Just HORRIBLE...

sunfairie

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...our vet visit today


I decided to try a different vet to save money on my kits care and it was THE biggest mistake ever. This vet's office was very nice and their prices for boosters were a little lower than my other vet office; as well, very close to home (I drive about 20 minutes to my other vet).

The boys were due for their last FvCRP and rabies..

This tech (and then vet) convinced/pressured me that I had to have the babies tested for the FeLV (not that I had to have them vax'd but just tested).
I told them I told the other office no and it was no problem...the tech gave me such a guilt trip not for not wanting to test them; telling me I am putting my colony at a HUGE risk..basically put it if I love my kits so much why would I not test them...

I had both my human kids there with me and felt so on the spot, that it was not cool at all.

I caved and said OK.\t


SO this vet cannot find Cumulous's vein on the first try, nor the 2nd, 3rd or 4th..by the 5th time he switched legs and at this point Cumi was not happy..I felt horrible!! I cannot believe I just stood there! I only commented "oh my you cannot get his blood (on his second try)?"\t


He and his tech had a hold on him and I was holding Coconut because Coconut was going crazy because of Cumulous screaming. It was horrible.


They gave him back to me when they were done and the vet did say he was sorry it was so awful and said he never has had that much of a problem getting blood.

When it was Coconut's turn the vet did get his on the first try. Both the poor boys were so shaken.

The tech put Coconut on the floor and let him walk with his bandaged leg and said "look isn't funny how they limp around with that on?"..and I thought..no that is not funny...\t


Pumpkin was not along for this ride as she already has her shots in. Lucky kitty...

so after all this the tests came out negative which I knew they would and they sent us on our way.

good gravy what a day...
 

addiebee

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They were just trying to make some money. after two tries I would have said nope- stop... not doing it. We're leaving.

And what the tech said was thoughtless and stupid. I wouldn't go back.
 

misskiwi67

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How can you be SURE they weren't positive? Did they come from a certified FeLeuk/FIV free cattery?

FIV/FeLeuk testing is considered standard of care for kittens at most high quality clinics. They should have let you say no without a guilt trip, but still... its not their fault they tried to do whats best.

As for not hitting on the second try... kittens are tough, and even tougher when they wiggle. I'm only surprised they drew the blood in front of you (we take all blood draws to the back room), which allowed them to get flustered, feel bad, and make poor taste comments to attempt to lighten the mood. They're only human after all...

This doesn't sound like a horrible vet at all to me... it just sounds like one of those visits that could have been smoother. Welcome to life with animals...
 

ninacaliente

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I'm sorry you and the boys had such a bad experience, and that you were made to feel like a bad meowmy. It sounds like the staff were trying to do what they thought was best for the kitties, but going about it in the wrong way. If they felt you were making an ill-informed decision, they should've given you the rationale for their advice without putting you on the defensive. I think a good relationship with your vet is important, and if you don't feel comfortable with the staff, don't go back to that clinic.
 

fluffee

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I would not allow a human to hit that many times on me much less some dang vet hit my cats.

You did not say whither or not your cats were indoor or out. To me, indoor cats are in no danger of this disease unless you bring in another cat before testing them.

I get my babies shots at the SPCA here in Central FL and they are big on that. But my local vet is very good about not asking and knowing we don't get our shots from him but he gets all our emergency problems.

Please warn others about this vet, sometimes maybe lost of business will wake him up. it is a shot.

Fluffee
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by Misskiwi67

As for not hitting on the second try... kittens are tough, and even tougher when they wiggle. I'm only surprised they drew the blood in front of you (we take all blood draws to the back room), which allowed them to get flustered, feel bad, and make poor taste comments to attempt to lighten the mood. They're only human after all...

This doesn't sound like a horrible vet at all to me... it just sounds like one of those visits that could have been smoother. Welcome to life with animals...
I have yet to visit a vet that took my cat away from me to a back room to draw blood or give an injection. The only exception was when they were preparing one of our babies for euthanasia. They took him to the back to shave his leg and give him the relaxant and then brought him back to me so I could spend some time with him before he had to go.

For these people to put the guilt trip on a customer is, IMO, nasty. I would never take my cat to someone like this again.
 

green bunny

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I would call them back, ask for the owner (and acccept no one less) and tell him or her your experience (including the vet tech's comment), and that you will never be coming back.

I'm sorry it was so horrible.

Tricia
 

arlyn

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I do not allow any vet to perform routine blood draws etc unless I am there.
Too many people I know have been lied too about what has been done to their pets, or worse.
I actually lost a dearly loved young parrot to a blood draw not done in my presence, and by a board certified avian vet no less.
I simply will not allow it ever again.


