A trip to the vet with...cats

Ramon the cat with some collie pals

Thursday, June 7

I had scheduled my trip to the vet for Thursday, June 7 for kitty shots 2 weeks in advance .  Taking cats to the vet is not my favorite thing to do and they heartily agree!  

On the day, true to form, Ramon delivered a "sample" in his crate about 1/2 way there.  So we walked into the clinic with an aroma and a VERY fresh poo sample.   He gets a little nervous.   

Years ago, I had coerced Dr. Ryan Speltz, my veterinarian, to work with Minnesota Wisconsin Collie Rescue as our Board vet.  Although I've moved on from my involvement with rescue, I'm pleased that Dr. Ryan is still providing them with great medical advice and some of their dogs with wonderful care. 

Before we even got into a room for de-pooing maneuvers, my vet Dr. Ryan Speltz at Skyline Veterinary Hospital, was shoving a file and photos into my face.

A collie had arrived to the clinic from northern MN in great need of medical attention on the day I happened to be their with my cats.  He came to Skyline with great mats of fur in which there were nests of woodticks feeding from him.  The staff who worked on him told me that his tail was so matted that it was stuck to one of his hind legs before they freed it by shaving him to the skin to rid him from all of the creepy crawley parasites living off of his little body.

Since Milan - as Red Lake Rosie's Rescue had named him - was at the clinic I was taken back to the kennel to meet him.  He ran right up to me and put his head in my lap as I squatted to pet him  He was NAKED except for a fringe of fur on his head and furry "boots". 

All the Skyline staff knew about him at that point is that he had been a mess with coat and ticks, but also had had an abcess on his neck the size of a softball.  A vet from the north had neutered him and drained the abscess - but that was about all. 

Milan arrived at Skyline with no foster home, but needing immediate vet care so was boarded at the clinic while his labs were sent out and he could be assessed for other potential health issues.   Of course I was very moved by Milan's plight and offered tohelp. 

The cats did get their shots and Ramon did get de-pooed for the trip home.  With no ammunition in his digestive tract it was a much more uneventful trip.