To The Vet

Mimi went to the vet yesterday for her first annual checkup/vaccinations. Last summer at this time we were making almost weekly visits to the vet with the three kittens for their respiratory infections and their kitten shots.

We have two vets that we use, the nicer more upscale office that the big cats have always gone to and the All Critters Hospital that the little guys go to. Last year we tried to get them into our regular vet but they couldn't see them for almost a week and the kittens would probably have died before then so we called around looking for a vet that could see them right away. The office is just down the road in a funky old building with a pet spa, furniture store and a health food store in it, like a mini strip mall. I don't think the building even has air conditioning (or they just don't want to use it) because it's always hot in there. I feel sorry for the poor girls who have to work in there all day. This vet is an all animal vet, there are pictures on the wall of some of his surgeries like a rat all strapped down on the table and snakes and stuff. I've never seen anyone bring in an odd animal while I've been there, but they do have some kind of parrot in the waiting room that meows like a kitten.

When I got there with Mimi yesterday they said the doctor was running late and I could just leave her and pick her up later. Sounded good to me, not having to sit there in that hot office waiting, so that's what I did. My only worry with Mimi is that she is such a skinny little thing, so they did a stool sample-don't ask me how, I guess they stick a swab or something up inside her little bottom-to make sure she didn't have a tapeworm or something, and checked her out and gave her the shots. I do like that this vet will do stool samples without us having to monitor the litter boxes and try to catch the right cat's poo. With six cats it's really hard to know who's poo is whose. The doctor thinks she is okay on the weight, so I guess she is just a petite kitty, like Harri, who is fluffy but tiny under all that fur. Other than a chipped canine tooth-don't know how that happened unless Buddy slammed into her one too many times-she is in good health and is all set for another year.

Buddy and Lucy are next in line for their annuals, so I made appointments for them for a month apart to kind of lessen the financial part of all this-at $217.00 for this visit, you kind of want to spread it out a little!