Aerie Report follow-up

The visit to the vets went surprisingly well! When I went to round up the kitties I found two of them asleep on Terry's sofa. Leaving Chester there, I picked up Julie and put her in a carrier. She started to raise a vocal stink immediately that sent Shadow off her nap spot and under the kitchen table. I was able to corral her and put her in a second carrier (one size up). Then it was Chester's turn. He was still curled up on Terry's sofa despite the now duet of howls coming from the living room so he was easy to pack up. Almost. He's a big boy and when he extends those front legs of his, he can span the Grand Canyon. I eventually got the legs together and pushed his big butt into the largest carry case.

Putting the three of them in the rear seat of the truck, it was off to the vets about 6-7 miles away. I got serenaded the entire way. Chester and Shadow were the most vocal but they were starting to foam at the mouth by the time we got there so some of their "singing" was more of a gurgle.

Julie was fit to be tied and mad as a wet hen but her mouth was dry. She was also angry as a stirred up hornet. She hissed when we went to get her out of her cage on the examining table. She had her ears laid back and would have gladly given me a piece of my mind if she could only get her paws on it. Still, she behaved reasonably well on the examination table, got her shot and weighed in at just +0.25 pounds over last year's weight to 10.5 pounds.

Shadow was next and she too was fit to be tied. Foam dripped from her lower lip when she came out of the cage. I held her down on the table and caressed her head and ears while the vet examined her, gave her her shot and weighed her in--up 1 pound to 13 pounds.

Then it was Chester's time. He came out of his cage with just a little foam flecking his lower lip but quickly realized he was the center of attention and started purring. Listening to his lungs and heart must have been complicated by the steady rumble of his. He got his shot and got weighed (up a pound to 17 pounds) and then we had to shove him back into his case for the ride home.

Once again it was 6-7 miles of caterwalling all the way. Home safely and, well, soundly, I found that Shadow was the only one to make a mess in her travel case. She had barfed on the way up the hill. (Which explains the minute or so when she was quiet.)

Moments after opening the doors of thier cases, all three were roaming around the house and feeling fine.


(Oh, and Shellmo, they all have their own front claws. While Terry and I try not to let them out of the house, we would not think of having them declawed any more than I would want the first joint on all of my toes removed. Besides, should they accidently get out (and they all have for various lengths of time with Julie being the most frequent escapee) I would want them to have a means of 1) defense and 2) capture of food. Yeah, it's extra work for us when we have to clip their claws every two weeks or so. And, yeah, they have put a shredding to some curtains in the past.)

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The sun never did come out today and as a result, the temperature once again remained right around 55 degrees. We got some late evening rain showers and they continue off and on well into the night and will probably continue throughout tomorrow. It's getting a little monotonous.