Another visit to the Vet...

I was still in denial of sweet little Karen's passing when I was blindsided by another event. I started to notice that Sam was having issues eating but most importantly getting around.

I tried everything from canned food since I mostly buy large bags of dried cat food (cheaper when you have sixteen felines) to regular human canned tuna but nothing seemed to perk his appetite. He had no strength in his hind legs and would walk a short distance and then fall.

I was going to upload the video but due to my lack of computer knowledge...I am unable to...:-(  

Another visit to the vet was inevitable so off we went to México on Monday, January 16th, 2023. Thankfully, I got the head vet Dr. Chavarria as I will always value experience over anything else. He diagnosed him as "malnourished" but did not give an opinion as to how he got that way. 

I have always been mindful of seeing that each cat eats their fair share after an episode of Hoarders where this lady had multiple cats and would feed them but not stay around to see who actually ate. She did not realize that only the strongest survived and her original cat was denied food by the others. Horrible episode to watch if I might add 😢

He gave him the following medication and even before I had a chance to say anything...he reassured me that even though it had a dog on the packaging it was also for felines. I had to use the syringe, open his mouth and shove it down his throat twice a day...sounds easy doesn't it?  Let me assure you...IT WASN'T!

I have mentioned on my other blog Terlingua Dreams that the only two apps I have on my phone are Dairy Queen and Border Crossing Times. Unfortunately, I do not have cell phone coverage in México but to my surprise, I did not have to drive to Bodegas Aurrera or Gutierrez to tap into their internet as on a lark I tried it outside the clinic which is not very far from the International Bridge and had service.

Today's Dollar exchange rates:

 Compra=Buy $18.20 to $1.00 USD...Venta=Sell $19.60 to purchase $1.00 USD.

In case you are wondering what the tolls are from México to the USA...I was in luck as they had modernized their new tolls signage and gone electronic. The tolls for a regular vehicle are $30.00 Mexican Pesos. The going rate today was $18.20 to $1.00 USD... which translates to $1.65 USD. The toll to cross from Del Rio, Texas to Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila is $4.00 USD which is a rate established by the City of Del Rio.

Bare in mind that it was Dr. Martin Luther King Day and while it is not celebrated in México a lot of American citizens had the day off. The app said the wait time was 25 minutes...WRONG...it was more like 45 minutes but the lines were moving fast as they had more lanes open on this holiday. 

It did not dawn on me to take a picture until I was halfway through the line as I was attentive to my little Sam.

Today is almost two weeks since his visit to the vet and while some days he is better than others, he is still not at 100 percent. This morning it was drizzling so I did not go outside with him until noon and I am glad to report that he ate more than on other occasions. During the evenings he sleeps in his crate in the kitchen. I suffer from chronic insomnia the only bright side to that is that I get to check on him frequently during the night.

Thank you for visiting Walter's World.

The quintuplets got spayed and neutered

Post for Thursday - January 5, 2023

Once again I barely slept last night fearing I would oversleep and not get the quintuplets to the vet in time for their surgery. It was cold this morning but I bundled up so I could put the cats inside their pet crates before they fully woke up and wanted to eat as they had to be "en ayunas" which means "fasting" in Spanish. After doing that, I placed them in the car as their cries brought around the other cats to see what was going on.

I had to feed the others before I left and fight off the darn chickens from Walter's former owner that have been making my life a living hell as they try to eat their food if I am not there to run them off. Will write about that in a separate post.

In the front seat, I placed Sam and one of the gingers, I want to say, Darla?

Yeap, it was Darla. The gingers look a lot alike.

This is Mikey who got the older and bigger crate. I wanted to place Sam and him together but was afraid that if I opened the crate he would try to run away...so he got to ride solo.

I have bought two more pet crates since my last post with dual openings at the top and the traditional front door. Anyone who has had to struggle with a pet will agree that a top latch is much easier to maneuver when it comes to placing them inside.

This is Karen which I ended up naming by mistake because I confused her with Mikey who is the troublemaker of the bunch.

Crossing into México took seven minutes and I had no problem finding a parking spot in front of Clinica Veterinaria Chavarria. It took me longer to get the four crates down than it took for them to call me.

