Saturday, February 16, 2013

And he shall be called Grunter

I had to take Ward to the vet the other day bc he was having some trouble w/ his eye. The vet said he also sounded a little congested as well. While the tech was holding him and the vet was checking him out, Ward started to make a couple soft grunting noises that sounded like he was having trouble breathing.
The vet paused and looked slightly concerned. "Is that a normal noise for him?" she asked  me, listening more intensely to his grunting.
"Yep," I replied, "That's his 'I'm unhappy, stop it, I don't like what you're doing' noise." I hear this often when I have to administer medicine, clean his teeth, or basically make Ward do anything besides take a nap, so I don't really even notice it anymore.
The vet frowned in confusion and said, "He grunts like that when he's unhappy or uncomfortable? Cats aren't normally grunters."
"Well, he is a pretty tame guy," I explained, "He isn't one to ever bite or scratch at all when he doesn't like what is happening. He just grunts like that."
The tech grinned, as she was the one holding Ward in place as the vet poked and prodded and messed around with his eyes and congested little nose, and she would be the one who would most likely end up being bitten or scratched if Ward were to try either of those.  She said, "I'll take a grunting cat any day!"
Then the vet had to take Ward's temp. My grunting cat quickly became my pitiful yowling cat. Still no biting or scratching, but a simple grunt was insufficient to express his unhappiness w/ this procedure. Poor Wardy...
Got some eye drops (and some treats after surviving the temp-taking) and we were on our way home. And since Ward hates car rides, he grunted the whole way home. That's my boy!

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