[ Major Tom, a big grey tabby, is flopped on the exam table at the vet. His ears are back but other than that he’s visibly at ease, one forepaw stretched out in front of himself. ]
I was pretty concerned the first time I took Tom to the vet; he’d only been inside for a couple months, & his only car ride up until then had taken him away from everything he knew to an entirely new place.
… as it turns out, he was entirely comfortable with it all. I guess he decided that car rides meant he was going with, & as long as he was with his person, all was well. Even with the poking. He took his turn on the table with complete equanimity, & then, when he was done & it was Hades’ turn, he prowled the exam room, curious & not at all concerned, even pausing to give the vet tech a friendly leg rub.
He was even okay with the visit after that, which is when he got fixed. I was concerned he’d be mad — he had reason to be! — but he was so calm I set aside the cat carrier I’d been talked into bringing, & walked him, leash & all, past every critter in the waiting room & out to the car.
So these days, when we go to the vet & Tom is entirely serene, I’m not surprised. But it’s still pretty cool.
We were sitting in there for a while, so h got bored & decided to explore.
[ Tom’s hinder end, caught midleap from exam table to counter; his forepaws have just touched down, his tail is up and to the left, and yep, his balls ARE furred in black. ]
He wandered the counter, sniffing at various bottles, dislodging some pretty shells someone had left there, & accidentally weighing himself (about 16 pounds, but he was moving pretty quick). Then he decided it was time to show his appreciation for being allowed to come with, which he expressed, as he always does, by kneading while standing up, or, as a former roommate of mine put it, ‘prancing like a Lipizzaner’.
[ Tom’s sitting on the counter, looking nearly straight up. One forepaw is planted; the other is up in the air and curled tight. ]
Then it was exam time, which went quickly, though he did take a few moments to give various vet personnel headbonks.
& then it was time for Loiosh to have blood taken, which they do elsewhere in the office, which means opening the door, which Tom tried to sneak out of.
Not with any sort of thoughts of escape. No, Tom wanted to be able to 1) explore, & also 2) cause problems on purpose.
After about his fifth attempt he was declared ‘naughty’. I distracted him for a while.
[ Tom’s back on the exam table. He’s facing in the general direction of the camera, getting a good chin scritch. His head is a bit blurry. ]
But then it was apparently naptime, cos he hopped back over to the counter & found himself a good spot.
[ He’s flopped on the counter, visibly at his ease. Part of his vast pale belly is showing, his hindpaws are stretched out, and one forepaw is tucked underneath his chest. He’s looking almost, but not quite, directly at the camera. ]
Now Loiosh wasn’t near so dignified about it all, but that’s a tale for next week.
