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outsdrI ran back inside to call the vet. It was only about 5:30, but she didn't answer the phone, and the machine didn't pick up either, which was unusual. I figured I'd take a chance that she'd be there when I got there, grabbed my gloves and went back out to the cage. I was afraid that it would somehow malfunction again, and the kitten would get out. But when I got back to the cage, the gray kitten ran around trying to get away, hissing at me, and the cage door seemed to have dropped pretty firmly, so at least I didn't think there was a chance of it getting out of the cage while I was driving to the vet. I'm not sure how I would have caught it inside the vehicle.
As I pulled up to the vet's office, I could see her standing outside with her husband and her daughter. I walked up and showed them the cage, very glad that I'd finally caught it. He looked small and helpless, and again, I hated like hell what was going to happen to him, to be honest, but I was glad that the end was finally in sight as well. My vet said that she would go ahead and put it down now, but it was too late to ship it to the lab. She didn't know if there was anyone there on Saturday to receive the package, so she told me she might not be able to send it out until Monday. She took the cage into the examination room to get things ready. I stayed behind and talked to her husband, who as it turned out, used to be the animal control officer for the town.
Go figure.
He tried to explain the reasoning of the city when it came to cats, although he blatantly told me that he thought they were wrong, even though he used to have the job. The animal control officer is part of the police department. He had worked it for 20 years, and then the city decided they didn't need an animal control officer any more, and fired him. After a period of time, it was clear that the city needed one after all. Instead of hiring back the vet's husband, a different officer was hired for the position, one who was older and had recently retired, but decided he wanted to return to work to keep occupied or some other reason, and I speculate probably was willing to do it for cheap. From dealing with the man as little as I did, I also doubt he makes any kind of waves or does anything more than the job he is told to do, no questions asked.
The reason the town does not do anything about cats, is that they always felt that there was no way to "track" a cat... meaning, that unlike a dog, a cat couldn't be licensed and given a tag and tracked back to it's owner if it was captured or caused problems. I said that was a bullshit reason, because if they had a proper place to take the stray cats to, such as the first vet I went to who is paid to take the stray dogs, they could hold a cat for a number of days, wait for it to be claimed, and if it was not claimed, euthanize it.
The other "unofficial" reason that I've heard is that there are too many cats, and they're too big of a problem to deal with. Again, I told him that I thought this was bullshit too, because the problem would just get worse if it wasn't addressed in some better way than ignoring it and hoping all the cats would disappear. Instead, now there are people poisoning them, or shooting them with BB guns, or worse, inside city limits, in residential areas. How long would it be before people's pet cats that wander around outside ended up getting taken down with "friendly fire"?
He shrugged and agreed with me on both points. About then, his daughter came out to get him, because the vet was ready for his help with the cat. I told them I'd come by the next day to get the cage.
I went home, packed up the remaining trap in the back of my vehicle (which REALLY smelled bad by now), played with Ike for awhile, let my own cat out of the house finally (He promptly went to sleep on the steps of the porch, of course, which he's never done before). My legs were stiffening up again, although they didn't hurt any more. Ike, the cat, and I went back inside, I called my boss to let her know we'd finally caught the kitten, then went to bed early for the night.
Friday, June 1.
It was a busy day at the paper, I hadn't slept well and woke up late, and never got a chance to stop at the vet's office for the trap. I told her this when she called me at noon. The lab was not open on weekends, so she couldn't ship out the kitten until Monday.
Saturday, June 2.
I went back to the emergency room in the afternoon for my follow up shots. Turns out that this time, there was only going to be one, and it was a much smaller amount with a much smaller needle, but later in the day, my arm felt like I'd gotten punched really hard there.
Monday, June 4.
Ike was scheduled to go see the vet. I needed some more medicine (he has bad arthritis in his legs, and gets 50mg of Deramaxx (deracoxib) each day that keeps him from getting worse as quickly. He was also getting tested for heartworms- they're really rare in this area, but my vet knows of three dogs in the town that have heartworms who's owners refuse to treat them, so she's started running testing clinics during the months. I err to the side of caution with myself, and I won't do any less for my dog. She told me she had shipped out the gray kitten early that day, and she expected to hear back from the lab the next day.
Which brings us, finally, to
Tuesday, June 5.
Today. I'm scheduled for another follow-up injection tomorrow, and there was no word from the lab today. So the story hasn't completely come to an end just yet, because I don't know if the gray kitten was negative or positive. I'm hoping to find out tomorrow. I don't know yet how much this is going to cost me beyond the $1,200 I know about for the initial shots. I don't expect my vet to pick up the tab for this; even if the state lab doesn't charge for the testing, there's the postage to be paid for, and what ever she charges me for euthanizing the six cats. But I know she will be fair with me, and will let me make payments if necessary.
