Ernie's vet visit

see also

I sent this email to Bob back in July when I first starting taking Ernie into the vet, it struck me as funny: OMG it was a CIRCUS. I got the carrier and brought it up. Ernie was under the bed, so I pushed him out with the bat but before I could run around and grab him he went back under. I finally got him and Hurley and Pippi were in the carrier. I put Ernie down and shook Hurley out, Pippi wouldn't come out. She was growling and holding on for dear life. I took the carrier and turned it upside down and she wouldn't come out. I finally dragged her out, she was biting me and growling. Now Ernie was back under the bed. This time I left the door unlocked but closed it so no one could get in it. Ernie was more clever this time and he just kept moving to the center, he wouldn't come out. I moved the bed, he moved too. Finally I shoved the bat so he had to come out the bottom of the bed. I grabbed him, now Jack was standing on the carrier and it spooked Ernie so he started clawing me. I got Jack off the carrier and tried to put Ernie in. He was all freaked out so he braced himself and wouldn't go in. Lucky came up on the bed to see what was going on and that distracted Ernie enough so I could shove him in the carrier. *sigh*

Vet visit

see also

When you have six cats you can’t just load them up and take them to the vet. Well, I guess you could but it would be a huge circus, especially if you have criers…and we do. We took Lucky and Herbie together a few years ago and I thought I was going to lose my mind. It’s a short drive but feels like hundreds of miles when two cats cry the entire time, they never shut up. I thought Herbie was going to hyperventilate. Anyway, we’re fortunate that our vet will make house calls. I managed to get everyone on the same schedule which makes it a little easier, I don’t have to keep everyone’s shots straight. But it also means that six cats have to get shots…each cat gets two shots…that’s TWELVE shots.

I figured Hurley and Lucky would be the worst. The last time we put Lucky in a carrier he turned into a different cat. He growled and when we finally got him in the carrier he made horrible wild animal sounds, it wasn’t good. Getting him out of the carrier once we got to the vets office was no fun. He did NOT do well. When everyone was sick Hurley bit us both, HARD. So naturally I assumed they would be the most difficult. Lucky wasn’t happy, he growled and hissed but he didn’t bite or claw anyone. Hurley was was great, he didn’t even cry. Ernie was actually did the best out of all of them, he just took everything in stride.

Jack and Pippi were trouble. Jack FREAKED out, he hissed, growled and made that sound that cats make when they’re about to get into a fight. He also clawed the crap out of the vet. She’s a pro, she’s used to cats fighting her and he still managed to draw blood. Pippi wasn’t nearly as bad, but she hissed, growled and knocked everything on the floor when she struggled. We ended up chasing them both around the house. Bob had to burrito Pippi in a blanket. The vet pinned Jack on the floor. It strikes me as funny that the two biggest punks were the biggest babies.

I had to trick Herbie with cat treats to get him out from under the bed. I think he knows the drill because he really didn’t complain much.

When we adopted Pippi I ordered a special collar for her, she’s the only girl so I kind of went nuts. You can order rhinestone letters that get threaded onto a collar. So she has a ladybug collar with Pippi spelled out in rhinestones. It IS a little extreme for a cat, but I never even think about it anymore. The vet cracked up when she saw it and gave me a look like “are you crazy?” But girls need bling!