A Sense of Shame

We had vet appointments today. And its really nice that our vet, in addition to making house calls if you schedule far enough ahead, has morning hours on Saturdays for those of us who have to work during the week. Scooter needed his thyroid blood test, and Vixen was due for her 1 year check up and shots. Bruce dealt with the dog, and I got the pleasure of taking care of kitty. It wasn't so bad at first. We tricked her into the carrier by distracting her with dangling shoe strings for a few minutes, and then scooped her up and shoved her in before she knew what was happening. It was so funny....Omen saw what was happening and did a sudden disappearing act. She just went for her shots last month, and apparently she remembered that carrier.

The ride to the vet wasn't awful. Vixen was making these long, pitiful meows, and it made me sad, but she was basically ok. Bruce and I both decided that the drive to the vet (a 5 minute ride) always seems like an eternity when we have unhappy animals in the car. Of course the office was crowded with people just like us, trying to get in as many errands as possible on the weekends. We had to wait a while, but Vixen seemed calm enough in her carrier. They finally put us in a room together. There is a cat room and a dog room, but Scooter had to go in the cat room with us. It didn't take long to draw blood from him, and then Bruce took him outside to walk around while Vixen had her check up.

And that is where the shame comes in. My kitty, my precious, sweet little darling cat that we love and spoil and cuddle....she behaved so badly that I could barely believe my eyes. The minute that the tech tried to take her out of her carrier she started hissing and spitting and making this low, rolling growl that sounded like an animal possessed by Satan. It took 2 people to hold this petite little 8 lb. cat down on the exam table to get her shots. Her eyes were huge and unfocused and her face was drawn up into a snarling mask that didn't even look like my cat. I was embarrassed. I told them that I had no idea why she was acting like that because normally she was a really sweet cat. I am not sure if they believed me. When Bruce took Omen a month ago, she was scared, and she meowed a lot, but she didn't go crazy like that. Oh my Lord! Does anybody else have a perfectly nice, well behaved pet that completely loses it at the vet?

Anyway, its over. And Vixen is back to normal again. She has slept a whole lot today, and I am not sure if its the shots that are making her feel bad or if she is just exhausted from her hissy fit today. Maybe both. The good news is that she doesn't have to go back for 3 years now. Or that is what the vet told me. Maybe they are just saying that so they don't have to deal with her again anytime soon.
I am not sure I could blame them for that.