sun, getting a good loving petting, having a bacon treat, relaxing with a decent brushing, birdwatching, and living her life (even if it’s slower) that it’s worth it.

I’ll be waiting for the call tomorrow…

Yes, something’s wrong. The right side of her face has started to puff up, a bite or abscess? It doesn’t seem to be hurting her at all, but I need to take her in tomorrow as soon as I can get her an appointment. I had a meltdown about this earlier – I’m worried. I called a good friend who recommended Atlas pet hospital, so I’ve left a message with them.

I bought some of her favorite food, some treats, and a brush (which she seems to be loving, along with the extra attention). Her health record is ready to go and Markus is digging out the cat case tonight. I’m just dearly, dearly hoping it isn’t anything too serious.

Good thoughts for Kitty…