Iza and Ayla have to get their annual vet visits this time of year. They were both scheduled for them last Friday but things went wrong. I put out the PTUs (Prisoner Transport Units) or "Cat-Carriers" for those of you who don't read "cat" early in the morning.
Marley wasn't a catch, but he had just been to the vet in one, so he panicked. Iza seemed pretty relaxed. Ayla was nowhere in sight as soon as the PTUs came out. But there were hours to go...
The appointment was for 3 pm, and the vet is only 10 minutes away, so at 2:30 I picked up Iza to put her in the larger PTU. She fought harder than usual, so it took almost 10 minutes of hard grabbing and brute strength to get her inside and locked in. She complained a lot afterwards.
Ayla was nowhere to be found. If she wasn't in DEEP-HIDING just seeing the PTU, she sure was after Iza yelled a lot! I searched the house top to bottom with a flashlight under every bed, every closet, and all the hidey-holes I knew about. Apparently, she has some I don't know about. After 20 minutes, I had to give up and just take Iza to the vet.
That was bad enough, but they both needed FIV shots started because after a year of them being indoors, I relented last Fall and let them outside again. The shots have to be established 3 times (one shot every 2 weeks). Marley had just finished him series, and I was royally tired of bringing any one to the vet every 2 weeks.
Not bringing Ayla in at the same time as Iza means that they are both now on separate every-other-week schedules. The vet says they CAN allow some overlap so I can get them both on the same schedule for the future shots, but getting them BOTH into PTUs the next time may be as impossible as this time was.
I MAY have to just get used to taking them all to the vet one at a time!
Even worse is getting the stool samples for the annual exam. I was lucky with Marley. He obligingly pooped while I was in the basement in sight of the litter pans the day before his exam. No such luck with Iza or Ayla.
So when I brought Iza to the vet last Friday, no stool sample.
Tonight is different. I have enclosed Ayla in the basement with a clean litter box, food, and water, and a bed. Iza is enclosed in my bedroom with the same. Iza is in the bedroom because she demands to be near me more at night than Ayla does. Marley sleeps out on the cat trees at night until dawn. Of course, because Ayla is enclosed in the basement where the litter boxes usually are, I have a litter box at the bottom of the stairs for him.
EVERYONE is going to be upset and unhappy all night. Ayla in the basement, Iza in the bedroom, Marley not in the bedroom (and none of them able to sleep together or with me except Iza). Its all a mess but the only way I can get the stool samples identified by cat.
I can best hope that both Ayla and Iza decide to poop in their respective enclosed rooms before I go to bed. Oh happy thought. But unlikely! In the past (and I've gone through this before but not in such a complicated way) it has taken both about 12 hours before they would deign to poop after being so upset and restricted.
My elderly Dad (who lives here now) says he can't imagine why I put myself through this for just a couple of "damn cats"and all the expense). When asked him why he used to have a boat that could only be described as "a hole in the water you through money into", he said he enjoyed the boat. Well, I like my cats. And a good bit more than he liked the boat. Reminding him of all those nice weekend Summer days we spent scraping barnacles off the bottom of the boat and repainting/patching it endlessly didn't get through to him at all.
But Dad complains about my aquarium, my garden, and flowerbeds, so there isn't much that makes him think effort is worthwhile except HIS favorite thing (watching golf).
BTW, when he lived on his own, he watched golf when he could on his smallish old TV. When he moved here with me, he commented that the HDTV was great. Now that he is used to it, he thingks it is a waste of money. If I dragged in an old 25" CRT TV like he used to have, he would gripe all day.
But this is about the cats, and I will not sleep well tonight knowing they are all separated from each other and 2 of them from me. I hate this...
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6 comments:
My sympathies - I have a mobile vet who comes to the house for shots and easy stuff - luckily no one has needed anything more extensive - with their early years as barn cats - I think that the PTU's would really be an adventure!! Good luck. T.
Awww poor babies. I've only ever had one cat at a time, so have never experienced the opportunity to try to get them all to the vet at the same time. What a challenge. Don't worry too much about Dad not liking the kitties. He's clearly missing out on a lot, but that will be his loss. Hope all goes well at the vet.
Aw, this does not sound like a whole lot of fun, for any of you! Hope everything works out and you have all the samples you need!
Boy I am lucky! The cats have been aclimatized to travelling in the car and walking on a leash, so its no big deal. We try to get them out for a "Sunday Drive" about once a month (even in the winter)They get their collars on and into the car. Before they get out of the car, the leash goes on and into the vet they go. There is a PTU, in the back and if there are dogs in the vet, Jamming a cat into a PTU is a whole bunch easier when it is sitting on your lap. This is something I learned from before cats where they were not as well trained.
Nellie's Mom
I can relate to your upset about stressing the cats, Mark. However, it's important and in their best interests, so I think you can only console yourself with that knowledge and the fact that it's not for long.
In the past I have also been able to arrange a home visit. (It wasn't advertised or promoted at the surgery - I had to ask.) It's not cheap, but if you've got two or three cats to be seen at the same time, then it might be worth investigating.
Megan
Sydney, Australia
The home visits mentioned above sound good but you still have to locate the cat who will certainly vamoose to the closest unknown hidey hole the minute they see the vet walk in the door!
The things we do for these furry babies!!
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