I’ve felt like the thing the cat dragged in this week, which is a little ironic because I’ve seen a lot of cats that looked like they felt the same way.

Cat medicine is taught to us as a kind of extra added onto dog medicine. That’s fair enough for some conditions, but cats like to do things differently. For one thing, holding a cat which does not want to be held is a delicate artform, and preferably doesn’t happen in front of the cat’s owners. Cats seem to know that if they play it sweet for the person that feeds them (and pays their vet bills) then they can scream murder out the back and try to kill everyone.

I witnessed one rather large boy cat this week who was absolute putty in his owners hands, but an entirely different beast out the back. From his cage he would yowl and swipe through the bars at passers by. When we pegged a towl over his cage so that he couldn’t see us, the brute pulled it through thebars and started to eat it. It was like a wild animal, or a hurricane in a cage. Yet for his woner he was as sweet as pie.

Some people have the wierdest looking cats. One in particular was a geriatric persian who resembled fizzgig from the Dark Crystal in many ways. Specifically her general appearance and a tendancy to open her mouth wider than natural and give an odd yowl at random moments.

Also, I think I’ve fallen in love with a very stupid devon rex. I’d hate to have her medicalbills to pay but otherwise she’s lovely.

The most important thing I’m learning this week, however, is how to recognice pain in cats. Those fussy felines will lie to vets and pretend that there’s nothing wrong at all, even if they’re in organ failure. This results in owner coming in saying “But I swear doc, she looked really bad this morning,” while the cats looks as fit as a fiddle, exploring the room. There is no tool more useful in feline medicine that an observant owner. Well, valium is probbaly high on the list too.

Categories: Pets