Tired of vets who can't be forthcoming

Why is it that some veterinarians don't share their diagnosis of some health problems with the owners? This one vet didn't bother to tell me my cat was in stage 1 kidney disease/failure. I discovered it when I requested copies of the records. That same vet didn't bother to tell one of my relatives that their cat is in stage 2 kidney disease/failure. I discovered it when I requested copies of the most recent blood work. Interestingly, this vet has told me when she thought my cats had other health problems like megacolon, a tumor, etc.

The problem isn't just with this one vet, it's with several others. I can't figure out what they're trying to accomplish by not being forthcoming. Isn't the diagnosis of stage 1 and stage 2 kidney disease something that should be told to the owners? That's not something you want to ignore, right?

I am having such a difficult time trying to find a veterinarian who knows what they're doing and actually cares, and who can be forthcoming and honest. Do any exist?

i don't have any experience with kidney failure, so i can't comment on that. (although it certainly sounds like something your vet should be sharing!)
i CAN sympathize with your search for a good vet ... it has taken us years to find the right one. we've stumbled all over this city (we live in kansas city, which is a fairly large metro area with lots of vets to choose from) and *finally* found one with a beautiful, state of the art office, is full of knowledge, and is incredibly patient. he'll sit and answer my questions for a full hour if i need him to ... and he works well with all my cats -- even the shy ferals. he's an entire 40 minutes away from my house, but so so worth it.
all i can suggest is to keep trying! the other thing i will say, is that i research the heck out of my cats' symptoms before we go into the office. i almost always already know what the problem is before we get there ... that helps, too.

That happened with us. Only the vet didn't withhold information. He just didn't bother taking the time to try to find out what was wrong. However he had no problem taking our money. What bothers me about him, is he was at 1 time a very good vet. We requested him, we trusted him, we reccommended him to people. At 1 time he did care about his patients. The place was owned at 1 time by a very good vet. She sold the place. All the good vets that worked there left when it was sold. This vet and 1 other stayed. I couldn't believe all the negative stuff written about this vet, until we needed him to help us with Lynxx . Then we realized everything those people wrote was the truth. We left, and go to a new vet now. That place can't possibly be open for much longer. There used to be tons of people there, you couldn't even park to bring your cat in. By the time we left every parking space was available. Most of the time we were the only 1's in the waiting room. The vet who owned it, should never have sold, she was excellent, her vets were excellent.

This happened to me as well, and I am sorry it has happened to you. I only discovered the vet knew he had kidney failure after he had died from Chronic Renal Failure and the vet knew months in advance of his showing symptoms. That only came out when I filed a complaint with our state Veterinary Board.

These days, you as the owner really have to do the research, I believe. Not all vets are bad vets, but that doesn't mean to blindly follow them everywhere they try to take you. Do your own research on the side, know which questions you need to ask, find out as much as you can about any concerns you have.. you and your vet should be a team, not just a business and a paying customer. This is my humble opinion. Basically, after what I've gone thruogh, I've found an awesome vet, but I still do my own research and ask questions, take notes... etc.

Many vet s do not see stage one and two in CRF aka kidney disease as active ... These are actually in most write ups called renal insufficiancy and depending on age most vets expect it ... Shoule the vet tell you ? YES 100% and I would suggest talking to them and asking... They may be old schooled and not realize that early intervention and treatment can prolong the lives by years...

Well another reason I have to complain about the cat hospital we originally went to. I had to take Midnight to the vet today. The vet that saw him kept asking me where Midnight came from. I told her how we got him. And she wanted to know why we didn't get him FIV, and Leukemia tested. I told her we did. I told her we did at the cat hospital, I told her the vet's name that did it. I also told her the device he showed us that proved Midnight tested negative for both.

The vet told me the device I was describing she wasn't familiar with, she didn't know what I was talking about. And she showed me Midnight's records. He has no record of ever being tested at the cat hospital.

I was there when he was tested, I saw the device the original vet showed me. I paid for the test.

Either they did something else with him that day, and never tested him. Or they did test Midnight and never put it in his records. This vet wasn't lying she showed me Midnight's records. So I had to pay for him to be retested while I spent the time waiting and worrying that he was going to come back positive for Leukemia. Which would then explain why Lynxx died. It would also mean I'd lose Midnight and Luna as well. I got so worked up, I had to step outside. I was so angry. I can't believe it came back negative. I truly believed this vet was going to tell me that he was positive. That would be my luck believe me. I was so relieved that Midnight is ok, at least with that problem

I took my cat Ricky to the vet over a year ago after he had a seizure to find the cause. The vet basically accused me of lying and said there was no need to make up a fanciful story after she said he looked in good health and did some tests. As if I would lie about my cat having a seizure and waste upwards of $300 in vet bills for no good reason. I was so insulted I didn't know what to say. I work 2 jobs and the $40 charge per visit along with the time I have to take to make it there is not easy on me. My previous cat had several seizures too before she died so I know what a seizure looks like. I think some vets are like some human doctors and just out to make a quick buck and have lost any sense of feeling for patients or owners.

Honestly, sometimes ignorance is bliss! While yes, I think the vet should let you know what's going on, sometimes it's nice not to know and just go on loving your kitties the best you can.