Got the Jimmy Legs

Why did you do this to me, originally uploaded by Jimmy Legs.

It's a curse of some cats, that they look sweet and happy even when they are clearly miserable. Jefe's a gelding now, and they talked me into the damn collar thing. I thought about skipping it, but he immediately started licking, um, the incision area when we got home.

Yes, that's right: we made it to the ASPCA Mobile Spay Unit! I got up extra early this morning, even though my name was supposedly on a waiting list. I got over to Saratoga Park just after 7AM. The spaymobile was nowhere in sight; nor were any people with pets (aside from dogwalkers). The site clearly states you should arrive before 7 to make sure everything goes smoothly, so I immediately thought it wasn't coming. I stood around like a doofus (and I'm even more out of place there than in my part of the neighborhood, if that's possible).

Finally at 7:30, the truck showed up and parked alongside the park. We then did a whole lot of waiting around, during which time a woman got angry because she had been on the list but didn't get a form to fill out, and a little girl's tooth was loose and was plucked out, causing her to scream like she herself was being spayed. Fun times!

At least the park is relatively nice, and the shade of the sycamores made the wait in the already-awful heat tolerable. At 9AM I got to take Jefe into the truck, where he was placed into a cage next to a darling little kitten whose cage was marked "FERAL," she was hissing at everything.

If you're not on assistance, they ask for a $25 donation, small change when you consider it can cost more than 10 times that if you pay 'retail' at some vets. Additionally they were offering free rabies vaccines, and vaccines for the main cat ailments. With the purchase of the e-collar, the grand total was $30! What a deal. Except for all the waiting around and such, but one could argue you'd have to do the same waiting at a regular vet.

I picked him up around 2:30, he was reportedly an angel for the duration (the doc had trouble listening for his heartbeat because he was purring too loudly). He's still woozy, but this really came out when I put the collar on. He's now under the coffee table trying to pull his own head off, lolling around like a drunk. I can't believe I'm supposed to keep the collar on for 7 to 10 days!

Also, there's all this stuff I'm supposed to do I don't remember doing for any other cats I've had fixed, like replacing cat litter with shredded paper. I understand it's to avoid infection, but I've got 4 litterboxes (and I plan on getting another tomorrow), there is no way I'm shredding that much paper! I do have some of that World's Best Cat Litter, which is mostly dust-free, I might try that on him.

Next up will be Lucy! I dunno when the spaymobile will be back in the neighborhood, but I'll probably just take her to the vet's. I'm not sure I'll be able to get away with being out of the office twice in one week just to get a cat snipped.

Labels: Bushwick, Cats, Pets, Strays

posted by Jimmy Legs at 3:58 PM

Comments:

4 litter boxes and a 5th on the way! From this moment forward I vow to stop complaining about our 1 litter box. We've got a cat I rescued 10 years ago that looks exactly like Jefe. She's really sweet and the smartest cat I've had. At least they made the cone collar clear so he can see out. I assume you guys have mad stashes of cat nip around? Just keep him him high for the duration of the collar and he'll be fine!

Posted by Heather | 9:21 AM