Apologies; if we are talking specifically about shots, then that is not so relevant; basically 1) they need the same shots any outdoor cat would receive and 2) freaked-out cats are placed in a squeezy restrainer to hold them still long enough for an intramuscular or subcutaneous injection.
Yeah, they can be tricky, but unless she can operate the elevator, I don’t see it happening. Also, there are no opening windows that don’t have screens on them.
I have always been amazed that my pets never seem to react to a needle when at the vet (be it a blood draw or injection). You’d think it would piss them off even more that they are being hurt. Nope…inscrutable.
Never figured out how they do that. I react when it happens to me (I deal with it fine but I certainly notice it).
I’ve had blood draws and injections that I couldn’t even feel.
And others that left me bruised for two weeks. There are various factors involved; but I think your vet’s got good hands. – veterinarians may have more incentive to develop good injection hands than phlebotomists for humans; humans, at least the ones over 5 or so, very rarely bite if the shot hurts.
Another issue might be the mental reaction to minor pains. Some humans, and very many other animals, seem to take this as a normal part of life – cats playing together routinely get scratches from each other, human klutzes may not even remember how we got that bruise, and so on. For others, especially some humans in the current culture, any such thing is unusual, and therefore more likely to be reacted to.
Where I live there are a couple of vets who make house calls.
Saves a bit of trauma
Tikva has always been like any normal cat at the vet. She’s not crazy about going, but the people can handle her and she’s basically fine.
With EC it’s a whole different ball game due to her feral beginnings. The first 5 years of her life it was a nightmare to take her to the vet. No one could handle her. A couple of people had to roll her up in a towel and lean on her while the doctor exposed whatever part of her needed the shot. She has been put in the squeezy box with the holes in order to be given shots. At a couple of visits no one could even catch her in the room and we left without being treated at all. Now that she’s a bit older, it’s not so bad. But it is a very traumatic experience for her and I would like to avoid it if possible.
Of course I did just board both of them recently while I moved, and everyone survived that. I will talk to the vet’s office and see what they say.
Nobody plans to have an emergency. But sometimes one happens.
You might have to suddenly move out of your apartment…maybe for a couple days, maybe for a couple weeks.
And most boarding kennels won’t accept unvaccinated cats…
Come to think of it, there are mobile vet vans that will come and do routine services. When our last cat needed to be euthanized, there was a person who came to the house to do it. It was nice that the cat could be in familiar surroundings in her last moments. Traumatic for us, but not for her.
In Orange County NC all cats and dogs are required to be licensed, and in order to get the license you have to provide proof that they were vaccinated for rabies. This is done through the vet; when I took any of my cats in for their 3-year rabies shots he would notify the county animal control office, and when it was time to pay for your annual license if the county records didn’t show that the cat had had their shot you were notified of a potential fine if it wasn’t done within a set limit. I know this because I missed doing this for one of my cats I got a strongly worded letter.
The funny thing is: Since I’m over 65 I no longer have to pay the annual license fee. My remaining cat was due for his rabies shot last year, but due to my personal health issues I never got around to getting him to the vet. Apparently because they no longer send me a bill for the license fee they’re also not keeping track of his rabies shots.