They have three veterinarians but the main vet (the owner of the clinic) is the one that usually performs most of the surgeries. The other two examine the animals, weigh them, and if they have not had their shots they make sure to administer them before surgery. Two of the cats had not been there before since I was not able to catch them back in September 2022 and needed their shots and to be dewormed.

The two cats were also given formal names. One of the ginger cats turned out to be a male and since he eats so much I named him Mikey and the three-color darker one is a female now answering to the name of Monica.  

On the past two occasions that I took cats to be fixed they were ready by noon but today they had a full operating room and they asked me to come for them after five o'clock. I needed to run several errands so I decided to stay in Ciudad Acuña rather than make two border crossing trips.

Even though it was cold this morning it did not take long for it to warm up and I had to ditch the jacket. Finished my errands by 2:30 p.m. so I drove to Gutierrez (a grocery store) that has canvas coverings in the parking lot to keep your vehicle out of the sun's rays. I still had to crack the windows to let air in which made me visible to all the people that peddle their wares so decided to drive back to Clinica Veterinaria Chavarria to try to get a good parking space before the other pet owners arrived.

I went in at 4:00 p.m. just in case they were ready and they were. Dr. Chavarria was talking to his wife (she is the Clinic Administrator) they had the five envelopes with the cats medical records and I guess they were discussing them. I do not know if you recall but when I took three of the quintuplets one of the veterinarians dewormed them at no charge. He told me that he would do the same for the two that were dewormed today.

If that was not enough the other veterinarian (Dr. Chavarria's son-in-law) waived the fee for the two cats that had not been vaccinated. If things could not get any better Dr. Chavarria charged me the rates in effect for last year rather than the new ones that just went into effect as of January 2023. I could not believe my good luck and I thanked them profusely.

Spays are now $2,500.00 and Neuters are $2,300.00 Mexican Pesos. He only charged me $2,300.00 for the females and $2,000.00 for the males. That came to $10,900.00 Mexican pesos since I did not have enough Mexican Currency, I paid in US dollars as I did not want to use a credit card either. The Vet Clinic gives you a better exchange rate if you pay in dollars...which is $19.00 pesos to one USD...$573.68 which he rounded off to $573.00 USD.

However, not all was good news. I had observed that Karen had been sad lately and keeping to herself. She would come and rub herself against my leg when she would see me and wanted to be held which I obliged. Dr. Chavarria said when he made the incision in her tummy all her insides were yellow. I asked what that indicated and he said "she has hepatitis" which is why her eyes are dark yellow almost honey-colored. The only thing I could ask was "is she going to die?". He said he did not know but I should keep an eye on her and make sure she ate and drank water.

He told me to keep all the quintuplets inside tonight to give them time to heal and make sure they ate as soon as we got home. I kept them where they usually sleep in the mudroom/junkroom but I kicked out Suzie and Bianca (the kittens) so they would not bother them.

Unfortunately, I ran out of space in Google Photos and have to purchase a larger subscription. When I do I will upload pictures.

I have not purchased more space...I ended up emailing them to myself which for me takes a long time :-(

Thank you for visiting Walter's World.

Cat Video

I love watching Penny the talking cat and if mine could talk I think they would agree with her. This is not a long video...it is a Short.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YtECS8kBpus

Grayson has been spayed

Thursday - August 11, 2022

Last Thursday, I was able to easily trick Grayson into going inside her Pet Taxi by placing two tiny cat morsels so she could smell them. The training I have had with her and her kittens was successful and there was no drama involved.  

I found another use for the shoe tray I bought at Ollie's I now place it in the back car seat and then put the Pet Taxi on top of it to prevent it from moving around.

We went early and she was such a good girl did not cry or whine even once.

The line to cross into México was not long at all.  A funny thing happened that I had never experienced before. I  have previously mentioned that two-persons man the line...a Mexican Custom Official and a member of the Mexican Army.  As I approached the army guy left and only the Custom Official remained. He looked different kind of like a Rambo very muscular, tall, with his face covered and dark sunglasses. He said, "Do you know your inspection sticker has expired?"  I replied that I did but I had the new one in my purse and I showed it to him. I remarked that it was the first time that a Mexican official ever brought it to my attention. I got the impression he was a higher-ranking officer.

