At the Vet

Yesterday was shot day for Barclee and Dickens.

It's always an adventure rounding up the appropriate victim, stuffing the howling feline into a carrier and hauling to the car. Somehow they always psychically know who's on tap and go into hiding.

Normally, I just take one at a time, but Dickens didn't get his shots in February when he was due. He wasn't doing well at the time, and was too dehydrated to get his vaccinations. The kidney disease was taking its toll.

But, 4 months of getting canned cat food twice a day has done wonders for the old man, so I decided to bundle him up along with Barclee.

Anna was the chosen hapless helper. Normally, this involves crawling around on the floor, chasing cats down the hall, or pulling someone out from under the bed. This venture was easy actually. Barclee was lounging in the back TV room, so I simply closed the door. HA, nowhere for you to go!

Dickens, poor guy, has always been clueless. He literally walks into the carrier to see what might be inside and genuinely looks surprised every single time the door is closed. Bummer, you could see him say - it happened again!

Dickens has always been extremely stressed anytime he goes to the vet and usually the drooling starts the minute we walk into the clinic. He literally drools buckets! Long globules hang down from both sides of his mouth and his entire body will be soaking wet by the time the exam is finished.

But this was different. Now he had a buddy. Both cats were sitting on the table and they were bumping each other's heads. There was no drool at all. It was amazing. I pointed this out to Dr. Parks, oops I mean Dr. Randall, and she said "Boy, after 18 years, you finally figured out that all Dickens needed was a buddy to come along!" I had to laugh. Then he cried when he was put back in the carrier, but he stopped once Barclee was loaded back up and they could see each other.

And, the old man even gained some weight, so my 18-year-old guy is doing fine! Barclee, fortunately, had an uneventful exam as well. It's good to get some good news. AND, I didn't have to towel Dickens off either! Success!!