new developments in veterinary medicine
Today was Talia's first visit with the home vet. Spoiler: happy ending! After the last trip was so very hard on her, I talked with her regular vet, and decided in consultation with him that for anything non-emergent we'd work with his partner, who has a traveling "housecall" practice. Anything that requires in-clinic consultation, of course, will have me driving her down south, but for easy stuff - why put that stress on her? She's too old now for it to be undertaken lightly - she's the equivalent of 95 human years old, omg.
Anyway.It went better than I expected it might! She was delighted to have me home over the lunch hour, at least until the vet showed up smelling of other cats and disinfectant. That, it turns out, is is a scent Talia recognizes, and she sat on my lap and hissed at the poor woman. We worked it out, though, and the physical exam went well. The lab draw was a little more traumatic - we ended up setting everything up out in the sunroom where I wrapped her in a towel and held her on the granite counter. She complained, but it was over quickly and didn't stress her too much. After that the vet clipped her nails while I held Talia, and that process could have been filmed for an education session on "how cats can patiently hold still if they want to" - smooth, easy, no muss, no fuss.
Lab results will come back tomorrow. The only abnormal finding from the physical exam was a bit of iris atrophy. Evidently when cats get old enough, parts of their iris can just ... wear away. So she has a tiny hole in her stroma, but it's nothing to worry about unless it grows, and there's nothing to do for it as it is now - but also no pain or problem, so we just made note of it for the record and monitoring purposes.
When it was all said and done, she let me pet and soothe her for a bit, then ran back upstairs with sprightly energy, which made the whole thing worth it.
I'm glad it's Friday. I'm so tired right now I can barely see straight. 45 more minutes here at the office and then I'm going home. Maybe I'll curl up with Talia for a nap. We've both earned it.
This entry was originally posted at http://silveraspen.dreamwidth.org/318390.html and mirrored to LJ. Please comment where you wish! (There are
comments currently posted at Dreamwidth.)
Anyway.It went better than I expected it might! She was delighted to have me home over the lunch hour, at least until the vet showed up smelling of other cats and disinfectant. That, it turns out, is is a scent Talia recognizes, and she sat on my lap and hissed at the poor woman. We worked it out, though, and the physical exam went well. The lab draw was a little more traumatic - we ended up setting everything up out in the sunroom where I wrapped her in a towel and held her on the granite counter. She complained, but it was over quickly and didn't stress her too much. After that the vet clipped her nails while I held Talia, and that process could have been filmed for an education session on "how cats can patiently hold still if they want to" - smooth, easy, no muss, no fuss.
Lab results will come back tomorrow. The only abnormal finding from the physical exam was a bit of iris atrophy. Evidently when cats get old enough, parts of their iris can just ... wear away. So she has a tiny hole in her stroma, but it's nothing to worry about unless it grows, and there's nothing to do for it as it is now - but also no pain or problem, so we just made note of it for the record and monitoring purposes.
When it was all said and done, she let me pet and soothe her for a bit, then ran back upstairs with sprightly energy, which made the whole thing worth it.
I'm glad it's Friday. I'm so tired right now I can barely see straight. 45 more minutes here at the office and then I'm going home. Maybe I'll curl up with Talia for a nap. We've both earned it.
This entry was originally posted at http://silveraspen.dreamwidth.org/318390.html and mirrored to LJ. Please comment where you wish! (There are
comments currently posted at Dreamwidth.)