Always check what the vet gives you

I almost didn't bother posting this, but on another forum I was reading about dangerous flea products and it reminded me of an incident earlier this week when I took Top Cat for his last set of kitten shots.

When I dropped him off in the morning (the kitten plan there requires drop offs) I bought a coupon for a free tube of advantage multi (the coupon specified cat version). When mom picked him up, he came home with dewormer (the Profender stuff in the tube) and Advantage Multi. I was supposed to apply them at least a day apart.

When looking at the Advantage tube, I noticed it looked to be a different color than last time (green instead of teal). Then I noticed it was Advantage Multi for DOGS. Knowing full well what dog products can do to cats, I refused to use it, so I went ahead and put the dewormer since at least that was the right kind.

I was going to demand the correct stuff myself, but mom volunteered to stop by after work (it is almost literally across the street from her work) and bring the dog stuff in. According to mom, she spoke the lady that processed us when we put Mons to sleep. She went and got the lady that apparently gave the incorrect medicine and told her that she has to 'be more careful'. So when I got home the correct medicine was already on the counter.

Then as I was getting ready to post this, I remembered Luna also got the wrong dose. I was buying a six month supply from the vet (Luna has a different vet - may switch after her contract is up) when I looked at the box. Even though the Banfield label specified it was the correct product, when looking closer I noticed that the box specified it was for 5.1 to 9 pounds (Luna gets the 9.1 to 18 pound one). I almost took it for granted since one time they put Hurricane's (sister's cat I was caring for) heartworm dose inside a pouch for the dog kind and after some asking and looking closer at the actual tablet foil discovered it was in fact the cat version. But I went further and opened the box and looked at the tubes and found that it indeed was the incorrect dose. Now, Luna was more fortunate because had I not bothered to check, at least she would have just gotten a small dose. But as for Top Cat, if I hadn't bothered to check and/or not known how dangerous dog stuff can be for cats (much more so for kittens) he could have been dead.

Stuff likes this makes me glad I never fail to question what the vet prescribes for my kitties.

heads up. I always check my meds, but take it for granted the vet gives the right stuff. Will be very conscious of what he gives me in the future.

Thanks for posting...

Like the poster above, I check my own meds....but don't always check the kitties meds.

Good thing you noticed the mistakes...

We all need to remember that anyone can make a mistake, so its best to double check, and question if you have any doubt at all.

Until the world is totally ran by robots/machines, I recommend double checking everything. Glad you did.

I check also and there have been problems.
I complained about one of the ladies at the front desk for messing up.
She gave Coco dog pill pockets by mistake and also gave some womens husband the wrong flea meds.
The husband did not catch it but the women did and came back.
Sasha also got pains meds that I thought were over due because the date on them.
We complained and they put the wrong date.
I went to the owner and complained about the lady at the front desk.
The vets are good there but the front desk is bad sometimes.
My husband called because Coco had blood in her urine and that same lady answered.
She had everything messed up again.
She put down that Cleo had blood in the stool when it was Coco with blood in the urine.
We got her in trouble.
After that they had a mandatory meeting and she got in trouble.

I've had that happen to me once....my cat was on clavamox...he still needed more...so I took him back to get more...the next morning I went to give him his pill had it in my hand ready to put it in his mouth but it didn't feel right....seemed larger...So I checked it was 4x's the amount...I wasn't happy...I took it back and was kinda mad ....the front desk ppl acted like it was fine...and the vet was never informed....UNTIL they messed up something else...then I brought it to the vets attention..he was unaware it happened...So its a good idea to check b4 giving it to our pets...ya never know

I also had one that could harm Bugsy... He was supposed to receive 1ml of antibiotics 2x/day, and the prescription label sticker said 10ml 2x/day.
When I went over the instructions orally with the vet tech, she said that the correct quantity was 1ml, and didn't know why the label said 10...
She then went inside to correct the mistake.
It makes me wonder how many times that happens, and how many people would just grab the meds and go home with it, without discussing with the vets... She was very nonchalant about it, as if it wasn't a big deal at all...

I also understand the occasional mistake since I sometimes do them at work . But also, and fortunately for others, I don't work for a vet office. There are some things that should never be allowed to happen. The wrong dose of cat meds probably was easy to make, but dog stuff being given to cats is a huge liability waiting to happen. That being said, it seems that a newbie processed Top Cat's check out. So hopefully, she'll learn not to do it again. Kitties' lives are at stake.

Good catch. I always double check the medicine and dosages since most of that information is available online. I haven't caught an error yet from the vet, but it's just as important to double check our fuzzypants prescriptions as it is to check our own. I always, always check out the names of the medicines I get at the pharmacy since I usually get generics. I was erroneously given an anti-nausea med instead of a cough suppressant by a very similar generic name when I had a really bad case of bronchitis once. When Zyrtec was prescription only, I got a fill for Zantac once... lesson learned to always double check any meds for myself or anyone else in the house. They acted like it wasn't a big deal when I brought the error to their attention, which was pretty annoying.

Geez, and we are supposed to trust the vet!

Okay. Playing devil's advocate a little bit. I work in a vet's office and it's easy to make mistakes with meds especially. Now, of course we always double check ourselves and I totally agree that owners should double check as well, but just know it's insanely easy to do. With all the commotion that goes on in a vet clinic as well as all of the drugs being very similar in look (bottles and actual tablets/tube/etc.), it's no wonder it happens.

I know nobody is bad mouthing anybody, but just a word from the other side of the issue.

But I definitely agree with all posters, double check every single time!!! Everybody can make mistakes.

of course we understand that everyone makes boo-boos

I am always polite at the vet even when I am mad at them

however, I worry about my babies and I hate to think of kitties being harmed.

Originally Posted by CatNurse22

Okay. Playing devil's advocate a little bit. I work in a vet's office and it's easy to make mistakes with meds especially. Now, of course we always double check ourselves and I totally agree that owners should double check as well, but just know it's insanely easy to do. With all the commotion that goes on in a vet clinic as well as all of the drugs being very similar in look (bottles and actual tablets/tube/etc.), it's no wonder it happens.

I know nobody is bad mouthing anybody, but just a word from the other side of the issue.

But I definitely agree with all posters, double check every single time!!! Everybody can make mistakes.

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I am sorry CatNurse22, but IMO mistakes that can harm one's life, human or animal, are non-acceptable. Yes, everybody makes mistakes, but if they are in fact as easy to make as you are saying, things need to change internally to assure that no pet will suffer from a system where mistakes are "insanely easy to do", quoting your words.
IMO, if ones job directly affect human or animal lives, then they need to have EXTRA attention and double/triple check everything they do; if they are not up to it, sorry, but their place is not in a hospital or a vet office.
I don't want to be mean, and I was not mean when the lady gave me the meds with a dosage 10x of what it should have been, but I guarantee you I will never set foot in that vet office again. And I will never recommend it to anybody either. I do everything with the utmost care to make sure my kitties are happy and healthy; I will not accept their doctor's office making a mistake that risks their lives and in the end consider it merely an "ops". Absolutely non-acceptable.