Going to the vet on Monday...

[Jayna78]

Alright - we made the annual appointment for 3 of our 4 cats (Claudia isn't due till June). We are taking Bailey, Leila & Leo and getting it all over with in one day, and saving $20 on the visit fee in the process. I'm posting this so you all can send good thoughts our way...check out what we're having to get done for each one of them:

When we adopted Leo & Claudia, they were microchipped, so we didn't have to do that for them. We decided that Bailey & Leila need microchipping too, just in case, heaven forbid, they get out at some point...doubtful, but since we're moving, we want to be extra careful.

So, for Bailey & Leila, we're getting them their annual vaccinations, as well as the microchipping. However, since both of them were holy terrors last year at the vet, there is probably no way that they can get their microchips implanted without being temperarily put under anesthesia (sp?). Bailey was due Jan 31, and Leila is due May 12, so we're finding this happy medium date for the two of them to get this done at the same time. Has anyone any experience with the short-term anesthesia? They told us that these two will be done in an hour and wake up really quickly. I hope it all goes well. I will of course be worried until they wake up and act normal.

For Leo, who is an angel at the vet, we still have to get him put under - he needs his vaccinations, and those and the exam would be no problem b/c he's so good at the vet, but he is the one kitty of ours that needs a serious dental cleaning. He is only 2 years old (will be 3 in July), but since he is due this month for the annual vaccinations and since every vet who has seen him has said his teeth are really bad (from the time that he was on his own, eating whatever he could get to survive, in the process of also getting the horrible respiratory infection and ear mites that deformed his ears) and need to be cleaned thoroughly, we're taking him in also on Monday to get all of that done. He will be out longer than the other 2, and we'll be able to pick him up in the afternoon. Of course, I'll be very worried about him, since it's a longer-term anesthesia that he'll be under during that time. I hope it all goes ok.

Any experiences with these things and good thoughts would be appreciated! I'll be the worried meowmy until all 3 of these cats are back in my house and going about their regular business. Of course Claudia will not know what the deal is until they're all back - she'll be by herself for a while in the morning, but she'll be so glad to get her food and water back when we leave! It'll be rough depriving them from 12 a.m. Monday on until 10 a.m.!

[Logan]

Hope everything will go well. Butter needs to have his teeth cleaned, too, but we're going to get him healed up before we do that.

Good luck!
Logan

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Good luck! I find it difficult to take more than one at a time, so I don't envy you your 3-fer at all!

[Craftlady]

One thought about getting microchips at vet's office. Ask them which scanner/microchip system they use, is it same one the shelter use in your area. There are several different systems out there and it's important to use same one as shelters. Animals can be scanned looking for a chip and have chip not show up.

[tricollie4me]

Hope all goes well! Once all the exams/chipping/dental is done, you'll have healthy, happy kitties! The worrying is hard but it's going to be worth it.

We're bringing Bonnie in for her well-kitty visit tomorrow morning, but I don't expect anything beyond a physical exam...hopefully, she'll be cooperative but you never know!

[catmandu]

I used,to take 6,at a time,grabbing the first 6,that I could get,my hands on,and saving 10%.Now,the Vet comes,to me,and the Cats,like that a lot better.That wy,a certain three syable Cat,doesnt mess himself,and the carrier.Good Luck,at the Vets,and hopefully,they can fix,those teeth.

[Felicia's Mom]

I hope everything goes well for you.

[Jayna78]

Thanks for all your good wishes! We have had to round all 4 up before - when we went to our parents' houses for a few days at Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it's not like it'll be new to round more than one up at a time. Notice I didn't say, "easy", though. It's funny how if you get the carriers out beforehand, they love to snuggle and sleep in them, but if you try to put them in the carriers, they fight with all they have! We have to close the bedroom doors to get a couple of them in there. Silly kitties.

About the microchipping thing...Leo & Claudia came with AVID microchips in them when we adopted them, so we were wanting the same thing done with Bailey & Leila, just so they're all covered - I'll make sure AVID is the most popular in our area, though, just to be sure. What other systems are out there?

[christa]

Wow, 3 at once . . . you are brave! Good luck!!!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Prayers and positive thoughts are being sent your way. I'm sure that everything will be just fine. All 4 of my cats have the home again microchip in them.

