The next morning was a big day for all of us. It was time to go to the vet, which was to be Scarlett's first check-up, and we were bringing Miss Kitty home to a whole new life with a new kitten. My daughter wanted to stay home from school, of course, but I told her that things would go better if she went on to school. She went grumpily out to meet the bus and my husband and I spent the next 20 minutes or so trying to find the cat. She had been under foot all morning, but now that it was time to go out the door, she had decided it would be a great time to explore behind the furniture and was having a great time being very stealthy.
This drive was a much calmer experience for us than the one the day before had been. We arrived at the office only a few minutes late. Our vet was a very experienced doctor who had been practicing in that area for a long time. He was also on call for the zoo, so was full of wonderful animal stories and usually had lots of pictures of new animals he was working with. I loved going to see him.
We brought Scarlett in and sat her down. She played around in the exam room until the Doc came in, then was picked up and put on the exam table. He looked her over and asked me where we had gotten her. I related the story of the grocery store, which had him laughing a bit, and then he asked me about the location of the store. I told him and he said he knew the one. The exam went well and he gave her a clean bill of health and her shots.
"You know this is probably going to be a big cat, don't you?" he asked. I had noticed that her paws were quite large as were her ears so I told him that I kind of figured that. "She is probably going to want control of the house too. Do you think Miss Kitty will adjust?" he asked. We talked a bit about the fact that Miss Kitty was not a very adventuresome type and that I thought she would be ok, but wondered why he was asking. It was really to soon to know which of the two would eventually be the queen of the house, at least that is what I though. He stood there looking at me for a bit with a very odd expression and then seemed to make some kind of decision as his whole mood changed.
"We should get Miss Kitty in here. She will still be sedated but at least we can see how Scarlett reacts." He turned and left the room, returning in a short time with a very sleepy Kitty and sat her on the exam table, tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth and looking very loaded. By this time Scarlett was back on the floor playing so he picked her up and let her see Miss Kitty while he held and petted Scarlett, talking softly to both of them. Scarlett was a bit curious but showed no sign of aggression. Miss Kitty was to sleepy to care.
It was time for home care instructions, which I expected to get from the nurse but the Doc stayed instead to talk a bit more. "Put Miss Kitty in the bath tub when you get home." he told us. "When she is awake enough to jump out, she will be awake enough to not get hurt. If you have any problems, just give us a call. We are staffed 24 hours here for emergencies."
We packed up the fur babies and took them home. Sure enough, within a few hours Miss Kitty did indeed jump out of the tub and come out to greet the new arrival. I was expecting a lot of activity surrounding the meeting and was concerned for Miss Kitty because of her surgery that morning, but it went very well. By the time the Kid came in from school, the cats were napping together on the sofa.
I spent the rest of the day wondering what it was that the Doc wanted to say and did not. I had "that" feeling and as I learned months later, I was correct.
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