When I took Floki to the vet last month, I discussed with the vet options to help Chris with his perpetual ear infection. He has a problem with ear polyps, which allow bacteria to fester. The problem is they go too deep into the ear canal for the vet to remove them all unless I wanted them to remove the ear canals and make Chris deaf, which I don’t want to do. So we discussed surgery to remove as much as they could, and then pack the ear with a specific treatment of antibiotics that would require just two treatments.

We had to schedule the surgery a month in advance, presumably because they were so busy. A week before the appointment, my wife said she didn’t want to do it because she feared that Chris’s age and health would put him at a higher risk of death from the surgery. I spoke with the vet looking for reassurance but she did say he was at an increased risk. Instead, we decided to try the antibiotic treatment without the surgery.

This morning I brought him to the vet with much crying in the car on the way there. When we arrived we were put in an exam room and the vet tech, remembering his last visit, decided to leave him in his carrier until the vet came in.

While we were waiting, I opened his carrier and, as expected, he had no desire to get out. This is very different that young Chris who loved to explore the vet’s office.

When the vet arrived, she asked a few questions and then took Chris into another room. After a few minutes, I could hear Chris howling. He was not happy but it didn’t take long. Soon he was back and we were ready to check out.

When they opened the door, their office cat came in. I bent down to pet him and the vet said, “You’re aware he is a biter, aren’t you?” “Yes,” I said. “He’s fine,” and proceeded to pet him. He didn’t bite me but he was interested in Chris. He smelled him for a few seconds and then put both paws on top of the carrier. Nobody hissed. That is when he was called off and we left to check out.

On a related note, I purchased a new carrier for Chris because I did not like carrying him around in a crate that was not meant for that. You can see what I bought here. Note that is an affiliate link. My wife put Chris in the new carrier while I was out moving the cars around. She said it was very easy to get him. He fit well, too, for a twenty-pound cat.