on high-fiber diet food | especially swift veterinarian | chemicals

“So she has a taste for meat, eh?” one especially swift veterinarian said.

“You could say that,” I responded. “She would probably eat some of your forearm if it were seasoned properly.”

Surprisingly, none of the vets was terribly helpful. One suggested putting her on high-fiber diet food in an attempt to fill her up quickly and, the theory went, to control her appetite. No go. It just made her bloated. Another doctor asked me if I had considered storing my food somewhere else. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, and it made me wonder if he had a sock drawer full of sweaty bologna and mildewed cheese.

The last vet sent me home with a (rather expensive) contraption that she promised would do the trick. It was kind of like an air freshener that you plug into the wall. But instead of making the apartment smell nice, it was supposed to release chemicals to help control Rannie’s appetite and to keep her from overgrooming. (She’s obsessive-compulsive about grooming. Seriously.)

Alas, it didn’t work. I caught her in the fridge just the other night, and I think her grooming has actually increased. Plus, she scratches herself all the time now. On the positive side, though, I’ve noticed that I don’t scratch as much as I used to.