Caturday Art: Nurse Thimble

It's one of our favorite days of the week. It's Caturday, which means we've indeed reached the weekend. And it is a long weekend here in the US, as Monday is Memorial Day, a day of remembrance for those who lost their lives serving in the armed forces.

Evan will be sharing a patriotic piece on Monday, for the day of remembrance itself. Today, though, we have something different in store for Athena's Caturday Art blog hop.

You see, Thimble informed me that, since she had to go to that nasty place called the V-E-T this week, and since she is now being forced to take antibiotics (yuck!) for 3 whole weeks because of her UTI, she better get to star in our art for today. I agreed to that. She didn't really give me any other specifications, though, so I ended up with this:

Thimble isn't sure what to make of this. And, quite frankly, neither am I.

Thimble hopes all of you furiends of ours have been avoiding undue visits to the stabby place!

 A happy and healthy Caturday to all!


(P.S. I mentioned yesterday how, since Thimble's return from the vet, Eddy has decided to consider her a new, strange cat worthy of much growling and hissing. Though this is the first time this has happened here at our house, it is not all that uncommon, and we received so many fantastic tips on what works for you furiends of ours in cases such as this. Many of you said that you bring the other kitty along for the ride to the vet, so as to prevent this. I forgot to mention yesterday, though, that despite the fact that all of our carriers are out and visible and accessible 24/7, Eddy is one of those kitties who nevertheless goes a tad bit berserk upon being put in a carrier and taken anywhere. She has been known to lash out at other nearby furbabies, which has made it impossible to either take her along to other furbabies' vet visits, or to bring any along on hers.

All in all, I'll be honest, Eddy seems firmly attached to some of her previously semi-feral ways. She not only loathes being caged, but also panics and hides when strangers arrive, which even puts home vet visits out of the picture. What's more, Eddy does the most hissing and growling in the house even when all is in a normal state. She has always been a skittish kitty. But that's all okay, because this momma of Eddy's also gets to witness all of the love she has to offer, and so it's totally worth it. Even if sometimes it sort of leaves me in a jam.

For now, I do have the long weekend in my favor. I am home and monitoring all interactions with Eddy and Thimble. I am using Feliway, as well as leaving items that smell like Thimble near Eddy's favorite areas to hang out, and I'm using lots of toys in distraction techniques. Since both Eddy and Thimble act more stressed upon being segregated in certain areas of the home, I simply have the house open for business as per usual. All the furbabies go where they please. Eddy will come out and about, but when she sees Thimble, she will still go through the ritual of freezing, assessing the situation, and then usually hissing and growling and running off under my bed to hide. The good thing is that none of this really sets off easy-going and sweet Thimble, and Eddy never gets physical about it, and never hides for long.

I feel that each time I witness this, Eddy does a bit more sniffing and assessing before or during her little ritual. I am hoping that she is slowly coming to terms with Thimble and her smell again. I'll also go ahead and note that Thimble and Eddy have never been the best of friends, anyway. Thimble is a bit of the boss lady here, and Eddy has always acted a bit differently towards her because of that. Their daily play with each other always involved chasing and hissing before all of this, as that was just the sort of relationship they had, it seemed. Eddy has always reserved most of her love for her momma and her beloved Evan, and so I will just be happy if Thimble and Eddy can go back to an ability to simply coexist in the same room. With patience, I hope to get there. Of course, Thimble is due for a recheck urinalysis next month, and then both she and Eddy are due for their annuals this summer. And so, I am already outlining some plans to hopefully keep possible nonrecognition aggression to a minimum. These plans involve lots of Feliway and removing as much vet smell as possible off of each returning furbaby.

Whew. That was a long P.S.)

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Our Tip of the Day:

Don't forget to consider using some of the common tips for making vet trips as easy as possible, many of which we've mentioned in the past. For example, try keeping that dreaded carrier visible and accessible at all times, so that your furbaby doesn't learn to grow fearful of its appearance. Put a favorite blanket in the carrier, or an item of your clothing, and take it with you to the vet. Also consider taking a favorite toy or treats to help distract your furbaby, or to use as a reward for good behavior. You can also try something such as spraying the carrier with Feliway for cats, or use the dog version for those pups out there, as it mimics a calming pheromone to help soothe a stressed furbaby. And, of course, do all that you can to stay calm yourself. Your furbaby will feed off of you and your emotions, so do all that you can to be their rock. Then again, it is also possible that some furbabies, depending on their personality and past experiences, might just be naturally stressed when going to the vet. In such cases, discuss options beforehand with your vet. Discuss methods that might help calm your furbaby, medications that might calm or sedate your furbaby, and even consider discussing at-home visits or other similar solutions. Going to the vet can be a stressful experience for all involved, but if you stay calm and consider all options, you'll succeed!