Fun at the Vet
Took my cat Selene to the vet tonight for a follow-up-she was diagnosed with hyperactive thyroid last month. She has been on pills that seem to be helping-her appetite is not as ravenous and she gained back half a pound. Unfortunately, every time I bring her home from the vet, our other cat Inky gets angry and hisses at her. We have figured out that it is because Selene doesn’t smell right. Last visit it took a week for Inky and Selene’s relationship to get back to normal. I don’t take my cats to the vet for every required shot, etc.-they are strictly indoor cats and they are not exposed to anything but each other. As you might guess, it is very disruptive to the household, so I usually limit vet visits to “when really needed.”
The vet is a 24/7 emergency vet, not too far from where we live (about 4 miles). This is convenient, but it is always very busy. If you come in with an emergency, you have to pay the emergency fee up front with a credit card or cash. They must have felt they have been ripped off too many times.
While Selene is a very easy-going, easy-to-handle cat, she cries in the car (in a carrier of course), and sometimes gets so anxious that she pants. I turned the air conditioning up full for the ride. The vet tech tried to tell me that panting was unusual cat behavior, but I have seen it before in my and other cats when they are excited or stressed. I don’t think it is all that uncommon.
When we arrived, the receptionist tried to tell me that my appointment was for tomorrow. I knew it was not, because the person I spoke with said if I came in this evening, I could see a particular vet. I also told the desk clerk I would not have made the appointment for tomorrow evening, because I have something to do. She went in the back and came out a few minutes later and said, “The Dr. said she can see you this evening, but there is an emergency and one other appointment ahead of you.” It sounded like she thought she was doing me a favor. I thanked her, but when I made the appointment it was definitely for Wednesday, not Thursday (not my screw-up). I didn’t have to wait very long, luckily. However, a woman came in a few minutes later with her dog, and got upset because the receptionist said her appointment was a different day. The woman insisted it was this evening, said she had rearranged with her clients to come in, and had asked to see a particular vet (who had already left for the day). The desk clerk told her she would have to come back the next day. The woman agreed, but she didn’t look happy when she left.
On another note, the other day I went with a friend to his vet who recently lost his cat of 19 years. He was considering adopting a cat and invited me to see it. A local shelter placed 2 cats at his vet, and my friend put in an application to adopt a gorgeous, elegant-looking black and white domestic shorthair male about a year old. The cat was very affectionate and playful, and quite curious and intelligent.
While we were there, I purchased a hand-made catnip toy containing “organic” catnip grown on a farm somewhere in Pennsylvania. I put it in my purse and forgot about it. When I got home, I set my pocketbook on the dining room table, took out my cell phone, and didn’t zip my purse shut all the way. Then I went off to do something. A few minutes later, I came back into the room, and Selene and Inky had smelled the catnip toy, REMOVED it from my pocketbook, and were playing with it on the floor. They were high for several hours, and have been sleeping with the toy since then. I may have to make a special trip to get more-obviously the catnip is REAL fresh and comes highly recommended.
Update: Unfortunately it appears that the pet organization sponsoring the cat my neighbor wishes to adopt engages in age discrimination (i.e, if you are over 60 you are SOL if you want to adopt a cat).** They farted around with his application for nearly 2 weeks and have asked his references about him (including fishing around for his age), but have not talked to him directly. They also do not provide good phone numbers to contact them. While I am sure they have helped some animals in need, I will never recommend them to anyone if asked. Instead my neighbor is now going to the MD SPCA. Of course, the loser in this is the cat he was originally interested in, and other animals at that shelter if their snarkiness is typical. I hope my friend's vet reconsiders housing their animals for adoption in that office, and instead showcases cats from a more helpful, non-discriminatory organization.
**If you want to know which organization I’m talking about, email me privately.
The vet is a 24/7 emergency vet, not too far from where we live (about 4 miles). This is convenient, but it is always very busy. If you come in with an emergency, you have to pay the emergency fee up front with a credit card or cash. They must have felt they have been ripped off too many times.
While Selene is a very easy-going, easy-to-handle cat, she cries in the car (in a carrier of course), and sometimes gets so anxious that she pants. I turned the air conditioning up full for the ride. The vet tech tried to tell me that panting was unusual cat behavior, but I have seen it before in my and other cats when they are excited or stressed. I don’t think it is all that uncommon.
When we arrived, the receptionist tried to tell me that my appointment was for tomorrow. I knew it was not, because the person I spoke with said if I came in this evening, I could see a particular vet. I also told the desk clerk I would not have made the appointment for tomorrow evening, because I have something to do. She went in the back and came out a few minutes later and said, “The Dr. said she can see you this evening, but there is an emergency and one other appointment ahead of you.” It sounded like she thought she was doing me a favor. I thanked her, but when I made the appointment it was definitely for Wednesday, not Thursday (not my screw-up). I didn’t have to wait very long, luckily. However, a woman came in a few minutes later with her dog, and got upset because the receptionist said her appointment was a different day. The woman insisted it was this evening, said she had rearranged with her clients to come in, and had asked to see a particular vet (who had already left for the day). The desk clerk told her she would have to come back the next day. The woman agreed, but she didn’t look happy when she left.
On another note, the other day I went with a friend to his vet who recently lost his cat of 19 years. He was considering adopting a cat and invited me to see it. A local shelter placed 2 cats at his vet, and my friend put in an application to adopt a gorgeous, elegant-looking black and white domestic shorthair male about a year old. The cat was very affectionate and playful, and quite curious and intelligent.
While we were there, I purchased a hand-made catnip toy containing “organic” catnip grown on a farm somewhere in Pennsylvania. I put it in my purse and forgot about it. When I got home, I set my pocketbook on the dining room table, took out my cell phone, and didn’t zip my purse shut all the way. Then I went off to do something. A few minutes later, I came back into the room, and Selene and Inky had smelled the catnip toy, REMOVED it from my pocketbook, and were playing with it on the floor. They were high for several hours, and have been sleeping with the toy since then. I may have to make a special trip to get more-obviously the catnip is REAL fresh and comes highly recommended.
Update: Unfortunately it appears that the pet organization sponsoring the cat my neighbor wishes to adopt engages in age discrimination (i.e, if you are over 60 you are SOL if you want to adopt a cat).** They farted around with his application for nearly 2 weeks and have asked his references about him (including fishing around for his age), but have not talked to him directly. They also do not provide good phone numbers to contact them. While I am sure they have helped some animals in need, I will never recommend them to anyone if asked. Instead my neighbor is now going to the MD SPCA. Of course, the loser in this is the cat he was originally interested in, and other animals at that shelter if their snarkiness is typical. I hope my friend's vet reconsiders housing their animals for adoption in that office, and instead showcases cats from a more helpful, non-discriminatory organization.
**If you want to know which organization I’m talking about, email me privately.