Another annual vet visit behind us!

[tuxluvr]

Knowing that the old cat carrier would mean Ritz would find a way to engage the "cat cloaking device" and disappear from view, I decided to approach this with a new carrier, a nylon zippered/mesh thing that looks more like my regular luggage. I left this out for a few weeks in plain view - Ritz came to know it as "part of the furniture".

This morning, I even warmed it up for her near one of the heat registers, and put a warmed towel in the bottom. SUCCESS! She willingly hunkered into the warm place while I zipped the top of the bag, no pushing shoving or clawing...and a surprisingly quiet pussycat!

Picked up the bag and took it downstairs, not a peep out of her.

Took the bag out to the car and strapped it in with a seat belt through the straps...still a very nice, quiet kitty.

Garage door up, car started, backed out....GOOD KITTY!

Edged down the driveway and turned onto the road.......mMMMMMMMmmmMMMmmEEEEEERoooooOWWWWWRRRRRLLLLMMMmmme eeeOOOWWWWRRRLLLLLLGGRRRLLLLMERRRRRLLLL!!!!!

Ok, so I had a small victory, and the placement INTO the carrier is the hardest part, after all....but man did she repay me! At the vets, growl, snarl, hiss...I had some success by bringing a rubber brush and brushing her....I could tell she was upset, as she was dispensing fur like a vending machine. Calmed down a little, until the resident vet kitty, a HUGE yellow tabby, sauntered out to see what the fuss was, and emitted an innocent mmeooww.

Ritz: HIsss SPIT...growwlll, mrrrrrrrrllllll....

Ritz was wadded into a tight little ball of kitty muscle, determined that no one was going to pick her up (I'm always amazed at how strong she is). I put my hands around her to pick her up and her normally soft squishy middle was HARD AS A BRICK! Ok, so there ARE muscles under that hangy down stuff!

The vet weighed her - a 14.8 pounds (He said she was not fat, just a big cat and not to worry about the dieting). They had to put a huge towel folded over to do the exam...just the stethescope and you would think she was being murdered!!! You can imagine what the shots did!!

These people never get to see Ritz's tuxedo markings! She is hunkered down into such a tight mound that you can't see any of these parts.

The shots were administered...amid some of the nastiest snarling, growling, hissing, spitting, howling...and....I swear....she was SNORTING like a mad pig! I've never had a cat this afraid of the vets.....and the noises coming out of this sweet little furry tuxedo'ed friend of mine could rival LInda Blair's act in the Exorcist...who knows, under that towel,her head MIGHT have been turning around!!!

Back home, she scooted out of the carrier, ran around the house like a nutcase for about 5 minutes checking everything out , the food dish, the window, the food dish again, the couch, the food dish, the pantry door, the front door, the food dish, me, the food dish....finally a brushing calmed her down....slept for about four hours after that and she is her old self again...

For another year....I think this stresses me out as much if not more than Ritz....now we just need to keep her away from anything that would warrant an emergency trip, we had a close call with the 'string' incident (another thread)...

Whew!

[neko1]

woweee geez poor thing!! Ritz buddy you need to calm yourself! The doctors are there to help you!!

My kitties get nasty at the vet too, but not that nasty. Just a lot of hissing and swatting. I've never had a problem putting them in the carrier (I also have those mesh luggage type things) I just get it out and plop em in.

Some cats that come into our office are so nasty that they scare even me!! But there's not too many of them, thank god. But we do have plenty of pusses that make a lot of noise!!

[Edwina's Secretary]

I am having flashbacks! You have described Perfectly* Edwina's behavior at the vet except she also bit my husband (twice) and vomited when we got home.

Thank goodness it is only once a year!

