Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Vet Visit for Fleurp


Bet she is wishing she never asked for all that extra attention now.. :)

She is NOT a fan of being scooped up before breakfast, shoved in a carrier (how I did it with two hands I'm not quite sure) and being driven around at speeds unnatural for any cat.  Fleurp has a cute little chirp instead of a protesting meow.  It is almost like "hey, this isn't the way my world is supposed to work.. I'm cute, I get what I want"

They took her out back, and I forgot to ask them to draw a little extra blood in case we needed to do an FELV/FIV test.  I have been wracking my brains about what might make her anemic, and I thought that would be one thing, and I know how much she hates getting blood drawn.  Well the tech heard me curse myself for not asking when she brought her back, and asked what was up.  I explained I was thinking I wouldn't have minded if they predrew a little extra blood in case she was anemic so we could do an felv/fiv, but since it didn't happen, not to worry about it because we will cross that bridge when we come to it.  Well she took that to mean, lets run the felv/fiv test.  *sigh*  another $50 out of the budget.  But I guess in the long run I shouldn't complain, because I would probably wonder, and now I know.  It just irks me because I did not give permission for it to be done.  This is the second time a "miscommunication" happened at the vet..  The first being when they didn't clean Jack's ears when I specifically asked for it..

No big deal...  Well Jack thought it was, cause he hates it when I clean his ears, and it would have been nice to do it while he was sedated..

anyway.

She's not anemic, she hasn't lost weight, she's not felv or fiv positive. 

She just likes playing with screws.

and drill bits.

and eating dirt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a side note, my vet does some work with the shelter, and I thought they might take the information regarding injectable vaccines better from him then from me.  They obviously injected Peter and Tinsel on their flank. The protocols for injections has changed, and they should be given as low down on the limbs as possible, the reason being that if VAS (vaccine associated sarcoma - aka cancer from the vaccine) were to occur, it would be in a place where you could remove the whole limb and the cat would have a better chance at an outcome.  I have tried to explain things to the shelter in the past, but being a non vet, I don't hold a lot of weight.  When I told him that was what they were doing, he was concerned and also mentioned to me that some of his recent dealings with the shelter were.... well to be politically correct (and sharing with out giving out too much info) .... were wonky.  We are wondering if there is some sort of management shift, or something going on.  It was very comforting to know that it wasn't *me*  (I tend to be a little paranoid about that..)

I am trying to decide if I want to write a letter about P & T (I tend to be a crier when I talk to people in person about things I'm passionate about and it is more of a nuisance and makes me feel I am being taken less seriously) or just let this go stand back and see what happens.  There are a couple of organizations in the area who I am sure would really love having an additional foster home, so if I decide that I can not deal with their new way of doing things I can reach out to others, but I think right now I just need to take a break and come back to reality.  I have been fretting and fretting over Peter - almost to the point that this is a death sentence for him - which is completely not the case.  It got so bad last night that I found myself waking up several times and fretting.  The non emotional part of my brain knew it to be silly to not be able to let it go, but apparently my emotional side is about five years old and just could not let it go.  I think my cats understood I was upset (and maybe even thinking of bringing Peter home) so six of the seven (DH's cat hung out with him) made it a point to be as close to me as was feline possible. which for those of you with out obnoxiously affectionate cats, means as many whiskers and fur bits up your nose as possible.  I tried to get photos, but it is hard when they are so close, and it is still dark out


I did find it comforting after writing about Skippy last night to find him snuggled up into my belly as I slept on my side. ( I do think it a little amazing that I can tell all of my cats apart in the dark or with my eyes closed. ) Then again this morning as I was just about to get up to take Fleurp to the vet, he walked into the room and looked up at me.  I said "Hi Skippy" and he immediately got up and jumped on the bed and came for a good 20 minute snugglefest - water works included (my boy drools when he is happy)

and just to share, this was my ride to the vet.  35 minutes one way.. by the time I headed home, most of the snow was melting off the trees and being a nusance.
Springtime in Maine.. got to love it.


So, after all this verbal diarrhea, I'm pretty much were I was on Sunday.  But at the very least I am able to step back a bit and look a little more objectively.  The worst has happened (they were separated) and the world did not end.  I'm just at a diverge in the road, and at some point I have to make a decision which path to take.  I think the longer I take to make this decision, the better.  Kitten season doesn't start up fully until late April/May so I have plenty of time.  Also no reason (besides horrid kitten fever) I can't take the whole year off if that is what *I* need to deal with this and how things are handled in the future.


I want to be as clear as possible that while I'm upset with what is currently happening, I still greatly respect the shelter I volunteer for.  They do a great deal with in the limits of being an open admission shelter.  I could never deal with the decisions they have to make on a daily basis.  While I wish it was slightly different then it currently is, and there is nothing wrong with wishing for improvement, I don't feel that it diminishes the work they are able to accomplish.  If their policies become something I can't work with in because of how emotionally invested I become, it does not mean that either one of us is wrong, just that we are on either side of an idea.

1 comment:

  1. There's nothing like racking up vet bill$ for negative results. :-)

    It's the peace of mind you're paying for, though. Glad Fleurp is fine!

    I won't comment on the shelter...I don't foster and wouldn't ever foster for our city's shelter. They have at least once (and probably more than that) taken a foster mom's two young cats, on the day she brought them back as scheduled, and euthanized them for "space" reasons. I had heard via the grapevine that she stopped fostering after that.

    ReplyDelete

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