Vets, good and bad

[Jac]

Another article made me think of this.

Are vets "in it for the money"? I think some are and some aren't.
I left a vet's practise because she was obviously afraid of Blue. I took him for a booster and had a really nasty experience.

The vet I am with now is expensive but fantastic. When Blue became ill she new exactly what it was. She said she could run tests to confirm it but they were expensive and wouldn't make any difference to the out come.

I had another dog Sasha. Some of you will remember her story. Again the vet was fantastic. Sasha had hayfever. The vet told me to go to the chemist and buy our hayfever tablets and how much to give her as animals equivalent were expensive.
I would take my vets advise about anything. I trust her 100%.

[Darky]

I certainly think that some are in it for the money, due to various stories that I've heard. I think that our tiny village veterinary surgery is a Godsend, because my parents refuse to go to the one in the town over - because it is apparently totally overpriced and has terrible vets.

The surgery in the village has only one vet, and he's a lovely chap. On two occassions I have had pets die of unnatural, horrible causes and he has not charged me when putting them to sleep to end their suffering, once driving a long way to get to the surgery on an emergency visit when it was closed.

The only thing that used to bug me about him is the fact that he always spoke to my parents instead of me about issues with my pets, but he stopped doing that once he realised that I was paying the bills. XD

[Grete]

I think it depends on the vet, some of them are in it for the money, it's just a job etc. Some tho seem to have a genuine affinity for the animals they care for and as for costs - it's not always them that sets the bulk of the price of medicines and treatment, but the suppliers of medications etc that they have to deal with.

I think I have been really lucky with my vets practice.
I don't think they are any more expensive than some and they don't always charge for everything they do. When Squeak was first diagnosed and through 2 years of treatment, they bent over backwards to make life easier for her and when she was having to be tested twice daily sometimes plus blood pressure, they arranged to come out to me and only charged me half price for home visits etc.

They were upset when she passed on and even now a few years on, when I take the girls in for boosters etc, they remember me and my late girl. They also take time out to fuss the cats as well which I think is excellent.

[dandysmom]

I think it depends on the vets themselves. The Clinic I go to now is very large and rather impersonal, although I'm not implying that they're uncaring. The small one vet Clinic I used to go to was fantastic..he was extremely caring and obviously loved animals; used to fuss over them and make the visit a bit less stressful for the cats. I'm repeating a story I already posted in another thread: when Sultan was there for three days being treated for what turned out to be an incurable fungal lung infection, Dr. C. went out of his way to do what he could...consulted with specialists at the U. of Pa. School of Veterinary medicine where he had gone. And when it was obvious that Sultan wasn't going to make it, he called me at home Sunday (the Clinic was closed on Sundays), because he knew I'd want to be there. He came in and opened the Clinic for me so I could hold him as he was relieved finally of his pain. I have never forgotten that kindness.

[Moli]

My vet is not the cheapest by far but I have known her for the past 15 years, she looked after my previous 2 staffies and has looked after all the dogs and cats I have now from day one, we are good friends too, to me thats what is important..I completely trust her....

[Amber]

It definately does depend on the vets themselves, although the prices they charge can often be due to the overheads of the practice. In my experience working as a VN, I find that most people seem to think that the bills they pay, pay the vets wages and nothing else. Unfortunately for the vet that just isn't the case. There are as I said the overheads, and the wages for all other members of staff, including those you don't see such as cleaners (if the practice has them - the nurses take on all roles in our practice :-D)

As a practice, we're certainly not the cheapest around, although as our vet stated once to a client who was going on and on and getting very stroppy about the price of treatment (they'd not actually had any, just getting estimates for some) "we don't pride ourselves on being cheap, we pride ourselves on being good". I can honestly say our vet is fantastic, she will always do what is right for the animals, not what is right for herself which is what some vets seem to do. She won't encourage clients to let their animals go through unecessary procedures just to make the practice a bit of cash. You can see by how she works that it's really not just a job for her. She comes in at 8:15 in the morning, and is often there until 7:30pm at night.

