Balls!

TypePad ate my first version of this post, leaving me nearly apoplectic. IF I SINK ENTIRE MINUTES INTO POSTING ABOUT MY CAT'S NADS, I WANT IT TO SHOW UP.

Tomorrow, Wicket loses these:

I only post a picture of these testicles because they are, and I can say this with absolute certainty, the most troublesome testicles I have ever encountered. They are definitely the only testicles someone has ever threatened to sue me over.

To backtrack a bit: we got Wicket from the MHS (Michigan Humane Society). Part of the adoption agreement is that you will have the animal sterilized, usually within a certain amount of time (I can't remember what it is for sure, a couple months?). We signed the agreement with the full intention of getting him fixed soon. Our options were to let the MHS do it for free or our own vet to do it for super-cheap. (Truly. I have enough fingers and toes to count the number of dollars our vet charges to lop off the balls of a kitten.) After seeing how many animals are constantly shuffled through the MHS (a lot) and being treated badly by every single staff member we encountered, we decided to stick with our own vet, whom we adore.

The catch was that our vet wouldn't sterilize Wicket until he was six months old. I checked with the MHS to see if this was acceptable, and they grudgingly agreed it was. I got a letter once or twice asking if he was still fertile, and I called them both times to remind them of the plan -- both times they said it was okay. As far as I knew, everything was fine up until the time that we got a letter threatening to start legal action to remove Wicket from our care and take a bundle of money from us if he wasn't fixed yet. Luckily, his appointment to turn him into a eunuch was a week and a half away, and my vet (very kindly) offered to personally call the MHS and explain the situation to them. The MHS (again) grudgingly agreed and then huffed and puffed for awhile about checking back, oh they would be checking back -- they would check back like no one had ever checked back before, and by God, that kitten had better be ball-less.

Long story short: apparently, my cat's balls are a big deal.

(A serious sidenote: I would strongly reccommend avoiding the MHS, or at least the Rochester branch. They are hard to deal with, seem far more concerned with following rules and doing paperwork than caring for animals, and will hound you for donations until the day you die. Plus, when we adopted Wicket, we had to pay extra for several tests (including feline leukemia virus) to make sure he was healthy. That seems weird to me, that they didn't test for FeLV to begin with. The podunky little shelter we got Momo from tested for FeLV, vaccinated against it (including a whole host of other vaccinations), and cost far less to adopt from than the MHS.)

Comments

[Em]

its unfortunate that the shelter is being a pain. its places like that which give people headaches and encourages them to go elsewhere for their animal adoption needs. good thing wicket got such a good home with you! :)