The better to eat you with
This poor little darling, Emma, is my "special needs" kitty: she spends about half her life in one of the spare bedrooms of our house because the other two cats are bigger than she is, and if we leave her out unattended, she finds it necessary to mark her territory (i.e. pee on the couch) against the big kids. [I know it looks like she's in jail, but she's actually behind the rungs of the stair railing of our hallway.]
She's very sweet and loving, but also extremely skittish. She's still afraid of Booby, and he's lived here for well over a year now.
Today I have to take her to the vet because she mysteriously broke not one but TWO teeth (the fangs) in a one-week period. I've since read that broken teeth lead to festering bacteria and eventual breakdown of the jaw (!), so it's off to the vet we go. It's take us awhile to find a vet we like, and I haven't ever been to this one yet, so the search may be yet ongoing.
One of the vets wouldn't let us in the exam room "for our own safety," and then was pissed at us when our very upset cat with impacted anal glands (you don't wanna know) bit her. Hey, doc, I could've told you that he needs one of us there to keep him calm, but whatever. The vet tech came out to talk to us and lo and behold! she was the daughter of one of the agents I worked with at the Insurance Company of Doom in my youth. She and her boyfriend would come in to "work" and end up racing the halls barefoot and playing endless games of Minesweeper when they were supposed to be filing. Assholes. I'm glad to see she realized an office job was not her forte, anyway.
The other vet was a bit too holistic for my taste, and she wanted us to see about alternative therapies to find out why Emma was "acting out." Now, I have done aromatherapy with this cat. I have tried positive reinforcement. I have tried everything I can. Having her in her own kitty apartment is the only thing that works, and sometimes that doesn't even work. I don't want to waste money on a pet therapist, thank you. I am saving that sort of thing for when (if?) I have kids.
Wish me luck, because I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a lecture for not brushing the cat's teeth and causing their eventual departure from her mouth. Yay!
posted by Mrs. Harridan @ Monday, January 16, 2006
12 Comments:
I hope Emma feels better soon! It's hard to be a kitty.
Finding a vet can be very, very difficult. Our cat grew up on the streets of Brooklyn and was, shall we say, "feisty." I'll never forget the time the vet called for a "handler" to help with our kitty, and this big, bouncer-type guy showed up. And, on his own, wasn't enough to keep the cat from acting out. Yet, this was a cat who curled up with me and kneaded my stomach like a kitten with its mother.
Why on earth wouldn't the vet allow you in the room? Silly, silly, silly.
I'd bite the vet too if my "parents" weren't allowed to come in with me while I was getting diagnosed with impacted anal glands.
I hope you get to the bottom of Emma's tooth/jaw problems and that it's not serious (and seriously expensive). Poor kitty!!
POOOOR Kitty! Is that the saddest little face EVER in that first pic?
Hoping she's better soon!
Poor Emma. Do you know what breed she is, or is she a mutt? We have a domestic short hair that's mixed with something else (maybe Russian Blue?) -- our Casi is almost that same color gray with green/yellow eyes.
Yeah, finding a vet is tough. We love ours, but I'm sure you don't want to drive several hours to Virginia to bring your cats to the doctor. :-)
I tried to brush my dog's teeth once. I ended up with beef flavored toothpaste in my hair, on the floor, and across his fur. Not to mention the scratch marks on my chest from where he tried to push me away as I sat on top of him. I can't even imagine how you'd do that with a cat. Good luck girl!
If you find a good vet, let me know. It might be worth the drive.
I spent 10 years working in insurance before I decided I liked plants better than people (not all people, just co-workers). Believe me, they're all Insurance Companies of Doom.
Good luck with your kitty!
Well at least the cats are getting you ready for kids. My kids pee on the couch too. Not because of aggression, but because the potty is too far away from the TV.
She's beautiful. One of my two cats is extremely shy also - except at 5am when he insists on meowing for food using his "outdoor voice" and throwing himself against the bedroom door to hurry us up. Good for you for looking around until you find a vet you like - don't settle! I just spent $500 having both cats' teeth cleaned. I was thinking it was a big 'ol scammed but one of my cats did have to have an infected tooth removed, oops. But, you can't convince me that anyone successfully brushes their cats' teeth except maybe the vets and vet techs.
The visit went well; apparently broken teeth are common in older cats (she's 11), and I didn't get a lecture. Phew! However, I have to shell out almost $400 for the cleaning and "burring" of her broken teeth, because she'll have to be put under. Yowch! And last night, she had so much poop in her colon that they decided they had to give her an enema ($80) right then. I returned in an hour to pick up a fluffy, clean, baby-powder-smelling kitty whom all the vet techs loved and assured me must be part Russian Blue (and here I figured she was a mutt, but you were right, Nancy!). I'm just trying to take deep breaths and assure myself that $400 is worth it to have this cat be OK. It is, I know it is. She better be the best cat on earth after this, though. ;)
She has the cutest face. Poor shy baby. Ours were both feral and I thought they would never outgrow their skittishness. They have gotten so much better though. A loving owner goes a long way.
A long time ago J promised me that we could get a third cat when we move to Florida. I'm starting to get very excited :o)
Wait, I'm stuck on kitty aromatherapy. Please tell me your house didn't smell like dead things!
Glad to hear little wallflower kitty is okay. We went to a vet that wouldn't let us in the room with our very skittish Karelian Bear Dog. That was okay with me, though. She'd bite me if I tried to brush out a tangle!
Wow, a Karelian Bear Dog? I just looked them up on the internet and they sound like a whole lotta dog (and SO pretty!). If this dog will fight a bear, it will probably take off your hand for brushing out a tangle.
No dead things, just a bit of Rescue Remedy in the drinking water, really.
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