Even patient souls can be tested
Feb. 6th, 2014 07:51 pmI took Haggis to the vet today. On Sunday, I noticed one of her claws was raw and red, and when I checked, I found that most of her claws were in the same condition: scraped very short, down to the red-brown blood vessel. A couple were their usual condition - sharp - but I was shocked.
Haggis is, as Robert says, self-sharpening - she keeps her claws sharp and I trim the front ones, and only rarely the rear ones, when they're too sharp for comfort.
If they were scraped down to the nub, it was from her scrabbling hard. This happens if cats are hit by cars, or kicked - concrete and tarmac can act like sandpaper. We have a mix of surfaces in our neighbourhood, but she's been here a year, and this is the first time she's claws like this.
Oddly, nothing else was wrong: happy, chatty, affectionate, eating fine, in and out as usual.
But we were concerned enough to decide she could have an early trip to the V-E-T for her annual check and shots.
Poor Haggis: a cab ride, half an hour sitting in a waiting room with 3 dogs, at least 2 cats and a pungent smell of cat pee, then the undignified exam and jab.
By the end, she was using some really shocking language: I've never heard her both hiss and growl in sequence, but there was no help for it, the vet just wasn't taking any notice. If she'd been human she would have embarrassed a sailor.
We always tell our vet how awesome our cats are - sweet tempered, chatty, affectionate, interactive. All he ever sees us bring in is grumpy stressed cats.
She really is sweet though: no sulking, no resentment. We're back to chatting and lap-seeking within the afternoon.
Haggis is, as Robert says, self-sharpening - she keeps her claws sharp and I trim the front ones, and only rarely the rear ones, when they're too sharp for comfort.
If they were scraped down to the nub, it was from her scrabbling hard. This happens if cats are hit by cars, or kicked - concrete and tarmac can act like sandpaper. We have a mix of surfaces in our neighbourhood, but she's been here a year, and this is the first time she's claws like this.
Oddly, nothing else was wrong: happy, chatty, affectionate, eating fine, in and out as usual.
But we were concerned enough to decide she could have an early trip to the V-E-T for her annual check and shots.
Poor Haggis: a cab ride, half an hour sitting in a waiting room with 3 dogs, at least 2 cats and a pungent smell of cat pee, then the undignified exam and jab.
By the end, she was using some really shocking language: I've never heard her both hiss and growl in sequence, but there was no help for it, the vet just wasn't taking any notice. If she'd been human she would have embarrassed a sailor.
We always tell our vet how awesome our cats are - sweet tempered, chatty, affectionate, interactive. All he ever sees us bring in is grumpy stressed cats.
She really is sweet though: no sulking, no resentment. We're back to chatting and lap-seeking within the afternoon.