We are ALL thankful that our annual V-E-T visit is over (yesterday). We weren't expecting it (TBT is getting trickier). We used to go in a mad rush in early mornings, but now he did it mid-day when everything seemed normal.
And by "tricky" we mean that he led each of us into the hardest rooms ta hide in when it was time for lunch kibbles which we are just now enjoying regularly. So suddenly, we were each in small rooms and trapped! Oh we KNOW that part, but he did it so calmly and one of us at a time!
And then set out the PTUs...
MARLEY: He came for me first. I realized what was happening, and hid in the shower stall but he found me right off. And when I saw the PTU, I knew I was doomed. I still fought, but he got me in it.
AYLA: TBT came for me next. I'm wily, but he is wilier. He opened the door where I was and puched the PTU part in. He KNEW I would jump over it because thats what I do when Marley or Iza are too slow to go out the open deck door, and he when just where to hold a large towel to wrap me up. Then he carried me to another room where he had MY PTU waiting. I got a couple of scratches in, but he heals fast. I got slid right in. It is hard when you are so small.
IZA: Hearing Marley and Ayla complaining, I knew there wasn't much point in fighting it. I let him pick me up and while I did spread my legs all around, he got me into my own PTU. I was saving my fight for later...
So we all got carried into the big noisy moving machine. But we agreed not to sing the song of our people on the way. That kinna spooked him a bit, MOL!
Once there, we realized we were in a DIFFERENT PLACE and we were more than usually concerned. But it was the same VET.
MARLEY: I was put on the table (in the PTU) first. I REALLY had TBT worried (score one for me). I started hyperventilating and making soft hooing noises and got him to leak his eyes a bit. I ignored him when he tried to talk to me, too. Serves him right!
But the VETS (a new one) came out and I got pulled out of the PTU. I got the usual embarassing probes and shots and forced looks at my mouth and ears and all. But the old VET did the shots, and as weerd as it may seem, that was slightly comforting. I weigh almost 14 pounds and was declared "very healthy". I could have just told them that, ya know? They clipped my claws too. How am I supposed ta grab mousies with dull claws? But I was finally allowed back in the PTU.
AYLA: I came out of the PTU, easily. I was facing away from the door, and TBT just cradled my hips and slid me right out. So a Meow of advice to others, "face forward". It's harder for them ta get you out that way.
But I also got the same treatment Marley did. And I was equally glad to willingly run back into the PTU after. I am 6.4 pounds just like I have been for years, and the VET said I was completely healthy.
IZA: Well, I sure didn't have it as easy as Marley and Ayla did! Fer starters, I fought to stay in the PTU. It took TWO BEINS ta get me out. And they had ta werk to get my weight. I don't mind that at home, because TBT just holds we, and I like that. They hadda take 3 tries and take the one in the middle. I'm sorta 10 pounds.
But the the new lady VET just gushed about how bootiful I was and what smooth fur I have, and held me a bit. That was good.
But I went through all the same stuff that Marley and Ayla did. And then EXTRA stuff and that dint seem fair. See, TBT had told them some of his concerns and problems, and they did that extra stuff (squeezing the sides of my butt) and I even got stabbed an extra time, so I couldnt help but suddenly bunny-kick the lady Vet. And iffen I do say so myself, Im really good at it. She needed a bandage.
And it took the 2 VETS AND TBT ta hold me down while they clipped my claws... They even took a look up my nosie and squeezed me all over. It was horrible.
But I was finally released to run back into the PTU! Wow. I'm glad it will be a years before all that happens again (and I hope he forgets next time).
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It was 4 hours before anny of us went NEAR TBT at home again, Marley and I just stayed away, but Ayla ran annytime he came near and hid is her special spots til dinnertime. Food and treats DO return things to normal.
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TBT here: The Mews are all in great health and seem to have forgiven me for their unwanted VET trip. But it's important of course. Iza has wheezing problems and digestive problems, but he can't find a cause for them. He says it might be an allergy to some canned food ingredient. I'm going to call the Vet office back and ask about tests for that.
But there is something else I want to mention. Dr Miller is retiring in a few months. I suspected that when he combined his practice with the other Vet in town just after our annual visit last year. Dr Miller has taken care of my cats for 32 years. He is the one who found the cause of the 2 failed spay operations Ayla went through with another vet and removed a remnant half of her uterus and 1 complete ovary that was rotting inside her.
When he told me that yesterday, I mentioned an obscure event about LC from decades ago and he replied about it without a seconds hesitation. He knows everything about all the cats he has ever treated.
He is the one who realized that LCs inside ears were not naturally black, but an infestation of ear-mites (which caused her eyes to close shut from "seepings"). He is the one who sent Skeeter over The Bridge so gently that I think Skeeter did not even know of it. He is the one who cried with me when I rushed LC into his office and shouted "emergency" and tried to keep her alive and failed. Turned out she had a fatal stroke...
The Mews will not see him again and they probably won't notice the difference. I will call the office to see if there will be a retirement party his clients can attend. If so, I'll bring a small notebook of pictures of my cats that he treated.
32 years is a long time to have the same vet. I'm going to miss him.