Monday, April 27, 2020

A Little Off the Top


Neville’s visit to the veterinary hospital today had unexpected results, which were both good and bad.

It was determined that he did not need dental surgery. His teeth and gums are in good shape. One tooth is a bit questionable, but its removal was not considered sufficient reason to knock him out; the tooth is not causing him discomfort and may be pulled at a much later date. This was encouraging news, certainly, but, in a way, also disappointing news. I was hoping that Nevsky’s teeth were a contributing factor to the sudden return of his high blood-glucose numbers. That they are not means continued treatment with insulin, in the hopes that it will beat his condition back into remission.

He also received a shave, ridding his fur of its mats; ridding him of his fur, in fact, over much of his body. This is good but, again, there is an accompanying dissatisfaction. I wish the veterinary hospital had shaved Neville more completely. There are few, if any, serious mats in the fur remaining, but they could develop there, and it would have been better to have all his hair start from zero again. However, he behaved well during the shave, which suggests that he need not be taken to a veterinary for any further clippings. The rescue group sponsoring him has someone willing to shave Neville, or any other of our cats, once the covid-19 situation diminishes.

It was a day of mixed results, therefore; mostly good, but with qualifications. The former Thin Man’s weight is not a worry, at least; it is quite adequate – but need not grow any more adequate, if you know what I mean. His food consumption certainly is not a concern.

Here he is, then, and thus he will be, for a while: a feline version of a convertible in summer. Neville is, I suspect, unimpressed.


16 comments:

  1. Oh! Neville..what have they done to you..
    Bless!x HeHe! I expect you have lost some
    weight, they've shaved half of your fur off..!
    Still..you've still got plenty of fur, at
    the rear..tail..and up front, so you still
    look lovely..!
    And your right John..He does look unimpressed..! :).

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  2. Awww bless him... he certainly looks unimpressed!

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  3. LOL! It's almost a lion cut, though you could have that done by the rescue volunteer later. :-)

    I'm glad he doesn't need a dental, though I understand why that's a mixed blessing. Anyway, he looks good, shaved fur and all, and he certainly looks very relaxed in the photo. ♥

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  4. I can see that Neville knows we're all looking at this photo and laughing.

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  5. Oh poor Neville he does look a little uneven. Miss Poppy gets a few mats too, but hers are usually round the back of her hind legs and we got the vet to clip them prior to lockdown.

    I think though Mr Nev would get too cold with an all over clipping, so we hope that this will grow back soon.

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  6. Now, for me to be laughing aloud...all by myself except for Katie --being disturbed in her after-breakfast nap-- shows my enjoyment over your statement that Neville's dining "need not become more adequate"!

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  7. Oh yes, I can see that Nevsky has the potential for more mats!
    His fur color is exquisite, however...

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  8. Well we think the lion cut is quite handsome!

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  9. What a surprise to Neville minus 1/2 his fur! It would have
    been good if they would have gotten his belly fur that gets laid on
    all the time and my Maine Coon had the worst mats there and the hind
    bloomers. But I am glad he does not have to have teeth pulled or a
    severe dental cleaning. Hope his tongue does not miss the fur or the
    likely fur ball to heave up.

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  10. You are not doing your daddy duties!!! He should be brushed several times a week because of the type of hair he has. Poor Neville. I would be unimpressed.

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  11. Glad to hear that any dental work wasn't necessary, but their shaving skills leave a lot to be desired! Poor guy. He seems to be not too bothered by it. Just so the rest of the gang don't snicker at him!

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  12. Poor Neville! I think Kia's correct to call Neville's haircut an "almost lion cut". He doesn't seem to mind, though. But here's hoping his fur grows back soon!

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  13. Poor Neville! No wonder he looks unimpressed with his rather uneven shave. It would have been much better to take more off. I am glad that he doesn't need a dental though.

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  14. Neville will need at least two months to regrow the floof. My own white Maine Coon, aka The Floofmeister, went on an unaturhorized two-week jaunt into the wilderness and returned wearing so many burrs and weeds that the vet charged me $$ to shear him. The positive aspect of his situation was that the vet guessed it rendered him unappetizing to the coyotes. "They probably couldn't figure out how to open the shell."

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  15. I'm sorry, I laughed. Poor Neville - he looks a little annoyed in that photo.

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  16. We had both our long hair cats done in a lion cut last year but the problem was they were both incensed. Since they needed other things addressed they are sedated but afterwards I vowed never again except for dental if needed. We just got a professional grad trimmer (the cheaper one from last year was returned for non performance) and Rumpy had his first posterior shave. He acted as though on the rack but the deed was done and he is easy to clean

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