Kitten’s First Vet Appointment By Sharon Black

Kitten’s First Vet Appointment

My three kittens went to their first doctor’s appointment.

They received distemper vaccinations and worm medication.

A year ago two small black cats and a long haired male calico appeared in my neighborhood. I put out food for them, and the male tamed down, but the black females were not getting any friendlier. The male passed away, and the females came around once in a while.

Then I was recovering from Covid and was put on oxygen, and could not be outside to catch the females. Later when I was well, kittens were found in the fall, exactly on my birthday, October 22 nd , and I brought them into my house.

Kittens getting treats

The wild mother did come inside on her own, which I was glad.

She is a good mother, and she calls them to nurse her. I arrived at Smith County Veterinary Clinic with the kittens Chow Chow, Cha Cha, and Co Co (all tiger stripe). Their mother is all black, and is named BB. Each kitten was weighed and recorded on a chart. This calculates how much medicine each kitten should receive if they needed it at the examination. .

1. Each kitten’s temperature was taken rectally. if one had a high temperature, a vaccination could not be given.
2. Distemper (respiratory) (FVRCP) vaccination was given with a needle. This is the first dose, and I must return the kittens to the clinic on December 29 th for another dose of distemper vaccines.
3. Dewormer medicine was given orally,
4. Pyran Wormer in an individual dose.
5. Feline leukemia vaccine was offered, and I elected to have them vaccinated for it when they were a bit older.
6. Rabies vaccination will be given when they are older.

I was surprised at the clinic. I thought I had two females and one male. Chow Chow and Cha Cha are males, and Co Co is the only female. They all look so familiar but under the bright lights in the exam room, I could see a difference in Co Co. She has a silver hue to her fur between the tiger stripes.

Sharon Black

Sharon Black has been writing for many years including newspapers, short stories, and as a publisher. She was born in Nebraska and has lived in Kansas most of her life. In her hometown of Smith Center, Kansas,  Willa Cather’s hometown is to the north and Bob Dole’s hometown is to the south. Sharon is a press release writer for the National Parks Arts Foundation and writes for b U n e k e  magazine. The biggest project she has accomplished is the co-writer of the TV movie Home on the Range. The movie is about the song, which is the state song of Kansas and the lawsuit surrounding it in the 1930s and finding the rightful author of the song. Sharon is distantly related to the Mississippi writer Eudora Welty.