Miss Scarlett, Chapter 3 - Scarlett Goes to the Vet

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.

What a way to wake up!

If there is one thing I know for sure today, it is that I am a kitty -mom. I say this with mixed feelings at the moment. don’t get me wrong, I love my boys and would not be without them, however, there are days when I doubt my sanity because of this.

My 14 year old, Midnight, stays in my room with me most nights and is a bit of a challenge to deal with occasionally. Aren’t we all, right? He has lost some teeth so he can only eat soft food. Since I feed them on dry, this means I need to wet meal sized amounts for him when he is hungry and this could be at any time, day or night. He lets me know he is ready to eat by visiting me with a gentle tap on the arm, but if this does not work, he gets much more aggressive very quickly. I am a heavy sleeper, once I can finally get to sleep. This is not a good combination. More than a few times a week I am awakened by a 12 pound cat jumping on my chest and then, ever so gently, patting my chin. (Yes, Midnight, I am FULLY awake now!)

Today was one of those days, or so it seemed. I woke up to a cat on my chest for sure, but this time he was not patting my chin or watching my eyelids from 2 inches away. Instead he was acting distressed and was very cranky to say the least. I got up and headed straight to the bathroom, following the cat. He jumped in his box and then backed right back out, ran over to my bed and immediately squatted! I ran and grabbed him, returned to the bathroom and shut us in, placing him at the door of his box. He started in again and then backed out, giving me a dirty look. I looked inside and sure enough it had 1 spot that needed to be cleaned out. I could tell by the size, placement ant the fact that it was not buried that this was from the OTHER cat, Smokie. OK., I scraped the box out, added a bit of new litter and plopped Midnight in to do his job. I went back to bed. Silly me.

Midnight came bounding out of the bathroom at this point screaming like the demons were chasing him, sat down and began to drag his butt in a long arch across my carpeted floor. It seems that he was having some constipation issues. I jumped up and tried to grab him which caused him to run and hide in the one place where he knows nothing can touch him. Behind the headboard of my (queen sized) water bed, where he sat howling. I went to find something to encourage him to come out and as soon as he could not see me any longer, he ran out and began trying his carpet assisted poop removal again, dragging ANOTHER long streak. Thank goodness for Simple Solution and Oxy Clean! I WE went on a chase again and this time I managed to catch him. I took him to the bathroom with a hand full of paper towels and was trying to do several things at once.

1) Hold this really ticked off cat steady.
2) Not git bitten
3) Figure out how to help him with his problem
4) Try not to hurt him in the process

I was able to see at this point that the main cause of the problems was stuck to the fur on his backside and was easily removed. However there was still a small amount that needed to pass naturally. My plan was to shut him in the bathroom (tile floor and a box for him) and check on him. He did not share my plans, though. As soon as I opened the door he shot out of the bathroom, ran back to my bed and squatted again. This one was anger at me, I do think.

I managed to get him and put him back in the box and he came back out in a reasonable but hungry mood. I was busy scrubbing my floors when he emerged and demanded wet food. I went to the bowl (it is in my bedroom too) and there was my second surprise of the day. ANTS! Hundreds of them!

So, I am sitting now in my pajamas, typing to you, looking for a little sympathy and hoping to give you a laugh. My room is VERY clean. It is also bounded in boric acid and there are no ants. Because of all the disinfectant smell, I will possibly sleep on the sofa tonight. Midnight is sleeping on my bed like nothing happened, but I have given him a good dose of hairball treatment. Hopefully the rest of the day will be a lot less interesting.

 Midnight sleeping on my bed.