First Vet Visit of 2013

On Tuesday, I took the babies to the vet.  Carmine had to go in for his quarterly "butt squeezing" (anal gland expression) and Lita went in for a regular check-up.  I feel bad for Carmine because he has to go to the vet so often.  He gets so scared. :(  We had to take the top off his box to get him out for the vet.  Then he kept trying to crawl back into it.  He would slink along the table, very low, hoping the vet wouldn't see him.  Poor baby.

The good news is that he now weighs 9 pounds 7 ounces!!  He's gained two ounces, yay!  I know that doesn't seem like much, but after more than a year at a measly 9.5, it is a good improvement.  It just supports what I've thought all along regarding him and stress.  He is much less stressed these days, which is why, I believe, he is finally gaining some of his weight back.  The vet was also very pleased by his weight gain.

After Carmine had his little "butt squeeze," he went and hid behind the mini-fridge in the exam room.

It was Lita's turn, and she was very happy to walk out of the carrier by herself.  Her happiness was short-lived, though.  She growled - a lot - at the vet.  She is always so friendly and loving.  The only time I see her act like that is at the vet or around people she really doesn't like (which is quite rare).

I did not know this as one of my friends had dropped her off for her dental work last Feb. and when I came to get her, the vet didn't tell me this, but apparently Lita had lost weight before her last visit.  Again, I think the stress had a lot to do with that...  She gained the weight back in the four months we've been at our new place, though, so I'm happy about that.

The vet said she has a red lesion (a really little one) on her head, and she's worried Lita might be allergic to her food.  We had to flip Lita over on her back (oh boy, was she not happy!) so the vet could look at her tummy to see if she was pulling out fur.  There was no missing fur on her tummy, so the vet and I concluded that maybe Carmine accidentally smacked her on the head or something.  She told me to keep an eye out for more red dots, missing fur, or itching.  We want to make sure it is not a food allergy since Lita has had allergies to other food (Evo) before.

Other than that, Lita is a healthy baby.

She wasn't very nice to her brother, though....when the vet was done and we were talking, Lita got down on the floor and found Carmine behind the fridge and started growling at him.  Poor baby, he was already scared enough!

We put the babies back in their carriers and took them home where they were happy again.

While at the vet, I made an appointment for Jewel.  She goes in on the 30th to get her T4 count rechecked.  I've sort of been appointed to oversee her medical care.  Is there such a thing as a cat medical power of attorney? ;)


All in all, I am glad that the babies seem to be doing well.  I hope Lita does not have another food allergy, but only time will tell.  Carmine goes back in April again.