Cat suffers through checkup

Gracie, the calico cat, had her annual checkup the other day. It was a traumatic experience for her, as it always is. It started with me picking her up. She hates to be picked up. I think it is a control problem. She doesn’t feel in control when I am holding her even though I’ve never dropped her.
Then I put her in the carrier. She will go in the carrier on her own and even sleep there but, again, only if it is her choice. Then came the dreaded car ride and she cried the entire time, as usual. I am so glad we live a mere few minutes from the vet.
At the vet’s office things took a turn for the worse. They were running behind which meant Gracie had lots of time to work herself into a tizzy. I could have told her that people doctors also run behind on a regular basis but she would have hissed at me in disbelief.
When I go to the doc I almost always take a book to read to help pass the time more quickly. I have found that it doesn’t matter if I actually read or not, the fact that I have a book with me means that I will get waited on more quickly than if I had left it at home.
Gracie doesn’t know how to read. I have yet to find a picture book for non-reading kitties so she was doomed to wait until the vet was ready for her. The lack of a book to read gave her way too much time to imagine the worst.
As soon as she began to settle down someone came in with a couple of dogs on a leash. The hair on Gracie’s neck stood up. She hissed and growled at the newcomers from the safety of her carrier. The dogs and their owner settled in to wait on the other side of the room. One of the dogs was quivering every bit as much as Gracie was.
As we waited, we were surprised by an escapee from the back of the building. The black dog skidded across the floor and cowered under the chair next to mine. The animal was followed by a girl who fished it out from under the chairs and took it back to the bowels of the building.
Shortly thereafter someone came in with two more dogs who sniffed Gracie’s carrier. She hissed at them. Then they barked a greeting while our furry feline became so agitated that I thought she would have a heart attack.
While all this was going on, a sales representative was plying her product to the receptionist. The sales representative had on a dress that was at least two sizes too small. I don’t understand how anyone can wear something that tight and think she looks good.
It was finally time for us to see the vet and Gracie was still agitated from all the commotion with the dogs. She hissed at the vet and he had to jerk away several times or else she would have torn him to pieces.
After a thorough exam, a shot and a car ride in which she protested all the way, we were safely back home. Gracie showed her gratitude by cuddling for a few minutes that evening. Then things went back to normal. She ignores us unless she wants food, water or treats.
Our own doctor visits tend to mirror Gracie’s. We fear the loss of control when our fate is in someone else’s hands. We work ourselves into a tizzy. Then after the crisis is over things go back to normal. I’m just glad we don’t have to be put into a carrier and made to wait in the waiting room with our mortal enemies.[[In-content Ad]]