I am sorry you had such a horrible experience at this vet and that they felt the need to pressure you into something you felt was not needed, that's just poor customer service all around.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by Arlyn

I am sorry you had such a horrible experience at this vet and that they felt the need to pressure you into something you felt was not needed, that's just poor customer service all around.
i would've told them they could do the testing if it eased their minds, but i would not pay for any testing i felt was unnecessary. then, every time the person attempted the 'guilt trip', i'd repeat my statement. this technique is known in education as the 'broken record' technique. you don't vary tone or word choice from your initial statement. you just continue to repeat it, as if the person had not understood you the first time.

works really well on phone solicitors, too.
 
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sunfairie

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I am not going back..


My cats are indoors ONLY...


NinaCaliente Thank you I agree....

Misskiwi67..no I was not 100% sure, but I had a gut feeling and my gut is always right-call it mamma intuition
Yes- they are human...but they were not being very nice humans that day...unfortunatley for me and Cumi, I got them on a bad day.

If someone says no why can't that be left as is when we are paying them money??

They just keep pushing and pushing to the point where it is not a customer service issue at all any more. It is a power struggle. Passion is good when used right. In the wrong mind is not good for any establishment. The line between passion and power because you wear a certain hat is easy to cross. Being in a position of an educator over people and the choices they make needs to be used wisely when it comes to health care and unbaised to what their choices are with the person chooses differently standing in front of them.

I understand that they want to look out for my kits, but theyshould have said things differently and not treated me like a terrible owner due to my choices.

I am seeking vet care for my kits and they were getting other boosters and the rabies vax. I would have liked them to look at me as mother of 2 human babies who is also caring for furbabies..not some uncaring owner that is trying to wear the hat of the vet.

I am just making educated choices for my family. It is just frustrating when some in the medical community(people or fur) get their panties in a bunch when their patients make decisions on their health care or those under their care that do not go along with what they think should be.

It should have been my choice. If I did not get them tested and they turned out positive and got sick I suffer the conesquenses. Not them.

My Mothers cat had the FeLV test (tested negative) and the got the vax and was sick for over a month. It was horrible. We just brought her home for her too.
I do not understand why such vax are needed on a healthy cat when they can actually make them sick.

It happens to human babies too.
My son is living proof of that.
 
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sunfairie

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Oh wow ..all these other posts came in after I hit send on the one above or I would have replied then..so thank you above for the support.



laureen227 I really like the broken record statement..
I am going to keep that in mind if I ever need it again..THANK YOU..

and Arlyn so sorry to the loss of your bird..that is horrible!
 

kit e cat

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I don't understand why you didn't want the felv test done? A feline aids and leukemia test is pretty standard, and one that is pretty important IMO. Every one of my cats and fosters gets it, as it can be easily passed on to other cats, whether your cats are all indoor or not. Putting a potentially positive cat with other cats IS a huge risk. And in all my experiences, cats are not the easiest to get blood from. But all of mine, and trust me, there have been many fosters come through my door, are fine by the time they get home.
 

misskiwi67

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Originally Posted by Fluffee

I would not allow a human to hit that many times on me much less some dang vet hit my cats.
Yeah... but we can TELL YOU what is happening and why you need to sit still. If you can't hit a giant vein on a human sitting still WITH A TOURNIQUET, then you are incompetent.

If you can't hit a teeny tiny vein on a wiggling kitten, you're having a rough time of it. Don't judge until you've tried it... getting blood from kittens is the toughest blood draw there is second only to morbidly obese animals that make you do a blind stick.

I still say this vet was giving standard of care and the technician alone may need to tone it down a bit. Telling all your friends they did a horrible job so they lose business is absolutely uncalled for.

Just so everyone knows... losing business isn't a hint. Getting a card or phone call explaining how you felt is a hint and would be MUCH more productive.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by Misskiwi67

Yeah... but we can TELL YOU what is happening and why you need to sit still. If you can't hit a giant vein on a human sitting still WITH A TOURNIQUET, then you are incompetent.

If you can't hit a teeny tiny vein on a wiggling kitten, you're having a rough time of it. Don't judge until you've tried it... getting blood from kittens is the toughest blood draw there is second only to morbidly obese animals that make you do a blind stick.

I still say this vet was giving standard of care and the technician alone may need to tone it down a bit. Telling all your friends they did a horrible job so they lose business is absolutely uncalled for.