[Annette]

I had a bad experience with my vets, which we had been using for quite a number of years. The one vet treated us very unfairly, they were a locum for that practice and after upsetting me I asked for a second opinion for my cat if we had not had that then we would not have known what he had died of.
Both my cats died this year one was put to sleep in August and the other I nursed at home after being treated badly by the vet.
A few weeks after my cat died I did write to them with my concerns , but I am still waiting for a reply.
I have found by recommedation another local vet.

[Tink]

agree with u lot about it depending on the vet...although i'd also like to add that it makes me lose faith in the vet when they push an rx food on you that you know you don't need and that you have read bad things about (if you are like me and are an obsessive freak about what my cat should eat..i could write a book with all the research...LOL) just to up your bill and get you to come back there to buy your food regularly.
i have worked at a vet in the past...one of the docs was good, the other two...well...if it made the client's bill larger was more important to them than the animal's welfare.
i do entrust a vet with my animal's health but i also always do my own research and take what they say with a grain of salt and don't let their word be final just because of the framed degree on the wall.

[Steph]

A good vet is wonderful. But some are better than others it`s true.

One of ours once got nasty blisters on his feet(cat not vet:) and our normal surgery suggested we had been careless and left something caustic around. Huh-as if. We took him for a second opinion and `pododermatitis` was diagnosed as a reaction to his food.

We have moved since and we have a great vet. When we got Cleo she went for her free health check(they do that for rescue cats) and the senior vet looked at her spaying stitches with something beyond disdain saying "who did this?"

The same vet saw Parsley when he went blind. He told us that it was not going to be easy but there was a chance that if the bloods were OK and we could get his BP down the retinas might re-attach-they did. Even an experienced and senior vet was thrilled.

Same vet with `Rags` who really was a mess when I found her. He said things could be done but warned it would not be cheap and refused to do anything for a week in case she wandered off.

[calismum]

I can only praise my vet(s). Large practice but I see three vets there. They know all my animals and one of them gets down on the floor to give the dog a cuddle before he even starts to examine her. They've phoned me at night after evening checks tolet me know an animal in for an op is ok. They respect my wishes when I've had to make hard decisions. All in all they are great. Not the cheapest in town but not the dearest either.

I recommend them to everyone.

[meep]

I've recently been to the vet with my dear Chaska, who was put down last week. About 2 months ago we took her in as she was losing weight and not cleaning herself etc. (Turns out she had CRF). She never, ever liked the vets, and despite being teeny (the size of a 7 month kitten) she could snarl as much as any cat!

So we took her into the vet, and she was obviously quite distraught but very weak and so wasn't as volatile as normal. She did hiss and once swiped with her paw and the vet jumped a mile and looked very shakey. She then asked me to hold her down, and see if I could calm her. And the whole time she looked very edgy and scared of the cat.

I appreciate cats can be lethal with those claws and teeth, and I was more than happy to help calm Chaska down, but the impression I got was that she didn't want to go near Chaska. What sort of vet is too scared to go near a hissing cat?!

[angieh]

So sorry meep - your post made me chuckle, and in reply to your last question, I might reply "A wise one!"

Had an experience of a sweet vet nurse nearly being bitten and skewered by Merlin a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, he bit me instead. But I do agree, animals that are taken to the vet tend to be in need of attention and may be feeling sick or at least afraid of what's going on. You would think that would be something their training would address.

[pinklizzy]

I have to say that I tend to be fairly careful when dealing with stressed/angry cats since a bite ended up in my being hospitalised!

[meep]

That does make sense pinklizzy, and I do appreciate the safety aspect. I'd taken Chaska several times to our vet practice, and on different occasions there had been different vets. Whilst the other vet was cautious in approaching her, she used a towel and was still quite in control of the situation. Despite Chaska hissing and scratching, she wasn't harmed herself.

The difference with the last vet I went to see was that she seemed terrified to approach her and kept jumping, and was happy to see her back in her box, and to be honest, seemed happier to see the back of us. I didn't explain it very well, but I guess I felt a bit disgruntled that my wee girl had been diagnosed with something that is life threatening, she was very upset and in pain, yet the vet didn't want to go near her or seemed that bothered by her, and was more concerned about getting us out the door. It did seem different to caution and carefulness, and seemed much more like pure fear.

