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Took small and our cats to the vet today.
May. 12th, 2015 07:01 pmBecause it was time for our cats rabies and distemper booster, we were going to the vet anyway. And because it was ALSO time for small's, and keeping her up to date is a good idea, we included her in the appointment, too. So I brought three cats (in three carriers -- the two we own, and one of those eight-dollar cardboard carriers you get at Petco) to the vet. There was complaining and meowing in the car, but nothing unusual.
Once we were ensconced in the exam room, and were waiting for the vet (we got there early, so we had a bit of a wait, but the exam room was free, so we just waited in there), I let the cats out, separately. I mean, I let Nick and Nora out and gave them a chance to walk around and explore, then, when they hopped back into their carrier (as I expected, after they got a look around, they went into the same carrier together and left the cardboard one alone), I closed that door and let small out to explore. Eventually, I left both carriers open, giving each cat a defensible location to retreat into, but also giving them chances to explore and interact with each other.
When the vet tech came in, small made herself absolutely adorable. She is SUCH a human-centric cat. If there was any sort of difficulty in examining her, it was in her refusing to stop snuggling the vet and vet tech. She charmed the heck out of them. She complained a little bit about getting one of the shots, but not too much.
Nicky and Nora were also appropriately admired and snuggled by the vet and vet tech.
I also discovered that there is a spot on/in small's ear that, if you scritch it, her back leg goes "THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP."
So, our next adventure is, we've made an appointment at Petco to get all three of them groomed. First, they all could use the remnants of their winter coats brushed out. Second, we do try to get our cats washed once a year or so -- as the old saying goes, "Cats aren't clean: they're just covered in cat spit." And third, and this is something of a longshot, but it couldn't hurt -- cats partially determine who is "in" and "out" of their family/tribe/clowder by smell, so there's a chance that bathing them at the same time will reset their scents, and give them a chance to develop a common scent and therefore a common group identity.
So, we'll see.
Once we were ensconced in the exam room, and were waiting for the vet (we got there early, so we had a bit of a wait, but the exam room was free, so we just waited in there), I let the cats out, separately. I mean, I let Nick and Nora out and gave them a chance to walk around and explore, then, when they hopped back into their carrier (as I expected, after they got a look around, they went into the same carrier together and left the cardboard one alone), I closed that door and let small out to explore. Eventually, I left both carriers open, giving each cat a defensible location to retreat into, but also giving them chances to explore and interact with each other.
When the vet tech came in, small made herself absolutely adorable. She is SUCH a human-centric cat. If there was any sort of difficulty in examining her, it was in her refusing to stop snuggling the vet and vet tech. She charmed the heck out of them. She complained a little bit about getting one of the shots, but not too much.
Nicky and Nora were also appropriately admired and snuggled by the vet and vet tech.
I also discovered that there is a spot on/in small's ear that, if you scritch it, her back leg goes "THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP."
So, our next adventure is, we've made an appointment at Petco to get all three of them groomed. First, they all could use the remnants of their winter coats brushed out. Second, we do try to get our cats washed once a year or so -- as the old saying goes, "Cats aren't clean: they're just covered in cat spit." And third, and this is something of a longshot, but it couldn't hurt -- cats partially determine who is "in" and "out" of their family/tribe/clowder by smell, so there's a chance that bathing them at the same time will reset their scents, and give them a chance to develop a common scent and therefore a common group identity.
So, we'll see.