Sprocket and I went to the vet today. Did I ever tell you about the last time he went to the vet? It was not a very fun experience. First of all, he wouldn't get out of his carrier. Then, once he was extracted from the carrier, he bit the vet tech who was there to weigh him. At that point, the vet tech decided that Sprocket could not be handled by just one person, so he wrapped him in a towel and took him into the back where they gave him his shots. I imagine that they had to physically restrain him. Then the vet came and talked to me and that's when she recommended that I put him on Prozac. I didn't, by the way. At the conclusion of the visit, Sprocket's chart was labelled with the word "Bites" and for emphasis, it was highlighted in orange.

Needless to say, I was not looking forward to today's visit. But now I have to say that I have never been so proud of my Sprocket-kitty as I am right now. He was a perfect angel. Seriously. Now his chart says, "Bites-- does well when handled gently; responds best with ladies." The girl who took him to the back to weigh him only got hissed at once, and that was more at me than at her (one of those "I can't believe you're doing this to me because you say you love me" gestures). Then when the vet came in for the exam, he rubbed up against her and just purred. She had no trouble examining his mouth, and he didn't even flinch during his first shot. His second shot elicited one hiss and showing of teeth, but it was over quickly. The entire time, Sprocket let the vet rub his head and scratch his chin. He didn't fight or anything.

Now we have a diagnosis. Sprocket has two conditions: rodent ulcer (hence the swelling of the lip-- btw, it has nothing to do with rodents) and chin acne (in cat years he's in his teens so I guess this is normal?) The doctor seems to think that his drooling was directly related to his happiness factor (happy cats tend to drool when they're being treated affectionately) and the only times I've noticed him drooling I was in the process of giving him a good head scratch. All we have to do is keep an eye on his lip and his chin and if it gets too swollen I can take him in for an allergy shot. Otherwise, he'll be okay.

The chewing is a little more difficult. The vet told me that sometimes cats chew as a nervous habit, much like people bite their nails or babies suck on pacifiers. It probably stems from some early cat-life trauma, like being taken from his mother too young or being abused early on (I keep wondering if this is my fault-- when I first got him there was a horrible collar-stuck-in-his-mouth incident. What if that one event has cursed him to a life of chewing things for comfort?) Anyway, there's really nothing we can do about it. She said it doesn't do any real damage to his mouth or his teeth (he has very clean teeth by the way- hardly any tartar at all).

Anyway, I am a very proud mother. I was so impressed by his behavior- I feel like I should cook him a special dinner or something. But, alas, I shouldn't do that. Mr. Sprocket good-natured kitty is also overweight-- he weighed in at over 15 pounds. The vet says he needs to lose about two or three pounds. Which shouldn't be a problem, seeing as my father is going to be watching him next week.

Isn't it amazing how time changes things? Sprocket has matured into a well-mannered, affectionate cat. I told my mom today that now I know how she felt when I made all those good grades during my school years-- being proud of your child (or cat) is a wonderful feeling.