Mr. Vince Goes to the Vet

Kat and I spent a few months trying to find a vet to "fix" Vincent. The veterinarians here deal more with cows and goats--domesticated cats are not common. Over break, however, our coworkers--with the assistance of their household helper, Anjoli--succeeded in getting their cat, King Julius, fixed at the local veterinarian college. (Kat and I had considered this; however, another pet owner here took their male cat and he was mistaken for being pregnant. Hence, we were hesitant to allow the students to operate on Vincent). We were thankful King Julius survived the ordeal, as this meant we could address Mr. Vince's issue.

Kat went with Anjoli on Thursday to get a tetanus shot--a pre-castration procedure. According to Kat, this went smoother than expected.

Upon arriving for the operation on Sunday, Kat, Vince, and Anjoli met with the Head Veterinarian. While Anjoli was running around getting medicine, the Vet told Kat that AUW should accept married women. While this might have been an interesting discussion otherwise, at this point, Kat and Vince were not amused.

Finally things got underway, with Katrina acting as a nurse. She held Vincent while the Vet and students checked his heart rate, gave him anesthesia (enough for a goat), and shaved his nibbly bits (which took a good 10 minutes). They stuck a plastic syringe cover in his mouth to keep it open. Vince was asleep, but not amused. Kat said that in addition to the vet students hovering over the Head Vet, there were other folks in the room doing electrical work.

The operating crew

Vince's new mouthpiece

Once fully asleep, the surgery crew picked up Vince by two legs and took him into the operating room. Sitting in the waiting room, Katrina witnessed a rabbit having an allergic reaction and a dog being harassed. After the 20 minute operation, the Vet asked Katrina and Anjoli to come get Vince. He proceeded to hand a very limp Vince, with his tongue sticking out, to Kat. Kat said "let me get the cat carrier." He said, "No, you hold him. Come sit in my office for 10 minutes." After this post-op procedure, Kat and Anjoli were sent home with Dead Weight Cat, being told "he should be fine in an hour."

Well, over 4 hours hours later, Vince is up and about, but still out of it. This must be what it's like to have a drunk cat. "No, Vince, don't try to jump off the bed. No really, you can't do that. No, you should really rest and not walk where. Oh gosh, you're puking again..."

Four hours post-op...

Overall, we would count this as a very successful--and quite possibly one of our most interesting--endeavors in Bangladesh. We are thankful that the Vet and crew removed the correct apparatus and that Vince won't be responsible for producing little kittens. We are also hopeful that this will quell Vincent's desire to chomp on people's legs and arms, howl by the front door (which echos throughout the apartment stairwell), and to get upset and pee on stuff.

Signing off,
the Cat Ladies

Photos of Vincent and the Vet Venture