in article 5kTtd.10358$_3.118574@typhoon.sonic.net,
jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt@sonic.net at jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt@sonic.net wrote on 12/9/04
1:40AM:

Oh no, I just meant that you try to get calls returned in anyones day. I
could never be a TED. Too emotionally attached.

You've reminded me about the time Thalia had a fit.  It happened one
lunchtime about two years ago.  While she was fitting, I grabbed her,
bundled her into the car and sped off to my vets. Thankfully, his
practice is only about a two minute's drive from my house.  As I got
there Thalia stopped fitting and went limp. I thought she had died.  I
rushed her into the vet's screaming "Where's George, where's George
(that's my vet's name)  His receptionist calmly said "There's no vet
here"  and I screamed "There has to be. Thalia's dead".  While I was
having my panic, George, who had been having his lunch out back,
opened his consulting room door and very calmly and quietly said "OK
Sheenah, what's all the fuss about" while simultaneously taking
Thalia from me.  Through sobs, I repeated: "Thalia's dead".   George
remained clam and collected.  "No she's not.  She's still breathing.
Come out back, we'll get some oxygen into her, and you can tell me
what happened".  Under George's care, Thalia made a swift recovery.

I've also remembered another occasion when George put himself out for
one of my cats.  It was the day we knew that Gemma no longer wanted to
go on living.   George had been treating Gemma for a stomach tumour.
On the day that Gemma told my husband and I that she no longer wanted
to go on living, I rang George's practice to see if he was on duty
that morning.  he was.  I then asked for the last appointment of the
morning and explained why.  When his receptionist (a different one
this time), told me that George only had an earlier appointment and
she realised that I didn't want it, she asked me to hang on and as
soon as George had finished with the client he was then talking to,
she'd grab him and tell him what I was after.  A few minutes later she
came back with a message from George; "He'll see you immediately
"after" his last appointment if that's OK by you".  After George had
put Gemma to sleep and I was saying my last goodbyes to her, I began
to feel guilty about taking up his time and told him so.  He then told
me that he ought to have left immediately after his morning surgery
because he had a problem at his other practice that needed sorting ,
but that could wait until I felt ready to leave.

I think this post should leave no-one in any doubt that I think very
highly of my vet.  However, least anyone think that I think him
perfect and that what I have said does not give good publicity to the
idea of vets being TED's, I ought to mention that he has occasionally
annoyed me and some of my cats and that when he has done so, we have,
in our own ways, told him so :^)

Sheenah

Good to hear. Purrs for the goopy eyes, and preliminary purrs for the
snip-snips.

Cheryl, I could give you info about this, because Roxy has herpes
too.

One thing to prepare for, is that when you have them neutered, they
will probably have a "flare-up" in the form of a respiratory infection.
Especially with Scarlett - because surgery is VERY stressful on the body,
as I'm sure you know. But even boy-neutering is hard, I would imagine.
Roxy got a bad cold after she was spayed. At first I thought it was just
something she'd picked up in the animal hospital, what with all the germs
that must be there. And I suppose that could be what happened, but it's
also likely that the stress of the surgery brought on the cold.  

Every time the immune system is stressed, it lets down its guard against
the herpes virus, and the virus gets to break out and party. There are
various treatments for these outbreaks (or "flare-ups" as I call them)
to bring the virus back under control. I don't know if young kittens who
have just contracted the virus can fight it off permanently - maybe so,
so your kitties could get lucky that way. Roxy didn't fight it off, but
she's been in good health most of her life (6 years so far), with only
the occasional flareup, which mostly haven't been too serious.

There's an email list called felineherpes on yahoogroups you could sign
up for. Lots of good info on there.

Good luck!

Joyce