Tell me this is at least a little normal!

erinca7821 · Jul 21, 2007

I took Seamus to the vet this afternoon because I was told he needed an injection... turns out she gave me a pill form instead... he also needed blood work to check the liver... the reading was high when I took him 2 weeks ago... saw tapworm and he was vomiting. He was diagnosed with giardia... hopefully he gets the all clear on Monday...

Anyway... after 30 minutes at home in a locked spare room wrapping him in a towel and coercing him into the carrier... he was a bit stressed... he's very high strung and scares easily... I get to the vet... she gives me the last dose of the drontal for the tapeworm and offers to pop it in for me... no dice... he near bit her... (BTW he is not aggressive otherwise) I'll hand feed it in food later... he was very skittish in the room, climbing on everything, they had him with his towel.... she forgot about the liver and the blood work and asked me to bring him back when he was calmer... I know my guy, he wasn't going to get any calmer... she seemed a little unnerved that I asked her to get it all out of the way since I had brought him there anyway (Because that's what I was told when I asked on the phone)

A.. I'm a little mad she forgot about bloodwork for the liver... though it was probably just the vomiting, I feel it's worth the money and the work to be certain... B... I'm a little mad I was told I had to bring him for an injection and they gave him the pill instead (though that is the cheaper option) and most of all C.. I am annoyed that the vet looked at me like I have a crazy cat!

Am I the only one with a cat who is highly uncooperative about getting into a carrier and going to the vet??? I know his personality isn't completely abnormal for a cat... he's just high strung... Please someone make me feel like I'm not the bad mother who has the bad cat...

larke · Jul 21, 2007

No - she has no business being a vet if she's afraid of cats and can't manage them. Yes, they can be really wild and scratchy, but there are ways of dealing with it. If I had options, I'd go somewhere else.

jessy · Jul 21, 2007

No, as far as I know most cats don't like the carrier. My Villy has climbed up the vets shoulder before and stuck her nails in her back and she just said oh don't worry, that happens all the time. (mind you, she was terrified that my HAMSTER would bite her!

)
So no, you are not at fault at all, it can be v. stressfull for cats to go to the vets, and your vet should know how to deal with it.

jaffacake · Jul 21, 2007

You are not a bad cat mum with a crazy cat!

I`ve just been to the e-vet and he was terrible but I had no choice but to see him.

IMO if a vet is scared of a cat and can`t treat one in a calm relaxed manner they are just contributing to the cats stress and then of course the cat will be more upset, skittish, aggressive. That would make them a poor vet in my opinion.

Is there anouther vet you can see?

Both my cats hate the carrier to and our vet always calmly helps me put them back in. I think you need a new one

laureen227 · Jul 21, 2007

no, altho none of my current ones have this problem. my first cat, Medley did - she had some breast tumors removed, near the end of her life. when i brought her back to have her stitches removed, instead, they sedated her, removed them, & i was required to leave her there overnight. according to them, the stitches couldn't have been removed without the sedation. i was furious

in part, because they gave her the injection, & then told me i had to leave her there. also, i felt like they could've tried removing the stitches while i held her, which i told them. they 'pooh-poohed' the idea it could've been done. when i picked her up, i informed them she would never be back.

erinca7821 · Jul 21, 2007

The vet was good at handling the cat and keeping him as calm as he possibly could have been, she wasn't afraid of him... I think it seems to be her personality to not be warm and fuzzy with him... she's VERY professional... she mainly seemed to be annoyed with me asking her to take him and do the blood when he was acting a little wild... and I knew bringing him back would just be another day of me fighting with him for a half-hour to get him into the carrier... I don't think she believes me because when it's time to go, he walks right into the carrier knowing it means back-to-home time...

She gets one more chance to not get too annoyed with my boy, because overall she seems like a good doctor... just a little impatient with my guy... I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, it was 4pm on a Saturday, an hour before quittin time...

jen · Jul 21, 2007

Start leaving your cat carrier out all the time with soft blankets and toys and catnip or treats in it. Then your cat won't be afraid of it. i always have carriers laying around and I just brng them in the house now and the cats actually fight to get INTO the carrier. They sleep in them and everything.

erinca7821 · Jul 21, 2007

I was doing that, he still seemed to know what was coming once I tried to give him that calm little "Go in" command that he followed the first time... It's out now, without the door on it and everything... sprayed some of the calming stuff in there... there's a towel... he seems to be checking it out like it's new... the door off is making the difference right now, he nudges the thing around...

