The vet is coming and I'm scared
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Posts: 6,651
I'm currently home from work waiting for a new vet to show up at my house. I'm having to switch to a vet who does house-calls because the other vets refuse to see my cat Nacho for their own safety. He had a bad experience once and, ever since, he flips out when I take him to the vet. They won't even weigh him without him being under general anesthesia, but they can't/shouldn't put him under general anesthesia without lab work, but they can't get the lab work unless he's under anesthesia. It's a catch-22. So he hasn't been examined by the vet in 5 years or so.
But he's on a prescription food and the vet from whom I buy the food won't sell me any more without a new prescription. But the vet who initially gave me the prescription won't give me a new one without examining him. But then we're back to the whole won't-examine-him-for-their-own-safety problem. Even regardless of the food, though, I need to solve this problem of not being able to have him seen by the vet.
Anyway, I figured I'd see if he does better with a vet coming to the house. I'm hoping he won't snap that the guy's a vet and he's being examined. But if he does snap, it's all over. And Nacho never loses a fight.
So I'm sitting here getting increasingly nervous as I wait for the vet. I'm scared of upsetting Nacho. I'm scared of receiving bodily harm from Nacho. And I'm nervous about how to deal with a vet I've never met who I think may have different ideas than I do about how this process should go down.
Sorry for rambling. Gives me something to do, at least. The vet should be here anywhere from 5 to 35 minutes from now. Wish us luck!
But he's on a prescription food and the vet from whom I buy the food won't sell me any more without a new prescription. But the vet who initially gave me the prescription won't give me a new one without examining him. But then we're back to the whole won't-examine-him-for-their-own-safety problem. Even regardless of the food, though, I need to solve this problem of not being able to have him seen by the vet.
Anyway, I figured I'd see if he does better with a vet coming to the house. I'm hoping he won't snap that the guy's a vet and he's being examined. But if he does snap, it's all over. And Nacho never loses a fight.
So I'm sitting here getting increasingly nervous as I wait for the vet. I'm scared of upsetting Nacho. I'm scared of receiving bodily harm from Nacho. And I'm nervous about how to deal with a vet I've never met who I think may have different ideas than I do about how this process should go down.
Sorry for rambling. Gives me something to do, at least. The vet should be here anywhere from 5 to 35 minutes from now. Wish us luck!
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Too soon?
Thanks for the words of encouragement.
Oh eek... :?
Can you approach Nacho or is he picking up on your nerves?
As he's in his own home and surrounded by familiar smells he SHOULD (in theory) be ok. Don't let him see how nervous you are or he'll know there's something going down; something he should be wary of.
Keep encouraging him and letting him know that no one will hurt him. Keep us updated and let us know who wins... Nacho or vet
... and I still think Drive-By Truckers are better.
When I moved to a different apt, I had to get rid of him. They did not allow pets.
good luck.
8/08 - Ed solo in DC, 6/09 Ed in B'more,
10/10 - Brad in B'more
Maybe you should change ur name to "Ileavecats" :?: then.
:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
That just sounds so wrong
I hope you and Nacho are doing okay and that the visit goes well.
The vet is gone now and Nacho is doing relatively well. He's still pissed and somewhat sedated. He won't come sit with me anymore and I'm not allowed to give him any food/treats yet. I'm gonna stay home with him for another hour or so while he comes out of the sedation. (It's really weird, but my other cat is freaking out on Nacho. He can tell something's wrong.)
I got my prescription for the food but was told to switch to wet instead of dry food. Nacho officially weighs 21.3 lbs now, and he's about 10 years old, so he's at risk for diabetes. They were able to draw labs, though, so I'll have those results back in a couple of days. Here's hoping for good results!
He's seems like my kind of cat... scrappy and not afraid to engage larger opponents.
Yeah, he's my cholo cat. He's originally from East L.A.
+1
How is Mr. Norm?
as norm as ever
I sent you a pic of my kitty that I told you about (the 2007 one). He weighed 16 lbs at his heaviest and had kidney failure besides other things. When he weighed 12 lbs, our previous vet YELLED at me, that he was obese and that this was getting out of hand. (He had a gut himself.) A nicer vet told me that obese cats get health problems just like we do (she was enormous, but she was a very sweet and caring vet.)
