…my vets, my local cab firm and the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture pet meds. These are the places I am researching for investment purposes.
I’ve written before about my beautiful girls, and at the moment, two of them are undergoing treatment with the vet.
My poor Telesto has gingivitis and has to have her teeth scaled, which means a general anaesthetic. Think about it: it’s bad enough being a dentist with some humans (no names, no pack drill!), imagine trying to scale the teeth of a scared cat with very sharp claws and equally sharp canine teeth while she is awake… No, it’s not working for me either.
I booked her in to be done on the same day that Rhea has to go for blood tests, which is next Monday. Poor little Rhea has a problem with regurgitation, she has had all her life but it’s getting worse. The vet thinks she may have pancreatitis, which is apparently quite common in cats, but we need blood tests to check. We’ll have to wait and see what happens there.
So far, so good, except that I had to ‘phone the vets yesterday, about something unrelated, and they told me that it would be a good idea for Telesto to have blood tests done before the surgery, as she is, how can I say this politely? A lady of a certain age. Telesto is ten, which makes her about 56 in human years. I rather wish I’d known this earlier, but hey ho.
This meant that I had to take time off work this morning to take her up to the vets this morning, to get the tests done in time for Monday. Blood tests meant that she was not allowed to eat after 9pm last night. And if you have to starve one cat, you have to starve four.
Last night was not as bad as I had feared. I had visions of being pounced on every hour on the hour, but cats are a little more subtle than that. And they had obviously all had a good munch before I took up the remaining biscuits. This morning, however, was a whole different ball game.
For some reason, Artemis stayed downstairs last night (she usually sleeps on the bed), but I had a visitation from both her and Rhea once they realised that there was no food. Although they are sisters, they have a very different approach to getting what they want. It’s like they’re playing “good cat, bad cat.” Artemis jumps on me and hits me; Rhea makes a huge fuss of me, cuddling and purring.
As you would expect, Telesto becomes my shadow and Oceana maintains a very dignified distance as though she doesn’t care one way or the other. I did put biscuits down for the three of them once I’d put Telesto in the carrier, but strangely, they all went into hiding. Did they think I was trying to “chick” them, as we say in the office, or were they just showing “the sisterhood?” You never really know with cats.
On the occasions that I take two of them to the vets, I get a cab each way, but with only one, I thought I’d get the bus (I haven’t explained why I need shares in these companies yet). That would have been an excellent idea, except that the buses were all full at 8.30am. So I walked. My darling Telesto weighs around 4.5 kilos and would not keep still, and my vets is around a mile and a half, a mile and three quarters from home. I can’t say it was the easiest walk I’ve ever done but, on the plus side, I did my aerobic, cardio and weights all in one hit.
It was plain sailing once we got there, she was in Dianne’s words, “a little Angel,” and we did manage to get a bus home part of the way. Well, two stops actually, but, as I said, it’s good exercise.
As soon as I let her out of the carrier, Telesto dived into the biscuits, she was so happy. I should get the blood test results on Thursday, so hopefully, that will be ok. I think she is in pretty good health.
The bit I haven’t told you yet is that the cost of the bloods for both of them and the surgery is over £400 and this is why I think I need shares in these companies. What a money spinner! I don’t begrudge one penny of it, nothing is too good for my girls. In fact, in the scheme of things, I think it’s pretty good value, but when you think how many people there are like me out there, who only want the best for their little babies… I think I should do a Victor Kiam….
(c) Susan Shirley 2014
susanshirleyblog 