When one of us goes to the vet, the other also goes along for the ride. Why would Mom Paula do this?
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| Truffle and Brulee in their Sleepypods |
Two years ago Brulee was so sick that she had to be rushed to the emergency vet two times. Both times she stayed in the back of the hospital for several hours with all of those smells. When she came home, Truffle was stressed because she didn't recognize the smell of Brulee. This was the first time it had happened when one or the other went to the vet alone. It took Truffle almost a week to recognize and "accept" Brulee again. That summer, Truffle had to be taken to the vet quickly because of an infection in her eye. Brulee stayed home. When Mom Paula brought Truffle back, Brulee then had a hissy fit and it took several days for the two to accept each other again. After three times of this happening, Mom Paula decided that both of us would always travel to the vet together.
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| Truffle and Brulee in the car |
We travel in safety and style in our Sleepypod® Mobile Pet Bed. We've talked about the
Sleepypod® in previous post and shared it's safety in crash tests. The photo above is the incorrect way to carry the girls in the car. Mom Paula put us this way until she could clean out the back seat for one of the carriers. Each Sleepypod is attached by the seatbelt through two loops. Mom Paula usually puts Truffle in the front seat because she sings to her all the way to the vet. Brulee just curls up and sleeps on the way to the vet.
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| Waiting to see the vet |
Once we arrive at the vet, Mom Paula opens the lid of the Sleepypod and lets us roam around or stay inside, whichever we prefer. Usually, we stay inside the Sleepypod or on the examination table until the vet comes in, but this time, we wanted to roam around. Brulee was taken to the back room to have blood drawn (the vets explain that cats tend to be more calm with this procedure when their human isn't around), so Truffle and Mom Paula waited. Truffle didn't want to stay in the examination table this time and preferred to roam. Mom Paula did hold her on the table for a few minutes because she found a black bump on Truffle's shoulder this weekend, which freaked her out. All she could think of was the Big C because Truffle's littermate, Beignet, died from a sarcoma. Mom Paula checked the bump every day and it appeared to be decreasing, so she felt a little better.
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| Truffle's bump |
When Mom Paula rubbed her finger over the bump, the black part came off, so she assumed it was a scab from a tussle between Truffle and Brulee. She wet the fur over the bump so she could show it to Dr. Hansche when he came in because it's difficult to find once the fur is in place. Dr. Hansche inspected the bump and said it appeared to be a "war wound" from Brulee. He asked me, "what was your first thought when you saw it?" I replied, "cancer." He assured me it was nothing, but said it was a good thing I had him to check it out.
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| Brulee being examined |
Dr. Hansche then examined Brulee. He said she did well with drawing the blood. Brulee now weighs 8.6 pounds, which is a little surprising because silver shaded Persians are usually between 5-7 pounds. Brulee isn't fat; she just has that cobby Persian body. Her teeth looked great, all vitals were normal, and the bloodwork came back normal. Dr. Hansche always says how much he loves the girls and even offered to trade his 4 dogs for Truffle and Brulee. Mom Paula laughed at him.
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| Dr. Hansche with Truffle and Brulee |
Mom Paula loves how Dr. Hansche will pick up both girls and snuggle with them. Our veterinary hospital, Cherokee Trail Veterinary Hospital, recently received the AAFP designation of Cat Friendly Practice Gold. Mom Paula is scheduled to interview one of the vets on March 30 about this designation and we'll share the interview with you. We love that our vet is both AAHA accredited and an AAFP Cat Friendly Practice. We don't really like going to the vet, but we're happy that when we do, we have wonderful people taking care of us.
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| Brulee exploring the examination room |
We already have pet insurance through Trupanion, which covers illness, accidents, and medication. It doesn't cover the vet fee or our Revolution treatment. Cherokee Trail now offers a wellness program which covers two office visits a year with the vet's fee, a year of Revolution, bloodwork, and other things. Mom Paula chose to enroll Brulee in this program and will enroll Truffle when she goes back for her annual checkup. All in all, everything went well at the vet.
Truffle was a little hissy for a couple of days because Brulee smelled different from getting her blood drawn (alcohol?).
