The Devil Went Down To Georgia

Several years ago, we had a cat whose name was Cat, the same name as every other cat we've ever owned. I know, I know, we came up with ourselves.

We started out with good intentions when naming our cats, it's just that they never came when we yelled, "Here Sam" or "Here BC", short for Black Cat. And they always came if we yelled, "Com 'ere Cat" or "Here Kitty, Kitty". Worked every time. We're no dumb bunny.

Sam was a good Cat. She loved her life outside chasing the squirrels and the rabbits and the mice. She probably caught a bird or two, as well. But although she loved being outside, if she ever saw the back door open, she darted in and found a comfy place to take a nap.

So anyway, this Cat (Sam) she needed to be "fixed". We had already had one litter to deal with and didn't want another. She also needed some shots. Well, Cat had never ridden in a car and she wanted to keep it that way. So I bought a pet carrier.

The Cat will never even know she's in a car, I thought. So I told Kate to go get the Cat and put her in it so we could leave for the Vet's office. Ha!

"I can't get her in it, Mama. She won't go." Kate said.

"OK. I'll help you.", I answered.

So I opened the door of the pet carrier and told Kate to just "back" her in. The Cat started climbing Kate and jumped and ran. (The Cat, not Kate.) She meant she wasn't going in that box.

Kate finally coaxed her back to her arms and I held two legs while Kate held the other two. We started trying to stuff her into the box and she had all four paws with claws extended holding on to the outside of the box entrance! She was NOT going in that box! We couldn't get the gate door shut before she jumped and ran AGAIN! And now she had drawn blood from both of us!

OK. Think, think, think.

"Kate, we're just gonna have to try it again and this time I'll hold her feet and push her in. As soon as I get her in, YOU shut the door real quick and lock it!", I said.

*Sighing* "OK, but she's scaring me, Mama. She keeps looking at me with mean eyes.", Kate said.

"We have to do it, Kate. We HAVE to.", I said.

So once again we tried and THIS time we got her in! We were both bleeding and Kate was crying, but we got her in there! The Cat was NOT happy. Although the gate door was shut, she kept reaching her arms through the bars and scratching us. She even reached all the way out and scratched me from the handle on top of the carrier. She was PISSED!

So we got on the road to the Vet's office and I told Kate to sit in the backseat next to the carrier and talk to the Cat to try and calm her. Kate couldn't sit anywhere close to the carrier because the Cat kept reaching out and slapping Kate with her claws extended. Then, all of a sudden, these horrible moans and growling noises started coming from the carrier. Kate crawled over to the front seat.

When we arrived at the Vet's office, there were a lot of other dogs and cats waiting in the waiting room, as usual. We signed her in and I went back out to the car to get the carrier. This Cat had not calmed down one bit. She was spewing fire from her eyeballs and was now throwing herself against the side of the carrier.

I got her inside the building and sat the carrier down on the floor. Kate and I sat there with our bloody hands and arms and just acted like everything was normal. You know, picking up an "Animal Fair Magazine" and pretending to be reading the articles. Checking out the flea and tick killer shampoos and all the nice collars and leashes.

All of a sudden these horrible unrecognizable monster sounds started coming from the carrier again. She began throwing herself against the side of the carrier and moving it across the floor. Her claws and teeth were reaching out through the gate bars. It was like she had turned into the Incredible Hulk Demon.

Everyone in the waiting room turned around to see what was going on while Kate and I just pretended we hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. One person even moved to another chair. I WANTED to move to another chair.

I turned to Kate and whispered, "I'm scared to open the door on that carrier to let her out."

"Mama, you've GOT to get her out of there when we go into the exam room.", Kate said.

"I can't. I'm scared to. She's gonna kill me. I don't think I can run fast enough to get away from her.", I said.

So anyway, they finally called our name and I reluctantly picked up the carrier and took it with us to the exam room. I told the Vet immediately that the Cat was REALLY mad and I didn't want to open the door to the carrier.

He and his assistant had on these long gloves and they reached to unlock the door. Kate and I backed up about 6 feet and a little closer to the exit. They grabbed the Cat and quickly gave her a shot.

She calmed right on down and they did her tube tying right there in front of us.

We took her home with a lot less dramatics. She slept for a few hours and moseyed around for a few days before she was back to her old self again.

We never took her anywhere, EVER again.