“Androcles and the Lion Redux”

William

By: Gracee Arthur

One day, while attempting to give my cat William a much needed but unwanted pedicure, I noticed the beginning of an ingrown claw in the pad of his right paw. Unfortunately, because he had not been able to scratch his tree or scratcher box with that claw, the hard cover which usually falls off still remained in place. William likes a trip to the vet (which he seemed to require) even less than he enjoys his occasional pedicures by me (otherwise known as the lady who opens the can in the AM). Crisis! Do I drag him to the vet where he goes into “kill or be killed” mode resulting in the need
for a costly anesthetic, or have the Vet come to the house? The solution offered by Dr. Lisa (less costly than a Vet visit) was to have the “Cat Whisperer” come to the house and extract William’s claw from his pad.

On Tuesday afternoon Lance, a veterinary technician, arrived at my house with a three in one booster shot for my cat Minnie (who after checking him out from a distance happily showed him her spotted belly) and let him give her the shot while she sat relaxed on my lap. Surprisingly, William, usually more shy and cautious made his way down to meet Lance, as well. Lance petted him and they got to know each other before Lance placed William (a 25 lb Main Coon) on his lap.  Although Lance was poking and prodding at his paw and the imbedded claw, William did not run off. He did occasionally hiss and make lion like growls but no human was hurt. Finally, wrapped in a towel for the final stages of the nail removal and trim which was completed, William jumped off the couch retrieved his Greenie and headed into the kitchen. Before Lance left he went to say goodbye to William who was (in the way cats can be) invisible under a glass table. William came out looked
lovingly at Lance, who petted him and gave  him another gratefully accepted Greenie.

The events of that Tuesday brought to mind my favorite fable “Androcles and the Lion” where the slave Androcles, who escaped from the Romans, pulled a thorn out of a wounded lion’s paw only to have the lion return the favor when they meet again in the Coliseum. Lance you truly are the “Cat Whisperer” to my felines!

Lance is just one of the many wonderful staff members and Veterinarians at the Malibu Coast Animal Hospital. Dr, Dean Graulich, who heads the facility can attest to William’s not being an easy patient but he never gave up on him. Dr. Dean saved my dog friend Lady Alice Clayton many times and was there with me when I had to put down my 19 year old cat Lily. All the Vets, Drs, Dana, Lisa, Victor and Jim are kind and caring as well as terrific Vets. The office has state of the art equipment and provides many services including boarding of your pets. There are also a bunch of terrific Techs, who like the doctors, make house calls. Malibu Coast animal hospital is located at 23431 Pacific Coast Highway Malibu, adjacent to the Malibu Lumber Yard Shopping Center.

The phone number is 310-317-4560
www.malibuvets.com.

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