Shaddup Already!





















2005-12-20

The Kitties Go to the Vet

I finally got around to taking Scout and Boo Radley to the vet. They were about a year past due, which wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was. They're healthy, thank goodness.

Let me tell you about my kitties. I have two really good kitties. They are only the 3rd and 4th cats I've ever had. Now I've fostered kittens before, but they were adopted before they grew up.

My first cat, Cat, was standoffish, but not nasty in any way. She just wasn't much for being a cuddle baby.

Connie, my second cat, was not so nice. She liked me and only me. She was fear aggressive and would even turn on me when frightened. I bear four scars from one nasty incident in which she had gotten outside and was very scared. There were very few people who truly liked her. I did, I loved the spunk and the "take no shit" attitude, but she definitely wasn't a loving kitty.

These kitties I have now are the most loving, yet cat-like, creatures I've ever met.

Scout

is my snugga-bug. She loves to sit on me and work her paws before settling down in a snuggly, purrful state at my feet. I can pick her up with my feet and she will just lie there or hop down without complaint.

She is a smart girl and, when the cats were babies, she would figure out ways to get into trouble and coerce Boo into doing the dirty work. I think she still does this, but she has gotten sneakier and I don't see it anymore.

Boo

aka Booger Boy, is a trouble maker, but a good-hearted one. I look at the character of Garfield the Cat and I see Boo.

He loves to eat, will snag food from my plate and shows no fear in following his curiosity where it takes him. He often gets into predicaments, finally figures a way out and goes right back in for more.

He loves to snuggle as well, but is not so lovely as a foot warmer. If anything he is lying on moves, even in the slightest--lets say from blood pulsing through the veins of the feet--he will attack. These attacks are playful rather than mean-spirited.

He rarely seems scared of anything.

Today, I brought in the big cat carrier to take the kids to the vet. They got excited and curious and went right in. Once I shut the door, carried them outside and put them in the car, Boo was hiding behind Scout at the very back of the carrier.

Once we got to the vet and in the exam room, I took them out of the carrier. Boo again hid behind Scout. Both of them were pushed up against the wall. I held Boo in my arms while they took Scout out for the tests and weight. Booger's heart was absolutely pounding and he was hiding his head in between my arm and my body.

The vet came in and I had Boo in my arms, so we started with him. Scout, my sweet, love-a-bug, sat at the back of the table shooting death rays from her eyes. Her expression very clearly said "Fuck you!"

The vet commented how fast Boo's heart was beating. We were laughing because my big, brave boy turned into a marshmallow. Then we turned to Scout and noticed "the look."

When it was Scout's turn, she was still pissed, but compliant. The vet noticed that her heart was beating much more slowly than Boo's.

Once the exam was over, I opened the carrier and they ran back in. Boo immediately climbed over Scout to hide behind her, pressed against the back of the crate.

Once we got home, I laid down on the couch (true to form, it's vacation and I'm getting a cold) and Scout immediately started snuggling with me. Boo jumped to the back of the couch in his "Super-Cat" way. All the anger and fear immediately evaporated and I had my two, loving, comical cats back. Thank goodness for felines with short memories.

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