Cats Stats

We went to the vet today for Bonnie & Clyde to get their booster shots. They got a regular checkup, as well. This was the first time for them to go to our vet--the Animal Shelter offers the spaying/neutering at only one office in town, so we had to go there for their first checkup so we could set the date for their "alterations."

Everyone was so glad to see the little guys again. They all oohed and aahed about how much they'd grown, and how they were lighter than everyone expected. The mama cat was still in the office, so they brought her by. The meeting was friendly, but she didn't seem too interested, and wandered off after a couple nose touches.

Bonnie was a champion patient. She weighed in at 3lbs 11oz, everything sounded great (breathing, etc.), she stood very still for the thermometer, and didn't seem to notice the shot too badly. We were a little concerned about the chub she's starting to develop on her belly, but the dr. wasn't worried at all. He promotes free-feeding until about 6 months, at which time their energy levels and growth rates wane, and it's time to start measuring out food. This was different from what the Animal Shelter's doctor said. He believed in regulating food amounts right at the beginning. I didn't really agree with him, though we did watch a little better that we just fed them enough for them to eat in a day, instead of leaving it full all the time. So I was happy to hear that our vet thought that was fine.

Clyde was up next. He weighed in at a whopping 4lbs 5oz (no wonder he wins all the fights!). Dr. M detected a small heart murmur and suggested it might be caused by parasites. (The parasites thin the blood, which makes it swoosh through the heart faster, causing noise.) He assured me that this murmur was not on the same scale as Friday's, and if the cause is parasites, it will go away when the parasites are taken care of. We have been directed to collect a stool sample (and yes, my pregnant self has a big rubber glove for the occasion!) so they can test it. Clyde didn't do so well with the thermometer. By the time it beeped that it had registered, he had crawled on to my arm and heading up my shoulder, trying to get his booty as far away from the dr. as possible. He's going to be our problem child at the vet, we can already tell. :) After that he did fine with the shot.

All in all, the cats did very well. They were content to let everyone come by and pet them, and Clyde even purred while Jon held him. They remain our laid back kitties.

I'd like to put in a huge plug for my vet. If you live around here, I would really recommend them. They go above and beyond in their care for our cats, and have been great to us, as well, as we've dealt with some hard blows in the pet arena this year. They honestly care about each animal, and the vets (Dr. M in particular) are very thorough. The vet techs are huge animal lovers, as well. When Smith & Wesson were so sick, they needed a certain tube of vitamin goo; the office didn't have any on hand, and one of the vet techs went to her house and brought back her own tube for us to use. They've also sent us a rose for each cat we lost, and cried with us and hugged us, assuring us we were still good pet parents. Then, best of all, they called us about Bonnie & Clyde, and boarded them for 7 weeks at no cost to us, because they really wanted us to have them. Those kinds of things just don't happen at every vet office.

I would also recommend the vet that will be doing the spaying/neutering, but for different reasons. My vet is a small establishment and pretty laid back, and this one is larger with more sparkle. They took pictures of the cats to put in their records, the ear scope is connected to a monitor so the pet owner can see what's going on, they have an online portal so I can view the records, and they send out periodic e-mails about pet-related stuff, including appointment reminders. The building is very clean and nice, and much closer to our house. If we weren't so happy with our vet, I would probably switch to this one for the convenience. So for that reason I recommend both.

Obviously I've kept the names anonymous because I have this idea that I've somehow managed to keep my location unknown from random people online. In reality, that's probably not true, but, oh well. If you know you live near me, ask me about these places and I'll tell you. :)

Now, Bonnie & Clyde are sacked out, and probably will be for most of the rest of the day. That seems to be what happens with shots. We like it because then they're cute and cuddly. :)