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Calico Cat - Success



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 9th 03, 10:01 PM
Arthur Shapiro
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Default Calico Cat - Success

Guess this won't be the most thrilling post ever put here, but I'm sitting
here very happy.

I have a calico cat just under 7 years old, who wandered into my life as a
wild kitten. She's my favorite - sweet, affectionate, and a great cat,
*except* for one huge problem: she can't be picked up. If a hand goes
anywhere underneath her, she bolts. If I grab her, she turns into a ferocious
mass of flailing claws, made worse by the fact that she can't be picked up to
trim the claws in the first place.

She was due in April for her yearly exam and shots, which gives me the rare
opportunity to trim the claws, apply Advantage, and other things that ought to
be routine. She is completely docile at the vet. I had unsuccessfully tried
numerous times since April to trap her and fling the hysterical cat into the
carrier, but never succeeded. Either she'd sense that something was wrong and
stay just out of reach, or put up a tremendous fight and leave me gushing
blood as she escaped. Cancelling so many appointments was an embarrassment,
although the vet is well aware of the situation and is very good about the
cancellations.

I had tried a tranquilizer once before, chopping the pill into small pieces
and putting it into people tuna. She cleverly ate all the tuna and left the
tiny pieces of pill on the plate. As irked as I was, it was difficult not to
be impressed.

Last night, Milo and Watermelon Man had vet appointments, and I raised the
question of a sedative again. Being six months overdue for the shots, I was
starting to have real concerns about Calico. We decided to try a different
pill.

This morning I pulverized it and put it into people tuna. She wolfed down
about 80% of the serving, and climbed onto the couch where I was reading the
paper. She seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood, purring and generally
being happy. I waited about 45 minutes, hoping she'd fall asleep (yeah,
right), and decided to make a grab for her. I picked her up, getting one yowl
and no flailing claws. It was almost a non-event. I carried her over to the
cat carrier, put her inside, and closed the door. As I speed-dialed the vet,
the howling and struggle started, but there was no way she was going to get
out. It was 7:45, and they gave me a 10 am appointment. I warned that I'd
probably be there over an hour early, as she is so scared at the vet as to be
quiet and handleable.

By 8:30, the howling was getting quite severe, so off we drove to the vet. I
clipped her, combed her, and applied Advantage in the waiting room, and they
actually saw me early, around 9:15. She checked out completely healthy, got
all the shots without incident, and off we went. By 9:45 we were back home.
By noon, she actually had forgiven me and is nuzzling me on the back of the
chair as I type.

For 3 weeks, she'll be able to knead me without drawing blood. Then the
vicious cycle will start again.

Art

Art
Temporary usercode - to be deleted when spam starts. Use MyBrainHurts at this ISP to reach me
  #2  
Old October 9th 03, 10:08 PM
polonca12000
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Default

Wonderful!
Best wishes,
--
Polonca & Soncek

"Arthur Shapiro" wrote in message
news:K0khb.12947$hp5.10437@fed1read04...
Guess this won't be the most thrilling post ever put here, but I'm sitting
here very happy.

snip


  #3  
Old October 9th 03, 11:02 PM
Victor M. Martinez
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Default

Yikes! Sounds like a real character... I've heard of people using either
Feliway or some herbal remedies (passionflower extract) to calm down their
kitties.

--
Victor M. Martinez

http://www.che.utexas.edu/~martiv

  #4  
Old October 9th 03, 11:11 PM
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Arthur Shapiro wrote:

By 8:30, the howling was getting quite severe, so off we drove to the
vet. I clipped her, combed her, and applied Advantage in the waiting
room, and they actually saw me early, around 9:15... [snip]

For 3 weeks, she'll be able to knead me without drawing blood. Then
the vicious cycle will start again.


Hey Art, here's a suggestion. Actually, the solution is right there in
your post: why not bring your cat to the vet's once a month, just to sit
in the waiting room and clip her claws, apply Advantage, and perform
whatever other maintenance you need to do? You don't need an appointment
to do that. I'll bet your vet wouldn't mind your spending half an hour in
the waiting room once a month, clipping Calico's docile little claws off.
And it wouldn't cost you anything, either. (Though perhaps you could bring
them some candies or something as a thank you.)

Joyce
  #7  
Old October 10th 03, 05:39 AM
Takayuki
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Default

(Arthur Shapiro) wrote:
BTW, you can see some shots of her on my personal site at

http://members.cox.net/mybrainhurts/CalicoStory.htm

Looking at her, you wouldn't think she's a living terror.


She's beautiful! She looks so huggable and pick-upable in those
pictures. I liked the stories of her and the other cats on your site.
I wish they could understand when we tell them that their kittens have
gone to good homes.

And Watermelon Man is amazing, too. I remember someone saying here
that needles with a bit of them in them look like attractive toys to
cats.

  #10  
Old October 10th 03, 08:08 AM
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Arthur Shapiro wrote:

They've said I could bring her in any time to do routine maintenance. But
getting this cat into a carrier is considerably more difficult than, say,
mediating the dispute between the Israelis and the Palestinians, solving
global warming, or finding Jimmy Hoffa's body.


LOL! But, you did get her to the vet this past time, right? I guess you
don't want to give her a sedative once a month, is that it?

BTW, you can see some shots of her on my personal site at
http://members.cox.net/mybrainhurts/CalicoStory.htm
Looking at her, you wouldn't think she's a living terror.


She's beautiful! And she doesn't look like a living terror, you're right.
Although in that last photo, at the bottom of the page, she does have a
certain baleful glare in her eyes. (My cat Roxy is an expert at the
Baleful Glare.)

Joyce
 




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