louiscatorze.com

Je crie, donc je suis

Nothing says “The joys of the Yuletide season” quite like a trip to the vet.

On Friday I had to take Louis Catorze for his steroid shot and, astonishingly, there was bone-chilling silence on the walk there. It was quite the departure from his usual gut-wrenching screaming, especially that one time when he screamed so badly that some random passer-by didn’t believe I was taking my cat to the vet, and thought I’d just grabbed Catorze off the street. The man actually stood and watched me as I walked off, to see if I even knew which way the vet was.

As soon as we arrived and Catorze realised that we were in his least favourite place in the world, he broke his silence. Luckily nobody else was in the waiting room at the time, so at least we were spared whining, upset dogs and other cats being goaded into joining in the screaming.

Anyway, we have two pieces of news:

Firstly, Catorze doesn’t have a heart murmur; the little shit was faking it. Thank God I didn’t find this out via the £500 scan.

Secondly, he has snapped the end off one of his fangs. It’s a minuscule chip, on the same side where one of his jowls hangs lower than the other, hence why we didn’t notice it despite knowing every millimetre of his silly little face. And there’s no exposed dental pulp (ugh – I wish I had never learned that this is a thing) so he isn’t experiencing any pain or sensitivity. But if it gets worse – and let’s face it, it’s hardly going to get better, is it? – the fang will have to come out.

We then talked about alternatives to steroids, such as hypoallergenic food (nope) and daily medication (nope), and a blood test (HELL to the NOPE) to determine the exact state of Catorze’s drug-ravaged innards. The vet also suggested that we monitor his drinking, but I have no idea how to do that; Catorze not only drinks from his glass but also from the surface of the outdoor table, the manky old watering can by the barbecue and probably a whole host of other vile places that don’t bear thinking about.

Oh, and the pleasure of all of the above cost me £80.

Within minutes of getting home and being released from his transportation pod, Catorze was on my lap. I don’t know whether he forgave me or whether he just forgot what had just happened, but I suspect the latter.

I’m glad, at least, that one of us is over it.

Bastard cat.
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40 responses to “Les neuf vies du chat”

  1. M - avatar

    You cannot fool us. We all know you adore the “little sod”.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Only because he makes me.

      Like

  2. Penny Cooper avatar
    Penny Cooper

    Bless, long may his dastardly bastardlyness reign❤️

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      What an arsehole he is!

      Like

  3. Kate Crimmins avatar

    At least it wasn’t a $$$ dental! I’ve been through 2 of those in 6 months and they drained my retirement savings! Next time I’m pulling them myself with a pliers. Well, maybe not. I’ll just live in a box under a bridge. With 4 cats.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      My cat would refuse to live under a bridge with me! He’d pitter-patter off after the first passing man!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Kate Crimmins avatar

        Yes that’s true of Louis! He’s toss you off like a week old bagel!

        Liked by 1 person

  4. mmechapeau avatar
    mmechapeau

    I’m glad to hear Louis hasn’t any heart murmur. But, I’m afraid, rather than think Louis had faked it, why don’t you think the b♣st♣rd vet had wrongly interpreted what he had heard?
    Weren’t we told that this vet was a new one?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      She was new to us, although maybe not new to vetting. In fairness to Catorze I think she may have misinterpreted his histrionics and, when this week’s vet checked, the elevated heart rate was barely noticeable (a level 1 rather than 3).

      Liked by 1 person

  5. alicephilippa avatar
    alicephilippa

    At least it’s good news about his heart. Not so good news about his fang. How can any self respecting vampire cat show his face with a missing fang?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      He’s going to look ridiculous with one fang, isn’t he?

      Like

      1. mmechapeau avatar
        mmechapeau

        I felt happy after reading your « in fairness to Catorze » but it didn’t last more than a short while.
        Your reply to alicephilippa sets the record straight.
        😀

        Liked by 1 person

        1. iamthesunking avatar
          iamthesunking

          A monofanged vampire!