In Texas, you have a five-day grace period before they pull you over for this offense. I am famous for waiting weeks before placing mine on the windshield but I always carry it with me. I have since replaced it.

Even though I went early it was hard to find a parking space and had to walk two blocks carrying Grayson...it is a good thing she is skinny. I was once again surprised that the head veterinarian offered to have her ready by noon just like he did when I took Chester. This allows me to only make one trip versus two.

Everything has gone up and veterinary services are not the exception. I paid $2,750.00 Pesos for the surgery and vaccines. The exchange rate was $20.00 Mexican Pesos to $1.00 USD. That comes to $137.50 USD versus $122.50 or $15.00 dollars more.

The line at noon to return home was equally sparse, I barely had time to pull my passport from my purse. I got a lady Custom Officer and she did not notice my "expired sticker" she was more interested in talking about my cat. She said she was an animal lover...I now regret not having asked if she knew anyone who wanted to adopt some very cute kittens.💓

I kept Grayson in the carrier and like all the other cats after surgery, I placed her on top of my ice chests in the kitchen to let her rest and sleep off the medication.

Thank you for visiting Walter's World.

Chester was the lucky one / Luna remains elusive

Tuesday, July 19. 2022 after having hardly slept... much like the last time I took Donald to the vet in México...I started my day early by setting up my two Pet Taxis in strategic places around dad's old car where I feed my brood.

Like last time my main focus was capturing Luna but that is easier said than done. She does not trust anyone and won't even allow me to come near her much less pet her. I bought some heavy-duty leather gloves at DD's at a bargain price the last time I was there. My first choice was thorn-proof garden gloves from Walmart.com but they have gone up significantly in price since I last placed them on my list.

To say we had a struggle is putting it mildly. Luna went wild and I was in serious need of long gloves like in the above picture. She got one of her paws inside one glove where she managed to scratch me once before I let go of her...she took off like a bat out of hell...😠

My second choice was Chester who was so willing to be placed on the smaller of the Pet Taxis last time but did not fit...decided he too would give me a hard time but at least he did not try to scratch me.

Here is a picture I took of him before we left for México...he looks a little worried!

I do not know if it was due to the heat or maybe because it was Tuesday but there was very little traffic crossing the border into México.

Likewise, at the vet's, there was plenty of parking space and his office was not full of clients like there usually is.  After the vet checked him over he told me to come to pick him up after 12:30 p.m. I was pleasantly surprised because that meant I did not have to make two trips.

Before being taken to have his surgery, Chester wanted to send a video message to Governor Greg Abbott of Texas...

Translation from cat to human talk:  Help me, Governor Abbott, I want you to protect my male cat reproductive rights!  Why is this woman deciding for me?

I left him and went to run errands in Ciudad Acuña which I will cover in more detail in my other blog Terlingua Dreams. Click on the header picture and it will take you there though I have yet to write it... give me until this afternoon.

Picked Chester up at the agreed-upon time. Once again I paid 2,450.00 Mexican Pesos... which consisted of $2,300.00 for the surgery and $150.00 pesos for his vaccines... today's exchange rate was $20.00 pesos to one US dollar...$122.50 USD.

There were only two cars in front of me to cross back to the USA. By this time it was much hotter so I will give credit to the weather for the smaller lines.

Thank you for visiting Walter's World.

I had intended to take Luna but it ended up being Donald

The wait to get a veterinary appointment to spay/neuter a cat or dog seems to get longer at my Veterinary practice in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila - México. I suppose I should be glad because that means that more owners are taking this welcome and positive step in improving the life and health of their pets.

I have been trying to gain Luna's confidence for a long time but for some reason, she continues to evade me and she has taught that to her two kittens. They only follow me when they see me walking around with food but keep their distance until I go inside.

I suffer from chronic insomnia and it does not help when I have to get ready for an early appointment or when we have to go out of town. I was wide awake at 3:11 a.m. making it more difficult was that Mr. Joe's security light kept on being activated and light flooding my room since I only have blinds on the windows as I do not like curtains. Got up and decided to start my day.

