The Vet Tales

Pre Vet Routine
Today was the much "anticipated" vet appointment.  I thought I was going to be sneaky and hide before mom could put me in my carrier but she has this new trick with me.  First, she takes out the carrier over an hour before we need to go so that when Epa and I hide right away, it doesn't matter.  So, when I got sick of waiting (and was hungry) I came out into the room.  I noticed she had taken out Epa's carrier and not mine, which made me confused and Epa worried (that was a bonus for me).  Then, mom picked me up because of course when I'm right next to it when we need to go, how fortunate, and put me in the carrier.  I was ashamed of being tricked.  Two minutes later we were heading out the door (with Epa still hiding I think.  Good).

The New Vet
We get to the vet and I realized, it's not the same one I've been to before.  It's the new vet that mom took Epa to for her second surgery AND we were boarded there a couple days when mom had to make an emergency trip back home.  I decided that if they wanted to poke me, they would have to get me out of the carrier themselves.  When mom opened the door, I stayed put.  This other lady then picked me up out of the carrier and put me on the scale.  My weight: 15 pounds 7 ounces.

The Exam
They then proceeded to put me down on the metal table in the middle of the room.  The dreaded vet came in and was actually quite nice.  I found myself purring during almost the entire appointment.  She gave me the stupid rabies shot (and they all told me how good I was for not moving during it all and petting me all over, see it was all about ME, the way it should be always).  She then put some wet stuff on my head and I heard her tell mom something about worms prevention, but you'll have to ask my mom about that.  After getting back home, I scratched my head and could smell it on my foot and didn't know what to make of it.

She also mentioned my teeth are looking like gingivitis is creeping in again (fun) and that February is pet dental health month (oh fan-freakin-tastic) so looks like I may need another dental cleaning in February.  She also told mom to try to get me on a brushing schedule again which mom said she only got as far as me licking the toothpaste off her hand (it tastes good) so the vet gave her advice on that (see below).

Oh yeah! And they ALL commented on how lovely my coat is ::beaming:: They said it is real shiny and silky and smooth!  See, I told you I am one handsome kitty.  Mom mentioned how I loved to be brushed everyday.

The Weight Issue
So, the weight loss thing then came up.  The vet said I should weigh about 13 pounds.  That means I have to lose about 2 1/2 pounds which is half the weight mom thought I needed to lose.  I wanted to gloat and tell mom I wasn't as fat as she thought now was I.  The vet then gave some recommendations:

Vet advice
1. Don't free feed us anymore.  She recommended giving us only about 20 kibble at a time (WHAT?!?!) and feed us 3 to 4 small meals a day.

2. Give us more wet food (good vet, good advice).  She said more wet food, less dry food.  I guess I can accept the first advice above if we do this.

3. On the teeth: the vet said we need to do it slowly (once again, good vet) and that I need to get comfortable with the idea.  First, mom should go back to the toothpaste licking and also, when I'm laying down next to her, just to rub my gums.  I think that if there is a cheek rub in there too, I can accept gum rubbing.  She thinks this will get us to the point eventually that when I do need to come in for a cleaning, that we will have a brushing routine down which will make post-care a lot easier.

Back Home
So, when we got back home, I made a beeline for the dry food.  If we are going to be cutting back on it, mom has to wait until I eat as much as I can now (bad idea by the way, I threw up shortly after).  Mom just got back home from something else about an hour ago and gave us a can of wet food.  I think this means we're getting two(!) today because this is early for the wet food.  Either that or it was because she was really excited when she got home.




For my next post, I will be interviewing the other cat, Epa.  She keeps bugging me to let her post so I told her I will interview her just to shut her up.