vet tales, part II

When Tigra was vaccinated in Turkey, she had an allergic reaction to one of the vaccines and Dr. Ates noted it in her records. I told our new vet in California about her reaction, but let myself be persuaded that she would be ok receiving the vaccine and staying at the clinic for observation. To be honest, I think the vet might have been skeptical about the quality of treatment Tigra had received in Turkey. I feel bad that I didn't defend the first-rate care she had received in Turkey.

Some hours after the vaccination, Tigra had an allergic reaction (fever and vomiting) and the clinic monitored her and gave her fluids. They kept her overnight and I took her home the next day. Unfortunately, she continued to throw up, wouldn't eat, and was lethargic. I was worried about her but didn't panic until I saw she was bleeding from her bottom. Since it was a holiday, I had to take her to an emergency clinic. They examined her there and discovered that she had two infected bites near her tail. Since Tigra is strictly an indoor kitty--never goes outside other than in her cat carrier on the way to the car and never comes in contact with other animals--I had to conclude that she had been bitten on her overnight stay at the vet's. The emergency clinic said the bites were consistent with cat bites, but they couldn't believe that she had been bitten at a veterinary clinic.

I switched vets and Tigra recovered. Even the new vet said he couldn't understand how Tigra had received the bites. It couldn't, he said, have happened at a vet clinic....