Healing thoughts going out to Roy...

Oh, to get such service from a people Dr., eh? I'd take my babies there, except me thinks the commute is just a wee bit too much (Calgary to L.A., ya think so?) Sending get well vibes to Roy from me and the resident kitty hord.

Liza {who agrees with the vet, Roy is a handsome fellow}

A wonderful vet! And how great to get such personal, caring attention. I recently had to change vets because of relocation. I (casualy)mentioned on at our intake appointment that Shelby thinks she is a "pretty, pretty princess", because well, she does.

In a thank you note (a THANK YOU NOTE!) from the vet a few days later, she thanked me for coming in and agreed that Shelby is indeed a VERY pretty princess! =)

Lots of get well loves for Roy! And a woohoo for awesome/kind/caring/fantastic vets!!!
Kristie

And for those of your readers in the other direction, the emergency animal hospital in Glendale is the same way. We couldn't thank them enough for the care they gave our dog a few years ago!

There are good people out there, eh?

Sending loving, healing thoughts to Roy.

Aww. That Roy is a sweetie, and a very handsome one at that. (Too bad he doesn't cook.) Ed, Fluffy, Jake, Achilles, Callie and I send our best wishes for a speedy recovery.

In a similar vein, I recommend Children's Hospital in Boston should you live nearby and should your kids need topnotch medical care. All the doctors we've encountered there are not only superb physicians, but they apparently slept through their Looking Down Your Nose At Patients And Other Lesser Beings 101 classes.

So glad that you found such a marvelous vet for Roy! Take care you too - get better fast, Roy!

Laurie, I am so glad to hear that Roy received excellent care! Also, thank you for posting this. I am in vet school right now (wee first yearling) and part of our curriculum is learning small things we can do to make our clients and patients happier. They show us so many Don'ts that is really fantastic to hear of a real life example of the Do's.

Wowee wow wow Laurie! That's an amazing vet! I wish my doctor would look after me that well!

I know ... my HMO doctor could take lessons from the vet folks!

Roy is hanging in there. Thanks to everyone who has asked after him and sent healing kitty vibes his way.

So glad you have a vet who cares about you and your cat. I hope Roy gets healthy soon.

Nothing better than finding a good vet. Sounds like the kind of care I received from an oral surgeon up this way when I was in college.

Laurie, that sounds like a great vet. Lulu's vet is the same way. When I had to take her in for a possible intestinal blockage, the vet personally called me with the test results and then said that when I came to pick up Lulu that she wanted to explain them to me again, in front of the x-rays. Then a few days later, she called to see how Lu was doing.

My regular doctor only just now does that because I've been seeing her for 5 years and I make her laugh when I visit.

Yep, they rock. We took our 14 yo golden retriever to them at the end of her life, and they treated us with such dignity, and treated her with such compassion...it made a horrible experience much easier.

We also have an equally wonderful "regular" vet place here in Ventura, and I'd like to plug them too: East Ventura Veterinary on Telephone Road. They rock too.

I'm glad you've found a good vet. I'm glad Roy is getting good care there!

Oh Laurie, I am sorry that Roy is having a rough time. I am glad that you have a good vet to rely on. Should we all send bacon? hang in there Roy!

Roy IS quite handsome, I agree!!

HI ROY!!!!!!

Nothing beats finding the perfect vet! And Roy is definitely a most handsome cat!

Ahhhh
A little kindness goes a long way. Sending positive thought and energy (and love) to Laurie and Roy and Soba and Bob and Frankie too.

I love Roy-Pic days.

Here are some healing thoughts going out to you, Roy.~~~~~~~~~

Ah, bless. Glad to hear that you have found such a good vet and that Roy is doing well.

Yeah for great vets! Our cranky Siamese Samantha was sitting next to me while I read this post and as soon as I scrolled down to the pic of Roy she started to purr--this cat normally only purrs when you scratch under her chin and when you give her bacon so she may be in love with your big boy! I know I am, so cute...

Roy is definitely a handsome dude! I'm glad you found him the perfect doctor! Healing thoughts for Roy xo

Sweet, sweet Roy.

Glad those docs know a good looking cat when they see one!

Here's to him getting better faster (and without costing you an arm and a leg)...vets...expensive.

Awwww. I'm glad to see he's getting the care he deserves. He looks much more relaxed now than the last photo we saw (caged kitty).

