So, last week when I went to pick up the flea treatments for the two kitties (who are both VERY pleased with me, by the way!), I checked with the Vet to see if Willow D. Kitten was old enough to get his shots, now. When we first acquired him, he was too young to receive them, because his body would have just rejected them. I also knew I had a credit on the account from the last visit, because I had paid in advance for certain things to be done (and the person who gave us the kitten also paid in advance for certain other things).
I asked about the credit, and what it would cover, and what shots the kitten would need. I was told he would receive a rabies & other vaccines, and he would be tested for feline leukemia & other diseases, and the total would be XX amount of dollars. I had four dollars MORE than that in my account, so I set up the appointment.
Yesterday, I rushed home from a short job just in time to pick up Willow D. Kitten and scoop him into his kennel and rush him to the local animal hospital, where his Vet works. We got inside, and he was scratching at the kennel like crazy to get out, so I scooped him up and cuddled him. He looked around a bit, then lay his head down on my arm and just relaxed. There were no other animals in the waiting room, nor were there any in the exam rooms ready to come out.
Suddenly, he started hissing. I leaned forward to open his kennel, and he swatted at my face, getting his claw stuck in my lip. He freaked out, continued hissing, and kept jerking his paw - the claw still attached to my lip. My eyes teared up, but I grabbed his paw firmly and pressed on his pad, while trying to speak calmly to him and settle him down. I set him back in his kennel (I wanted to toss the lil shit - I was bleeding all over the place), and grabbed a tissue to clean myself up.
I have NO IDEA what set him off - nobody was in the waiting room, no animals were present. I think he just caught a sniff of something he didn’t like, poor thing (little friggin devil).
We get into the exam room, and I set his kennel on the table, warning the tech that he’s a little feisty and I am unsure what exactly is the cause of his distress. She said no problem, she would pull him out of the kennel and put him on the exam table so if he got more upset, they wouldn’t have to reach into the kennel to get him out - thereby putting their hands at risk of being sliced open 500 times. She reached in, and he came out just fine, so she closed the kennel and reached over to pet him.
He started hissing and spitting again, and backed away from her, calming down only when he heard my voice as I spoke to him in low tones. He looked at me a minute, then lay his head down on his paws and waited for whatever was next. The tech laughed it off, then was able to pet him. As soon as she tried to pick him up by the scruff, he spazzed out again, and she set him down, looked at me, and said to just let him be for a few minutes til the vet was ready.
The Vet came in about ten minutes later, and Willow D. Kitten and I had been playing with a crumpled up piece of paper and a hair tie, so he was relatively calm. She was able to check over his body, his paws, his eyes, and the inside of his mouth without incident. Then, she tried to lay him down to find his vein, and he started screaming.
Yes, SCREAMING! He sounded like a child in intense pain (later, the front desk personnel and two of the other customers said they thought someone had been attacked by one of the aggressive dogs or had fallen and broken a bone). He screamed each time she touched him, and fought her off like he was a trained boxer with claws.
I grabbed his blanket out of his kennel, threw it on top of him, and scooped him up. I let him pop his head out, but not get loose. As soon as he stopped screaming, and was only meowing, I put him back on the table - with the blanket - for them to try again. The vet grabbed his four paws and held him down, relinquishing one paw to the tech, who had to pull it open to find the vein. Willow D. Kitten was screaming the whole time, fighting, scratching the hell out of them, and managing to get away over and over again.
Finally, the tech threw the blanket over him, muscled him into position, and the vet drew the blood for the test. I was in tears by this point, and Willow D. Kitten did not stop screaming until they put him down and stepped away. The Vet explained we had a ten-minute wait, and then they could give him his shots if he was healthy.
Another ten minutes go by, I find out my baby is healthy as healthy can be, and they have a syringe with medicine they need to give him to deworm him. I crack up, because they’re worried about him taking it. I open his mouth, squirt in the liquid, and he licks it all up. No problem there - he’s been fed medicine before, for his respiratory issues (because he wasn’t nursed by his momma, he had a few issues when I first got him - they’ve all worked out as he ages though).
Now, for the tough part. They have to give him his shot. While this does need to be given in one of his legs, at least they do not need the vein this time. The vet muscles him down in about 3 seconds, Willow D. Kitten starts screaming, and just like that - they’re done. WHEW!
He continued to scream for a moment, to make sure they weren’t going to grab him again. Once he realized they were really done, he stood looking at his kennel door. I opened it up, he went inside, I arranged his blanket, he curled up and went to sleep.
I was still in tears, I felt so awful for him. Talk about a stressful Vet visit!
Not one of my other cats has EVER caused a ruckus like this. If I have to go through this every few months, I am going to need a new heart!
Anyway … as we checked out, I was told I owed XX amount of dollars, after my credit. I didn’t understand why the person last week had told me I would be covered, but now suddenly I owe this much money. I was quite upset - especially when they said, “Oh, and you need to return in 3 weeks for a booster. It’ll also be XX amount of dollars.”
What the fuck? Why didn’t they just tell me that before? Now, not only did I spend money yesterday, but that money is going to go to waste because I do *not* have the funds right now to get the booster. I *might* have them within a couple of months, but that might also be too late. I am quite annoyed.
Asi es la vida. If I can manage to afford the booster, I will. If not, I’ll wait a couple of months and start over. They really need to be up front and tell you EVERYTHING you’ll need to pay for within the first few weeks and let you know when your next exam/shots/whatever will be coming up, so when you prepare for one you can start preparing for the other, yanno?
So - this was why I was grumpy and frustrated yesterday. I think the $$ thing would not have been nearly so upsetting if Willow D. Kitten hadn’t been so horrifically terrified during his appointment.
When we got home, Willow D. Kitten ran straight to Rascal Lee Kitten, who hovered over him and glared at me (quite unnecessarily, thank you - I felt awful enough!) like I was the one sticking needles into the little guy.
Jeezman, I cannot catch a break from the Kitten clan!
xoxo
