New acquisition - an unplanned cat

[thrice]

Did you get to see "WKRP in Cincinatti"? That was another great series.

No, boomana's new cat hasn't watched WKRP. Jebus guys back on topic....I mean who started this crazy trip down TV Memory lan....... Oh......right.....it's Dusty's fault

[en480c4]

One of my cats has a people name, Zoe, and the other is named Koshka, which is Russian for cat. So I can understand going either way with respect to names.

[Salt Peanuts]

My gf's old cat, who is no longer with us, was named Kitten. His real name was Albany Jones, though he never really responded to that name. Of course, he responded to anything my gf called him.

[grawk]

That's the great thing about cats isn't it? They only respond when they want to, and what you call them has nothing to do with that. A cat I had with an old girlfriend was named "Mr. Kelly", and he only responded to a can opener.

[Salt Peanuts]

My parents have five cats (they had seven at one point) and all of them, for the most part, only responds to my mom. When I went up last year to house/cat/dog sit, I almost never saw three out of the seven cats the four days I was there.

[Dusty Chalk]

'Cause suicide is painless

it brings on many changes

and I can take or leave it if I please.

...and you can do the same thing if you please.

[Fitz]

its a work in progress..

I hurt myself laughing.

[Edwood]

That's the great thing about cats isn't it? They only respond when they want to, and what you call them has nothing to do with that. A cat I had with an old girlfriend was named "Mr. Kelly", and he only responded to a can opener.

Yeah, that's why I like dogs better than cats.

Oh, yeah. My dog MoMo only really loves my wife, that is until it's dinnertime, then MoMo relentlessly follows me around, but as soon as she's fed, she's gone.

Fucking, bitch.

[laxx]

Yeah, that's why I like dogs better than cats.

Oh, yeah. My dog MoMo only really loves my wife, that is until it's dinnertime, then MoMo relentlessly follows me around, but as soon as she's fed, she's gone.

Fucking, bitch.

Same, my girlfriend's two dogs are named Cash and Jet and they only respond to her, or anyone who has food.

[gloco]

Our cats respond to their names, but it took years of practice.

How about Teddy?

[guzziguy]

Our three cats all respond to their names and come when I call or whistle (about 90% of the time). They were brought up this way and I don't remember it ever taking very long for them to figure it out.

Considering how this cat has adopted you, how about "Buddy" as a name?

[Chekhonte]

Vicky, when are you going to put some real pictures of your cat up?!?!?!

[boomana]

Vicky, when are you going to put some real pictures of your cat up?!?!?!

Well, I seem to have lost the connecting thingy for my camera, so I have to get another.

I have to say that I'm very proud of my boy. He damn near destroyed the vet's office yesterday and terrified the two vet techs and a new vet. I almost had to have him quarantined for ten days because he hadn't yet been vaccinated for rabies, but the whiny bitch who deserved the attack wasn't actually hurt, though claimed she was.

Round One: my very mellow cat is out of his cat carrier, hanging out on my lap with dogs coming in and out and the vet's cat even rubbing up on my legs. Bumpers (cat's new maybe name based on later story) is happy, cozy, and just checking it all out with no fuss. I take him back to the horrible stainless table, and he's now scared, sniffing around, starting to pant, but okay. In walks stupid vet tech #1, who, as soon as she hears he's a stray, gets all afraid and puts on the giant gloves and just grabs him by the scruff hard, even though stupid vet tech #2 isn't even in the room yet with the thermometer. I kept telling her to let him go until they were actually doing something, and he's giving all the warning signs, but she's too stupid to listen. So, he's now afraid, hurting, and trapped...not good...and starts fighting. They don't even have that thermometer in his butt yet and he kicks, flips, flails, escapes, jumps on the counters and knocks a bunch of stuff off, wailing horrible cat sounds, and basically spazing, scratching, trying to get away. I grab him and pin him on the table, and stupid vet tech #2 wraps him up in a towel and sticks him in the bum. End round one.

Round Two: A new vet I've never met (been going there ten years) comes in. I get Bumpers back in my lap, after the indignity of the butt probe, and he's growling but fine. Then they decide to put him in a cat bag for his shots, which is basically a straight jacket for cats with lots of zippers. Not good. They get him in all tight, but he's pissed. The vet tries to give him shots, but the vet techs won't hold him right, and even in the cat bag, he's kicking, twisting, and screaming, so that everytime the vet sticks a needle in, she can't give the shot and the needle goes flying on the floor because she keeps jumping away from him every time he kicks. I keep saying, "Lie on the damn cat. Pin him!" and they're telling me to get away, totally afraid of him, but they've already stuck him five times without success. He's screaming and fighting (I'm laughing) and the two dummies are already holding him down and covering his face, so they finally let me just pin with my body, and in five seconds they give him both shots. It was quite the scene with him yowling, dogs barking all over the place, stuff from the counters all over the floor. You should have seen their faces. It was beautiful. End round two.

After that, I have to wait for test results, and he's back in my lap all chill, but stupid vet tech #1 claims he hurt her, so there was a whole mess with that until they saw there was no marks on her at all. Blah. Blah. The bitch is trying to claim this even as some old lady in the waiting room with her cat is petting him and he's purring. I've scheduled him a bath at the same vet as payback for their stupidity next week. I love my new cat.

EDIT: his tests came back fine. He's got parasites and worms, but that's it.

[n_maher]

Bumpers, I love it.

[tkam]

Sounds like a cool cat .

Though you really have to wonder about the new vet and the vet techs. Sounds like they might be in the wrong line of work.

[boomana]

Bumpers, I love it.

