DAY 41: Wrangling 3 Cats to The Vet

Yesterday (day 41) was a day I had been dreading: The day I had to lug 3 cats across town for a Vet appointment.

They all needed rabies vaccines in order to get an import permit from BAHA.

While I love our normal Vet, who is right around the corner, she doesn't carry PureVax, which is less likely to cause cancer at the injection site. My very first cat, Amber, developed cancer from her rabies vax, which was in her front shoulder. We had to put her down in 2012.

My mom works at Horizon Veterinary Hospital in North Scottsdale and booked us an appointment, since they carry PureVax. The downside is, they are a 35-minute drive from our home, if it's not rush hour. And our cats are NOT fans of car rides!

I attempted to give them Gabapentin (an anti-anxiety med) 2 hours before, hidden in some Churu. The girls devoured it, but Shadow (who was a street cat and ate literal garbage) sniffed it out and refused Churu. Two different flavors, I tried! Thankfully he went to sleep in the cat tree, which made it easier to wrangle him into a carrier. The girls were a little spaced and were easy to put in theirs; I have an XL one and want them to get used to traveling as roommates, since they will have to bunk up on the airplanes.

Apparently the suggested, "one to two hours before travel" was not sufficient for my beasts; they were all still very vocal at their disdain for the car! I made it to the first traffic light, looked in my rear-view mirror, and saw a black cat head poking out of his carrier - Shadow managed to breach the zipper almost instantly! Note to self: get small carabiners to latch their carriers shut! Imagine if he broke free in the airport!

I had to drive the rest of the way with him screaming and scrambling; thankfully he mostly stayed in the back seat. Then I had to corral him back into the carrier when we arrived, without opening a car door.

The vet tech got their vitals - temperatures, pulses, and weights - and I let them free-range from there.

Selene (rear) and Roxy (front) checking out the exam room.

We saw Dr. Emily and she was fantastic, definitely a "Cat-Whisperer" - my screaming banshees settled down and let her do her thing. She gave them their vaccines in their rear legs - so on the rare chance they do develop cancer, it's in a location that can be amputated to save their lives.

As I waited to check out, the cats were calm and unusually cuddly with each other! Normally Selene hisses if she even sees Shadow in the same room. Safety in numbers, I guess...?

I loaded them back in the car and started the journey home; the girls were pretty quiet, I guess the Gabapentin finally kicked in. Shadow was vocal, but not as much so as on the ride there. I'm surprised he had a voice left! And we'll have to figure out a way to dose him before our trip, I am thinking we may have to dissolve the drug in water, draw it into a syringe, and shoot it down his throat. 

If you want to see the video of our adventure, here it is: 3 Cats 1 Car

Later today I will send over the applications to BAHA for our permits to bring the cats to Belize; the website is a bit unclear on timelines and steps, so I will report back what I learn as I go!

We'll journey to our regular vet at the end of July, as each cat must also have an International Veterinary Certificate, and this can only be issued within 14 days of their travel. Something to look forward to!