Do You Have Your Veterinarian's Number Saved in Your Phone?
This morning got off to an adrenaline inducing start in the Cleland household. No sooner than my feet had made their way out of the blankets and onto the bedroom floor, than my husband burst into the room. He was rattled and anxious. Apparently, our oldest female cat Minx had vomited a hairball and then went into a state that found her unable to move while she peed herself. I was dressed and tossing the cat in a carrier in an instant. It was terrifying. She was not even meowing, just a listless mound of fur in the carrier.
As soon as we got in the car, I dialed our vet. I have the number saved in our phone just in case of emergency. I explained what happened and asked if they could see her right away. They are only five minutes from our home. If they hadn't been able to, I would have diverted to the emergency vet that is ten minutes away. That number is also saved in my phone.
Because I had called ahead, when I entered the hospital, a nurse was there to take Minx straight back. I didn't know it at the time, but the techs and vet were standing by to perform CPR on her.
Thankfully, there was nothing wrong. Sounds crazy, but when Minx strained to throw up that hairball, she had a vasovagal response that spun her into a prolonged episode of low blood pressure. My cat had passed out.
I was never so relieved as when my friend, Erika, a senior tech at the hospital, walked back into the exam room (where I was going over history with the intake nurse) with Minx alert and normal in her arms. We had seen Minx have a ten second vasovagal episode before, but nothing like we had today.
The vet told me to always default to bring her if it happened again. Better to be safe than sorry. And Erika chimed in with, "And make sure you call ahead like you did. That way we can be ready and know what we are dealing with when you arrive." That's when I found out how they had prepped an area and where ready to administer CPR to Minx.
So if there's a lesson that all my friends with pets out there can learn, it is to have your vet's number saved in your phone. Just like I did this morning, when there is an emergency, the number you can recall any other day from memory, will be gone.
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