“Guess what, Dougy?”
“You and Andy have an appointment with your veterinarian!”
Yes, it’s time for Andy and Dougy to get their rabies and distemper update shots. Andy gets to have his blood pressure checked, too, something he hates when they do it on his tail. (I’ll insist they use his foot, which he hates a little less.) Time to see if they are in the right weight range for their age, too. Yes, this will be their annual check-up!
I’ve never seen blood pressure taken on a tail. Is it supposed to be more accurate?
Maybe easier for the technician? I don’t know. I got the impression the foot gave more reliable readings for some reason, but don’t know.
I am catching up here, and will assume all went well with the boys and their checkups.
Yes, and both were very good on the examination table! Andy gets growly when he becomes bored, and, of course, was on the table longest. He did let out a short protest growl toward the end. It doesn’t mean he’ll get aggressive so much as he’s just had enough and wants to get back to kitty boy stuff!
You too?! I had my checkup yesterday – but no shots. But guess what? I heard Mom say I have to go back in later this week to have my teeth cleaned! YIKES! The Aliens are coming for me! I don’t get a rabies shot anymore, ’cause I had a bad reaction to one several years ago. Mr. Doug, have Andy or Dougy had any bad reactions to shots?
No, neither has had any shot reactions, though Andy has some food allergies….
I hope all goes well.
Thanks!
It’s so great you take such wonderful care of the kitty boys, Doug. I’d love to meet them! 😻😍😻😍
If you ever happen to be planning to be through Western Nebraska, you’d be welcome to stop by for an introduction!
Thanks so much, Doug! Hug those beautiful kitties for me. 😻😻
Done!
Because you keep them indoors all the time,do they need these shots? They won’t be coming in contact with any animal that has rabies or distemper.
Well, what about escaping through the door? Or needing to go places where other animals could be? Doug was seriously ill a little while back – and if Andy and Dougy had had to go to a foster with other animals, that would not have been ideal without shots. You never know if such a situation arises.
There are uncertainties to deal with, for sure. They could escape through the door if I had it open and holding it, but I am very careful about that. Dougy in pafrticular might get out that way.
Were I sick again, I have a support “crew” who have experience caring for the kitty boys over long periods.
Were I to die, their fate is still up in the air. I suspect (till I work out a better plan), they would end up with one friend for a short time. I’m trying to pre-arrange someone who’d take both kitties since they’ve been togdther for their whole lives except about five days when I brought Andy home by himself, then had to place him back in the care of his veterinarian.
I’ve talked with my attorney about the possibilities of leaving money for their care and other arrangements, but they (pets) are regarded as property, not sentient creatures with emotional needs and relationships in law.
Ideally, I will outlive them or find a potential home arrangement for them before I die. I worry about this, as you can imagine, but there always is hope I will have it worked out beforehand. As long as I’m around to care for them, they will have their medical needs cared for. I take that responsibility seriously.
I am sure you have made arrangements, it was just in response to the commenter who asked why you had them vaccinated. There are scenarios thinkable and not totally unlikely which could make a vaccination very desirable that was all I wanted to make clear to that commenter.
Thanks! That’s one problem with working on comments anywhere but on the post itself! I didn’t make the connection or see what you were trying to say to the other poster. Oops!
Yes. One can’t anticipate all possibilities and contacts. Some diseases are transmitted through nose contact, for example, or sneezes. They could have contact with a sick cat in the waiting room at the veterinarian’s. If they accidentally got out and were trapped by the animal control officer, they could have contact with a sick cat at the animal shelter. It may seem excessively cautious, but it is better than dealing with a sick cat. I believe the rabies shot is required by law here, especially if the cat ever gets out.
I had a stray mother with four young (couple month old) kittens set up housekeeping in the neighbor’s woodpile. When a friend at work said she’d like cats for their granary, I told her I could trap and give her four at least. (One kitten was run over….)
The mother was the tamest, and the first I caught. I tried transferring her from the trap to a burlap bag – I was new to this business, and learned the hard way you keep them in the trap! She slashed and bit my hands severely.
After I got medical attention, I took her to a veterinarian, who gave me two options: hold the cat in quarantine for a period or have her euthanied and her head sent to the state capital for determination of her status, rabies or not.
Since the cat was headed to my friends if rabies-free, I let her make the decision. “Well, our farm cats never get shots…” she said, but she finally decided to put her in quarantine, which meant she paid for the process at $8 per day, I think it was, for 10 days and a rabies shot. I had the quarantine period to be concerned that the cat was rabies-free or not, of course.
Please note what the friend said about farm cats! That’s another reason for mine to be vaccinated – I live close to the edge of town.
Anyway, the mother cat turned out to be healthy, was vaccinated, and relocated to the country. The three kittens went to the country after I trapped them, and weren’t vaccinated because farm people don’t “waste” money on farm cat.
Incidentally, farm cats frequently become coyote chow, something I was unaware of back then or I probably would have had the animal control officer trap them. Of course, back then, I was unaware they likely would have been declared feral and unsuitable for pets, then would have been euthanized.
My friend noted that the cats all disappeared after a short time. Their fate: Unknown….
PEOPLE: SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR DANG PETS! BETTER YET, DO NOT LET THEM ROAM OUTSIDE. THEY LIVE HEALTHIER, LONGER LIVES INSIDE OR WHEN THEY HAVE CONTROLLED, SUPERVISED OUTSIDE TIME IN CATIOS OR AT DOG PARKS.
so when is “D” day for the boys?
The 15th, next Monday….
gettum high on catnip,….good luck!
That’s not a bad idea!
might work the first time but they may associate it with going to the Vets after that? Maybe they’ll wake up with a hang over?
Could happen! Dougy might take a few times to catch one, but Andy is very suspicious of everything….
I’ve always been fascinated how similar animals can have such different personalities! Because your around them all the time you can see the differences. I see differences in my eagles & bear friends.
Yes, observing animals reveals personalities unique to individuals. I enjoy doing a “Jane Goodall” on my cats, and your photos show your interests run that way, too! Probably why I enjoy your work so much!
thank you Doug! I try my best.
thanks Doug! I just got back from camping with the bears/salmon.Watched them do their dance of life.Very tired but had a excellent trip! These camping trips always take so much out of me!
Will post some later.
I’ll be watching for them!
I hope all goes well at the vet.
Most likely, all is well, though I am concerned their weight may be a bit up from last time. Too many kitty treats!
Glad it went well! 😊
It’s on the 15th. They haven’t been there yet….
Oh sorry, totally misread your comment above which sounded as if they had been!
No problem! I bet the kitty boys wish they were through with it!
Hope all is well with both of them.
They are doing well, Peggy and the veterinarian appointment is routine. Neither has had any medical issues other than Andy’s high blood pressure, which is controlled with medicine. Thanks for asking!