*including the pig grunting --

[wolflady]

Scooter has to be added to this group of feisty felines!!! Poor Ritz, I'm glad she made it though (and you too!)! You had me chuckling at your descriptions of her at the vets...because it rings only too true in my house as well with Scooter. Although, most of the time with Scooter...the vets and assistants can't get near him, so he has to be given a sedative! You would think we were skinning a cat the way he carries on! They usually use the 'net' method: they scoop him up in a net with a long handle, then inject him in the rear area...so he doesn't hurt the people or himself. Once the sedative kicks in, the vet can do normal stuff like give shots...look in his mouth...etc. I have to think this is just too stressful on him sometimes...and me too! I just hate being the lady with "the mean cat" everytime I go in there!

I agree...good thing it's only once a year! Here's to happy healthy kitties and no more vet appointments than need be during a year!

Give Ritz a few extra treats for me
**hugs**

[jenluckenbach]

If Ritzy were my cat, I'd PAY someone else to take her in to the vet's.......and I work with animals....LOL LOL

[Pam]

Gee Edwina, I'm glad you only have to go once a year. Wow! My boys are like butter at the vets. I pour them out of the carriers (well, sometimes I have to dump them! LOL!) They lay on that shiny metal table and will do anything that is expected of them. He even partially scaled Trev's teeth once! I can tell that they are stressed by the amount of hair they leave behind, but other than that you'd never know. For me the worst part is "capturing" them to get them into their porta prison in the first place!

[Sara luvs her Tinky]

Poor Mizz. Ritzy Kat!... Glad to hear everyone made it out of there alive..
Tinky and Jupiter have only been once... there next visit will be in February sooo then I will see how they act.. hopefully it won't be too bad.. I just don't know how hard it will be with two kitties.

[tuxluvr]

Originally posted by Edwina's Secretary
I am having flashbacks! You have described Perfectly* Edwina's behavior at the vet except she also bit my husband (twice) and vomited when we got home.

Thank goodness it is only once a year!

*including the pig grunting --

Well, I'm glad to hear I don't have the only cat who emits "pig grunting"...this was a new addition to her repertoire of sounds....

And Karen, I always worry that Ritz isn't getting a thorough "going over" because she is so tensed up and growling...this vet is the same man I've used for years and have always liked him, but he picked her up by the scruff of the neck....I know he didn't have much choice, but this just ticked her off even more. He never checks her teeth, just listens to her with a stethoscope, tries to feel her underbelly and gives her shots....

I've been toying with the notion of seeking out a "cat only" vet...but it's hard to know which ones are good ones, and I know it would mean a 40mile drive, as we live in a smaller town. Not sure it would make a difference.

I don't like being the lady with the "mean cat" either...but Ritzy is such a neat cat at home. I've had a number of cats over the years and have never had one who was this fearful of the vets, even the other tuxedo cats I had.

[Vio&Juni]

I hope you won't be upset with me, but I laught out loud with tears!!! Poor Ritzy! Fortunately, here in Moldova you can have the vet visit at home, you just pay a little more. (Our vet's office is just around the corner).
Juni is absolutely terrified when I try to take her out for a walk and although the Central Park (the nicest place) is here just across the street and a lot of people take their pets there, I wouldn't even try to cross the street with her. We walk on our small green territory and that's it. She is not afraid of our outside gang of kitties, but she is afraid of the outside.
Oh, and that sound

mMMMMMMMmmmMMMmmEEEEEERoooooOWWWWWRRRRRLLLLMMMmmme eeeOOOWWWWRRRLLLLLLGGRRRLLLLMERRRRRLLLL!!!

sounds familiar to me too

[tuxluvr]

Originally posted by Vio&Juni
I hope you won't be upset with me, but I laught out loud with tears!!! Poor Ritzy! Fortunately, here in Moldova you can have the vet visit at home, you just pay a little more. (Our vet's office is just around the corner).
Juni is absolutely terrified when I try to take her out for a walk and although the Central Park (the nicest place) is here just across the street and a lot of people take their pets there, I wouldn't even try to cross the street with her. We walk on our small green territory and that's it. She is not afraid of our outside gang of kitties, but she is afraid of the outside.
Oh, and that sound

sounds familiar to me too

No apologies necessary - I know this is familiar territory with many petttalkers, and sometimes it helps to chuckle.. I know she is not being hurt, I just wonder what goes through that little kitty brain.

