WARNING: Full-out rant ahead.
So Milo's third set of kitten shots was due today. I recently adopted him from this local veterinary clinic which said it had "healthy kittens needing adoption." My boyfriend and I paid the adoption fee, and were told that when we brought him back we would not owe anything for his following kitten rotations due to adopting him from there. Even if we were told that we would have to pay for his vaccs, I wouldn't have minded.
Anyway, I called a week ago to make an appointment and was told "Just bring him in, we're a walk-in only clinic." I've heard of these, but they are only extremely small, or are emergency vet hospitals. This is a practice of medium size with two veterinarians. My suspicions were raised because I've never really seen something like this in the 6 years I've worked for a veterinarian.
I bring him in and was not told who the vet was going to be that will treat him. I get into the exam room and waited for a while. She finally came in, asked me the cat's name. She then picked him up and proceeded to leave the room. I protested, knowing that most cats are calmer when their owners are with them. She told me no, it will only take a few minutes. I then said that I really wanted to be with him, and I'm used to seeing things because I have worked for a vet previously. She then was even more adamant about me not coming back there. So, not wanting to get on her bad side, I sat down and waited. Thinking that this would be a simple vaccine checkup, I estimated it would take about 10 minutes. I was mistaken--I ended up being there for 45 minutes!
Meanwhile, I hear Milo's "I want Mommy or Daddy" meow that he rarely gives. Then, I hear a big cat yowl and scream. I dunno if it was him, because he's never made so much as a peep of aggressive noise toward us or anyone he meets.
She then brings him back into the room, dumps him on the table and tells me "he's due for his final round on the 26th." As she turns to walk out I stop her, asking if there were any problems. She then tells me that he has ear mites, explains to me not to clean his ears because she put in this "solution" for ear mites that works once. I've never heard of this, nor have I heard the instructions to NOT clean a cat's ears when they have mites. She then tells me that they treated him for worms, which he apparently had when I adopted him. I was never told this. She never told me what type of worms they were either. I've examined his poop before, so I know it's not tape or round worms. I tell her what I've been feeding him [Nutro Naturals Dry Kitten Indoor formula mixed with wet Wellness for Kittens]. She actually encouraged me to "wean him off the wet" because it doesn't add anything to his nutrition, and even though I feed him dental treats and some hard food he'll still get teeth problems. Ooooooh that made me mad, but I kept silent, even though I was itching to call bull@#$& on her.
I then asked her about neutering since both of his testicles were descended and he was 5lbs. She remembered as if it were an afterthought and told me that he was ready to be neutered. She then told me the cost:
$158!!!! Not including meds or pre-anesthetic blood work. Good lord, that's more expensive than I've ever seen!
Oh yeah, remember how I was told that I owe nothing for his sequential kitten shots? Psh, they went back on that promise real quick. Owed $100 for this visit.
Poor Milo. He was so stressed in this atmosphere. He practically leaped into my arms. Now he's laying on the bed by the window seal, recovering from this ordeal which was stressful for the both of us. I am changing vets ASAP. I might even just take him to the Vet School small animal clinic at my university. Anything would probably be more pleasant and cheaper than this place!
So Milo's third set of kitten shots was due today. I recently adopted him from this local veterinary clinic which said it had "healthy kittens needing adoption." My boyfriend and I paid the adoption fee, and were told that when we brought him back we would not owe anything for his following kitten rotations due to adopting him from there. Even if we were told that we would have to pay for his vaccs, I wouldn't have minded.
Anyway, I called a week ago to make an appointment and was told "Just bring him in, we're a walk-in only clinic." I've heard of these, but they are only extremely small, or are emergency vet hospitals. This is a practice of medium size with two veterinarians. My suspicions were raised because I've never really seen something like this in the 6 years I've worked for a veterinarian.
I bring him in and was not told who the vet was going to be that will treat him. I get into the exam room and waited for a while. She finally came in, asked me the cat's name. She then picked him up and proceeded to leave the room. I protested, knowing that most cats are calmer when their owners are with them. She told me no, it will only take a few minutes. I then said that I really wanted to be with him, and I'm used to seeing things because I have worked for a vet previously. She then was even more adamant about me not coming back there. So, not wanting to get on her bad side, I sat down and waited. Thinking that this would be a simple vaccine checkup, I estimated it would take about 10 minutes. I was mistaken--I ended up being there for 45 minutes!
Meanwhile, I hear Milo's "I want Mommy or Daddy" meow that he rarely gives. Then, I hear a big cat yowl and scream. I dunno if it was him, because he's never made so much as a peep of aggressive noise toward us or anyone he meets.
She then brings him back into the room, dumps him on the table and tells me "he's due for his final round on the 26th." As she turns to walk out I stop her, asking if there were any problems. She then tells me that he has ear mites, explains to me not to clean his ears because she put in this "solution" for ear mites that works once. I've never heard of this, nor have I heard the instructions to NOT clean a cat's ears when they have mites. She then tells me that they treated him for worms, which he apparently had when I adopted him. I was never told this. She never told me what type of worms they were either. I've examined his poop before, so I know it's not tape or round worms. I tell her what I've been feeding him [Nutro Naturals Dry Kitten Indoor formula mixed with wet Wellness for Kittens]. She actually encouraged me to "wean him off the wet" because it doesn't add anything to his nutrition, and even though I feed him dental treats and some hard food he'll still get teeth problems. Ooooooh that made me mad, but I kept silent, even though I was itching to call bull@#$& on her.
I then asked her about neutering since both of his testicles were descended and he was 5lbs. She remembered as if it were an afterthought and told me that he was ready to be neutered. She then told me the cost:
$158!!!! Not including meds or pre-anesthetic blood work. Good lord, that's more expensive than I've ever seen!
Oh yeah, remember how I was told that I owe nothing for his sequential kitten shots? Psh, they went back on that promise real quick. Owed $100 for this visit.
Poor Milo. He was so stressed in this atmosphere. He practically leaped into my arms. Now he's laying on the bed by the window seal, recovering from this ordeal which was stressful for the both of us. I am changing vets ASAP. I might even just take him to the Vet School small animal clinic at my university. Anything would probably be more pleasant and cheaper than this place!
