Two of our family members had to undergo a medical procedure last week. No, it wasn’t either of my girls or even my husband, it was our cats, Moe and Carl. After putting it off for a while, they finally went in to get “fixed.”
We got the cats in September and I had the best of intentions to get it done then. With fall being the busiest time for our family, it slipped through the cracks. The holidays came and went and it wasn’t until our two feline friends started marking their territory all over the house that I knew it needed to be done sooner than later.
I called up our vet and scheduled a time for them to come in and was surprised to find out we would be able to take them home later that day. As Friday approached a secured a pet carrier to bring them in and tried my best to restrict food and water after midnight, which was a lot trickier since they frequent the sinks, toilets and anything else that might tempt them.
When morning came I loaded them up and we set out for the vet. Since they haven’t left our house in months, I’m sure the ride was a little confusing to them and they let me know. Before getting Moe and Carl I thought cats basically meowed and purred. Boy, was I wrong and have since been treated to so many different noises, some that even resemble my girls talking.
While checking them in at the clinic, the shop cat came around to say “hi” and it almost seemed like it was giving them some reassurance that everything would be fine. I said my goodbyes, felt a little bad about leaving them there and headed off to work.
Mid-afternoon I received a call that they were ready to go home. When I got there they were still pretty out of it but they did perk up when they heard my voice. After we got home I let them out of the carrier, not sure what state they were really in. They both were having some trouble with their back legs, which were still getting feeling in them, and looked like they needed to take a long nap.
As the hours passed, they began to get a little more life in them and eventually were at my feet again asking for food. In the days to follow, they started testing their limits climbing, jumping and running through the house, which at times didn’t go so well.
I also had to warn the girls that the cats had surgery just like I did (expect very different, of course,) and we had to be gentle with them until they were all healed up. For the most part, things have gone pretty smooth with no real incidents between the cats and the girls or the cats and anything that may have caused further injury to their incisions.
I will say that I was a lot more worried about my two little furry friends than I thought I would be and was very happy to have them home.
Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com