Problem with multiple veterinarians

I have recently come to realize that the veterinarians I have come to trust and like are not very knowledgeable. I have confirmed this with many members of several online groups for cats with kidney and heart problems. I have also confirmed this after reading several articles and studies, some of which were found in the Merck Veterinary Manual.
This brings me to several problems:

1) This means that all four veterinarians I have taken my cats to for serious illnesses don't know what they're doing when it comes to those serious illnesses. This makes me wonder if there are any knowledgeable veterinarians and if so, how do I go about finding them? Two of the veterinarians I've seen and currently go to were highly recommended by people I know and trust as well as by online reviews. I think the reason why these vets have good reviews is because most pet owners don't bother to actually research their pets' illnesses. They just automatically believe whatever the vet tells them. I used to be like that until I became suspicious and discovered a vet was lying to me.

I don't know that I would be able to find another vet who I can trust and who is actually knowledgeable. It's hard to know how knowledgeable and trustworthy a vet is until things start getting serious and sometimes by then it's too late. What am I supposed to do, quiz and interview them prior to setting up an appointment?

2) One of the veterinarians I have a problem with is someone I like as a person. I totally trust her with my cats and know she would never intentionally hurt them. She honestly cares about them and was even visibly upset when one of them had to be pts. The fact that she too was upset actually made the experience more peaceful. She has gone out of her way to help my cats and is willing to discuss any health concerns which are things none of the other veterinarians are willing to do.

Is it better for my cats to continue seeing this veterinarian who isn't very knowledgeable as long as I become educated about these illnesses? I figure that as long as I become educated about these illnesses and consult with the online cat groups, then maybe it will make up for the vets lack of knowledge. At least I know that I can bring in information to her and she will look it over rather than just blowing it off like the other three vets would and have done.

Maybe I should just talk with this particular vet about my concerns of her lack of knowledge. I just don't know if that's appropriate, especially because there's always the possibility that I'm wrong, even though I don't think I am. I also don't want to offend her or hurt her feelings.

I would love to hear thoughts about this whole issue.

Originally Posted by mej_1

I have recently come to realize that the veterinarians I have come to trust and like are not very knowledgeable. I have confirmed this with many members of several online groups for cats with kidney and heart problems. I have also confirmed this after reading several articles and studies, some of which were found in the Merck Veterinary Manual.
This brings me to several problems:

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I'm sorry, but "confirming" it with online people who have never met your vet, and have their own agendas, no veterinary training, and your doing a bit of reading has brought you to the conclusion that your veterinarians, who have been practicing for years, and studied for many years are not knowledgeable? Seems unfair and a rush to judgment based on the opinions of people with no veterinary background whatsoever. If you have concerns about your vet's decisions, then I would say to definitely talk to him/her. Perhaps they don't follow the treatment regimens of these "online groups" for a reason. You'll never know unless you talk to her. To dismiss a veterinarian's knowledge based on online advice is, IMO, reckless and unfair.

Firstly, like our doctors, vets can never know everything. Animals have different reactions and symptoms to the same diseases etc so I would always give a vet time to look up information. However, if they don't do that, they are not good vet IMO.

My vet is always willing to learn something new. If I have researched something and ask her for more info, if she has not heard about it, she is interested and will research. She has even asked me if it is ok to reproduce the overview I did of info I found about obesity in cats when we had Scully there to give to other clients. But what I love about her is that she cares.

I wouldn't necessarily speak to them about a lack of knowledge (unless it was something very basic like having a litter before spaying a female cat etc) but certainly bring your research into them and discuss it with them. I usually drop off/email the info to my vet ahead of our appt so she has time to research / speak to other vets etc before we decide on what treatments we would like to go on with.