Oh poor Roy. I hope he is feeling better and I am so glad to hear you've found a great doctor and place to take your kitty children.

Here is some virtual bacon and genuine get well thoughts for Roy:
baconbaconbaconbaconbaconbaconbacon

Is he still fighting his meds? My vet wanted my cat to take meds for anxiety. I was like, "if I have to give this cat pills, the overall anxiety level in the house (hers AND mine) will go UP, not down." And we went a different route. But when it's been antibiotics and stuff, we just have to deal. The cat gets annoyed and I get injured, but usually the medicine gets into the cat. So we sympathize with, respectively, the pain of forcing a cat to take meds, and the absolute outrage of being held down and forced to swallow something nasty.

Catherine and the "fine felines" Mandy & Judy

Kisses and bacon bits to sweet Roy! (And you hang in there too, Laurie.)

Laurie, I'm so happy that you've got Roy with a good group and that he's doing so well. A great vet in whom you have confidence is a beautiful thing.

Anita -- congratulations on your career choice. It's an honorable one. Good luck with your next three years and beyond.

Christina -- sigh. Do you honestly think that veterinarians should come cheaply? It's not gardening they're doing. It's medicine, for which the doctor has put in many years of training and debt to finance his/her education. No one becomes a vet to get rich. If the money's important to someone, they should be a hedge fund manager.

I have strong opinions about this because my husband is a vet and has a highly-regarded practice here in NYC. The profit margin on each patient is small as it's costly to provide treatment to each patient. He also has greater staffing and equipment requirements than a human medicine doctor does in their private practice.

I love my husband very much. We live quite frugally and will never be wealthy. But he is dedicated to his work and his patients, and chose this field over a more lucrative career, and for that I admire him.

What a great vet! When your pet is sick, it's so comforting to know you have a vet who really cares and knows what s/he's doing. Sadly, I know this from experience. (I mean sadly my pet was sick; happily, I had a good vet. Y'all know.) Love & kisses & positive energy to Roy! And to you! :)

I've heard more than once that it's more difficult to be a veterinarian than it is a people doctor, so it doesn't surprise me that that veterinary medicine would get the cream of the crop.

Aww Roy is such a beautiful boy. I hope he is doing better (and you too darlin')

{{{{{{Roy}}}}}}

Stella in NYC -

I didn't mean to imply that vets are overpaid. As someone who has spent large quantities on veterinary care on a great cat with a great doctor, I realize you get what you pay for. But I also know that the payments can really stack up, especially if one has a chronically ill cat. Mine had surgery for a diaphragmatic hernia, he was 8 months old. I'm a current student and was waitressing at the time...it was crippling financially, but you do what you have to. A year later he passed from another hernia, but I never regret making the choice to have the surgery.

I admire your husband's career choice, and it's nice to hear of someone having a positive vet experience, because to be honest, I've had both, is all.

Please tell us, how old is Roy?

The Timinator and I *heart*((Roy)) - actually we *heart* all of the Purl kitties, but I know how Soba resists all attempts of affection.

and I echo the "baconbaconbaconbacon" comment.

Pay the "people doctors" as much as a vet gets paid, and you might get an even better service. ;)

I agree, it goes a long way when a professional takes the time to act in a humane and professional manner. I hope Roy recovers quickly.

Roy is between 10 and 12 years old, a senior citizen in Handsome Cat years. We don't have a resolution to the issue -- we'd need a CT scan to see if there is *for sure* a mass, the other option is that his bone structure has been eaten away by a previous issue and there could be a mass growing as well.

Neither are treatable.

Basically, we're going to keep him as comfortable and healthy as can be expected here at home with various medicinal approaches. When the time comes, I'm going to let him go. Hopefully, it will be a while before that time comes. No one knows. But we got excellent care at VMSG, and I think it helped us both.

Laurie, I'm so glad you've found such a wonderful caring vet. Hope you and Roy are doing well.

BTW...what exactly is wrong with Roy or do they even know?

I am so glad Roy has a good team looking after him. That can be such a comfort when they remember the humans involved, too.

My cat is 17 and quality of life is everything.

* huggles *

Princess Perry Penelope (age 15) and I send Roy cyber purrs and a few strips of crisply cooked bacon. A good vet is as hard to find as a good mate; I'm glad you've found a practice where the patient and his/her parent are more important than anything else.

