Mister Visits the Vet

“Perfection!” the vet exclaimed after he weighed Mister. 

Mister was 10. 5 pounds, the exact same weight as a year ago.  The vet admitted later that he is, indeed, a little fanatical about animals maintaining the same weight from year to year.  He effusively praised Mister, in essence, for being a self-actualized cat with his happy go lucky disposition and svelte physique.

I have written about Mister before, how he loves the open window, happily succumbs to a good breeze, runs up and down stairs with abandon.  He does exude a certain joie de vivre, and I am never more proud of him than when we go to his annual check-up.  I am guilty of being a proud mom. 

But as he continued to check out Mister, the vet discovered that he had tapeworm. He took a specimen under the microscope and confirmed this.  Prior flea contact could be the cause, he said. Tapeworm could live within a cat for years and you’d never notice. 

Mister did catch fleas a few years ago when he up and left our home for 2 weeks and 2 days.  Those were nervous days when we had no idea if he’d return. When I took him to the vet after that adventure, he was okay except for the fleas.  And that’s probably the origin of this tapeworm issue, remedied by one shot.  I hope Mister learned that all-important lesson: Never a good idea to wander too far from home.