Very puzzling, as like I said, I'd expect all vets who go into the line of work to be aware of the risks involved when dealing with angry animals and to maybe realise a fear of cats won't sereve them well?

[meep]

Also, Chaska that time round was a lot less stressed and angry than she had been on previous occasions. She was very weak, so whilst she growled and hissed, she only swiped once and missed, and thereafter didn't scratch as she was too weak.

I just think the way the vet reacted to this was unusual.

[meep]

So sorry meep - your post made me chuckle, and in reply to your last question, I might reply "A wise one!"

Had an experience of a sweet vet nurse nearly being bitten and skewered by Merlin a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, he bit me instead. But I do agree, animals that are taken to the vet tend to be in need of attention and may be feeling sick or at least afraid of what's going on. You would think that would be something their training would address.

:lol: I do agree angie! I know most people wouldn't go near a hissing, angry cat with a barge pole, but as I said in my response to pinklizzy, the way the vet approached Chaska when she was upset was different to the way I've seen any vet approach an angry cat before, and I do feel her treatement of Chaska that day was compromised by her apparent fear of her.

[meep]

Also, as I mentioned, Chaska was TINY. Positively. She was an eternal kitten who had very small claws and teeth. Whilst they are still sharp and sore, she was never half as terrifying as our old boy we used to have, who could probably tear his way through a towel if we wrapped him in it :roll:

[angieh]

I agree the way you and Chaska were treated by that vet sounded very much like she was terrified by your poor cat (probably by all cats!) Seems like a strange profession to go into if you are scared and, as I said before, you would think that such issues would be addressed during veterinary training. Mind you, I have come across human doctors who obviously don't like people very much! (or perhaps it was only sick people).

[meep]

Mind you, I have come across human doctors who obviously don't like people very much! (or perhaps it was only sick people).

:lol:

Reminds me of a teacher I had at school who didn't like children :roll:

[calismum]

Sorry for your loss meep. Many years ago I went to a different practice than now and the vet was very wary of the dog I had at the time. (she was a big softy but looked 'the part') the dog always was on edge and it was just not a good experience for either. Same with the cat, the vet was very much arms length.

When I moved to my current great vets the attitude to the animals was very positive, talked to them, hugs and chatting to me. Strong positive handling of the cat and dog. - - No problems. So I do think it has a good deal to do with attitude and handling. Tho'one cat I had required very positive handling and a brave attiude!!

CM

[pinklizzy]

Confident handling is definetely a must! All animals will react to any anxiety you project when handing them-which is why I'd usually use a towel or similar, it doesn't really offer much protection but it makes me feel braver!
I agree with you Meep that the way your vet dealt with Chaska was not very professional.

[meep]

Thanks CM, finding a good vet must be a god-send. The one I described was the one at home, in a different city to where I live with my two boys now. I'm just wary that in a large city, there are more vets and it might be harder to find the right one?

Pinklizzy, I know what you mean about the towel :lol: it doesn't actually offer much protection but a cat claw through a towel rather than your bare skin is always slightly more reassuring.

Not sure if the vet we saw that day was maybe standing in, or new, or normally dealt with farm animals etc? I'd never seen her before or since.

[Kay]

Todays trip to my vets put this thread in my mind and how you can have good and bad vets at the same clinic.

Last week I took Lyle to have a health check as I do with all new cats I get. In particular I wanted his heart listened to, with what has happened to Tate lately. I explained this to the vet as it was a different one to the one that is dealing with Tate. She tried to listen to Lyle's heart for about 1-2 minutes and then gave up saying " I can't hear a thing as he won't stop purring". Not a very successful visit.

Today Kirah was having her last jab and Tate was having a check up with Ceri, the other vet who has dealt with Tate all along so knows my concerns, so I took Lyle as well. She took 15 minutes trying different things to get him to stop purring while she listened. She held him close, put her hand over his nose, used some surgical spirit on cotton wool wafted under his nose but to no avail. Lyle just carried on purring. She then dealt with Kirah and Tate. Next she went and got some AD on a saucer, explaining that it is hard for them to feed and purr, at last it worked. Lyle ate the AD, no purring and Ceri got to listen to his heart which is clear. Just that extra time, care and patience payed off and not literally as she didn't even charge me for Lyle.