The other thing to remember is that Merck is not the only vet book and some of the others have different ideas, it depends how the vet was taught. And some treatments that are popular on forums, do not work for all animals, there may be a very good reason your vet does not agree with it or recommend it for your animal in particular

I would educate myself as much as possible. I would not hesitate to ask questions if a situation arises where there are doubts about what she is doing. I don't think I would be too concerned about her feelings if my cat's life depended on it. I had a terrible experience with a vet I had been going to for 21 years. She diagnosed Bella with breast cancer and suggested I "not make her suffer". I decided to get a second opinion, why, I don't know, just had a feeling. Bella did not have breast cancer!!! I fired that vet. Then I started "vet-shopping". We're careful when we are looking for a pediatrician, why not be that thorough when choosing a vet? The vet I did decide to start seeing is not a people-person, but he knows what he's doing when it comes to animal health and care. I know it's a struggle you don't want to go through, and I wish you luck...

Originally Posted by mej_1

I have recently come to realize that the veterinarians I have come to trust and like are not very knowledgeable. I have confirmed this with many members of several online groups for cats with kidney and heart problems. I have also confirmed this after reading several articles and studies, some of which were found in the Merck Veterinary Manual.

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You describe a very common problem, and the problem is not with the vet. Think of it like this: the veterinarians we go to with our pets have essentially been trained like a family physician - broad knowledge on common complaints, and a skill set for troubleshooting the atypical. Just like you can understand that you would not go to your family doctor for specialty care or information on heart or kidney conditions (you would be referred to a cardiologist or a nephrologist), you should understand that a general vet is also not the best place for knowledge or the "best" care on these conditions. There are absolutely veterinary specialties you can ask your current vet for a referral to (for example, I have seen a small animal neurologist when one of my cats somehow got meningitis), and absolutely non-specialist vets who take a special interest in specific conditions - again, perfectly reasonable and normal to ask your vet for a referral to this type of caregiver.

I recommend you speak to your vet about a potential referral - she cares about your animals as you previously mentioned, and will be happy to participate in getting them the best care that they need.

Originally Posted by icklemiss21

Firstly, like our doctors, vets can never know everything.

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The problem is running into the ones who won't admit when they do not know something or when they're wrong - their stubbornness can waste vital time.


It sounds like you do have a vet you trust fairly well. Talk to her, bring up your concerns and ask about a referral if you need one. Never stop learning and asking questions. If you never ask questions and blindly follow fake authority nothing well get done.

I appreciate the replies, thank you.

Februa, you helped me realize the bulk of my problem. I had three vets who at some point in time all treated this one particular cat. This cat had several things going on like kidney stones, heart murmur, allergies, etc. I realize now that it would have better for him if he had been treated by a specialist who deals with these specific issues, especially with the kidney issues. The particular kidney problems he had were fairly uncommon. A regular veterinarian most likely does not have the knowledge and/or experience needed to deal with something so serious. The two vets were telling me he didn't need an ultrasound and that's where everything went wrong because as it turned out, he desperately needed one.

My cat had a ureterolith which was discovered on an xray to be in his left ureter. According to information I can find on this problem, a ureterolith typically causes one kidney to be large (the one affected by the ureterolith) and one to be small. The kidney affected by the ureterolith becomes large due to a blockage of urine which can damage the kidney. I'm not entirely sure why the other kidney becomes small. Usually a kidney becomes small after it has been damaged and is no longer functioning properly or at all. Typically, when this (big kidney, little kidney) occurs it is recommended that the cat get an ultrasound by a specialist. However, the two vets said it wasn't necessary because he had at least one working kidney (the small, right kidney). However, the fact that he had one big kidney and one little kidney indicates that there was a problem with BOTH kidneys. So when both vets said he had one functioning kidney, they were somewhat mistaken. The kidney that they said was still functioning was the shrunken, scarred kidney which was actually damaged. When this cat finally did get an ultrasound (after it was too late) the right, small kidney was so small that it was difficult for the specialist to find. At first, she actually thought he didn't even have that right kidney. When I talked to the specialist (after it was too late to save the cat) she told me that something should have been done about this ureterolith a long time ago. She said at the very least an ultrasound should have been done which had been my opinion all along.

If I had found this information about ureteroliths and "big kidneys, little kidneys" years ago, I would have presented it to the vets and something would have been done. These vets should have learned about this in veterinary school. It's pretty much in all the major publications.

