Plum's Grapes

Yesterday Plum discovered the tack room next to the stall he's been ensconced in . This is a much more comfortable space, with its concrete floor where he can stretch out and soak up the coolness. We're in the midst of a heat wave with the temperatures reaching 106 degrees, so he was happy to move one room over and stake claim to his new and improved kingdom.

Which made it all the more unfair when a very unwilling and yelling-all-the-way Plum made his first trip to the vet today.  It was a day of surprises for all three of us.  The biggest was that when Bruce and I lugged him in, he was a lanky, six to nine month old kitten.  When we lugged him out again, after pokings, proddings, needles, and a thermometer up the butt, he was a 1 1/2 to 2 year old adult cat.  You could have knocked me over with a feather.  The boy barely tipped the scales at eight pounds, but after the nice lady vet had checked his teeth, she informed us that our kitten wasn't a kitten.  After I'd picked myself up off the floor, I asked hopefully if Plum had been already neutered.  She checked under his tail, smiled and said, "No," and then invited me to feel his nuts, which I did.  Grapes!  Petite, well-concealed grapes, to be sure, but grapes all the same. 




The second - and best - surprise was that all of his bloodwork tested negative for feline leukemia and heartworm.  We got the results six minutes after the blood was drawn (this clinic is pricey, but very, very good), so we knew where we stood before we ever left the clinic.  If he'd tested positive, I'm not sure what we'd have done...but he didn't, so I'm done thinking about that.  Clever Plum!

We left the clinic with one newly adult cat in one hand and a complimentary "New Kitten!" bag in the other.  It was pink!  The vet tech rather sheepishly handed this to me as we were leaving -- when Bruce made the appointment, he'd told them we had a kitten, so we got the "New Kitten!" bag.  Plum doesn't give a fig for anything that smells of vet.  Arby, however, has already played with the tiny pink catnip mouse and the bag of tasty treats will soon be history...


Plum has an appointment for this coming Tuesday to have his mini-grapes removed.  We opted for the overnight, full service neuter instead of the cheaper in-and-out clinic.  As small and thin as he is, we want him to have overnight care (the vet tech also offered to brush out all the stickers from his tail while he's still sedated).  He's definitely not "tom catty", but everyone's life will be a lot easier when he's been lightened a bit under his tail.  Hopefully he can then begin adjusting to life inside the house. 

When we got back from the vets and I let him out of his carrier, he stalked right back into "his" tack room and, rather grumpily, settled right back in. 

Little does he know what's in store for him next Tuesday.