          Liked by 1 person

        2. mmechapeau avatar
          mmechapeau

          A kind of asymmetric narwhal vampire?

          Liked by 2 people

          1. iamthesunking avatar
            iamthesunking

            Yes! 🤣🤣🤣

            Like

      2. alicephilippa avatar
        alicephilippa

        Of course he is. But we better not tell him that.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Doug Thomas avatar

    Some good news at least. Dang! My Andy had a lower incisor rub against an upper canine. Got advised by his veterinarian that it could imperil the canine, so he advised removal of the incisor. Cost? Pretty much what a human doctor would charge. The incisor – so small, one can’t imagine how they got ahold of it to remove it!

    JOKE: The Vet: “I’m sorry, but you cat needs a cat scan.” You: “Why, do you have another yacht payment due?” [What? Not laughing yet?]

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Oh God, our vet could probably afford a fleet of yachts on Catorze’s bills!

      Like

      1. Doug Thomas avatar

        Have to pay for that cat scanner, too! My veterinarian also does acupuncture, though I’ve resisted that so far.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. iamthesunking avatar
          iamthesunking

          I can’t believe cats stay still enough for acupuncture! Catorze sure as hell wouldn’t.

          Like

          1. Doug Thomas avatar

            I can’t imagine being about to establish the puncture points in a long-haired cat!

            Liked by 1 person

            1. iamthesunking avatar
              iamthesunking

              Yes, you’d need an extra hand to burrow through all the fluff!

              Like

            2. Doug Thomas avatar

              Something along that order!

              Liked by 1 person

  7. sevencatsandcounting avatar

    Poor Catorze! Darth Vader commiserates. He lost one of his front fangs several years ago. Of course, they were never as impressive as Catorze’s since they mostly stayed inside his mouth.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Don’t feel too sorry for him. He doesn’t care!

      Liked by 1 person

  8. cat9984 avatar

    Glad to hear his heart is okay. Too bad about the fang; at least it doesn’t hurt.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      It’s the tiniest little chip. Honestly, it’s barely noticeable and even I have to really look for it!

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Belle avatar
    Belle

    Glad he’s faring well. Why should the fang be removed? He’ll have a harder time catching/carrying prey, non? 😾

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      It’ll only be removed if it starts to cause him pain. At the moment it’s not, although he’s good at hiding it so I’m having to keep a close eye on him.

      Like

  10. mcmcneil1 avatar
    mcmcneil1

    The tooth will probably be all right until it gets more broken. I have one who has lost all his teeth (stomatitis) and he enjoys crunchies as well as soft food. Another one broke off one fang (he came home for supper drooling blood, setting off more of a reaction than he intended) and once he got any root removed, her has been fine ever since. No idea how how broke it, of course. Cats in cages can sometimes break their teeth chewing the container, but he had been a free ranger for years. Glad about Catorze’s heart –

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      At the moment he’s doing fine, so hopefully there won’t be any need to have it removed!

      Like

  11. Mary Henderson avatar
    Mary Henderson

    Great news about the heart murmur – or rather the lack of it. Very pleased for you that there was some positive out of your visit to the vets!

    Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Yes, that’s one headache we don’t have to deal with! Let’s just hope he doesn’t make his snapped fang worse!

      Like

      1. Mary Henderson avatar
        Mary Henderson

        Yes, he does seem a bit accident prone😆

        Liked by 1 person

        1. iamthesunking avatar
          iamthesunking

          He’s not really. Ailment-prone, yes. Accident-prone, not so much.

          Like

  12. Marie-Luce, miaougraphe avatar

    Glad to hear about Catorze not having a heart murmur. That’s a relief ! And for his fang, well, we’ll see how it evolves…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      I have been checking it obsessively to see if it’s disintegrating, falling out, whatever.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Marie-Luce, miaougraphe avatar

        The thing about knowing about something like that is that you can’t forget about it…

        Liked by 1 person

  13. Sally Goodman avatar
    Sally Goodman

    So happy he’s still in rude health xxxx

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      “Rude” is about right. 😫

      Liked by 1 person

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