When his time comes, know we'll all be here for you. It's sad but you'll realize when the bad days outnumber the good that it's kinder that way. Meanwhile, snuggle and love him; share the love with the others and treasure every day.

hugs to you all

Oh Laurie, best wishes and hugs for you and Roy. It's a horrible situation to be in, but it helps so much when you know your vet is the best and that they are doing everything they can for you!

Never take a pet to the vet in Burbank on Glenoaks near Alameda. We had an awful experience there with our tiny kitten, just taking her for a checkup and shots. After we discovered the assistant basically raped her with an anal thermometer and made her bleed, we left before letting the vet give her shots.

It's two years later, and she only now is finally getting over her fear of other people. Taking her to a vet is still a war, though.

I would be more forgiving of it as a "mistake," and wouldn't hold this grudge (although we still wouldn't have gone back) if after discovering our spayed kitten was bleeding vaginally after her temp was taken and I, as calmly as I could, told the vet we would be leaving and went to pick up the form we had filled out with our contact information from the desk, he didn't follow us over and wave the offending thermometer at us saying "look, the end is curved, even if he did get the wrong hole, it wouldn't hurt!" Seriously. Not to mention, when she screamed and tried to bite him when he put rubbing alcohol on her injured vagina (while we still stood there stunned trying to put together why our healthy kitten just started bleeding), he told her "bad cat!" No, bad vet, and I hope she got a good chunk.

What I did learn from the experience is that the local humane society will likely be able to direct you to a very good vet. Since she still needed her shots, that's who we called, and we ended up taking her to the office that had done her spay before we adopted her. Both of the vets we met there were excellent. Neither took any offense at her spitting and hissing, either.

How I wish Ventura was not 2 hours away on a good day!!!! My doggie just got sick...scared the crap out of me!
Anyway.....healing vibes to Roy...and I agree, an handsome kitty is he!

Oh if you want to see my doggie, click on my blog. He is there.

Oh Laurie... I pray for strength.. for you and for Roy... (hugs)

Congrats on finding a good vet. My housemate has a pet tortoise and it is hard to find a good vet for Filbert. She thought she finally found someone good since the vet specializes in reptiles, but then the vet referred to Filbert as turtle. Yeah, that comment isn't what you want to hear from your vet.

I'm so glad your Roy is back home and doing better. We get so attached to our pets and it's so painful when they reach the end. I had a very sick kitten last summer who died in my arms at the age of nine weeks, and I still miss little Spats.

But we do have two fine kitties now who also wish your Roy the best of health. You can see our big boy Licorice (one lucky kitty, abandoned as a kitten and found by a colleague in her garage) and teeny Belle (runt of the litter -- no one else wanted her, poor sweet baby) on my blog.

Kisses to Roy. A good vet makes a huge difference when you're going through hard stuff! I had a vet kiss one of my cats on the nose once - it made me completely trust him. Our current vet just sent out a reminder letter to my CAT. Dear Jamie, we know you don't enjoy coming to the vet for your checkup, but please have your person make an appointment for you - a whole page letter to him! So funny!

I hope Roy does well for a very very long time.

Roy is the most handsomest cat of all!! Damn right!

Oh Laurie. I hope Roy has many good days to come, and the vet is right, he is one handsome cat!

Sounds like your animals get better medical care than most humans do. I love it when people put that amount of effort into what they do.
Mia

Sending heaps of hugs and kisses to Roy, get better soon little sweetie*
Hugs to Mom too, it is hard getting through kitty stuff*
Blessings
Kitty
Melbourne, Australia

I'm delurking because Zoe and I would like to send hugs and best wishes to you and Roy. Here's to a speedy recovery.

Laurie, what a gorgeous kitty Roy is. So sorry you're struggling with his health, but glad you have a great vet. BTW, what are you knitting these days?

I checked out their website, and not a single one of their vets graduated from Texas A&M! You just can't trust a vet who didn't graduate from A&M.

If there is anything i can do, please let me know. I am a holistic veterinarian and deal with chronic cases and cases that have been given up on by "regular" veterinarians. Sure, I'm in Colorado, but i can always give advice (to you, free of charge) over the internet or by phone. There is also a fabulous veterinary clinic in your area; Limehouse Veterinary Clinic.
Limehouse Veterinary Clinic of Holistic Medicine
10742 Riverside Drive
Toluca Lake, CA 91602
818-761-0787
http://www.limehousevet.com

PT was my instructor, and I really respect her.

