CATURDAY AGAIN

Of course last Caturday didn't stay quiet.

In the evening I was just about to tuck into a Chinese takeaway, indeed I'd eaten about a quarter of it, when the phone rang. Big Ian from the shop needed to go to the emergency vets because his dog had had some kind of a fit. Lady is an oldish collie type with a docile and amenable character and Ian is very protective of her. So, off in the van through to the PDSA emergency vet service (which charges a hundred quid fee if you aren't on benefit) a Heworth, Gateshead. The vet was a very nice woman of Irish extraction who was very thorough and explained that it probably wasn't a fit but rather a form of diziness brought about by fluid being dislodged in the inner ear, It probably wouldn't happen again but if it did then Lady would need further treatment. All in all, a relief really.

The rest of the following week was relatively normal. Several early morning trips to Williams & Cummings with cats for neutering, a couple of trips to Roker Park vets for checkups on cats. At one point it looked as if I might be picking up a couple of ferals for neutering but that's currently on hold.

Friday morning, after a swim and dropping off a cat for neutering, I went to pick up Steven a youngish guy and his cat to take them to the PDSA. I wouldn't say he was special needs exactly but I would call him vulnerable. Late twenties, maybe, he lives in a one-room flat with his cat which he took in a couple of years ago and he's on Benefit. He'd contacted Susan whom he knew as he was concerned about the cat who'd been bitten on the leg a few weeks ago and his behaviour had changed in that it didn't stay out for long like he'd used to do. My first impression was that the cat, a plump tabby/white thing, seemed in good condition. I asked him what he called the cat and got the answer: "Fatty"!

Anyway, off to the PDSA for a half hour wait, surrounded by a variety of dogs, most of them staffies, and a variety of people like the big tatooed muscle man clutching a shih-tsu, the small woman with a massive dobermann which threatened to drag her around the waiting room,a plump woman with three white mice, an elderly man with his elderly dog both hobbling ungainly along as either might collapse at any time.

Finally we went in and I held the cat by her front shoulders as the vet, who remembered me from other times when I'd brought people here, checked it out. The result was that there was nothing wrong with the cat as the vet patiently explained. Steven, who had never had a cat before, was just being overcautious and concerned about the change in the cat's behaviour. I didn't mind as Steven felt reassured and he knows he has some external support with regards to the cat.

Here are a couple of photos of our two kittens: the recently neutered Daisy and Little Bob, best friends.

The picture quality isn't so good on this second one because the camera focussed on the quilt in the foreground. I'll have to watch this in future.

Friday teatime and I had to rush round in the van to the local B&Q hardware store. I parked in what I didn't realise wasn't a proper bay and on the way out scraped against the adjacent car. Being a noble and honest person I went back into the store to confess my sins. The young guy who owned the car was very good about it and seemed to appreciate my owning up. 

I just haven't told Susan about this yet. You won't, will you?