Murphy Goes To the Vet

[kybearfuzz]

I have written before about Murphy's visits to the vet's office. While he is a sweet, loving kitty at home, he turns into an absolute terror at the vet. Today's visit was no different.


Murphy is not a happy kitty at the vet.
A couple of weeks or so ago, I felt a weird mass next to Murphy's rib as we were going to bed. At first I thought it was a rib, but it was soft and felt round. He never flinched or gave me any indication it hurt. He's been eating well, but he's not as active. At his age (13 or so years), I never thought of that as odd.


To be safe, I took him to the vet this morning. On the short car ride to the vet, Murphy vocally demonstrated his usual displeasure of being in a carrier. Everything was okay after check-in, and then the vet assistant called us into a room. Once out of the carrier, Murphy got nervous as usual. He meows, his tail balloons to three times its normal volume, and he starts to shed like crazy. He starts to emit a strange growl that he's unhappy, but it's usually not directed at anyone or anything specific.

I held him while the assistant took he temp and got his weight. He's lost a pound (down to a svelte 11 lbs.) and his temp is normal. Then we waited for the veterinarian to come in. He started trying to bite me, growling more, and occasionally wanting to get off the exam table. I'm sure he looked at me like, "you never want me on the table at home, so why are you keeping me on this one??"

Once the vet showed up, I told him about the mass and he was having trouble feeling it. Murphy was tense, which hid it. When he's relaxed, it's easy. Eventually he felt it. I told him that it doesn't cause him any apparent pain. He scheduled an x-ray and an ultrasound. This whole time, Murphy is getting more and more aggressive. He finally managed to bite me. I told the vet that he's never like this at home... seriously.

The x-ray tech came in to get him soon after. Murphy was getting more and more upset. The tech had been warned about Murphy because she grabbed him by the scruff immediately to take him. He cried out, which is hard for a pet owner to hear, but I know it was needed.

I sat in the room waiting for them to return. After 15 or so minutes, the tech walked back in, Murphy bundled up in a bath towel. I started laughing, because I can only imagine what he put them through that required such treatment. The tech told me that they even had to get out the heavy gloves. Murphy's obviously a fighter (and a biter). He had alcohol on his fur where they used the ultrasound gel. I noticed that Murphy was bleeding from his ear. I'm guessing he fought them a lot.

The vet came back and said that the mass isn't attached to any organs and he suspects it is a fatty mass that older cats and dogs can sometimes have. He has no outward signs of infection or bodily reactions to it. He said that other than the mass, Murphy was in great health. However, he gave me the option to have a specialist look at it. Because of the location, the vet wasn't wanting to try to aspirate a sample of it, but to let the specialist do it. He mentioned that it would require sedation. I told him that I can't imagine them trying it any other way.

On the drive home, Murphy was fairly quiet. After the experience and getting his shots along with them, I'm guessing he was worn out. As soon as I let him out of the carrier at home, he was his normal sweet self, flopping over on his side with a purr. Jekyll and Hyde, I swear. We walked up to the kitchen and I fed him. He was famished.


Now he's sleeping it off. Kitty's had a rough day.

Comments

[designerotter.livejournal.com]

I've never owned a cat, though I admire them. Pets often exhibit an entirely different set of behaviors when they are taken to the vet - we once had a cocker spaniel that would hide under a table the second anyone pronounced the word 'Vet".
Glad to hear both of you survived the ordeal - and Dr Jekyll has returned to the domestic scene.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Sounds like the owner also had a rough day.

[dr-tectonic.livejournal.com]

Poor kitty!

So he's got a fatty lipoma? I've got one of those on the back of my heel. Tell Murphy not to worry.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Thankfully he doesn't have to worry, but I do. :)

[guywithmonsters.livejournal.com]

There look from the carrier kind of sums it up. :-)

I'm glad it turned out ok.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Oh he's a brutal patient.

[mort-83.livejournal.com]

Oh gosh! Poor Murphy! And poor you!

We had two cats in our household in grad school. We moved to another house and boarded them at the vets. My friend Gloria and I (they were her cats) had to get them in their carriers, which was an ordeal. They meowed until they couldn't anymore in the car and then peed all over themselves. When we got to the vets, the one cat (who liked to climb from my shoulder to another housemate's shoulder, ran up the body of one of the vet techs, and stuck to his neck and shoulder. A pissed off, urine-soaked cat clinging to this poor guys' head. It was a sight.

My dog has had a lipoma in the crook of her front leg for several years now. Hasn't been a problem.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Oh dear heavens, what a sight that attacking cat must have been. I put my hands on Murphy the whole time he's there.

[putzmeisterbear.livejournal.com]

I'm glad Murphy's behavior was the worst thing in the whole experience.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

He's a monster at the vet, seriously.

[spatts5.livejournal.com]

My Jake has several fatty deposits. The vet suggested getting an x-ray (at a cost of $550) to get a better look. He's almost 10 and shows no signs of them bothering him, so I'm going to save $550.