Taking Your Cat to the Vet During a Pandemic
As a cat, I don’t like going to the vet. The humans put me in a box, and they stick me in a bigger box that moves, and then we go someplace that doesn’t smell like home but sometimes has dogs that I hate, and then weird people who aren’t my humans poke me in places I don’t want to be poked, and then I have to get back in the small box, and then into the bigger box that moves, and then I’m so angry and tired that all I want to do when we finally get home is sleep the rest of the day.
And now there’s the whole “cats are at risk of Covid-19” thing because we can get it from our humans, and since I’m old, I’m at risk, and that means I *really* don’t want to go to the vet.
But I’m old…and that means you should take me to the vet, because even though it’s scary, I’m really good at hiding things (not like dogs, who whine and cry when something’s wrong, oh no, I’m all stoic and stuff), and it’s not like you can see inside my body to tell what’s wrong with me. You also probably don’t check my mouth on a regular basis because of all the bitey-ness that happens, which means you don’t know if I’ve got tooth problems. And lots of cats are chonks (*stares at Mama*) because they beg for treats, and you probably give them to your cat because we’re totally adorable and deserve your worship in the form of tasty treats…but your vet will tell you it’s super bad, and help you get your cat to slim down, but you need that professional opinion to counteract your, “Look at how thiccc and cute my cat is!” mentality. *eyeroll*
So how do you prepare?
Talk to your vet. Find out what they’re doing to keep themselves and their patients safe. Lots of vets are only doing curb-side pick-up or drop-off, which means that my human doesn’t get to come in with me, but that means my human isn’t exposing themselves to potential illness, and they’re not exposing the vet and the staff to potential illness, either.
Your vet will probably have you fill out the paperwork ahead of time, too, and ask you to bring it along with you. Then they might call you the day of your appointment to review anything important, and you can let them know why you have to bring me to the vet.
The drop-off thing can be kinda scary, but your vet will have instructions as to how it works. Usually, you just park your moving box, then call the vet and tell them where you are and what your box looks like, and they’ll send someone out to get me.
They’ll do the poking thing that I totally hate so much, and then they’ll put me back in the small box, and take me back out to you. And then the vet will call you on your phone and talk to you about what’s going on with me, and what needs to happen next.
And when you have to pay them, you’ll have to use a credit card, and they won’t touch it — they’ll do everything over the phone. Or hey, they might even have you pay online — some vets are high tech like that.
If I need medication, a lot of vets have it set up online, so you can order exactly what you need and get it shipped to your house, which is super cool.
And then you can take me home in the moving box, and I can ignore you the rest of the day, and you can sleep as soundly as I do knowing that you did the right thing, and took me to the vet (even if I’m super mad at you and I’m totally peeing in your shoes tonight).
