Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Good News, Bad News

Took Patches to the Vet

The title of the blog?  The story of my morning.

Good news, I was able to rather easily put Patchadoodle in the cat carrier and he was scared, but quiet. The drive to the vet is only about 5 minutes or so and there was no trauma.

Good news, I only had to wait about 5 minutes or less in the vet's office.

Bad news, Patches panicked when the vet tech took him out to weigh him and in the process scratched her.

Good news, the scratching was from trying to escape, not any kind of attack, and he did not bite her.

Good news, he quieted down for me and let me hold him and even weigh him, so he trusts me pretty well.

Bad news, I found a flea on him and a wood tick.  Both are now dead and gone, but they were there.

Good news, he was settled enough to be pretty calm for the vet and the general exam didn't seem to show up any physical issues with his overall condition, heart, eyes, ears, etc.

Bad news, he is not a neutered male, but a tom cat, although perhaps 2 years old, so not quite, apparently mature enough to really act "tommy."  (He has hung around my house instead of roaming off looking for ladies.)

Bad news, he will need to be neutered.

Good news, the vet was able to admit him today and will do the surgery this afternoon. He will also be treated for fleas and given the basic vaccines.

Good news, I will probably pick him up later today.

Bad news, it's going to cost around $450.

Good news, it's going to cost around $450....I was expecting even more. *sigh*

While I hope to give Patchadoodle the option of becoming a house cat, if he does not like it, he can stay outdoors here with the promise of good food and good care. He will be having some blood tests for feline leukemia and feline aids.  As long as he's negative, then being with my other kitties is OK. So for now, it's kind of a wait and see situation.

So, from all we can tell, Patches first showed up here about a year ago. That means he was only about a year old, or younger when he was abandoned by someone. Since he's accepted my handling so easily and seems to enjoy coming on to the totally enclosed back porch to sit/sleep by the door into the house, I am certain he was never a feral cat. At some point in his life, he lived with people and was probably kept inside. What a horror it must have been for him to suddenly find himself cast aside and left to fend for himself.

It's taken me a year to befriend him. Here's hoping he can now live a content life as one of my kitties. It's the least I can do for the little guy.

9 comments:

  1. You're a good mommy. I'll bet he'll be happy to see you later today. Vet bills are outrageous these days!

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  2. You are wonderful caring person. That cat is lucky one, ven if he is loosing his balls in the deal ;-D

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  3. i shan't complain about our feline vet bills! it was only £60 to get nessie neutered, and that's major surgery for a female! - $450 is about £280

    you need to move, LOL - that's ridiculous!

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  4. We got our kitty in pretty much the same way. He just got dumped off out in the middle of nowhere. He's a sweet guy and a really great cat, so we have no idea why anyone got rid of him.

    Hope all is well with patches. He's probably a bit sore.

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  5. Wow - that's a lot of money for cat neutering. But it will be worth it. My hunch is that he will become a lap cuddler and want to be with you all the time. The feral female cat that had kittens in my barn (now spayed) loves living in the house and sleeps on our bed. Formerly wild, she enjoys being a "kept kitty."

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  6. He's a beautiful boy and lucky to have found you. "Free" kitties usually come with a price tag, if you are a responsible animal lover, which I know you are. Sparkles' special kitten formula costs as much as a good bottle of wine.

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  7. Anonymous7:33 PM

    I'm a big fan of black and whites - good for you for getting everything done properly!

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  8. Holy smokes - glad for all the good news, but $450? We got basically the exact same thing done for our two - yes TWO, when they were old enough to be neutered, and it was only around $250-$300 as far as I remember for both of them combined.

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  9. Also, forgot to add earlier, Jessie's grandparents take care of a colony of feral cats who live in the woods behind their house, and we have one cat who came up as an adult who has become comfortable with us in a relatively short amount of time, and has even come inside once without having a fit. So it's possible your kitty was born feral...or born feral and handled a bit as a kitten, then he wandered off.

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