Benny's Got a Clean Bill of Health!

Today I had Benny to the vet.  That sounds like an easy task but let me tell you, it was anything but!

Back in the day of having Benny to the vet every other week, I carried him in a soft sided carrier.  When I got Penelope, I didn't think that soft sided carrier was big enough for her, so I bought a hard sided carrier for her. 

Benny used to try to push his way out of that soft sided carrier, so I thought that now that he's bigger, it might be better to take him in the hard carrier.  The soft carrier, the cat goes in from the top.  The hard carrier, they walk in from the side.  Penelope went right in both times I had her in it, so I was silly enough to ASSUME Benny would walk right in too!

You never know how strong a cat is until you try to get it into a carrier that he doesn't want to get in to!  Just like in the cartoons, one paw on each side and he said NO!  I tried three times, lost a little blood to teeth and claws and said forget it.  I grabbed his soft sided carrier and that he went right in to.  He wasn't happy about it but he went in. 

For a cat that rarely meows, poor Benny bellowed from the time he got into the carrier to the time he got out again back home!  That poor boy let me know that he did NOT like what was going on!!

We made it to the Lorain Animal Clinic, Benny letting everyone know he was NOT happy to be there! Luckily, the staff didn't seem to mind!  They said that most of their patients don't want to be there.  I appreciated their understanding.

I've mentioned before that my cats have made me crazy since coming into my life.  I am overly emotional when it comes to the cats.  I'm just there for a check up for Benny, to get his booster vaccines and for crying out loud, when I get into the exam room with Dr. Hudson, I start having a breakdown.  I am one crying mess!  There is nothing wrong with the cat for heaven's sake!  He just needs his shots!!  But, Benny is unhappy so mama is unhappy I guess.   But, Dr. Hudson was nice enough to listen to my concerns from a list I had prepared.  She gave me some good ideas on a few behavior issues as well as reaffirmed to me that I'm doing a good job with him.  I needed to hear that.

I talked to Dr. Hudson about how Benny is still into biting.  I know if you over stimulate a cat, they will bite to tell you to stop.  But Benny can start biting out of nowhere. I was sitting in the recliner last night reading and suddenly, he's biting my foot.  I didn't even know he was by me!  And poor Penelope.  He will jump on her and start biting just because she's there.  He doesn't draw blood or anything and some people tell me there are just playing but it doesn't look or sound like playing to me. 

He's better than he was with Penelope but it's not perfect.  That was one of my biggest concerns.  So after a discussion with Dr. Hudson, we decided to try some pheromone therapy.  It's just like a room freshener type thing, it plugs into the wall.  It could take up to a MONTH to take effect, but it should calm him down.  I'm not sure I'm on board with this as I don't want to take away from Benny what MAKES him Benny.  We'll see.  If the plug in thingie just stops them going at each other, then I'll keep paying for refills.  If Benny stops being Benny, that thing will be chucked down the street.

I came home, and called Cathie and cried on her shoulder.  Can you imagine if something was WRONG with the cats??  I'm a wreck for a freakin' check up!!  Thanks, sister, for once again being there and listening to me just be stupid and talking me through it!

The bottom line is Benny is 11-1/2 pounds, he's happy, he's healthy and he still loves me.  And I'm still a mental case.  And THAT'S just the way things should be.