Just so everyone knows... losing business isn't a hint. Getting a card or phone call explaining how you felt is a hint and would be MUCH more productive.
Be that as it may, I would never take my cat back to a vet /office like that one and would certainly advise any of my friends not to as well. There's no excuse for that kind of treatment and stress on the owner as well as the cat.
 

misskiwi67

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

Be that as it may, I would never take my cat back to a vet /office like that one and would certainly advise any of my friends not to as well. There's no excuse for that kind of treatment and stress on the owner as well as the cat.
No excuse? What if its a sick kitten, or a farm kitten? There are LOTS of good reasons to draw blood from a cat, no matter how much they wiggle and scream. Its for their own good and its REALLY unfortunate we can't explain that to them beforehand.

As for stress on the owner... thats why you take the cat to the back room.
 

sakura

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Originally Posted by Kit E Cat

I don't understand why you didn't want the felv test done? A feline aids and leukemia test is pretty standard, and one that is pretty important IMO. Every one of my cats and fosters gets it, as it can be easily passed on to other cats, whether your cats are all indoor or not. Putting a potentially positive cat with other cats IS a huge risk. And in all my experiences, cats are not the easiest to get blood from. But all of mine, and trust me, there have been many fosters come through my door, are fine by the time they get home.
This doesn't make sense to me either. They were just trying to do what was in your cat's best interest. Just because you had a 'gut feeling' that they were negative doesn't mean you shouldn't have them checked. Also, there's a reason most vets don't have you in the back room while they draw blood. It's not because they are afraid of messing up in front of you, it's because they know how hard it is for pet owners to watch their pets have it done.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by Sakura

This doesn't make sense to me either. They were just trying to do what was in your cat's best interest. Just because you had a 'gut feeling' that they were negative doesn't mean you shouldn't have them checked. Also, there's a reason most vets don't have you in the back room while they draw blood. It's not because they are afraid of messing up in front of you, it's because they know how hard it is for pet owners to watch their pets have it done.
Unfortunately I believe a lot of vets do unnecessary tests and procedures to get more money.

I have a wonderful vet and trust her implicitly so don't think I'm against vets. When my cats go to our vet, they see our vet not a technician. When anything is done to our cats, it is done by our vet in the treatment room with the cat and us - the owners (except for an operation of course). We often will hold the cat while the vet does the shots or draws blood just so kitty is more comfortable. Maybe there are some owners that don't want to see what is being done to their cat, but they should have the option of being there if they choose to be. As in everything, some vets and vet techs are just better than others.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by Sakura

This doesn't make sense to me either. They were just trying to do what was in your cat's best interest. Just because you had a 'gut feeling' that they were negative doesn't mean you shouldn't have them checked. Also, there's a reason most vets don't have you in the back room while they draw blood. It's not because they are afraid of messing up in front of you, it's because they know how hard it is for pet owners to watch their pets have it done.
it really doesn't matter whether the owner's decision was the correct one... she should not have been pressured so strongly to change. one suggestion would've been enough.

 
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sunfairie

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Originally Posted by laureen227

it really doesn't matter whether the owner's decision was the correct one... she should not have been pressured so strongly to change. one suggestion would've been enough.

Sorry I have been MIA here....busy..

anyway..that you laureen this is exactly my point.


Yes, they may want to do what is in my pet's best interest, but what tests and vax are to be done on my kits is still my choice-again like I have said previously. I should not be berated for not getting every stinkin' test and vax in the pet med book. I do believe the almighty dollar has a hand in this.

If I have researched and weighed the pros and cons with the vet and still choose to not have a test done, that is my choice. It should not be forced upon me, nor made me to feel like an inadequate pet owner. I have saved 3 kittens (an an adult cat) from becoming another statistic and left to roam the streets and reproduce more. Why do they not see that?
I also wonder this; If it is such a standard test, then why are the shelters not doing it?
They de-worm and do FVCRP boosters. Standard shots and tests.
I know money is very tight for the facilities and I am NOT KNOCKING shelters. I am just putting this point out there.

I do want to be with my kits when they get shots blood work ect...It is important to me too Yosemite.

When the vet stopped after the 3rd left the room to change needles (he thought the needle was the issue as well) the tech gave Cumi to me and I had him calmed in seconds. When the vet came back in she took him away from me again and held him screaming while the vet tried for the 4th and the final 5th time.

Misskiwi67
if my kits were ill or had signs of something going on of course by all means- test away.
Blood work is important when needed or suspected illnesses involved. Outside cats are different than indoor cats. I think everyone here at TCS would agree.


Sablemerle
No, I have not done anything yet..I wanted to run it by my cousin who is a vet tech but I have not been able to get a hold of her. She would be a good source for me to discuss the best route to go with this.


Kit E Cat
I am happy you have found what works for you and your family. Thank you for being a foster home to so many. If I were in your shoes I can see myslef making similar choices.

 
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