I don't regret what I did; under the circumstances, and with the knowledge I had and the advice I was given, I feel I did the best I could. That doesn't make it any easier, but part of being an adult is doing the right thing even when it sucks really bad. I'll finish off the story when I find out the results of the test, but for now, it's late, and Ike wants to go outside and play fetch. I hope I never have to go through something like this again.
Because I'm never going to be able to forget that black kitten's scream.
As I pulled up to the vet's office, I could see her standing outside with her husband and her daughter. I walked up and showed them the cage, very glad that I'd finally caught it. He looked small and helpless, and again, I hated like hell what was going to happen to him, to be honest, but I was glad that the end was finally in sight as well. My vet said that she would go ahead and put it down now, but it was too late to ship it to the lab. She didn't know if there was anyone there on Saturday to receive the package, so she told me she might not be able to send it out until Monday. She took the cage into the examination room to get things ready. I stayed behind and talked to her husband, who as it turned out, used to be the animal control officer for the town.
Go figure.
He tried to explain the reasoning of the city when it came to cats, although he blatantly told me that he thought they were wrong, even though he used to have the job. The animal control officer is part of the police department. He had worked it for 20 years, and then the city decided they didn't need an animal control officer any more, and fired him. After a period of time, it was clear that the city needed one after all. Instead of hiring back the vet's husband, a different officer was hired for the position, one who was older and had recently retired, but decided he wanted to return to work to keep occupied or some other reason, and I speculate probably was willing to do it for cheap. From dealing with the man as little as I did, I also doubt he makes any kind of waves or does anything more than the job he is told to do, no questions asked.
The reason the town does not do anything about cats, is that they always felt that there was no way to "track" a cat... meaning, that unlike a dog, a cat couldn't be licensed and given a tag and tracked back to it's owner if it was captured or caused problems. I said that was a bullshit reason, because if they had a proper place to take the stray cats to, such as the first vet I went to who is paid to take the stray dogs, they could hold a cat for a number of days, wait for it to be claimed, and if it was not claimed, euthanize it.
The other "unofficial" reason that I've heard is that there are too many cats, and they're too big of a problem to deal with. Again, I told him that I thought this was bullshit too, because the problem would just get worse if it wasn't addressed in some better way than ignoring it and hoping all the cats would disappear. Instead, now there are people poisoning them, or shooting them with BB guns, or worse, inside city limits, in residential areas. How long would it be before people's pet cats that wander around outside ended up getting taken down with "friendly fire"?
He shrugged and agreed with me on both points. About then, his daughter came out to get him, because the vet was ready for his help with the cat. I told them I'd come by the next day to get the cage.
I went home, packed up the remaining trap in the back of my vehicle (which REALLY smelled bad by now), played with Ike for awhile, let my own cat out of the house finally (He promptly went to sleep on the steps of the porch, of course, which he's never done before). My legs were stiffening up again, although they didn't hurt any more. Ike, the cat, and I went back inside, I called my boss to let her know we'd finally caught the kitten, then went to bed early for the night.
Friday, June 1.
It was a busy day at the paper, I hadn't slept well and woke up late, and never got a chance to stop at the vet's office for the trap. I told her this when she called me at noon. The lab was not open on weekends, so she couldn't ship out the kitten until Monday.
Saturday, June 2.
I went back to the emergency room in the afternoon for my follow up shots. Turns out that this time, there was only going to be one, and it was a much smaller amount with a much smaller needle, but later in the day, my arm felt like I'd gotten punched really hard there.
Monday, June 4.
Ike was scheduled to go see the vet. I needed some more medicine (he has bad arthritis in his legs, and gets 50mg of Deramaxx (deracoxib) each day that keeps him from getting worse as quickly. He was also getting tested for heartworms- they're really rare in this area, but my vet knows of three dogs in the town that have heartworms who's owners refuse to treat them, so she's started running testing clinics during the months. I err to the side of caution with myself, and I won't do any less for my dog. She told me she had shipped out the gray kitten early that day, and she expected to hear back from the lab the next day.
Which brings us, finally, to
Tuesday, June 5.
Today. I'm scheduled for another follow-up injection tomorrow, and there was no word from the lab today. So the story hasn't completely come to an end just yet, because I don't know if the gray kitten was negative or positive. I'm hoping to find out tomorrow. I don't know yet how much this is going to cost me beyond the $1,200 I know about for the initial shots. I don't expect my vet to pick up the tab for this; even if the state lab doesn't charge for the testing, there's the postage to be paid for, and what ever she charges me for euthanizing the six cats. But I know she will be fair with me, and will let me make payments if necessary.
I don't regret what I did; under the circumstances, and with the knowledge I had and the advice I was given, I feel I did the best I could. That doesn't make it any easier, but part of being an adult is doing the right thing even when it sucks really bad. I'll finish off the story when I find out the results of the test, but for now, it's late, and Ike wants to go outside and play fetch. I hope I never have to go through something like this again.
Because I'm never going to be able to forget that black kitten's scream.