Do you all think it's ok to talk to the vet about my concerns? I'm not going overboard by wanting to discuss this with her, am I? I guess I'm afraid of being viewed as "the crazy cat lady". I know that's silly but I can't help it.

Originally Posted by mej_1

Do you all think it's ok to talk to the vet about my concerns? I'm not going overboard by wanting to discuss this with her, am I? I guess I'm afraid of being viewed as "the crazy cat lady". I know that's silly but I can't help it.

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I think the vet's office is the last place on earth where you would be viewed as as "crazy cat lady".

I would speak to her, I disagree with my vet all the time, but I am researching my cat's specific problems when they, like mentioned above, just have an overview and a skillset.

My vet is quick to recommend specialists, when I adopted an older obese cat, he was seen by several vets (and several of them helped out by seeing him for free as they used him for research - not the jabbing him with drug type - just general research) but if she didn't and I disagreed with her I would certainly ask for a referral to a specialist.

If she does view you as the crazy cat lady, its a good sign that she is not a vet and you should find another, hopefully she will be very frank with you

Veterinary medicine is still based on large animals, and for small animals specialties, extra courses must be taken and many vets do not go beyond what is taught in university. I guess I have been blessed because I have had wonderful vets with one exception, that being a local clinic that I wouldnt trust to sew the eye back on a teddy bear.
When employing a vet, you should ideally interview him and work from there; also find out about any staff they may employ. Yes, it is work but it's worth it for the health of your pets, be the pets a bird or a cat or even a cow - you don't want an avian specialist trying to treat a cow with mastitis, now would you? Same applies to general small animal practices and mixed practices (the normal here) - you find the one in the group that is best with cats, or dogs, or goats, whatever. Oddly enough, my horse vets, in three provinces, have done my cat work and have done it very well - not one of my neutered toms went to a clinic, but it was tack trunk surgery or truck box surgery done with the routine spring horse work and not a problem. One horse vet went to extremes to try to save a kitten for me, but it wasn't meant to be - we figured he got kicked and passed on the way home from the clinic. Even the current vet stops to give the cats that can be touched the once over and shots - he is an equine and equine repro specialist but still has time for the kitties. I found him via interviewing him without him really knowing it - just asked a few questions when he was working on another horse in the stable. FWIW, some of my best friends are vets and one of them told me years ago to interview as unobtrusively as possible, any candidates but obviously, that won't work for the average person.

The worst thing about veterinary medicine is the patient cannot talk and most owners cannot articulate the problem very well - it's pretty hard to offend a vet by using proper terms but they may be offended if you couch the affliction in euphamistic terms. It is much easier to say the cat/dog/whatever has a sore on his right hock than to say he has an owie on the bendy thing on his back leg. It is wise to learn the points of the animal in question - every one knows the head and tail, but there are other points inbetween and if you have even a vague idea of those parts, communication is much easier and communication is the real key to making it work with your vet.

I find it best to go to an all-cat practice. There's so much going on with research, new medications and techniques, etc., that I think it's best if my vet is focusing on one species. And my vets' experience is solely with cats, which means they've seen a lot more — standard cases, unusual cases, etc. — than vets who are dealing with dogs and other animals much of the time.

I know that some of the vets in my practice are more up-to-date than others. Fortunately, they know it, too. When the head of the practice found out that the new, part-time vet had given me a 21-day course of oral meds for a kitten's parasites, when there was a newer, two-dose treatment that was equally effective, she stopped the original drug, gave me the new one, and told me she'd be instructing the new vet about this. It was much easier on the kitten, and me. I know this senior vet is keeping an eye on the new one. As for me, I avoid the new vet if I can; there's yet another one that I really trust and have had for a decade.

I also feel comfortable there because my vet can quote me current research, which I can then often read/confirm for myself when we're dealing with a serious issue. And if I bring her something I've found, from a reputable source, she'll often know it already or read it with interest. Vets aren't perfect, but the ones who are willing to keep learning are the best we can hope for.