Tonks Tuesday: The Horror Story

Friends, Tonks would like to share her horror story from yesterday.

You see, Tonks went to the vet for her annual exam yesterday afternoon. Isn't that terrible? Isn't it? Tonks says it definitely was. The horror!

Tonks was stabbed by a needle while there. She gave the vet one little hiss, but she's so cute and just curled up after that the vet simply laughed and then and oohed and awwed over her.

Tonks would like you all to know that she totally didn't poop in her carrier on the way home. She also definitely didn't pee in it. If you saw this here human mom of hers cleaning the carrier after we got home, it was totally for a different reason.

Tonks hopes you all have a Tuesday far better than her day yesterday!

As a side note from this human, aside from some tartar and gingivitis that we'll be going after with some pet toothpaste, Tonks got an A+ from the vet. Tonks was panicking just a bit too much to be able to hear that news and give that report herself.

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

Last week I shared a spooky summer doodle inspired by a piece of Halloween decor I saw in stores last summer. Today, we have another doodle of that exact same type. This piece of decor was supposed to look like a wraith, and when I saw that it looked like a big blanket in spooky form, I simply had to scribble up a kitty sleeping on it.

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Tip of the Day

Today's tip relating to taking your cat to the vet is in regard to nonrecognition aggression. In relation to vet visits, nonrecognition aggression is typically when one cat goes to the vet, and when he or she returns home, one of the other resident cats does not recognize them. This is typically because the returning cat smells unfamiliar, with odors from the vet. Though it can be a disconcerting and scary thing to witness, nonrecognition is not terribly uncommon. What's more, there are ways to potentially prevent it, and to help your cats recover from it.

One way to combat nonrecognition aggression is to take your cats to the vet together. This way, neither of them will come back home smelling differently than the other. This method is easiest if both cats travel well and can safely visit the vet together. So, if nonrecognition is a concern in your home and it's a viable option, do consider taking your cats to the vet together to prevent future aggression between them.

There are other options to help prevent nonrecognition aggression. One is to use a synthetic pheromone spray, or a diffuser, to help keep all cats as calm as possible. Yet another option is to gently wipe down the cat returning home from the vet, in order to remove as much of the vet clinic smells as possible. Similarly, when a cat returns home from the vet, you can also wipe them with one of their usual blankets from home, to help transfer their usual scents back to them. Of course these are not fail-safe methods, but they can potentially help prevent nonrecognition aggression between cats.

All of the above being said, sometimes nonrecognition aggression might occur despite your attempts to prevent it. If it does occur, first and foremost, separate the cats who are involved, in order to keep them both safe. Then, reintroduction might be similar to how you introduce two unfamiliar or new cats to each other. Slowly and safely allowing them to sniff, see, and then interact with each other might take some time, but your kitties can indeed return to one big happy family with time and patience.