At 6:45 a.m. on Tuesday, June 21st I went outside to "pretend" to feed the cats...my objective was to nab Luna but she was having none of it. I came back with food so the other cats could eat except for Chester who was going to be my second choice. However, an opportunity presented itself and I was able to nab Donald and immediately placed him in the larger blue Pet Taxi that I had staged by the side of dad's old car...he was not very happy about it 😠 and put up a fight once he was inside even turning the cage over. Glad I took him by surprise!

I have a smaller cat carrier and had no problem with Chester letting me try to place him inside since it has a top opening but he was too big for it. It would have been great if I could have taken both in one swift trip. That was the carrier I had for Luna since she is skinny.

It only took eight minutes to cross to Ciudad Acuña. Mexican Immigration works in pairs...one is a member of the military and the other is an Immigration Officer. They were both young and cordial the lady military (who had a big gun) asked me to pop the trunk which I did. I only had my empty grocery bags (stores no longer provide bags you have to bring your own) as I was going to go shopping after dropping Donald off at the vet. They quickly sent me on my way.

Though it was a little after 8:15 a.m. I was barely able to get a parking space as he has a big practice which I would say is 85 percent American and 15 percent Mexican. I am sorry this photo did not come out very well.

It took a while to get called and I had to warn them that Donald was a wild one. I told them my problem with trying to trap Luna and how I feared that now that her kittens were 9 or 10 weeks old she would get pregnant again. I got a verbal commitment from them that if I trapped Luna I could bring her and they would try to work her in as long as she had not eaten.

I left him in capable hands and went shopping...I will cover that in my other blog...Terlingua Dreams.  You can click on my header picture and it will take you there or click on this link https://terlinguadreams.blogspot.com/

Crossed back to the USA around noon. The wait was 35 minutes and I got a young lady officer who was also nice, unlike others I have gotten in the past.

It was very hot and my feet hurt from all the walking I did in México but I was afraid to take a nap and oversleep so I just went on with my day. I returned to Ciudad Acuña a little after 4:00 p.m.

Another long wait to pick him up. The good thing is they were limiting two people per pet as the waiting room is small.

Donald still under the effects of sedation was mellow...

I was charged $2,300.00 Mexican pesos for the surgery and $150.00 pesos for his shots. That comes to $2,450.00 pesos at an exchange rate of $20.00 pesos to one US dollar or $122.50 USD for a cat that does not like me and the feeling is mutual. However, I am 99.9 percent sure he is the father of Luna's kittens as well as the recently born litter Grayson had two days ago (future post on that).

They had more lanes open for the second crossing back to the United States and again I was greeted by a young and friendly officer...talk about having good luck! 

Here is Donald with his innocent face as if saying "why mommy?" 😁 Once we got home and I opened the Pet Taxi he took off like lightning.  He came back to eat but kept an eye on me and then I never saw him until the following day.

Thank you for visiting Walter's World.

Bonnie Mae was spayed

Post for Tuesday - May 25, 2021

I had placed a call to my Mexican veterinarian last month to set up an appointment to spay Bonnie Mae and Molly only to be told that they did not have any appointments until late May. I had also inquired about crossing the border since it is still officially closed to "non-essential" travel. They told me that visits to the vet or any doctor. dentist or lab was permitted and since I am a US citizen they had to let me back into the country.

Monday night I could not go to sleep, I was lucky I slept two hours...a few minutes here and there. Cats have to be fasting and since these are outside cats I can not control their behavior.  If I do not feed them early enough to suit them...they simply eat a bird or like they did this weekend a baby chicken from Mr. Joe's house who made the mistake of coming for a visit.

The cats congregate around the old washing machine where I feed them. Paquito and Nico I allow to come into the kitchen since they are older and would not take kindly to sharing their food with the younger generation...they don't even like each other.

I have been bringing in Bonnie Mae since she is nursing and I feed her canned food in addition to her dry food. I did the same this morning, she thought nothing of it and once in the kitchen, I placed her in the cat carrier. Of course, she started crying and wanting to get out so I took her to my room and turned the TV to an "Easy Listening" channel, and turned off the lights to soothe her and it seemed to work.

We were soon on our way to Clinica Veterinaria Chavarria in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila - México.

I lucked out by finding a parking space across the street from the clinic. I usually have to make several turns around the block only to end up parking two blocks away. When you are carrying an overweight Paquito or Nico that can be challenging with my bad back.  Bonnie Mae is very thin now and does not weigh much.

