So Mom’s been saying she thinks I’m “overgrooming”…

It seems she noticed I was losing fur on my front legs, and some on my back leg. She saw it back in April, but decided to keep an eye on it for awhile.

It seemed she was always taking pictures of my front legs and texting them to Christy and Aunt Gail asking what they thought. She was trying not to look it up online, in case it was something she’d get scared about.

But eventually she did look it up, and there were a lot of pictures of cats with their fur on their front legs coming off just like mine. What she read said that we cats can become anxious or bored, and we can have a tendency to overgroom until some of our fur falls off. She decided to get one of these cat pheromone diffusers, and I have to admit that it created a relaxing atmosphere. We both thought my fur was starting to grow back.

But then, Mom became a librarian! She started going to the Christian school from 10:00 to about 3:00 just about every day. After her being home all the time for pretty much the past two years (it all started with “Social Distancing with Foster and Panda”), I wasn’t used to this at all.

As you know, I’m a pretty laid-back cat, and not much really scares me. You can tell by the way I sleep all stretched out with my tummy showing. That’s how cats sleep when we feel comfortable and not threatened. Then all of a sudden Mom started checking my tummy and said my fur was coming off there, too!

Finally she decided I was going to have to go see Dr. Duran. It was almost time for my yearly checkup and shots anyway, so she called and made my appointment early. Needless to say, as much as I love Dr. Duran, I was not thrilled about this development.

You know the drill. First she puts me in my cat carrier and then she puts Panda in there with me. We were almost late for our appointment because I put up a bit of a resistance. But we got there just in time, and we barely had to wait in the waiting room at all.

Once we were in the exam room, a nice lady came in and coaxed me out of my carrier. She needed to weigh me (13.3 lbs.) and take my temperature, which was normal. She checked my temperature in my ear, so that was a welcome change from last time. Then she said I could stay out until Dr. Duran came in.

We looked around, but there wasn’t as much to do in this exam room as there was at the Dr. Duran’s previous location. You can read “Checkup and Shots, Year 5” to see how we found her after not knowing where she was for a couple of years.

It’s never fun waiting for the doctor to come in.

Panda tried to entertain me by getting up on the scale. “I think my clothes are getting a little tight,” he explained. “I want to see if I’ve gained weight.”

“Dude!” I said irritably. “Get down from there. You’re going to get in trouble!”

Fortunately, Dr. Duran didn’t seem to notice that Panda was playing with the scale when she came in. She was happy to see us and said how big I was getting and how cute Panda’s clothes were.

In fact, she checked both of us out and said we were doing great! She and Mom discussed my possible “separation anxiety” and what we could do about it. She liked that we have the pheromone diffuser and suggested some tips for when cats have to stay home alone. She was happy to know that Panda is always there to play with when I’m by myself. After they had talked for a while, they said I could go back in my carrier to wait for my shots.

Panda kept a lookout while we waited. “I got you, Bro,” he said encouragingly. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Help!” he exclaimed a little later, “I’m in jail!” I was less than amused. “This is not funny,” I retorted. “You don’t have to get shots!”

When the technicians came in, I decided not to come out. I know I get my shots every year, but that doesn’t mean I’m always in the mood for them. Mom and the technicians tried everything, but I was not going to come out. It was then that they started taking the entire lid off the carrier! I heard Mom say something about “We don’t have a college education for nothing!”

I guess the best thing to do is just get it over with.

Unbeknownst to me, now they can give you your upper respiratory vaccines right in your nose! That was a disgusting turn of events! Finally we were done, and it was time to go home.

So now I’ve had my yearly checkup and shots. I’m sure Mom will keep you posted about my “overgrooming” issue. Until then, I’ll be on top of my ottoman looking cute!