My vet is making a house call to my house today

I've rearranged my cat's annual vet exam (and vaccinations when necessary) to the end of the year. I usually take time off and I can lug them all 2 by 2 to the vet.

One of the threads talked about getting your vet to your home for the annual exams. So I called my vet, asked her the price for a home visit, and decided it's worth every last cent of the $70 house call to avoid them the trauma of the carrier and car ride.

She's going to do all 10 cats at once. Now realize that I have cats that missed last year's appointment because they saw the carrier and hid under the bed for a few weeks. I am counting on at least 4 of them trying to hide when she arrives. So I've been plotting and scheming all morning on how to take away their safe places while they are here. If I can't catch them, they won't be seen. The vet arrives at 2:30. At 1:30 I'm going to conveniently vacuum the bedrooms which will force them to run out of those rooms. Then I shut the door so they can't crawl under any bed.

So please send me some vet vibes today:

For Oscar, that he isn't so terrified that he pees when I try to catch him with a stranger in the house. Yes, he is that shy.

For Eightball, that he doesn't try to scratch my eyes out when I catch him. Yes, he is that feral with strangers.

For Bob and Lucky, that they decide that the weather is icky and they want to be inside today. And extra for Lucky that he remains calm (he is still very feral).

For Pinky and Spanky (the big lugs), that they decide to be mush-pots today. They are that moody sometimes.

For Scarlett, Stumpy, Muddy and Koko, that they leave the vet alone long enough for her to examine the rest of the crew. They are that friendly, and that jealous when you pay attention to anyone other than them.

good luck on all counts!!

your crew sounds like my crew, I have my attention hogs, my scared to pieces of strangers and my meanies

I wonder if my vet does house calls?

Oh my, good luck for all your babies! I wish my vet did that........

Originally Posted by katiemae1277

I wonder if my vet does house calls?

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I always wondered and never bothered to ask. When I finally did call and she quoted me her price, I jumped all over it. In your situation with all of your cats, and the potential problem of stressing them out, I would call if I were you.

Of course I'm doing the major pet hair clean this morning. Don't want the vet to think I'm a slob. We vacuumed about 5 days ago and I just finished the living room/dining room. I had to empty the vacuum canister 4 times just for those 2 rooms, and it was 100% hair (my dogs are the worst offenders).

Yeah, you're going to have your hands full, but I completely understand how the extra $70.00 is worth it! I've got to check into that!

What I would do is take care of the four friendly ones first and put them back in the nicely vaccuumed room (so you will have to vaccuum again ). Is there anyway you can wrap Eightball up in a towel to keep his claws in for a few minutes? Might work with Oscar too (towels soak up pee)....

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Oh Amy, thats exactly what I do, have the vet come to us and it is SO MUCH EASIER on the cats and on me.
Katie, it would be worth you asking about it, too, for sure and Hope, since you both have a big family.

I go ahead and get the carriers out a bit before the Dr. comes and get them in it, with feliway and rescue remedy going.

Over the years they have settled down and know who he is and have gone from being terrified to A LOT more relaxed.

Sending so many vibes that everything comes together, even if its not perfect this time around, you you will see how much easier this is and SO WORTH the $$.

Good Luck

Plenty of Good luck that everyone behaves today.

I'm so glad you vet makes house calls. For 10 cats, $70 is SO completely worth it to avoid the multiple trips and stresses. We used to get housecalls when I lived with my parents, but I always figured that was just because it was a rural vet in a very rural area.

Originally Posted by calico2222

Is there anyway you can wrap Eightball up in a towel to keep his claws in for a few minutes? Might work with Oscar too (towels soak up pee)....

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Eightball? This is a cat that when I managed to get him to the vet last year for a geriatric profile (he's 11), they asked me to put him into a plastic bin and shut the lid. The bin had an air hole in it so that they could gas him to handle him. He hadn't been to the vet in 5 years and I'm still amazed that I got him in that carrier. Actually, a towel is not a bad idea!

And Pam, the carriers are not a bad idea, but for my shy/feral ones, the minute they hit the carriers, they start to thrash around. It's not that they would hurt themselves, its just that it would stress them more. And I've tried Feliway on my gang with no success. The cats would walk up to the diffuser and mark it. There is obviously an anti-feliway gene in the feral colony where I pulled all these guys. And the problem with my friendly ones is that they will try to love on the vet when she's trying to work with the others.

Oh my goodness good luck!!!!

Mine have not always done well putting in the carriers, but I couldnt get to them otherwise. And mine collectively when really scared, will hiss, growl and charge at a stranger. (maybe because Easy was always protecting her kittens and taught them this) I know its going to be difficult you will have to just play it by ear to see what really works for you, especially with your ferals. They are going to be scared, but hopefully A LOT less than when they get taken out of their comfort zone

Good luck!

I used to have a vet that came to the house. That's all he did and his office was essentially his car. And his fees were very reasonable too because he didn't have the overhead of an office etc.

A check up on Chynna and a kitten I took in, an ear cleaning, mouth inspection, heart and lung check, deworming for the kitten first shots for the kitten, and nail clipping of 8 kitty paws, plus ear mite drops all cost $36.00. Now of course this was about 1993, but that was still really cheap back then.

Unfortunately when I contacted him when I got Abby (who is skittish), he wasn't taking on any further clientèle.

the only problem with me having a house call is that i really think my cats like going to the vet, if only because they actually get one on one time with me

Also, I had to take Perseus in about a month ago, and while he usually freaks out if I have people in the house, at the vets he was mister lovebug

It's 2PM and they are all officially out of the bedrooms and the laundry room (they are known to crawl under the dryer). Rather than running out of the room when I brought in the vacuum cleaner, Oscar hid under the bed. So big bad mom that I am, I got on my hands and knees and clapped my hands at him to get him to run out of the room. He obliged, but I hate doing anything at all that scares him. So now I have 10 cats roaming about 1500 square feet. I'll be curious to see how many of them find a hidey hole for the duration of the visit.

And Bob just came inside. All cold and wet. He'll be in for a while. Lucky knows better than to go out when there is freezing rain.

Wow! What a mission you have Good luck to you!
The only good thing about taking mine in to the vet is that they let the vet do all sorts of stuff I just know no-one would get away with doing to them at home

Lots of vibes for the visit!

Originally Posted by Jaffacake

The only good thing about taking mine in to the vet is that they let the vet do all sorts of stuff I just know no-one would get away with doing to them at home

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I'm almost afraid of that!

My vet called right at 2:30. The roads are icing up and I live on her way home. So she's going to call it a day at 3:30 then head over here on the way home. So I had to reopen some of the rooms. Lucky and Oscar were walking around meowling that I took away their favorite places.

Good luck with everything Amy! I hope all of them act the best that they can, considering all!

The vet is not here yet - should be here any minute. I walked around to see where all the cats were hanging out and I couldn't find Eightball. So I opened up the bedroom door and he was asleep on the bed. I checked under the bed and couldn't find him before I shut that door. He's now out in the living room, and hopefully I can catch him.

So, how did it go?