Cats flying to France

This afternoon I brought Manny to the vet for the first time. Manny doesn't like to leave the house and so I knew that both moving to Paris with him, and bringing him to the vet might be traumatic experiences as he has a high shriek that can be alarming in public spaces. I left the house planning on taking the subway due to my limited funds, but as I left the building I realized that a taxi might be a better option, and since there was one right there, we hopped in and rode to 72nd st and Broadway. We arrived and waited an hour to be seen, but he calmed down as soon as I stuck my hand in his carrier and we were no longer mobile. The offices had an old resident golden retriever named Toby and I asked the receptionist the most common animal names they hear, the list included: Coco, Shadow, Buddy, Cookie etc. When we finally saw the Vet, a young woman my age whose last name had "cloud" in it Manny seemed both curious and as well behaved as he's ever been- she must have been a sort of cat whisperer. He had to get two vaccinations and a micro-chip ID. I had to cover my eyes and grimace during his shots but they did not seem to faze Manny in the least as he neither moved or made a peep. The micro-chip had a huge needle and I can't believe it didn't hurt. The vet was as nice as they come and filled out all the paperwork occasionally fudging dates for me where needed. The bill was $242 which hurt, but I think having Manny with me in France will be worth it. Manny had a loud heart murmur which the vet told me I could go see a cardio-specialist about, but frankly my cat is still just a cat, and I am not in any position to spend money on a feline heart specialist or any ensuing bills, procedures or pills that go along with his heart murmur.

In the past I've mentioned my desire to get a dog, but after a visit to a friend with a 1 year old golden and spending an hour with a 6 or 7 dogs at the vet, I may be reconsidering this idea. The vet appointments alone will be a serious burden on my paycheck and although I had my golden as a child, they seemed to have gotten bigger and sturdier- and I hate dogs any smaller than beagles. There were a lot of people at the vet's office who I filed in the 'crazy' folder because every time their dog moved they did the sort of Kathy Lee Gifford 'isn't my kid so cute thing'. I like animals, but I also live in reality and have a life, I guess I feel like having more than one pet at a time might be over-doing it.