I hope things will turn out well for you and Roy.

On a different note, one of my major pet peeves is how people percieve veterinarians. As a group, we are not money-hungry, insensitive people. We honestly do care about our patients and clients. We don't become veterinarians to become rich. Our clients expect top of the notch medical care, and we give it to them for very little money. We charge maybe a 1/3 of what human doctors charge for the SAME blood tests, and you'll get the results the next day (sometimes the same day), and it takes your own physisian a week to get those same results back to you. I got spayed a couple of years ago; 30 grand for the same level of care used to spay your dog or cat.

Also, if you are satisfied with the level of care from your vet, you can make his or her day by sending a thank you card or bringing some cookies along with you on your next visit. We tend to only hear complaints from clients, and some encouraging words or deeds really makes a difference.......

~ Ellen

I want to agree wholeheartedly with Ellen. I'm also a veterinarian who is sick of people berating veterinarians. I hope your cat feels much better very soon. Feel free to check out my new knitting blog (in its infancy) to see some cute knitted animals :)

Oh - and to the previous commenter who dissed non-aggie vets - ptui! I'm a PennWe and at Penn, we do not berate our colleages :)

-hillary

Hi Roy!!! Hope you're feeling better!!

Hello Laurie... I am glad you and Roy had such good care... my vet doesn't do things nearly that nice... come to thin of it, neither do my doctors... after my knee surgery i had no followup until i went back to have the stitches out! Nice.

Glad to hear that some medical professionals in the world do have concern and caring in their hearts for their paitents and the care-takers of them. :) I hope Roy is recovering okay.

A good vet is, indeed, a godsend, and of course Handsome Roy deserves no less! Virtual bacon and many well-wishes going out to you, guy.

A friend was given a terminal diagnosis for her cat who has cancer on one leg. He is also an elderly cat. She was told 3 months, but he is still here over a year later and still has a good quality of life. He probably doesn't have too much longer but she enjoys every day wit him.

My cat passed away a little over a year ago. I too had crippling vet bills that It will take me years to repay. I now have vet insurance on both of my other cats. It really isn't the cost of the care I objected to, it is the lack of affordable and decent insurace options.

((((((((Roy))))))))

Cool vets, too. Glad to see that at least animal doctors haven't lost their "bedside manner." :)

Laurie - I didn't get a chance to read your latest entries until this morning. First of all, to all you vets out there - youse guys have your halos firmly attached!!! Both my equine vets and my small animal vets have always walked on water, as far as I am concerned.

As for Roy. Laurie, I had a cat once by the name of George Kitty. He was a tough old barn cat who came home to live with me when he got too old and arthritic to be a barn cat any longer. Well, to make a long story short, when he was 18 years old, he had his thyroid and his spleen removed. The thyroid wasn't working and the spleen was cancerous. He bounced back from the surgery quite well, but then the biopsy results from the liver came back (the vet had been suspicious of the liver) and sure enough, he had cancer of the liver. But y'know, he lived for three more very good years,and finally took off his Cat Suit and split for the Astral Plane when he was 21. Cats can be tough little critters. And you are deinitely doing the right thing of keeping him comfortable etc etc. You can rest assured we all all send lots of kitty hugs and kisses to Roy. As usual, I am writing this in the middle of three million other things I should be doing, so I am not as eloquent as I would like to be.

As for that guy you were seeing. Well, he certainly isn't much of a gentlemen, is he? Better you found that out sooner than later. And you definitely desrve a gentleman. No Riff Raff for our Aunt Purl!

Hang in there, kiddo.

I admit I'm a newbie to this page so I don't know the answer... did Roy belong to you and Mr. X or was a post-life-overhaul addition to your family? If he was a joint companion, perhaps a court order for some child support is in order....

Roy is not only handsome, he is very unique. His coloring is fabulous and he certainly doesn't look a day over 4 years old.

Roy -- warm fuzzies and lots of bacon. Hang in there, kid! (sending you a good chin scratch, too!)

