A visit to the Regalado Veterinary Medical Clinic

Vaccination booklet

After Nougat arrived in our home, one of the first things I did was to get him checked out at the nearby veterinary clinic. It was also a chance to update Kitkat on his vaccinations which should have been done earlier in the year but I have totally forgotten. There are a lot of vet clinics near my place of residence but I figured that the best option was to go to the Regalado Veterinary Medical Center (the only criteria was that they were one of the bigger clinics in the area and they had a parking lot).

The vet looked at Nougat first and prescribed some vitamins to help him gain some weight. He was also a bit "pot-bellied" so they proceeded in giving him a deworming tablet. He deemed Nougat to be too light to be given the FVRCP shot (feline viral rhinotracheitis; "C" for calicivirus infection and "P" for panleukopenia) and we were asked to come back in a months time. He also noted that Nougat should be given his ARV (anti-rabies vaccination) when he will be 3 months old in 2 weeks time. Nougat was relatively well behaved and even stood on the scale without any fuss.

Kitkat's behavior was a different thing altogether. He was agitated on the ride to the clinic and when he was let out of his carrier, he tried jumping off the table. He struggled with the assistant holding him down and even lunged at the hand of the vet when it was near his face (the vet noted that Kitkat was very ill-tempered to which I just replied "Oh that's perfectly normal"). I had to help hold Kitkat's head while they were poking a thermometer in his butt to take his temperature (he didn't like that at all). He was given his overdue FVRCP shot and we were told to come back for a deworming dose since they didn't have the correct medication for the cat his size. He sulked at home the whole day when we came back and didn't even want to have his daily dose of vitamin gel which he normally likes.

Kitkat's booklet showing previous vaccinations

We came back for Nougat's ARV appointment and Kitkat's deworming dose after 2 weeks time. The attending vet this time was a cheerful lady who confirmed with me the scheduled activities based on their records. Nougat wasn't given the ARV shot however since I reported that he was sneezing the past few days (it has been unusually cold due to the constant stormy weather we have been having and she was concerned that his immunity might be down).

Kitkat was more agitated this time because there was this dog on the adjacent examination table barking incessantly. He again tried to bolt after being let out of the carrier and hissed angrily when he was being weighed. I again helped hold him so the vet could give the oral deworming dose (2 syringes worth). The assistant in the clinic gave me a small towel to wrap Kitkat in (he was swatting the syringe away with his paws). The vet can only give a little bit at a time so it took a while before the entire dose was completed. After I released Kitkat he hissed and took a bite at the offending towel which I left on the table.

After looking at Kitkat's records, she also noted that Kitkat's medical booklet from Malaysia indicated that his next ARV shot will be in 2019. She explained that different rules apply depending on whether rabies has been deemed controlled in the region. She said that in the Philippines, an annual ARV booster is required by government regulations. The 3 years frequency for ARV shots presumably applied only in Malaysia. I did recall that the ARV shot Kitkat got in Malaysia was for the importation permit requirements of the Philippines' Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry when Kitkat flew with me to the Philippines 2 years ago (that was in October 2016 - it is interesting to note that Malaysia lost its rabies-free status in 2017 when there were reported outbreaks in Sarawak). We decided to schedule both Kitkat and Nougat at the same time for the ARV shot when Nougat isn't sneezing from time to time.