Well ten hours after leaving her with the vet, I was able to go collect Mrs Pod last night. The vet had cleaned her ears out and discovered that both ear drums were perforated. I have to collect a special ear cleaning solution on Monday to keep them spick and span and hopefully free from infection until they heal. She should be a lot more comfortable now anyway, poor girl.
As for her behaviour, it seems Mrs P had been slightly, er, shall we say, 'unco-operative' with the vet: she loves everyone except for vets - and for them she reserves a powerful hatred and loathing which is a wondrous sight to see in a small tabby cat. And did I mention the violence? There was a student vet in with us and he looked a little fraught, as if encountering Mrs P was making him rapidly re-evaluate his career choice.
The other news is that her kidneys aren't functioning at full strength, she'll have to go for regular check-ups and tests to see if she needs any medication etc. She's supposed to go in on Friday for a blood test and have her blood pressure taken. She will be very unhappy about this. Also, I'm going to try her with a special food for cats with renal problems to see if she'll take to it but the vet said it can be introduced over a period of months. What's the betting that she won't eat it but the others will?
Talking of food, she was absolutely starving when she got in, and started screaming about how LIVID! she was with us for leaving her at a place where they PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY ABUSED HER! and deliberately WITHHELD FOOD! until she was on the point of collapse. Two plates of dinner slightly mollified her and she agreed to sit on my knee and glare at me for the rest of the evening.
The bill came to £410. Gulp. For the second time in two weeks I am very, very glad she's insured. David had left the vets to go wait outside before I paid the bill as he felt sick and faint, (his face took on a strange similarity to Jacob Marley's ghost and I think the vet thought he was going to keel over on her nice clean floor). Whether this was because he had a premonition of the cost or because he was tired and hadn't eaten is debatable. He did the same thing at the theatre once when we were watching David Tennant in Love's Labour's Lost, and also fell asleep watching DT in Hamlet a few months earlier - I had to keep prodding him in the ribs in case he started snoring. I'm sure poor DT must now be paranoid that his acting talents induce either narcolepsy or vomiting in audience members.
As for the other cats... Pepper sat up on her back legs and waved appealingly at David so is his favourite girl at the moment, Posky is still being Posky, and Charlie had his umpteenth plan at losing his collar foiled (it's an ongoing war between us and him - we put collars on him, he goes out and 'loses' them). Unfortunately for him his latest attempt at being a free-range cat was spoiled when a kind soul found his collar in their garden and returned it to us. 'Curses!' he muttered before slinking through the cat flap...
Anyway, back to Mrs P, we would both be very grateful if you could all send healing vibes and purrs for her ears and kidneys, and sympathetic thoughts to the vet who has to meet her again next Friday.
Maiming vets is tiring work...
...and here's something we should all be publicising.
There are so many animals in adoption centres in need of good homes,
Mrs P, Posky and Charlie all originally came from the RSPCA.
They all say spread the word about March 15th
(and Charlie added 'or else'!)
9 comments:
Poor Mrs Pod! It's no fun having your ears prodded and poked and add malfunctioning kidneys and she's earned the right to complain vociferously. Maybe she'll realise the vet is trying to help her and be more cooperative - but I wouldn't put money on it ;-)
Poor David, too - was it hot in the consulting room? Our vets live in tropical climes and I always feel far too warm when I'm there. Funnily, the dentist's surgery is also far too warm - maybe it's just me!
Good luck with the new food. Our cats preferred starvation to that swill. We finally gave up after trying all kinds.
Oh, poor Mrs. P! Did the vet know why her eardrums were perforated? Has she been listening to her old Cat Stevens records with the volume turned up too high?
Definitely sending Mrs. P lots of cyberhugs and healing vibes (as is Josie, who totally commiserates!) and hoping her next visit to the vet is tranquil and yields good news. And I hope David is fully recovered from both the vet bill and the vapors. You had your hands full there for a bit, didn't you?
Charlie's habit of "losing" his collars is the exact opposite of this this guy's! Good thing they live far apart, as I'm sure they'd be in cahoots! Charlie would probably pay Dusty to "steal" his collars!
Your description of your cats' behaviors and personalities absolutely crack me up! You really should write a book about them.
Poor wee Mrs P! We're all sending her very warm thoughts (plus an admiring thumbs - if they had them - up form the felines and canines for teaching those vets a thing or too.
Hope David's feeling better. Imagine how he'd have reacted if you HADN'T been insured! We're not, as we couldn't afford it for four cats and two dogs. Neither is my sister and her recent vet's bill for one of her dogs was over £2,000!!!!)
Penny
Poor Mrs Pod, we're purring for her - and for you. This must be nervewracking for you too.
Collars? We HATE them and won't wear them.
David thought it was very warm in the vets, I was ok though and I can't stand the heat normally, so it was a bit weird really. Here's hoping D has got over doing his Madame Bovary impression next time we go - so terribly embarrassing for Mrs P. I think it was an infection that caused the perforation of the ear drums, but who knows! That video of the cat burglar made me laugh, my cat Leopold brought home a string of sausages once, I often wonder what the owner of them thought... I have a suspicion that Posky's kidneys may be a bit dodgy so he will be going for a blood test next month, he's drinking quite a bit (water, I hasten to add!), so the food for Pod will be down for him as well. Thanks for all your kind thoughts and good wishes. Penny - that vet bill for your sister's dog... OMG!!! And Laloofah, talking of cats in books, Deric Longden's 'The Cat Who Came in from the Cold' is priceless, and have you ever read 'Under the Paw' by Tom Cox? Very funny and the cats' behaviour rings so true. This is his blog, and there is a very, very funny video on the latest post which is actually an advert for Cravendale Milk. Enjoy! http://littlecatdiaries.blogspot.com/
O wow! What cat adventures! Incredible situations! I think I'd better value my cat who seems quite relaxed with her vet and doesn't mind being prodded! Just when she had to stay overnight did she have another point of view! She tried to grab my hand through the cage bars and her appealing eyes seemed to beg to go home!
Hope Mrs P feels better soon and realises the vet helped her feel that way!
Wow! Guess you let him know how you felt!! Bet those vet guys will think twice before messing with you!! We'll be holding good thoughts for you!!
Sam and Mojo
Poor Mrs Pod! I am so sorry to hear all of this but I am happy she is home.
Geeze oh man, I read the blogs virtually every day. The last 2 days I have been busy and then all of a sudden all hell breaks loose!
I am sorry I didn't find out about this til now.
Hugs and kisses to you and Mrs.Pod!
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