Laurie -- maybe he needs a retreat to one of those Hollywood-type spa places where all the A-list people go to "regroup"? You'd have to accompany him, of course! (Mom's do have to sacrifice)

I admit I'm a newbie to this page so I don't know the answer... did Roy belong to you and Mr. X or was a post-life-overhaul addition to your family? If he was a joint companion, perhaps a court order for some child support is in order....

Roy is not only handsome, he is very unique. His coloring is fabulous and he certainly doesn't look a day over 4 years old.

Roy -- warm fuzzies and lots of bacon. Hang in there, kid! (sending you a good chin scratch, too!)

Laurie -- maybe he needs a retreat to one of those Hollywood-type spa places where all the A-list people go to "regroup"? You'd have to accompany him, of course! (Mom's do have to sacrifice)

Oops - sorry I forgot to post my name in that missive about George Kitty. I think I need more coffee....

Laurie,

Hugs to you and Roy! Keep him comfy, and he may surprise you. My family had a cat that lived to 21 - and he'd gone through all 9 of his lives (this cat got caught in the automatic garage door once, had kidney stones, etc).

I'm really happy to hear that Roy received excellent care and that you both were made to feel well-cared for and welcome. Roy is such a hansome kitty! He deserves the best.

Hi, Roy! Kisses! How I missed you. You're gorgeous, darling.

And--I can't believe that dude who stopped calling! Who does he think he is? Or, maybe something happened to him. . . you never know. Perhaps you should make one wee little call, just a little something off-hand and casual like "hey, how are you, what's up?" If he doesn't return the call, forgetabout'im, but that way at least if he's been in some horrible accident, he'll know you cared enough to check in on him.

Ugh. The dating life! Scares me. But keep trying, hon, there's got to be a worthy man out there.

Helen

Hey Laurie,

So sorry to hear about your sick kitty. One of my dogs got hit by a car the other day and my vet (Codornices in Albany, California) and the surgeons (Veterinary Surgical Associates in Concord, Ca.) were WONDERFUL!

As you can imagine, I was pretty scared and upset and they really made me feel like Phoebe was in good hands. When I went to my vet to have them remove her painkiller med patch everyone who'd seen her come in the night of the accident came to say hello. They didn't even charge me for that visit. They always call and follow up after a sick-dog visit. Just amazing.

And they are all grads of my alma-mater, UC Davis. (The other Aggies). Anyhow, the whole experience has left me wishing medical care for humans was as good!

And Phoebe is going to be ok. Yay!

Leigh

LolaCat sends her support and thoughts of tasty treats to Roy. She has, in fact, a bit of a crush....

I keeping thinking about your last post - the one about The Guy. As its been discussed here in your blog, many women, especially women from south of the Mason-Dixon, have a tendency to blame themselves when things go wrong. I do it too. I also understand your musing regarding your "Love Karma." But Laurie, try to keep in mind something. It really isn't a matter of fault, or karma. You may or may not have put him off somehow. You may or may not have some really heavy karma to work off. BUT that doesn't excuse HIS rude behavior. And really, it is simply very rude to blow people off in such a fashion. He really needs to learn some manners. Perhaps he should receive a copy of Miss Manners Guide to Good Behavior, anonymously in the mail?

Who needs stinky boys anyway....

Glad to see the care at that place hasn't waned. I live about, oh, 3 miles from it, and we've taken all sorts of animals to them before, including some anonmous road victims that they helped even though we had no money for them... the other vets just wanted to put them down because we didn't know who they belonged to.

Hope Roy feels better soon!

Laurie, I admire you for your honesty and your ability to communicate - to so many people. Thanx. I also want to tell you that, though I admire all of your kit-companions, I consider Roy to be so handsome, soulful I almost weep when I see his picture. He reminds me of the best of kitty-kind. My big red-gold tabby, Sheldon from Sitka, would be very comfortable sharing a hearth and heart with Roy. So glad that I found your web-site.

I live in Ventura, and both of my cats are up there in age (16 & 13 years), so it's good to know that I have a good vet clinic nearby. Hope Roy is doing better now. I enjoy reading your blog because you are a talented writer with a great sense of humor. I'm a fiber artist who remarried almost five years ago to a man nine years younger. My ex left me and two teens in 1997 for another (married) woman. It was tragic, but life went on, and I am now happier than I've ever been. As a friend of mine once said, "There's a lid for every pot!" I wish you the best, and things will get better....trust me.