The Dreaded Vet Visit

Our dear sweet kitty received the unhappy news that she was due for some vaccines (rabies and feline distemper). This was going to put her in a bad temper for sure. We go to a cat only vet for all of Miss Kitty's needs. It is nice to take her to a place where no dogs are permitted. She is stressed enough without a dog invading her space.

Now what would this story be without a little drama. I called and made her an appointment. The practice is very nice but they have labeled our poor darling as a 4 star cat. This is not a best of show rating. The issue arose because years ago we boarded her at this facility. One of the workers decided it would be a good idea to put her face into the cage where Miss Kitty was staying to get her out of the kennel. Miss Kitty taught her a valuable lesson - do not put your face near a stressed out cat, they will claw. Now I will say that working with cats at a vet practice you might get scratched once in a while, but for some reason this lead to our darling being labeled as temperamental and hard to handle.

Miss Kitty is a very special cat. We adopted her 13 years ago from the local animal shelter. She and her littermates had been abandoned soon after birth by their feral cat mother. She was taken in and lived with staff from the shelter from birth until she was ready to be adopted. This means that she did not receive the important cat socialization from her mother (i.e. don't scratch and bite unless it is necessary). She is an affectionate cat but on her own terms. Aging has mellowed her but is not a cuddler kitty. She has a low tolerance for being stroked. She does give warning signs when she has had enough and if they are ignored she will scratch. This is just how she is and like all cats we have just adapted to her quirks (as she has adapted to ours over the years).

Anywoo...I received a notice that she was due for her rabies and distemper booster shots. We arrive after I have been severely lectured in the car over the indignities Miss Kitty was being made to suffer. We are placed into an exam room and within 5 minutes a vet tech arrives to tell us that according to the clinic records the cat is not due a booster shot until 2025. I explained that I had not come up with this scheme to drag my cat into the practice just because they had contacted me. Oh yeah so sorry our electronic records are a little messed up. I was quickly flashed her file which showed a vaccine sticker. Well we made a trip for nothing and just went home. All was well until...

Next week I get a license renewal form from local animal control and am informed by them that the rabies vaccine expires within 10 days. A new proof of vaccine is required before her per license can be renewed. I go into the file I keep of the medical records for Miss Kitty and sure enough the rabies certificate I have in my records has the same date as animal control.

I contact the vet practice and inquire about this confusion. They make me another appointment and ask me to bring in the medical records I have because as far as they are concerned she does not need a booster shot.

Here is the very unhappy patient. When we arrive at the practice I show my certificate to the receptionist and she says oh yeah we already have that record. She explains that due to office personnel changes it seems like records got misfiled, blah, blah.... As far as the practice is concerned she was vaccinated in 2022. I inquired if that was true why did I not have a copy of the certificate in my records and why did they only have a sticker on her chart from the vaccine batch but no certificate. Crickets....

Despite their stellar record keeping I informed them I wanted her vaccinated anyway. At the end Miss Kitty received her two shots and I got an new vaccine certificate to give to animal control. The vet and tech were pleasantly surprised at her behaviour. They said she only growled at them once and allowed herself to be examined and was found to be in good health. I thought to myself she is not a complete wild animal and I sometimes growl at drs also.

The dr believes she should lose a pound or more. She has gained 2 pounds since they last saw her. She is 13 and heading into middle age. Show me a woman who hasn't gained a pound or two in middle age! At the end she is is vaccinated and all is well. I even was allowed to pet her upon our return home so all is forgiven.