Vet Visit

Of course the first step in adopting a stray cat is a vet visit to screen for disease and to get him up to date on shots. We already have two indoor cats, Blue & Nico who are around 7-8 years old. They had lived with dogs, but I wasn't sure how a new cat would alter the balance of the household. 

I kept Pale in our laundry room basement for a few days to make it easier to catch him for the vet appointment. He did ok living inside, but it wasn't easy to get him into the cat carrier. He's not very food motivated, Trader Joe's Tuna for cats finally did the trick. I take the cats to Highland Park Animal Hospital which is right down the street from us. They are a small, but good place and offer half price vaccinations several times a week. Pale was pissed to be in the carrier and howled and hissed the entire time. Dr. Leslie slid him out of the carrier and it was obvious he would need some sedation to undergo a full exam and blood work.

Dr. Leslie determined Pale was 3-4 years old, was already neutered, had fleas and a bad case of kitty acne on his chin. We were sent home with an antibiotic ointment and the suggestion to keep him indoors over night until the sedation wore off. The blood test results would be available in two days.

Pale as quite groggy early evening, but made an escape when I went to check on him later in the evening. He was pissed at me and made a low growl any time I came near. I shadowed him for 2 hours until I lost him through a fence into a neighbor's back yard. I had to give in and hope he could survive the night in his some what compromised position. He did and was purring on my doorstep the next morning.