Last week, mom got the dreaded cat carrier out of the closet. When she does this, it can only mean one thing. It's time to go to the doctor. Mija went first, the day before me. Mom says I'm easier to catch so she has to take Mija first. When I saw them leave, I went to the basement to hide and didn't come back upstairs until mom and Mija had been home for an hour.
Mom puts a warm towel in the bottom of the carrier but it doesn't matter. It's no fun to ride in that thing. I complained loudly and tried to dig a hole through the bottom. When that didn't work, I tried to open the door by sticking my paws through the grate. That didn't work either.
I should have suspected something when mom wanted to give me a thorough combing in the morning. But she had treats and it's kind of nice to have the comb through my fur. It sort of feels good on my skin. She told me how pretty I was and how soft my fur felt. The minute I came out of the carrier at the doctor, mom was dismayed.
She said I looked like a street urchin or a cat without a forever home. I am prone to dandruff but mom said that changing our food to one higher in protein has almost eliminated that problem. I don't know if you can see but my dandruff came back like the snow that was falling outside when we went to the vet. Our doctor said she sees this all the time. "Even the best groomed cats can have fur and dandruff reactions to stress." It didn't make mom feel any better because she wants the doctor to see how well she takes care of me.
We did have some good news this trip.
The vet said last year that I was getting pretty chunky and I needed to lose weight. Turns out, the change in cat food and the bit more exercise mom has us do has paid off. I was down a whole pound. Mija had lost 0.2 of a pound but she's not as round as me. The vet is very happy with our health and says mom is doing a great job of caring for us.
(Mom here. Don't tell Pilchard, but she doesn't get as many treats as she used to. Treats, while a good reward, can be very high in calories. If your cat needs to lose weight, you may have to gradually reduce the number of treats you give him or her. And, I need to not cave in so quickly to Mija wanting deli turkey. When I make those kinds of sandwiches, she is underfoot, demanding some. Must be strong. Must be strong. Yeah, right.)
Once all the poking and prodding and the required shot for something called rabies, was done, we could go home.
I don't like going to the doctor. It smells funny there and I hate the car ride. Mom says we go because it's important to be healthy. I know that, but it's still not fun. I forgave mom, however, and later that day, we had our usual evening lap time. Don't tell the vet, but she gave us a couple extra treats.
See you next week.
Pilchard
