Pardon, but your slip is showing....

My husband and I took our 14 year old cat Rocky to the vet on Friday to get his annual exam and booster Rabies shot. Since Rocky is considered an elderly cat, visits to the vet are always anticipated with some trepidation. He is what they call a "strictly indoor" cat, but one who has been chipped in case he should escape. De-clawed (which I now regret) many, many years ago, he would be defenseless.

Rocky is terrified of going to the vet. Not of the vet, but the process of getting there which involves being loaded into the carrier and the car ride there and back again. Consequently, in more recent years they have begun to tell us he has a heart murmur, and on this visit we were told he had lost some weight also. That concerned the vet, so he ordered some tests to be done to check Rocky's thyroid, kidneys, etc. The necessitated Rocky being taken into the back room so they could better handle him and get the specimens they needed.

While my husband and I waited in the exam room for them to bring the cat back, I brought up the topic of Rocky's eventual demise. We have had cats in our household for most of our 36 years of marriage, and of course, some got sick and had to be euthanized. We both hate the thought, so this was on my mind when I said to my husband that I still felt bad about the euthanization of our previous cat, Omi. I told him that this time I was hoping to be a stronger person and that 'I hoped that I would be able to go with Rocky when the time comes'. My husband just got a big smile on his face and looked hopeful.

(c) Carol W.

 http://webducksdailythoughts.blogspot.com/