[Jayna78]

Well, 1 of the 3 is an angel at the vet, and 2 of the 3 are holy terrors, but it won't matter, since all 3 will be under sedation for at least a little while. The brave part comes in when I will be worrying about them nonstop Monday!

[Jayna78]

Sorry I haven't been on much lately, but I've been pre-occupied with a Microsoft exam I scheduled myself to take on Friday (one of the 3 I need for my MCSA - I already have one done, but need these other 2). I am taking it now, after a long delay, b/c Microsoft is running a 2nd-try-for-free promotion on any IT Pro exam you sign up for between Feb 28 and May 31, 2005, so I need to get them done ASAP!

I don't feel ready at all - I'm sick of cramming already, though I know that's what the next couple days will be - I'm sure I'll probably have to take this test (70-215, supposedly the hardest of the 3, most people I know who took it took it twice before passing) again, but hopefully I can take it for free and not have to pay for it a second time.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that we took Bailey, Leila, & Leo to the vet on Monday as planned. In fact, that took up more of my day than studying, which wasn't too good, but oh well. They're our "kids", and that's the most important thing.

Anyway, everything went smoothly. There were a few surprises - first of all, our original estimate for all the stuff we were having done to the 3 of them was $417, but it ended up being $500 (YIKES! We're kinda broke right now b/c of all the expenses w/purchasing our first home, me looking for more full-time work, etc.). Bailey was the cheapest - he had no probs - they gassed him, gave him his regular shots & exam, and microchipped him. He was hissing when he first woke up, as he was before he was "gassed" (we were thinking "What else is new? It's the vet!") groggy when we brought him home, and today he's back to normal.

Leila was good for her "gassing", shots & microchipping, but the first extra costs creeped in with her. Somehow, she had ear mites!?! They actually had to clean her ears really thoroughly. They of course then gave us the ear drops for all of our cats b/c if one has them, they all might, especially if they snuggle, which they often do. All we can figure is that back in Sept 2004, when we thought Leo was having a recurrence of his ear mites from before we adopted him, we took him to the vet about his incessant ear scratching, but they couldn't find anything in his ears, except build-up. It sucks that they can't find ear mites all the time. Anyway, since then, the cats have been scratching their ears quite a bit (not Bailey, usually, but the other ones have), and we cleaned each of their ears regularly, and we attributed it to the really dry conditions in our rental house. Well, I guess Leo may have had them first & passed them to Leila, and possibly to Claudia, but to a lesser extent. We're not going to treat Bailey as much, b/c his ears are absolutely clear (the doctor didn't see signs of mites with him either), as usual, but we're supposed to give them all ear drops for a couple of weeks. Good times!

Leo had the expensive procedure - the full dental cleaning - as well as his shots (plus his 3-year rabies shot/tag, which Bailey & Leila already had last year - he had the microchip already - AVID is what they use around here). It became more expensive b/c they had to extract his front left canine tooth (his "fang") b/c it there was an absess on the gums and the roots of the tooth were coming out up there and it was getting messy - they said it would've been quite painful for him before too long. I'm glad they pulled it, since it was probably causing him lots of pain - it was also the tooth that was chipped when we adopted him. So, we also had that cost, plus the 2 meds we have to give him for a couple of days - pain med & antibiotic. Let's just say our Leo is quite the "stoner" right now. It's funny. He does seem to be feeling lots better already. No telling how long that tooth was bugging him - that probably explains a lot (that and the ear mites that we thought were there but no one ever saw in 3 trips to the vet in Sept, Nov & Dec for various other things)! He seems happier and peppier (unless that's the drugs, but we don't think so), and I just wish there had been some way for him to tell us about his tooth, but oh well.

Sorry so long, but I just had to update you all on the cats & their crazy expensive trip to the vet. We just have to take Claudia for her annual stuff in June, so hopefully that won't be crazy like yesterday!

Wish me luck on my exam (try 1 and possibly try 2, depending on Friday's outcome)!

[Jayna78]

...gentle bump, in case you guys didn't see the synopsis of the vet trip, etc...

...I have rescheduled my exam for Tuesday, as I didn't feel ready today, so please send your positive thoughts my way!

...Leo is doing great, after several days of pain meds & antibiotics. We're done with all that, but we'll still be treating all the kitties for ear mites for a while.

Hope you all are doing well!