Now that he's rested, he's showing his personality. He likes to run into you and do full bodychecks, trying to corral you back into the kitchen or just for fun, like playing bumper cars.

[JBLoudG20]

Sounds like a sweetie pie!

[thrice]

Well, I seem to have lost the connecting thingy for my camera, so I have to get another.

I have to say that I'm very proud of my boy. He damn near destroyed the vet's office yesterday and terrified the two vet techs and a new vet. I almost had to have him quarantined for ten days because he hadn't yet been vaccinated for rabies, but the whiny bitch who deserved the attack wasn't actually hurt, though claimed she was.

Round One: my very mellow cat is out of his cat carrier, hanging out on my lap with dogs coming in and out and the vet's cat even rubbing up on my legs. Bumpers (cat's new maybe name based on later story) is happy, cozy, and just checking it all out with no fuss. I take him back to the horrible stainless table, and he's now scared, sniffing around, starting to pant, but okay. In walks stupid vet tech #1, who, as soon as she hears he's a stray, gets all afraid and puts on the giant gloves and just grabs him by the scruff hard, even though stupid vet tech #2 isn't even in the room yet with the thermometer. I kept telling her to let him go until they were actually doing something, and he's giving all the warning signs, but she's too stupid to listen. So, he's now afraid, hurting, and trapped...not good...and starts fighting. They don't even have that thermometer in his butt yet and he kicks, flips, flails, escapes, jumps on the counters and knocks a bunch of stuff off, wailing horrible cat sounds, and basically spazing, scratching, trying to get away. I grab him and pin him on the table, and stupid vet tech #2 wraps him up in a towel and sticks him in the bum. End round one.

Round Two: A new vet I've never met (been going there ten years) comes in. I get Bumpers back in my lap, after the indignity of the butt probe, and he's growling but fine. Then they decide to put him in a cat bag for his shots, which is basically a straight jacket for cats with lots of zippers. Not good. They get him in all tight, but he's pissed. The vet tries to give him shots, but the vet techs won't hold him right, and even in the cat bag, he's kicking, twisting, and screaming, so that everytime the vet sticks a needle in, she can't give the shot and the needle goes flying on the floor because she keeps jumping away from him every time he kicks. I keep saying, "Lie on the damn cat. Pin him!" and they're telling me to get away, totally afraid of him, but they've already stuck him five times without success. He's screaming and fighting (I'm laughing) and the two dummies are already holding him down and covering his face, so they finally let me just pin with my body, and in five seconds they give him both shots. It was quite the scene with him yowling, dogs barking all over the place, stuff from the counters all over the floor. You should have seen their faces. It was beautiful. End round two.

After that, I have to wait for test results, and he's back in my lap all chill, but stupid vet tech #1 claims he hurt her, so there was a whole mess with that until they saw there was no marks on her at all. Blah. Blah. The bitch is trying to claim this even as some old lady in the waiting room with her cat is petting him and he's purring. I've scheduled him a bath at the same vet as payback for their stupidity next week. I love my new cat.

EDIT: his tests came back fine. He's got parasites and worms, but that's it.

Bumpers huh? I don't know, Dr. Snuggle seems more appropriate...too bad he's not a she, you could have named her Cybill.

[JBLoudG20]

Now that he's rested, he's showing his personality. He likes to run into you and do full bodychecks, trying to corral you back into the kitchen or just for fun, like playing bumper cars.

ROFL that's awesome!

[thrice]

Now that he's rested, he's showing his personality. He likes to run into you and do full bodychecks, trying to corral you back into the kitchen or just for fun, like playing bumper cars.

Ah well in that case, bumpers is perfect.

[boomana]

Sounds like a cool cat .

Though you really have to wonder about the new vet and the vet techs. Sounds like they might be in the wrong line of work.

I blame the vet techs. They hurt him at the beginning by grabbing him hard by the scruff for too long without needing to, and then, when needed, they wouldn't hold the whole cat down. They had on the giant gloves, had his face covered in a towel, had him by the scruff, and were pinning his upper body, but how do you give a shot to a frenzied cat in the hind quarters without holding the whole cat down? Stupid. The vet should have also known better, but she walked into a scene where he'd already destroyed the counters, and was screaming, growling, and hissing as loudly as he could. She was afraid to stick him in his muscle, so kept jumping back when he squirmed and kicked, hurting him even more with each attempted shot.

[guzziguy]

Great name Vicki. Pets always seem to name themselves.

You might want to check if your vet has recently changed hands. If so, you may want to search for a new vet. Also, there is no reason for shots anymore. Our vet uses nose drops for all vaccinations. They are a little more expensive than shots, but it's easier on the animal and doesn't have the cancer risk that shots have. So you also may want to find a vet (they may do it on request) that does nosedrops instead of shots.

[boomana]

Interesting. My vet did both nose drops and two shots.

It's a small office, less than one stoplight from my house. I've known the main vet for ten years as I've always brought my cat and a bunch of strays (cleared, cleaned, fixed and given away). She's pretty great and always gives me service for practically free on the strays that don't end up being mine (I've never had more than one cat at a time). There's always been a change-over in techs, though. I don't know if it's just the nature of the job or if she can't hold on to people. I guess she decided to take on a partner, but this one seems fresh out of school or else, like tkam said, is in the wrong line of work (maybe both). I might look into getting another vet. I'll have to investigate.

[Chekhonte]

It could just be that the vet is new. Perhaps not being prepared and the added stress of a new vocation made him/her irritable. Perhaps you should give them a second chance.

[Dusty Chalk]

Luvbug (my cat) only does headbutts.

Great stories.