Another Healthy Cat

Yesterday, my third (and youngest) kitty went to the vet for his annual physical. All is well: his teeth look great, he has no fleas, his ears are clean…but he did not outgrow his heart murmur. Fortunately, the latter is very slight, only a category one. I just need to make sure he stays close to the ten-pound mark for weight (which he is) so as not to put a strain on his “ticker.” He also got two shots, rabies and distemper.

The biggest event of the visit, though, was the removal of two large mats of fur on his back legs. Chopin is the first cat I have ever owned whose fur mats and, unfortunately, the mats occur under his front legs (akin to human armpits) and on his back legs just under his tail; not exactly the anatomical areas of a cat that are easily groomed by an owner, especially if the cat chooses not to cooperate. Chopin is definitely not cooperative. The end result? He had to be shaved. Not the whole cat, just under his tail. It took three people --- me, the veterinary technician, and the vet --- to accomplish the job. I reassured him by petting his head; the technician held him down; and the vet removed the fur. Now all I need to do is keep the fur from matting again. That should be easy. :-)