Kiss Nacho for me when he calms down.
8/08 - Ed solo in DC, 6/09 Ed in B'more,
10/10 - Brad in B'more
Okay, I have a cat that is like that! She is now 14 and we avoid taking her to the vet at all costs. It upsets her so much that any health issues she needs treated isn't as bad as what taking her to the vet would do. I think it would kill her at this point.
Good luck. I wonder why they don't muzzle them and then put them in one of those sling things, like at the groomers, to treat them? That way they can't bite or scratch. I know they can still wiggle a lot, but its safer.
Again, I wouldn't do any of that, cuz my cat would likely die, but I think many cats could be treated that way.
You did the right thing for Nacho's health. I'm sure he'll be fine.
I'm a dog person but we like kitties too. Unfortunately my husband is very allergic to them.
I was wondering if there wasn't a way to sedate Nacho before the vet sees him. You can give dogs a dose of Benadryl (the vet can tell you how much depending on their size) and they will be somewhat sedated.
Aw... thanks! I'll go kiss him right now.
Yeah, he is huge, and I know it's a problem. (Kind of ironic for a fat vet to actually yell at you about your overweight cat though.) I only feed him measured amounts of food, but he doesn't go out at all to get any exercise. The vet today told me to switch him to canned food and to give him only half a can per day. (We'll see how that goes.) I've had him on diet food before, but he has to eat special prescription food now because of bladder issues and it doesn't have a diet version. How did your mom's cat lose so much weight?
I don't think there's any controlling this cat with a muzzle and a sling. Once he's REALLY pissed/scared, there's nothing that can be done but to try to stay safe. The trick is not not get him that upset to begin with. I think having the vet come to the house today really, really helped a lot. I mean, just the fact that we were able to sedate him is a minor miracle. Have you ever tried having someone do a house call for your cat?
You know, I think that's a great idea. I thought about it today after the vet left. Nacho's actually pretty good about letting me give him pills. I asked my old vet about it in the past, and she said she doesn't like to do that because sometimes it will just lower their inhibitions so they're more likely to be violent. But I'll have to ask this vet his opinion about it.
>
that's quite a house call :P
look at sweet little Nacho
my mom's cat ate prescription food, not sure which one, but it can only be bought at the vet. I think she is too skinny actually. Her new vet said she may need to add some Iams to her prescrip food to help her put on a pound.
my big kitty was on a prescription food to prevent urinary tract problems too. apparently, the food is nasty so they have to put fat in it to make it taste better.
did your new vet tell you that if you just switch your cat's food in one day they can get diarrhea from it? whenever I had to give my cat a new dry food, I had to introduce a few morsels and then more the next day. I believe it takes a week to change their food. whenever we boarded him at the vet and they fed him different food, he got diarrhea.
8/08 - Ed solo in DC, 6/09 Ed in B'more,
10/10 - Brad in B'more
No, he didn't mention that. I know that when I've switched the brand of food in the past it's made my cats vomit. But this time I'm keeping the same brand but switching from dry to wet, so I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for reminding me! We'll do a slow change-out. Then I'll just have to figure out what to do with the $50 worth of dry food I still have.
I would keep that dry food to see if he likes the new canned food. When we found out that our cat had kidney disease, I bought a case of new canned food. He hated it besides he was on his way to Heaven any way :(
After he died, I returned the food to the vet. It was only maybe a month old, still in the cans. On our wedding anniversary, I found out he was in the final stages of kidney disease and then 3 weeks later that he had cancer.
Everyone is telling me to get another cat. I have had two die and it's awful!!!!
8/08 - Ed solo in DC, 6/09 Ed in B'more,
10/10 - Brad in B'more
You're right - I may as well keep it. I can't really get rid of it anyway because I've already moved it from the bag to other containers. As I spent another $40 on wet food today, I was remembering that I actually had purchased a case of this wet food in the past, but switched back to dry so I could use automatic feeders, so I donated it to some cat rescue group. I've gotta stop buying large quantities of expensive food and then changing my mind and getting rid of it, only to need it again!
It's hard to decide whether or not to get another cat. I've had at least one cat ever since I became a cat person, so I've never been in your position of being down to none and having to decide whether to get another one. I sometimes wonder what I'll do when it comes to that some day...