The days I used to dread most were always the ones scheduled for my cat Simba's veterinary appointments. Each time I put her in a carrier to take her to the vet's office she turned into a murderous, screeching banshee.

Any vet who tried to touch Simba soon found 10 pounds of white fur hurling itself in his or her direction. Some vets reacted by putting Simba into a cat bag while others tried to muzzle her. Some prescribed a tranquilizer to be administered before the visit, and one even restrained her with a noose. But no matter what they did, Simba's fury would not be tamed.

Then Simba met her first mobile veterinarian. After 10 minutes with a mobile vet in the comfort and safety of her own home, Simba had been examined from head to toe with barely a growl in between.

Oh, the Terror!
For people with cats that are terror-stricken about going to the vet's office, mobile veterinarians seem to be heaven-sent. Whether your cat becomes a maniac at the vet's office, like Simba, or simply cries incessantly in the carrier, a visit from a mobile vet can be a blessing for your cat and you.

"Having my cat seen by a veterinarian was an ordeal," said Rebecca Manning of Morristown, Pa., who owns an 18-pound orange tabby named Hogan. "Hogan hates the vet. It is impossible to get him into his carrier without having a battle. When I would finally get him to the vet, his adrenaline would be so high that the vet couldn't even vaccinate him without having to anesthetize him first."

Hogan's misery prompted Manning to try a mobile veterinarian. "When the doctor came to the house to examine him, there was no trouble at all," she said. "He got his shots and everything was fine."

Similarly, Cleopatra, a blue-point Siamese, has serious reservations about going to the vet, said Lorraine Cooper of Plymouth Meeting, Pa. "The last time I took Cleo to the vet, she was so scared she was screaming," Cooper said. "It's hard for me to watch this. I felt like I was doing something horrible to my cat."

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4