Rosie’s Check Up

I was back at the vets on Saturday (10th December) with Rosie and couldn’t believe how quickly the two weeks since I was last there had gone. I’m pleased to report that Ellie and Rosie had both improved and despite being confined to their run (see this post if you don’t know why!) they are much brighter. Neither of them have been happy about having their medicine but cuddles and a treat afterwards seemed to help make it better!

Ellie is a bit more active and the hormones from the implant should be starting to kick in properly now. Sometimes the implant can cause a heavy moult so she might not be happy for long if this happens!

Rosie has been brighter too but unfortunately hasn’t passed any lash type material which makes me think her problem is more likely to be the tumour. Even if this is the case, I’ll manage it for as long as she’s comfortable and able to enjoy life. For now though she’s happy, eating well and interested in whatever treats I take down to the run. She’s been pecking about and interacting with the other girls and I’m really pleased there’s a noticeable improvement in her behaviour.

As it was just Rosie who had gone to the vets, this time she travelled in style and went in the pet carrier and not a crisp box! I even let her sit in the front on the passenger seat next to me so we could have a chat on the way there.

Earlier in the week the vets had tweeted a picture of a little stray/lost cat that seemed to have adopted them –  she must have known they were animal lovers! The cat who by this time had been named Eve had been around since Thursday and despite ringing local vets and tweeting her picture, no one seemed to know where she’d come from. When I got to the vets I mentioned her and Richard and Carli asked me if I wanted to meet her. Richard opened the back door of the vets and within a few seconds she appeared and walked straight in like she owned the place!

I’ve never had much luck with cats, they like to scratch me and a rather unpleasant one actually did a wee on my shoes – when I was wearing them! I tend to avoid them and so far that has worked well. Eve had a different idea though and came straight up to me, twisting herself around my ankles and purring as if she was in cat heaven – a sign maybe that she should come home with me?!

Eve was very friendly and obviously only quite young – she looked really healthy and it was hard to believe that someone wasn’t missing her, she was such a pretty cat. Richard and Carli know me far too well and know I’m a rescuer; they’ve both heard me say several times, “I’m not getting any more hens!” and then a month or so later I turn up with new hens.  Anyway, they both made a point of saying that Eve needed a home and that it was nearly Christmas…..and as Rosie and I went in for our appointment with Richard I was trying to ignore them knowing full well it wouldn’t take much for me to cave in!

Richard hadn’t seen Rosie two weeks ago so he gave her a quick external check over and weighed her. Rosie’s weight was holding steady and she looked lovely and healthy from the outside – a bit less punk this time too! As her lump is internal, Richard took her through to the back so he could check for any changes to it. Carli had seen Rosie two weeks earlier and she noticed straight away how much better she looked and how her comb and face were red now compared to how pale they’d been last time. Her lumps and bumps didn’t seem to have changed noticeably and overall Rosie seemed to be doing well and was looking better than on her last visit.

We decided that although Rosie would probably be on steroid tablets for a while we’d try to reduce the dose and see how she seemed. Instead of half a tablet a day, she’d have half a tablet every other day for two weeks and then half a tablet every three days. If this dose seemed too low then we’d increase it again until we found the right balance. With her check up complete, (although she did ask where the buffet was this time!), Rosie was tucked up again in the pet carrier ready for the return journey home.

Needless to say before I left there were more attempts at getting me to adopt Eve and I did actually text Ben at one point and casually mention the friendly little homeless cat! I’d planned to take some honey from our bees down with me but haven’t been organised and sorted the labels out so I said I’d bring some next time I was here. Carli said it was fine and that I could bring some next week when I came back to collect the cat!

I’d nearly made it out of there but just as I was leaving, Carli showed me where Eve was sleeping – outside at the side of the building where they’d put a little pet carrier to protect her from the worst of the weather. To an animal lover this was like torture, the weather had been cold, it was nearly Christmas and this pretty little cat had no home. How I made it out of there without her was beyond me!

Rosie and I got home and I put her back in the run so she could tell the other girls about her morning adventure, no doubt exaggerating a bit about what she’d been through! Meanwhile, I went back up to the big house and began to tell Ben all about the little stray cat and how she needed a home for Christmas….

15th January UPDATE! I’m happy to report that Em one of the vets from AVS adopted ‘Eve’ the little stray Christmas cat. She’s now called Poppy and is being spoilt rotten. I love a happy ending!