Hopefully this was the last vet visit for a while... so we can work on his carrier issues... I was considering training him to go in and then taking him for little rides just so he doesn't automatically associate the carrier with the vet... he'll associate with a little drive to nowhere and back

We'll see...

momofmany · Jul 21, 2007

You are not alone. I had a wonderful vet who called my dear OTB Sebastian "chainsaw with a heart". I have another cat that gave me permanent scars trying to get him into a carrier.

For my very fearful ones, I put the carrier with the opening facing the ceiling and drop them into it.

erinca7821 · Jul 22, 2007

Tried that, he's an acrobat, was hugging side of the ironing board I had out for dear life... I took the top off, wrapped him up, pet him for like 10 minutes and talked him through it... put a treat in there to get him sniffing and facing downward... then snuck the top on, it snaps on fairly easily... he started to flip out in the thing a little, but it's big enough... by then I had it locked up and all I had to do was adjust the gate... like I said, I'm just praying that's the last visit for a while so I can attempt to get him a little more comfortable with the thing..

I have the permanent scars too, my hand has a pretty nasty cut on it and he dug into my leg at one point...

I can't stay mad at him though, we got home and he was all over me, wanting nothing but hugs and cuddles

That just made it all better...

luvmy2cats · Jul 22, 2007

My cat flips out going to the vet so I think your kitty had a normal reaction. Plus, he was sick and stressed out.

crazyforinfo · Jul 22, 2007

Originally Posted by erinca7821

I took Seamus to the vet this afternoon because I was told he needed an injection... turns out she gave me a pill form instead... he also needed blood work to check the liver... the reading was high when I took him 2 weeks ago... saw tapworm and he was vomiting. He was diagnosed with giardia... hopefully he gets the all clear on Monday...

Anyway... after 30 minutes at home in a locked spare room wrapping him in a towel and coercing him into the carrier... he was a bit stressed... he's very high strung and scares easily... I get to the vet... she gives me the last dose of the drontal for the tapeworm and offers to pop it in for me... no dice... he near bit her... (BTW he is not aggressive otherwise) I'll hand feed it in food later... he was very skittish in the room, climbing on everything, they had him with his towel.... she forgot about the liver and the blood work and asked me to bring him back when he was calmer... I know my guy, he wasn't going to get any calmer... she seemed a little unnerved that I asked her to get it all out of the way since I had brought him there anyway (Because that's what I was told when I asked on the phone)

A.. I'm a little mad she forgot about bloodwork for the liver... though it was probably just the vomiting, I feel it's worth the money and the work to be certain... B... I'm a little mad I was told I had to bring him for an injection and they gave him the pill instead (though that is the cheaper option) and most of all C.. I am annoyed that the vet looked at me like I have a crazy cat!

Am I the only one with a cat who is highly uncooperative about getting into a carrier and going to the vet??? I know his personality isn't completely abnormal for a cat... he's just high strung... Please someone make me feel like I'm not the bad mother who has the bad cat...

I had issues with our net vet when we got Benson. He is a kitten and wants to explore the office. The vet seemed taken back and Benson picked up on that. They both tensed up. I felt they were too rough with him when they took blood. He remembered that when we went back for his last round of shots.

The vet Mom and I have been going to for years is very nice with aggressive/scared cats and they pick up on that. All my kitties are been very good.

IMO your vet isn't the greatest at handling cats.

tinydancer614 · Jul 22, 2007

Good grief! Your cat's behavior with the vet, I'd say that's prefectly normal. All of my cats have been this way (I've had only 4) and sometimes they shed so much when we get to the vet that I always SWEAR they just stand on that little metal table and push all of their fur out.

My cat, Magrathea, has tried 3 different carriers and I've only had her about 8 months. She had the cardboard one that I brought her home from the Humane Society in, that didn't hold up to clawing and biting too well. Next came a collapsable case that my mother thought might be a good idea because of storage issues, that proved to be interesting since it had a zipper on it that you're meant to place the cat into the carrier by and all Magrathea would do was spread her legs all the way out so I couldn't get her in. Finally I bought a hard plastic stackable case with a nice big door and when I took her back for her shots to keep her up to date she managed to bend the cage-like door on the front. Tricky little stinker...

laureen227 · Jul 23, 2007

Originally Posted by tinydancer614

Good grief! Your cat's behavior with the vet, I'd say that's prefectly normal. All of my cats have been this way (I've had only 4) and sometimes they shed so much when we get to the vet that I always SWEAR they just stand on that little metal table and push all of their fur out.

Pixel, in particular, does this - sheds EVERYWHERE!

Tell me this is at least a little normal!

erinca7821

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larke

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jessy

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jaffacake

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laureen227

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erinca7821

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jen

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erinca7821

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momofmany

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erinca7821

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luvmy2cats

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crazyforinfo

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