Scamp Goes to The Vet

   One of the jobs I dislike the most is taking Scamp to the vet. When he was small it was not so bad. I put him into his carrier and he would fuss a bit on the drive to the vet. Once we got there he would tolerate the exam and shots with fairly good grace. The I would take him home and give him a treat.
  Then one day he decided that enough was enough. While undergoing his usual physical he starting making noises I've never heard him make before. He growled and hissed at the same time. He lunged and tried to bite the tech that was holding him. He screamed and twisted like he was possessed. Then he defecated on one of the vet tech's shoes.
  I was very upset. My other cats were very well behaved when taken to the vet. They minded their manners and expressed only slightly their dislike. My sweet, cuddly loveable Scamp had turned into a devil cat.
  What made it worse is that he was not like this at home. Most of the time he was well mannered unless he wasn't being given what he considered to be the correct amount of attention. What was wrong with him?
  After some trials and a few errors, we discovered the root of the problem. Scamp is a little territorial and doesn't deal with change well. He reacts to strange smells by peeing on them. He also does this to express his displeasure with something that he doesn't like. Once we realized this things became easier. We put him on fluoxetine to help with his behavior. We also used aromatherapy to keep him away from places he shouldn't be.
  Taking him to the vet still wasn't easy. In order to examine him they have to knock him out.
   Today I had to take him in for his yearly exam. Knowing that he would need to be knocked out, I didn't feed him. I put him in his carrier and listened to his loud meowing the entire trip to the vet. When we got there he looked at me through the door of his carrier with hate filled green eyes. He hissed.
  I answered a few questions about him and then the vet tech took him to the back for his exam. I read a book in the lobby.
  About 20 minutes later the vet came out. Scamp was ready to go. The vet told me that Scamp had behaved fairly well. He allowed them to look in his mouth and to do almost everything. He only got upset when the vet tired to check his belly. He's never been a fan of showing his underside. At that point they knocked him out.
  The vet suggested that we try giving him a new medication before his appointment. I was familiar with what she suggested. It's one used in humans although not for anxiety. I was pleased at the suggestion.
  I was even more happy that he was starting to behave a bit better. What we are doing is working. Maybe someday going to vet will no longer be a struggle.