Wednesday, November 11, 2009

What happens when you give a cat valium?

I have to admit that this is not a question that I had ever given much thought to, but I now have an answer. Perhaps I ought to explain.

My remaining cats, Katherine (aged 17) and Cincinnati (aged 16) are increasingly vet bills waiting to happen. Cincinnati is a fairly placid soul who, whilst he would prefer not to be in a cat carrier, behaves well with vets - the world is his friend. Katherine, on the other hand, hates the whole experience and gets into such a state that she has rather traumatising fits when being transported. Ros, finding this to be almost as stressful as Katherine does, wondered aloud about tranquilisers and so I was tasked with finding out more.

And yes, there is cat valium, and with a visit to the vet scheduled for Monday morning, I got the job of administering the drug to Katherine. She has sharp teeth and savage claws, but I managed to get her to swallow her medication. What followed was unexpected.

Almost immediately, she seemed to lose the ability to walk but made her way rather groggily towards the upstairs landing. The next moment, there was the sound of something falling down the stairs so I rushed to the scene, just in time to see her lurch away, seemingly unhurt but for her dignity.

After all of that, the visit to the vet went smoothly and you'll be pleased to hear that Katherine is none the worse for her misadventure. I might make sure that she is downstairs before I administer the valium again though...

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