I think, like Juni, Ritzy's primary problem is with "not being home"....we can open her mouth, examine her teeth, feel all over her, and she is completely agreeable to OUR touch. I know it's a trust and familiarity thing with her....the vet office doesn't look or smell the same and there are other strange animals there, and she absolutely HATES being confined, which is the other part of the equation. Once she is back home, she is her old self again.

I often wonder if a visiting vet would have the same problems. WE don't have such a service in our area.

We do keep tabs on Ritzy and supplement the vet check with regular reviews.- check the regularity of litter output, size and consistency - about once a month dadcat checks her teeth, opens her mouth shines a light in her ears, feels all of the undercarriage parts and body for any unusual lumps or changes...so she is a well cared for kitty.

Don't worry about laughing - after it's all over, I chuckle at it too, watching her roll over on her back after she gets home, doing the little "cutest kitty" routine, working the room for affection...and I think, "what a little Jekyl and Hyde pussycat you are, Ritzy!"

[Vio&Juni]

Juni loves our vet. He is black (we cannot say here Afro-American, right?) and when she is crying, I just say - let's go to the black doctor! Maybe she likes him because she's half-black too
He is the nicest guy. I think, she doesn't even realize he is a vet, she must think he's a friend.

[Edwina's Secretary]

I've been toying with the notion of seeking out a "cat only" vet...

We switched to a Cat Clinic -- close enough to walk. The first year Edwina surprised us. This year she remembered and it was TOWEL TIME at the vet.

WE like these vets much better though!

[wolflady]

Originally posted by tuxluvr
...
I think, like Juni, Ritzy's primary problem is with "not being home"....

You're absolutely right. Last time Scooter was in, I talked with my vet about it, because we had an extremely bad experience with a vet (dare I even call her that) in Cincinnati who obviously didn't handle "mean cats" as she called him, so I told my current vet about it. He said that some cats just get really scared out of their element, because they're perfectly fine at home! I have been looking into the travelling vets, because I think Scooter might handle it easier than a trip to the white-coat's office LOL LOL
It's wierd, I've never had a cat that acts like Scooter before with his Jekyl and Hyde purrsonality LOL, so he's quite the challenge, but hubby just loves him to pieces!

[Vermontcat]

Wow Ritzy! You are even more extreme at the vet than my cat Samantha! Did you ever notice how its hard to get a cat in the carrier at home but easy to get them out at home and at the vets its hard to get the cat out of the carrier and very easy to get the cat back in!
Ritzy, you and Samantha are in the same weight class, at her last checkup in Sept Samantha weighed 14.5 lbs. The vet says the same thing about being a big-boned large cat but we do try to limit her food and get her more active.
My cat is also very talented in the strange noises for the vet. She will growl at any animals in the waiting room that come too near to her carrier.
She is ok with the vet tech except when she is picked up to be put on the scale to be weighed, she meows and hisses.
She saves the worst behavior for the vet who is a man, she will growl and hiss during the whole exam, getting louder when she gets a shot or has her temp taken back there.
At her last visit it was funny when he was listening with the stethoscope she let out a long loud Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwlllllll! He sure got an earful of it!
Now that I think about it my cat does Ritzy's Sumo pose when she is on the table at the vets and she does shed a lot more than normal while she is there!

[Cataholic]

I must admit, and yup, I am going to brag...my tuxies are so good at the vet! They don't do a thing, once I vacuum them out of the porta prison. Now, I haven't taken Minnie in yet (she came from a vet's office, and isn't due until April or May!!), so, maybe she will be the proverbial straw.

Tex has a visit tomorrow with a NEW vet..closer to home. We shall see how that goes...