Take Your Pet to the Vet

Number 1

Number 2

For the past year or so I have not been a good cat Mommy. I had left if up to Kris to change the litter box and feed them while I was pregnant, and when Autumn was born I definitely put them on the back burner as far as grooming. I also have a favorite, Fluffy #2.

As some people may know, Fluffy #1 has had a spraying/peeing problem for the past couple of years on and off. We have made 3 (now 4) appointments with the shelter for him and each time we have backed down and just couldn't imagine relinquishing him to a place where he would probably spend his last days. Other than the peeing he is a sweet cat, loves to sit on laps and cuddle, and is freakishly intelligent. We tried everything, from drugging him to switching litter and adding litter boxes, moving dishes around, etc.

Everything, that is, but taking him to the vet. Why? Because of my "Scotch" cheapness. All of us in that side of the family are like this to some extent.

The vet here in Milton is ridiculously expensive for a town with a median income of $49,000. A visit just for examination is over $60. Then each test is anywhere from $20-$100 depending what you get. AND they also want to treat your pet as if it is a small child, guilting you into test after test, and products you may not need. I am not saying that they don't know what they are doing. They are extremely professional and excellent veterinarians. But for Milton???? I could see this in Burlington maybe.

What I am looking for in a vet is someone who will look at the cat for a reasonable price, tell me what is wrong, and give me my options. Much like a mechanic. Tell me that if I need to put the cat under, its not necessary to do a complete blood workup to make sure the cat is going to make it through the anesthesia. If he doesn't make it, I'll be sad. I'll even cry. But you know I can't afford a $90 blood workup and then a $125 anesthesia administration, on top of the $150 dental cleaning/tooth removal you may end up needing to do.

OK that was my rant on high veterinary prices.

I called the shelter for a fourth time on Monday for this cat. I just couldn't take it anymore and I'm no longer hormonal from pregnancy so I was ready to throw in the towel and let them do what they would with him. She gave me an appointment in three weeks to bring him and relinquish.

I told her how old he is (11) and she said, "Oh. Well he's going to have a hard time here, and it will be next to impossible to place him in a home at that advanced age. I'm not trying to make you feel guilty though." Ugh.

She mentioned it may be a Urinary Tract Infection at his age. I said, "No it can't be. I had him looked at a couple of years ago." Yeah, because things don't change when you are a cat, right? Looking back now I realize how stupid I must have sounded to her.

"Well, that was a long time ago. You may want to get him to the vet." She said.

So I kept his shelter appointment, but I also called the Arrowhead Veterinary Clinic in Fairfax. Wow they are so much cheaper. The vet is an older man who has obviously been doing this for a long time and sadly will probably retire sooner than my cats will. I took him in and they manually extracted some pee. No, I do not know how they did it, and I don't want to!!! He had his back turned and the cat didn't seem too upset by whatever he was doing......

As soon as they got it in a vial they said, "Oh yeah this is bad." His assistant, a friendly blond with a killer body, listed off the different things wrong with his urine. Ok. So for the past two years this poor cat probably has had a raging UTI and that is why he has been pissing rampantly all over the house.

The vet gave him an antibiotic shot and I also have to give him liquid amoxicillin (smells like the children's kind!) twice a day. Just that one shot and 1 dose of antibiotic and Fluffy is a totally different cat. He has been relaxed, hasn't peed 1 time outside the litter box, and his face and fur even look better!!!! And the entire experience cost me $80 which sounds like a lot but is miniscule compared to what we have spent trying to remedy the problem by not going to the vet. Not to mention the furniture he has destroyed, the rugs he has ruined, etc. All that could have been avoided!

Next, while I was there, I made an appointment for that afternoon to bring in Fluffy #2. He had ripped a bloody patch on his neck open somehow and it had been a few days and wasn't getting better. I had put peroxide on it, Bactine, etc. but it wasn't healing. I brought him in and they shaved a big patch of fur off the side of his head (not as pretty as the lion cut, but it will help ha ha). He cleaned it, put some salve on it, gave him an antibiotic shot, and then checked his ears.

"Pretty dirty aren't they." He said to his assistant.

"Oh yeah wow he has ear mites pretty bad." She said.

WHAT??? How can my indoor cat get ear mites??? I still do not know. Maybe one of the other cats I have basically fostered had brought them in...perhaps one of the orange ones. So that means he has had them brewing for a while. Great.

So Fluffy 2 has to be on antibiotics for the neck wound (a pill for him...that should be interesting) and I have to give him ear mite drops twice a day!! Freaking animals!!! I barely can remember to eat and now I have to nurse these two animals for 10 days. Good thing they are so cute.

Life Lessons for the Mentally Slow: Don't be a cheapass when it comes to your pet's basic health and your household's basic sanity.