I am planning to take Salem, my almost 2 year old "kitten", to the vet during their vaccine clinic day this Friday. I have planned it out the best I can, but I am really nervous. So, I guess I am here asking for some last minute advice or maybe just a little encouragement. I adopted Salem when she was only 4 1/2 weeks old after she was orphaned. It is just Salem and I in our little apartment. So, she has not been exposed to a lot of people and is essentially feral with anyone but me. She has not been out of our apartment since she was spayed more than a year ago. Since then, I have been the only to touch or even see her as she hides the second she hears to the front door open. I have no clue how she will act at the vet and to put more pressure on, the clinic is now charging an arbitrary "aggressive animal fee". I am worried about getting to the clinic in time to "reserve" a spot. This is a low income clinic and it is first come, first serve. They open their doors at 9 AM, but don't start taking patients back until 10 AM. So, Salem will have to be in her carrier for a while, in the waiting room filled with people and other animals. I bought her carrier when she was a year old, thinking she was pretty much full grown. Nope! She is now 15 lbs! (Yes, she is a bit overweight. I plan to discuss it with the vet.) So the soft carrier is a little cramped. I have to use a soft carrier as I walk with a crutch and need something with a shoulder strap to carry her. I know soft carriers are not ideal for many reasons, but I just can't carry a hard plastic one with 15 lbs of cat shifting around in it. This brings another big worry. I already have a bad hip on my right side, but I recently injured the muscles in my chest on the left side. At the moment, I don't have full use of my non crutch arm. A family member will be there with us, but they won't be able to help much. I am the only one Salem is going to let touch her. . . and she weighs 15 lbs. Salem likes to koala onto me and bury her little face in my neck when she is scared. I already know I am going to get shredded, but that does not really bother me. What does bother me is the feeling of betraying Salem's trust. She has no connection or trust in anyone, but me. Is she doing to hate me after everything is said and done? Is there anything I can do to not be the "bad guy"? Is there anything I can do to make this easier on Salem? I already ordered some pheromone spray (Feliway) and I made up a "diaper bag" with cat safe wipes and such in case of accidents. Salem is just so sensitive. I had to hold her down to cut out her first mat a few weeks ago. I had no choice, but to gently restrain her as the mat was rather large, tight to her skin and she was not cooperating. After I let her up, she just sat there, totally shut down. After an hour, she finally moved and hid for the rest of the day. For the next 3 days, Salem was afraid of me. I could not pet her, or even walk in her general directing without her running away. She is mostly back to normal now. But, that incident makes me fear how she will see me when we get home. Heaven forbid she need a bath because she soiled herself in the carrier.