Very true. I had one who fought so ugly we never took him back to the vet after the age of two. Of course he made it to 19.
Oof -- I've been lucky that none of our cats have ever been terrible fighters about getting put in carriers (though they've all complained vocally). Our daughter's cat, though, fights like mad, and she actually has a vet that does house calls.
Our first cat also made it to 19, and that spoiled us expectation-wise for all the others.
reply