Theo
I hate to admit it, but… I love my cat. I don’t know if I can extend this statement to, I love cats, but certainly I love this little feline invader (ambassador?) that has taken up residence under my bed. In just the few days that I have had him, I’ve been amused, and worried and had all my cat-hating barriers removed. I thought that having a cat would help enhance my clinical skills in dealing with cats (afterall, how can I counsel clients on feline behavior, care, keeping or medical treatment when I have never had a cat?) but I can see that he’s really going to enhance my life.
I never know when he will pop up out of somewhere, meowing plaintively for god knows what, or when he’ll dart out from under the bed (or back under it). He sits in my laps and purrs, which feels so weird, while I study, and when I sleep at night he lays across my chest or with his face in my arm pit. He’s still not so sure about Beau, but Beau wants to be friends if he can.
I thought after taking Theo to the vet yesterday he would hate me forever, and for a while I thought I was right. He didn’t leave his hiding spot under my bed all day and wouldn’t even come when I called (which he was doing before the vet). But right now, he’s grooming himself while nestling in my lap as the election returns come in. I am finding that cats are very strange, very different from dogs, but enjoyable in their own way.
The Feline Has Landed
And his name is Theo.
I’ve never had a cat and have never had the desire to even contemplate owning one, until recently. It started with a mouse problem (that seems to be resolved) and then something a clinician said to me last year… How can I treat cats and understand their uniqueness (which I am finding out is indeed very unique) and counsel owners about their pets when I have no experience with them at all?
So I found a cat I wanted and applied to adopt him. I bought a litter box and dishes and toys and a bucket to hold his food in. I let Beau adjust to the presence of these items for about a week and then my kitty came home yesterday. My two classmates dropped him off to me and now I am officially a cat owner.
It’s kind of fun, I will admit.
Theo prowls around my house, meowing and chasing flies, checking out toilets and showers and watching the birds outside my bedroom window. I never know where he is and then all of a sudden, he shows up and I about trip right over him. He’s very interesting to watch and affectionate in a less needy way than Beau. It’s certainly very different than what I know from my dog ownership.
And Beau, he seems ok with the whole situation. He doesn’t seek Theo out, but if the two of them are nearby, Beau wags his tail and wants to play. The kitty has a different idea (I think he’s as inexperienced with other species as Beau is) and just hisses and swats at Beau. I worried at first how they would do when I left them alone, but I think because the kitty can hide in places Beau can’t go, everything will be okay. Beau seems curious and interested and non-aggressive, which seems to be a good sign.
So here’s to the next chapter in the life of the Moose and Girl.
musings | Comment (0)Days Like These
It’s on days like these that I remember why I decided to go to vet school in the first place. They remind me why all the stupidity and the drama and the annoying things like studying and NEVER GETTING TO TOUCH A REAL ANIMAL are worth it - because in the end, we get to see real animals and we get to help people with those real animals.
I’ve always really enjoyed our Correlates classes. They are essentially husbandry classes and skills classes - because even though you could make an entire semesters worth of lectures and exams out of Equine Care, Maintenance and Exam, we just don’t have time for it. So all the food animals and small animals and their care and how to examine them is condensed into short little two hour sessions each week and every once and a while we have a talk on ethics or the animal shelter or behavior.
Today was my bovine correlates for this year and even though I didn’t get to actually touch a cow - the clinician leading the talk is one of the best faculty at the entirety of Texas A&M. Here is a man who actually gives a crap about the students - really, truly about the students - and not research or their job or their aspirations to get tenure or that specialization or that grant money. He actually listens to each and every one of us, actually cares about our opinions, fears, hopes and goals, and makes us feel like yeah, at first we are going to totally suck at being vets, but in a few year’s time we’ll finally have the competency we so desire to have and everyone will survive.
The other thing this clinician reminded me of is the fact that I secretly love large animal medicine. Not horses so much, but cows for sure. They remind me of those happy 10 weeks I spent in Costa Rica, a la James Herriot only with mosquitos and sun tan lotion. He reminded me that even though I don’t know anything about cows or about farm life, that if I want to be interested in it, I can be, and I don’t have to be defined by my background and I don’t have to let what I’m familiar with govern my career path within the profession.
Honestly, I love dogs. I love them more than life itself, and if I could see just dogs all day long, I would never get bored and I would never grow tired of listening to people talk about them. But there is more to being a vet than working on your favorite animal and being the best advocate for that species you can be - you still have to live in the real world and you have to enjoy your life outside of work. And for me to enjoy life outside of work… I don’t think I could live in a big city. I don’t think I would like commuting every day, and I know from previous jobs that unless there are frequent changes of scenery, I come to loathe what I do just because I hate being trapped in the same place, day after day after day.
It’s why I love my work at the aviary so much. Sometimes I’m in the office, sometimes I’m in the lab, and every day I go out there and check on my ducklings. One job with three locations, it’s perfect. And I think rural Texas (or any other state) has a lot to offer me in that arena. I love driving past pastures in the quiet of the morning (or riding my bike, depending on how ambitious i feel that morning) and I enjoy fresh air and sunshine. I like being away from the congestion and rage of humanity in the city. I like the idea of living in a town where everyone knows everyone - it’s a secret delight to my inner gossip. It’s why I love my neighborhood - I know just about everyone and my neighbors are my friends. I read the newspaper everyday because my community is important to me, the things going on here, locally, are important to me, and in my mind, rural life exemplifies this lifestyle.
I like feed stores and small groceries and run down old barns and life centering around schools and churches and the post-office. I like being spread out, far away and not tempted by all the material things in life. I like to have my hands in my pockets and my heels in the dirt and I like the very visceral, very real and alive feeling I get when I’m out tottering around in the country.
The other bonus for me is that I will not have a single cent in debt when I graduate. Although rural vets do not get paid less than their city counterparts, or even work more hours, I certainly don’t even have to worry about those fears, even if they are myths. I can freely choose to do as I wish in my career. My only fear is the extreme lack of technical skill that I posses, but that can be easily remedied.
It’s days like these that are my favorite because it’s when the real learning takes place. Looking at that cow in the large animal clinic, grinding its teeth and looking miserable made so much more of an impression on me than learning about the technical aspects of its disease, uroabdomen, via powerpoint in a sterile lecture hall.
I knew i chose this career for a reason.
blah blah blah, vet school | Comment (0)