Murphy and Maggie Go to the Vet

[kybearfuzz]

Murphy gives me the cold shoulder at the vet
I've been teaching class all week so I haven't been online too much. Class is going well, but being on my feet most of the day has been wearing me out.

When I got home I decided I needed to take the cats to the vet to get their shots. I wanted to do this before I get the pet sitter for my next trip, in case that was a requirement before they'd agree to do it. So I piled up the two kitties and headed to the vet.

My vet's office is only about four miles from my house, but it makes for a long drive to have two cats whining and meowing the entire way. Maggie would have her spurts, but would stop for a few minutes here and there. Murphy was very consistent and I could swear he was making some comments about Maggie getting to ride in the front seat unfairly.

After pulling into the parking lot, I carried my two cat carriers full of cargo like a weary traveler dragging his bags across a crowded airport gate. Where the heck are the moving sidewalks, I thought. They should put those in. After struggling with the doors, I parked the two monsters at the front desk where a perky blonde of 19 or so grinned at me and said hi. She got my information, asked what services I wanted, and told me to take a seat. To see the vet was a two-hour wait, but luckily the tech's give the shots, so my wait was ten minutes.

The lady called my name and another young tech walked me to an exam room where she was going to weigh them and then hand off the shots. While Murphy hates the carrier, he hates coming out of it at the vet even worse. So I had to reach in and drag him out while the tech picked up the end to let him slide out. Immediately his tail ballooned to three times it's normal volume and the growling began. All those different smells, they make him anxious. Murphy weighs nearly 14 lbs. I pictured Garfield the cat eating lasagna for some reason.

When it came time for the shots, Murphy wanted none of that and began hissing at the tech and me. And then he bit us. Murphy lost a fang long ago and after this, I was tempted to check on the cost of de-fanging him the rest of the way. I have a tax return in my checking account and I'm sure the tech might have done it free of charge after he nipped at her. Another tech was called in and he was held down, meowing and growling, for a shot or two in his rear end like some scene out of a HBO prison series.

After the deed was done, I turned the orange-striped monster around and tried to put him back in the carrier. You'd think he would go willingly, but Murphy realizes that daddy hadn't had his daily cardio and would enjoy the workout of pushing his fat butt back into the box. By the time it was done, I was covered in cat hair and slightly sweating.

... and then it was Maggie's turn.

Maggie obviously had seen the entire fiasco and wanted no part of it. When I opened her carrier, nothing but silence and a lack of motion. The tech and I tipped the carrier nearly on its end, but still no cat. Finally, I reached in and pulled her forward while the tech tipped the carrier, which seemed to work, until her back feet (with claws) gripped the inside of the door. It's almost like something out of cartoon, the character gripping the door to avoid going to the dentist. Eventually, we managed to pry her back feet loose and sit her on the table.

Maggie wasn't growling or anything, but she's noticably faster than Murphy and is a lot more skittish. So, not to waste time, the tech tried to grab the scruff of her neck and realized that there isn't a lot of fat back there like there is on Murphy. Maggie slipped from his grasp and I barely caught her before she jumped from the table. More scratches on me.

So the female tech said she'd get her and got a nice hold on her and held her down while the male tech gave her two shots. During this whole thing, Maggie was SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER! You'd have thought we were killing her and her screech was of the glass-shattering variety. I felt like an embarrassed parent, wondering what in the world the other folks in the waiting area were thinking.

The tech told me that they both might be a little off the next couple of days. I put Maggie back in her carrier and when she grabbed the scale, it hit me that we'd not weighed Maggie. I brought this up to the tech who said, "Oh no, we're not getting her back out of there. She looks like a healthy weight to me."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I paid the bill, got their rabies tags and my receipt, and exited stage right. The ride home was fairly calm. Maggie didn't say a word, just relaxed in the back of her carrier. Murphy whined all the way home, I think he was upset that he wasn't up front this time.

Whew... I'm just happy we're done for another year...

Thank heavens it's Friday....

Comments

[spatts5.livejournal.com]

I will never ever complain again about taking Jake to the vet. He's an angel compared to your two! He just whines a little but is really very good when the vet or tech examine him. Hopefully this is a once a year "experience" for you.

[cincycub.livejournal.com]

Now that sounds like a fun time. Peanut is VERY well behaved at the vet, which always surprises me. Now watch, at his appointment next Friday he'll be a terror :)

[madknits.livejournal.com]

Note to self: no cats! Ever!

;-)

[jkusters]

Indeed! This is one of a small handful of reasons why I'm happy to be a "dog person". *chuckle*

[madknits.livejournal.com]

My house mate has a cat, and while she is a lovely beast, she can be really annoying when he's out of town, and she gets all sticky-affectionate. I keep looking at her and muttering, "kung pao....meat pies...general tso's kitty..."

[ricksf.livejournal.com]

Miss Thing seems to grow extra paws whenever she's faced with a carrier ride. Then, when in the car, it's a pitiful whine and rubbing up against the carrier door until I give her a scratch on the neck. That calms her... for about 2 seconds. Rinse, repeat!

Once at the vet, she suffers a battle of fear of the unknown combined with tremendous curiosity about her new surroundings. She submits to the shots with a squeal.

Then back in the box, whine, scratch, whine, scratch all the way home...