Poo is a Constant Theme Over Here!

So, again I will state that I am a total novice to this whole cat rescue thing. I thought I had my sea legs because I did this once before, a few years back, at my in-laws with some female feral cats that had taken up residence under their deck and we did both a trap-neuter-release and adopted out the kittens.

When you are a bit more down in the belly of beast - transporting cats across state lines like they are bootleg liquor - the reality hits you in the face.

Or more so, the olfactory senses. 

Not unlike the first three pack, the next group of three defecated in their cat carriers on the hour and a half drive from my cabin in The Woods to my house in Maryland. Within the first five minutes of the drive. Okay, to his credit, Samwise did not. But Fiona and Blaze made up for it! I did actually feel terrible for them because who wants to sit in their poo for an hour+? 

Granted, this all needed to happen because I had vet appointments for all three on the 14th. They needed to get back to my house with me and get seen by the vet. 

While I initially felt grateful that I was able to find a vet practice close to home, which also had openings relatively soon, I have subsequently decided that I can't go back to this vet practice again. 

Why? Because this vet gave off a sense of...I don't know precisely the right word but I would try to encapsulate it as...repulsion.

There was a big part of me that felt like she couldn't get us out of there fast enough. Case in point: they forgot to put the "oti-pack" in Fiona's ears and I had to ask about it, and go back out to the car and get her and bring her back in, despite how stressed out she was, just as we were about to leave. 

I just got the overwhelming sense that the vet found these cats to be somewhat vermin-like.

And her diagnoses were all so bad: 

• Samwise: needs his teeth pulled (second vet: no he doesn't) and she couldn't definitely tell me if he was neutered (second vet: don't get him sedated and ultrasounded to find out if he is cryptorchid (again, new word for me!) because if he's not spraying or if his urine isn't stinky, he's probably been neutered),
• Fiona: she never explained why her eyes are glassy (second vet: she has corneal scarring from FHV) and just prescribed an oti pack for her head tilt, Blaze: she's pregnant (she wasn't). 

The real kicker was when they brought Fiona back into the exam room in her carrier after taking her into the back and she had poo'ed in it. Now maybe I am used to the stinkiness of a wormy kitty but the vet?!? She actually left the exam room! She couldn't handle it and left the vet tech and me to extract Fiona and clean up. I picked up the obviously distressed little tortie and hugged her to my chest. Her heart was racing and yeah, she was getting poo all over my (white!) shirt but really...?!? Who cares! That is what bleach if for. 

Then, windows had to be flung open and everything aired out before the vet would come back into the exam room. What?!? I mean, you are vet...you work with animals. Are you not used to vomit, poo, blood, pus...?!? 

So, anyway, eyes on the prize! We got them vaccinated, we got the lab tests that showed all three were FIV and FLV negative. We got amoxicillin for their upper respiratory infections. 

Now, we're on the hunt for a new vet!