Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Their Doctor's Visit

Hector and Zofia went to the doctor yesterday. There was nothing that we thought wrong with them, but the rescue-group needed to have Hector’s booster-shot given and Zofia’s first vaccination.

It was not a happy journey. Hector, who can be quite brave when picking on Horace, yowled in his carrier the whole journey. He eventually was reduced to a strange honking sound, like a goose. I thought the poor fellow would hyperventilate. Little Miss Zed was quiet, but afraid.

The examinations that accompanied the injections went well. Hec has some tartar that will have to be addressed, but not right away. As someone remarked, it seems that every stray we rescue has dental issues. Otherwise, the little Turk is doing well. He is at an excellent weight, though keeping this gourmand at it will not be easy.

It was revealed that Zofia has a kind of floating patella in each of her rear legs. This bone is behind the knee. When the kitten stands suddenly, she sometimes must wait for the bone to slip back into place; I have seen her arch her back and hop a bit when rising from a still position, but thought it was just a sign of her stretching, or accommodating stiffness. This condition is not common but not entirely rare, either; it causes no pain at the moment, but her weight, too, will be a concern. Too many pounds will aggravate the condition in years to come, and could lead to arthritis.

However, Zofia is doing well. She and her big brother took their injections without flinching and, though Hector repeated his raucous crying on the way home, their evening was uneventful, and they have apparently suffered no ill effects from the shots. They played, ate and snoozed, the rest of their day no worse for their doctor’s visit.

11 comments:

  1. What great news to hear that Hector and Zofia got good reports from the vet. But poor Hector. My cats will cry going to the vet, but they're so relieved to be going home, the return trip is usually pretty quiet.

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    1. Most of mine have acted similarly; Hector is such a smart fellow, I would have thought he'd know better about the return trip.

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  2. I am glad the shots went well. Your ears must have been ringing by the time you got home.

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  3. The first few years of being owned by cats, had me crying every time they visited the vet; that yowling just broke my heart!
    Now, I'm seasoned, so I don't cry, but I must do plenty of deep breathing to keep the stress at bay.
    Being a good cat pawrent isn't always easy.
    Manny was diagnosed with a slipping patella by his chiropractor, but the vet didn't find it (?) He kicks that leg out, making rapid pitty-pat-pats, so we know something ain't right.

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  4. Precious shares Hector's commentary on travel to the dreaded V-E-T.
    Once in the office she screams bloody mary until they quickly give us a
    room. Then on she is in silence. Hector just wanted to give you his
    opinion of the ordeal to guilt you.

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  5. Katie never says a word. That is a mercy, as Admiral screamed every inch from the house like the Apocalypse was nigh, to the exam table. I was in tears because of her fear- from the time I tricked her (made me feel terrible to do that to her) and put her fighting me into the PTU...those tears lasted to the parking lot where I had to stay a moment and dry my eyes before going in. Whew.

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  6. I'm glad all is well overall. One of our newbies can honk like a goose too.

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  7. Hector sounds like my Silas - he sang the song of his people every time he was in the carrier in the car. I used to sing along with him...good thing there was no one else in the car.
    Interesting issue for Zophia - I do hope this won't be an issue in her adoption story.

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  8. Yes it's true 'after' the visit on the way home is normally quiet, isn't that an interesting thing? How do they know that home is the destination?

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  9. Trips to the vet can be rough--on both human and animal--but I'm glad to hear they bounced back quickly. I've never heard of "floating patella"--I had the same worry as Saku; that it might put people off from adopting her.

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  10. aybe theti e to start a 'diet' is now so those two don't get hheavy to make for issues in thhe future.

    Sorry you had to listen to that caterwauling!
    Songs of their people are SO loud and mournful...to make us feel guilty I suppose, LOL!

    We had PTU piddlers and poopers...thatt is true fun, when arriving at the vets, yikes!

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