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!