As I sat waiting for our turn a lot of people started arriving with their pets. This is a very busy Veterinary Clinic...no wonder it took so long to get an appointment. The phones were ringing off the wall and the two girls at the front desk could barely keep up.

She got her shots before the operation...rabies, deworming, and some other shot that I do not recall the name.  Bid her farewell and left her in their capable hands.

Since I have not been to México since 2019 much less after five o'clock I did not know what the traffic would be like so I asked the receptionist (daughter of the veterinarian) and she said there was no traffic at all. Found that hard to believe as many American citizens live in México but work in the USA...but who am I to question her as she lives there and should know.

What would be my surprise at 5:00 p.m. but to find the line to cross into México to be backed up to the old toll booths that they have yet to demolish...so much for no traffic!

Even though by now it was 6:00 p.m. the vet's office was packed.  It has a small reception area and for some reason, people feel the need to bring their whole family with them. Thank goodness I am fully immunized and was wearing my mask and face shield or I would have waited outside until they were all gone.

It was another 35 minutes before they would call my name and bring Bonnie Mae. They administered a pain medication in the form of an injection.  She was very quiet on the way home and we did not encounter that much traffic to cross back to the USA.

When we got home I put her on the side porch but kept her in her pet taxi until she decided she was not having any of that and wanted out.  I noticed that her carrier had been washed at the vet's and there was still some water in it. I fed her and tried to keep her kittens away especially since I had already fed them. They now eat solid food but still want to be nursed in particular Donald who reminds me so much of Paquito when he was a baby and always wanted his mother's full attention...his siblings be dammed...but that is the way cats are.

In case you are interested here is the breakdown of today's charges. They are in Mexican Pesos. You can pay in dollars Mexican merchants love dollars but I always pay in Mexican Currency except for the dentist since he lets his regular patients pay by check.

Spay                                             1900.00

Shots                                              380.00

Pain shot                                          70.00  

TOTAL                                         2350.00  Pesos divided by an exchange rate of $18.00 

                                                      pesos to one American dollar equals $130.55 USD

To the above amount, I have to add two trips to Mexico at $4.00 each and two trips to the USA at $1.50 each that comes out to $11.00 dollars for tolls.

Today's exchange rates

Thank you for visiting Walter's World.

Cat Humor

Finally got Paquito neutered

I had to have Paquito at Clinica Veterinaria Chavarria in Ciudad Acuña between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. or lose my appointment.  I barely slept last night thinking he might pull a fast one on me like he did last month and go MIA (missing in action).

He was right by the kitchen door hoping to be served breakfast little did he know that was not possible since he had to be "fasting".  I was not ready yet but decided to place him in the cat carrier for fear he might go looking for food elsewhere.

Blogger JudithK gave me the best advice for quickly getting cats in their carrier.  Put the carrier upside down with the door facing the ceiling and simply drop them in. Quick and easy. However, nothing is easy with Paquito and he screamed, cried and clawed at the door.  I took the carrier outside and used an old nightgown to cover it and it helped to soothe him.

Parking is limited and I had to walk two blocks with him crying and moving side to side but we got him taken care of.  When I picked him up this afternoon he was calmer since he was still under sedation and had been given something for the pain. He slept all the way home.

When we arrived I gave him his food which he quickly consumed and then he went to his bed in the back bathroom / storage room / shed.

A reader e-mailed me asking how much I paid for Nico's surgery. In case anyone else is interested this particular vet charges $1,600.00 Mexican Pesos divided by today's rate of $17.30 equals $92.49 USD. This particular clinic takes your US dollars at $18.00 Mexican Pesos or $88.89 American Dollars. They also accept credit cards.

                                        Clinica Veterinaria Chavarria

                                        Matamoros No, 735 Sur

                                        Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila - México

                                        USA Cell Number  830-765-6312

It has been two days since his surgery and he seems to be doing well.  So well in fact that he did not even show up for breakfast.  I panicked and went looking for him but was unsuccessful. I did notice a bunch a bird feathers by the tree and I knew he must have had a tasty snack and was probably enjoying a nap.

Mr. Paquito finally showed up at 2:30 p.m. demanding to be fed!