Since I've had Finley the wonder cat (going on 7 years), I've taken her for general checkups three times. She's had at least one teeth cleaning and several groomings, thanks to a dude at Banfield in Richardson, Texas, who grooms cats.

Yeah, I know. They groom themselves. Just not as well as this guy could.

Alas, Finley got her first trip to a vet since I moved to Norman in 2005 on Saturday. No, she wasn't sick. It was just time for a checkup and to get her caught up on vaccines.

For the record, I'm not keen on vaccines. Thankfully, neither was my newly found vet, at the Cat Clinic in Norman.

The DVM's assistant explained that the practice philosphy was to vaccinate as little as possible. The vaccine they were adamant Finley get was for a zoonotic respiratory disease, but I forgot the name of it.

They "recommended" a rabies vaccine only because the city can take your pet away if a visitor bitches about being scratched or bitten. So, I did that to avoid getting a murder charge against myself.

However, they advised against a feline leukemia shot and didn't recommend any others. Most of all, the vet and I saw eye to eye on a number of animal issues outside of vaccines, and given that her practice was cats only, I was sold.

Not sold though was Finley, who knew something was up as soon as the carrier was dragged from the laundry room to the door. It was like I had played a bad trick on her.

Well-behaved as always, she meowed and sighed and realized a trip was comin'. Once in the vet's office, Finley perked up a bit, well, until the doc checked her scent glands, which is akin to a prostate exam.

And the good doc gave Finley her shots in her hind legs because, she explained, vaccines can cause cancer in cats. So, if that were to happen, they would be able to deal with it better in the legs than in the body.

Overall, Finley got a pretty good grade for the day (B+), but some treatment is needed. First and foremost, she'll be going in for a dental procedure to extract two back teeth that are infected. Second, her diet needs a slight overhaul.

Slight overhaul: Is there such a thing as a "slight" overhaul?

When you see a pear-shaped cat, which is essentially what Finley is, it means that the proteins she is getting are not high quality. So, the doc hooked me up with some trial-size cans of wet food that are supposed to be top-notch.

The challenge is to get her to eat it. Like a lot of humans after they get vaccines, Finley is under the weather today. You can tell when animals don't feel well.

Or maybe she was just worn out from the big day. And like any big day we humans have, there are pictures. Photos that show what a good time Finley had, particularly the ones where she peeks under the door wondering where in the %&*#! she is.