Saturday morning, after the bed was made, my wife put what we call “Frankie’s Blankie” on the bed while Frankie was waiting for it. He somehow managed to get under the blanket during the process. I came into the bedroom sometime later and saw this.
That evening, while we were in the living room watching a movie, Chris and Floki were sleeping next to me. After a while, Chris put a paw on Floki. I thought it was too cute not to get a picture, but there wasn’t a camera in sight, so I quietly got up, retrieved my phone, and snapped this.
The lighting is not the best but I think the cuteness still shines through. What do you think?
A little over a year ago I wrote about something bad that happened to Floki after a vet visit. You can read about it here. Something similar happened yesterday morning.
Rose made an appointment for a nail trim and for them to check his ears and clean them. Unfortunately, his rabies vaccine was out of date and they wouldn’t see him unless we also had him vaccinated. Personally, I think it is ridiculous for an inside-only cat to be required to get a rabies vaccine but I understand it is a big money-making scheme for both the vet and the government so nothing will change there.
I brought him in for his 8 a.m. appointment and, since I was the first one there, they saw us right away. The vet tech took him to the other room for his nail trim and then brought him back. He was very nervous and seemed like he wanted to get back into his carrier. The very instrument that brought him there in the first place.
When the vet arrived she checked him out thoroughly and gave him his vaccinations. I thought it was just a rabies shot but it seems it was also a distemper shot as well. I don’t know if that was required or if she just included it without asking. After that, it was time to put on his flea treatment. That did not go well.
Suddenly, he lost his fear and respect for the new people and behaved like he did for Rose and me whenever we have to do something to him. He ended up on the floor and the vet said we should give him a minute to calm down. It looked like he wanted to get into his carrier so I suggested putting him in the carrier and treating him while he was in it. As soon as I made the suggestion, Floki made his way in through the top hole and the problem was solved.
When we got home he seemed okay at first but then he started walking like he was drunk, just like he did the last time he had a problem after his vet visit. Soon he was hiding under the bed in the spare bedroom, just like last time.
He came out yesterday evening for a little while. He even slept on our bed. I thought he was okay but then back under the bed he went. This morning he was out just long enough to eat breakfast and then back under the bed again.
Rose put a blanket next to the bed last night and I put food and water there for him. Today we found the food gone and Chris lying on the blanket. Perhaps he was there keeping Floki company. Or maybe he came for the food and then got tired.
Last time we thought the problem was either caused but the cleaning of his ears, which was unlikely considering how long it lasted, or it was a result of the flea medication. Since then his brand of flea medication has changed and he has not had another episode until today. This time we suspect it might still be the flea medication or it could be the vaccine, which is certainly plausible since vaccines are not 100% safe. That is why I hesitate to vaccinate our cats unless I have to.
It is now a little after 3:30 on Sunday and Floki is still under the bed. I think he hides under the bed when he doesn’t feel well so that is a bit concerning but I do feel good that he did eat something this morning. Hopefully, he will be back to normal soon.
My wife called me at work yesterday and said Floki was behaving strangely when he ate so we decided it was best to call the vet right away since the weekend was coming up. She got him an appointment for 11 a.m. this morning.
I noticed when I got home yesterday that he did seem a little off when he ate, like he was having trouble swallowing or something but then, on the next bite, he seemed fine. Nevertheless, we wanted to make sure he was okay.
So, amazingly, we were able to get him in his carrier and I brought him to the vet. I didn’t get any useful photos but here is one from another trip to the vet.
The vet checked him out pretty thoroughly and found nothing serious wrong with him. He did say he had slight gingivitis but not enough to cause problems. He also said he had wax build up in his ears and suggested we clean them. I laughed at that because Floki is a Cat 5 tornado when we try to do anything that he doesn’t want done. That is why I asked them to clip his nails while he was there.
When I checked out it was raining pretty hard outside. I usually wear moccasins that are comfortable but are slippery when wet. I didn’t think about that since it wasn’t raining when we left the house.
So I went out the door in the pouring rain and walked quickly to my car. As soon as I stepped on the asphalt I slipped and fell forward. If Floki wasn’t with me it probably wouldn’t have been a big deal but Floki’s soft carrier hit the ground and I was about to land on top of him. I twisted my body to the left to keep from crushing Floki but hit my elbow hard on the pavement. I also got very wet because I ended up laying on the flooded pavement. Fortunately, I only hit Floki with a glancing blow so at least he is okay.
It seems like Chris has a perpetual ear infection due to his overabundance of ear pollyps. It was in both ears but now it is only in his left ear. I got a different medicine from the vet and have been putting it in his ear pretty regularly but we have been inconsistent when it comes to cleaning his ears. Perhaps because putting in the medicine is easy but cleaning his ears involves a lot of struggling and frustration. Fortunately, Floki has taken over the ear cleaning duties and he does a great job with far less struggling from Chris.
Floki even knows it is his left ear that needs cleaning.
Bad Cat Chris 