Fill-Ins and Fear of the V-E-T

Happy Friday to one and all! It's time for the always fun Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by our friends over at 15andmeowing and McGuffy's Reader.

As always, here are the clever fill-ins from the minds of our hosts:

1. Blind dates _________.
2. _________ years ago, I _________.
3. I admire _________ because _________.
4. _________ makes me think _________.

And, here are my best attempts at filling them in:

1. Blind dates are something I myself would probably never try.
(Blind dates can very well lead some people to find love. I've heard of such stories myself. But, I don't think they're for me. Besides, I'll admit that I'm happily single and honestly plan to stay that way.)

2. Twenty years ago, I wanted to be a veterinarian when I grew up.
(As a kid, I always wanted to be a veterinarian. By the time I hit senior year of high school, though, I had changed my mind. By that point, I had worked with a variety of animals in a variety of settings, and I think it was heavily the thought of having to euthanize animals that really made me think twice. I certainly do appreciate veterinarians, though, and all that they do for our furbabies.)

3. I admire animal rescuers, because they are true heroes.
(There are many kinds of heroes out there, but those who work day in and day out to rescue the most innocent of victims will always have a great deal of admiration from me.)

4. The scent of mint makes me think of my angel pup Shellie.
(I just bought some Andes mints the other day, and it really brought back some memories. After all, my childhood pup Shellie once stole and ate an entire bag of Andes mints right after we came home from the store with it. Luckily, she was a big girl and was scarcely affected by this indulgence. And, her breath smelled great.)

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Now, it's Eddy's turn to share her weekly happenings. And what a week she had. As a prologue, I will explain that two of Eddy's biggest fears in life are 1) that nasty PTU and 2) strangers. Guess what? Going to the V-E-T requires both. That's probably why she was so very, very unhappy with me on Monday, when she went in for her annual exam. I'll let her give you the details now.

Hi, furiends! Can you tell that I've had a rough week? Because I have. On Monday, I had to live out my worst nightmare. After all, my mom shoved me into that torture chamber and carted me off to be poked and prodded by strangers.

It all started a couple of weeks ago, really. You see, that PTU of ours, it sits out in our house all the time. Seriously, every day it just sits there and mocks me. Who wants to look at the source of their torture 24/7? I sure don't. But, my mom doesn't seem to care.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago, my started giving that torture chamber extra attention. She started throwing my treats (aka, the frog's food, because that's my kind of treat) in that nightmarish box. She even started attempting to invite it to play games with us, throwing my toys in there and all that silly jazz. But you know what? I'm a smart girl. I knew my mom was up to something. And so was that PTU.

Fast forward to Monday, and I wouldn't go near that nasty torture chamber. Mom was over there throwing treats and toys at it like a buffoon, so I just walked away. A bit later, my mom picked me up and started cuddling me, so I figured I'd won, that she'd given up trying to trick me. But, then it got weird. My mom picked up a blanket and wrapped me in it. Am I a burrito? I think not! So, I started to squirm, because when the mom's acting fishy and trying to turn you into a food wrap, you squirm for all your worth.

Then, that's when it turned into a real nightmare. My mom tried to shove my burritoed body into that torture box. Can you believe that?!? Don't worry, though. I put up a fight. I put up a really good fight. Mom even bled for that one. Don't worry, though. It was only a scratch. I'm no biter, and I was only trying to hug her until she stopped being such a terrible person. Besides, it didn't work. Bloody or not, my mom got me back in that box of horrors and locked me up.

I screamed. I screamed big time. I cried and wailed and demanded to be released. "Please, Mommy, let me out! PLEEEEAAASE!!!" But, no, she didn't let me out. Instead, she took me outside. Outside. At our house, we kitties don't go outside. We're indoor kitties 100%. Yet, there I was outside, and then in this wheeled thing that started moving. And then we were at this place that smelled like other cats and dogs and some weird chemicals.

And you know what? After that battle royale to shove me into the torture chamber, Mom yanked me right back out at this strange place. I did the only reasonable thing. I froze. I was petrified. Like, I now know what it feels like to be a statue. While I remained a statue, people came in, put some weird thing on my chest and said my heart was racing (no kidding, Sherlock), and then stabbed me in the leg. What is wrong with people?!?

(Flashback to baby Eddy's first vet visit! Isn't she adorable?!?)

I wasn't all smiles this time around. At least the torture wasn't too prolonged. Before long, it was back in the torture chamber, back in that wheeled thing that moves, and then back home, where I hid under my mom's bed for a couple of hours. We made up later, of course. I cuddled her and purred and begged her to never do that to me again (or else, Mom, or else).

Well, I hope everybuddy else had a better week than me!

Purrs,
Eddy

So, there you have it, from the victim herself. In truth, I keep at least one carrier out and about in the house all the time. All of the other cats in the house will use it for fun, eat treats out of it, play with toys in it, and all that good stuff. But, not Eddy.

To be honest, I feel like Eddy's fear of carriers and overall being confined might go back to when she was trapped by the rescue group from which I adopted her. Her first day with them, she was "normal". By the next day, though, she had a head tilt and was spinning in circles. They could never pinpoint an exact cause for this, but I have always wondered if she was hit or in some other way affected by the trap. She even has a scar on her right ear, the same side as her permanent head tilt and facial nerve paralysis. Regardless, I love my special girl and will simply do what it takes (even if that means turning the feisty girl into a kitty burrito) to get her cared for as needed.

One of the morals of this story is, though it might not always work, as Eddy proves, to try to keep a carrier out all year round. This way, it won't be an enemy the second it shows up for V-E-T time. You can also put favorite blankets, toys, food, treats, and catnip in the carrier to make it enticing. Feliway is another option. For those still having none of it, you can try the blanket burrito method for safe handling. If need be, you can also discuss with the veterinarian options such as sedating medications, at-home visits, and any other potential options. So, to those with upcoming V-E-T visits, good luck!

Happy Friday from all of us to all of you!

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