Tuah's Yearly Pilgrimage

Yesterday I took my cat, Tuah, to see the vet for his annual vaccination. This is a routine yearly procedure which I diligently and religiously undertake no matter how hectic my programme is for the day. I learnt a bitter lesson for forgetting his appoinment. Once, when Tuah was 4 years old, he had a very serious bout of flu and only after I took him to the vet did I realise that he was about a month overdue for his vaccination. He was sick for about 10 days. From that day onwards, I put reminders everywhere.

Tuah will be 13 this February 12, Insya Allah. When the time comes for me to take him to the vet, I think he is able to sense my intention. He will be exceptionally quiet and will look at me straight in the eye as if pleading for mercy. Tuah is quite a big cat and it is very difficult to coax him into the mobile cage so I always carry him in a roomy canvas bag. The moment he sees the bag, he will run off and hide anywhere which is difficult for me to get at him, usually under my king-sized bed. Once I put him inside the bag, he will burrow deep inside it trying to hide his entire body.

The ride to the vet's takes about 15 minutes and throughout the short journey Tuah will hide his face and remain almost motionless except for his frantic heartbeat. Occasionally, he will pop his head out of the bag and almost immediately after that he will dive back in and snuggle even deeper into the bag.

The journey home is always less stressful for him. I think he knows that the worst is over. He does not hide his face as much on this return journey. On reaching home he will slowly raise his body and examine his whereabouts while still remaining in the bag. He always seems puzzled that he is now back in familiar territory. The moment he is confident that he is back home, he will jump out of the bag and head off straight to his favourite hideout...........under my bed, of course!

Last night, as on previous occasions, Tuah was very quiet, probably due to the pain induced by the shot on his right upper hind limb. But, as always, he was back to his nagging self this morning much to my relief!!!

Tuah relaxing happily after tucking in a generous amount of
tuna and chicken for breakfast this morning.