Feeling taken advantage of

Some of you may remember I posted a little while ago about my cat Alice who I thought might be pregnant. I took her to the vet last week as I needed a new package of flea control and they wanted a current weight. Well during the visit the vet (brand new to the practice and not my regular vet) proceeded to check Alice over and told me that he thought Alice wasn't pregnant. I told him that I thought I had felt movement and he said her abdomen didn't feel like there were kittens.
I then expressed concern bc she has gotten quite big and I asked if he thought there might be something wrong. He said no...she was healthy and fine. We were about to go and he said let's check one more time. He felt her tummy and said wait I think I might feel something, some swelling so we better do an X ray. So I agreed as I was worried about her health. He came back and told me she's definitely not pregnant (which I thought was determined already) and told me to leave her overnight and he would spay her in the morning. I refused first because I didn't want her sitting in a cage all alone all night and second I didn't want the new guy touching her anymore I would book with the regular vet who we see there.
The more I have thought about it the more I feel taken advantage of. He could clearly see that I was worried but I wouldn't have consented to an X ray just to determine pregnancy! Also I was reading online that sometimes you can't even see skeletons of kittens until 54 days which she was 47. $300 later. I'm angry as I have 2 cats and 2 dogs that I take there regularly. Just had to vent...the important thing is, Alice is happy and that is all that matters

40-45 days according to this source:

http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-online.com/cat-pregnancy.html#preg-radiography

As mentioned many times before, an ultrasound is a far better pregnancy diagnostic tool.

Hopefully she will be spayed very, very soon.

She has an app with the vet I usually deal with at the end of the month to be spayed. I will be speaking to him about my concerns during my visit with the other vet, as my regular vet is the owner of the clinic. I only consented to the xray because he implied he may have felt something that wasn't right. We had already determined that she wasn't pregnant. She is still looking quite pregnant and sleeping and eating a lot. I understand that this happens with false pregnancies but am unsure when she'll be "back to normal ". Thank you

I agree it is surely best to speak with the regular vet, being also owner of the clinic.

Im not sure he took advantage, was sooner overzelous.  Perhaps used to work in a rich part of town, or in a big clinic.

It is not sure you will get money back, but perhaps get some counted as prepaid to next visit.

Any way, good they get feed back about how patients - ie patrons, do feel the situation.

It is often tricky for a vet.

Good luck!

Thanks Stefan. I'm not worried about the money, Alices' health is the most important. I just feel he was pretty sneaky. I forgot to mention that after I said no about leaving Alice overnight for a spay, he went into the waiting room and asked my husband. How nice. I love the vet clinic , have always found them to be caring sensitive and fair that is why we've been going there for years. Oh well it feels better to get this off of my chest. Thanks again

I don't think he took advantage, perhaps he wanted to rule out a uterine infection or pyo which can be deadly.
As OS said ultrasounds are better for diagnosing than X-ray

I also wouldn't wait until the end of the month to spay, each heat cycle is unhealthy and by then she may have called several more times

Thank you for your opinion. Unfortunately without being there you can't understand the "feel" of the visit. He first dismissed me as an overprotective cat mommy and then used it to his advantage. My husband expressed this also upon leaving the office. Alice is booked in for the end of the month bc that is when my regular vet is avail for surgeries. He will be the only person to treat my fur babies from now on. Alice has only had 2 heats and she's 15 mnths old. I don't expect her to experience another heat before her appt, as we are now into the cold snowy weather but if she does, rest assured she will be confined to my bedroom, well away from the lures of the outdoors. In fact, I lock her away whenever I'm not home ever since the "incident' during her last heat. Once bitten, twice shy so to speak. Please know, that my pets are a very important part of my family and I will do everything necessary to ensure Alice's health isn't threatened in the future. That is all that matters to me and so it cost me over $300 to hear she's happy and healthy so be it. My regular vet will be informed, however.

I would suspect her of being a silent caller then as 2 calls in 15 months is far from normal, cats can have regular loud calls and silent - I have one of those myself.

Indoor cats also call year round, as the temperature is more stable.

Not all vets are informed of the dangers of calling girls and the damage it can do to their health, breeders strictly monitor heat cycles knowing well the health risks that are there.

Wow thank you for that information! I had no idea cats could also be silent callers! You have given me much food for thought here! I've just left a voicemail at the office to see if I can be put on the cancellation list or if he can squeeze me in a little earlier. Geesh when I mentioned this was only her second heat the vet mentioned none of this to me. Thank you

missymotus said:

I would suspect her of being a silent caller then as 2 calls in 15 months is far from normal, cats can have regular loud calls and silent - I have one of those myself.

Click to expand...

I have 2 quite 'non-active' callers. Luna had her first heat when she was 14 months old, and her second was few months later. She was mated from her 3rd which didn't take, so 4th heat was the one she got her kittens from. She had her 2nd birthday when we had just confirmed she was pregnant. When she had the kittens, she had her next mild heat when they were 13-14 weeks old. She's not a silent one, quite the opposite, but doesn't call often. (We're at the moment waiting to see if she is pregnant, the stud was a younger one who has had just one female right before Luna, so might have been just a practice round, though the first female did indeed get pregnant).

Her daughter Mina had her first heat when she was 8 months old, she's soon 14 months old and hasn't had her 2nd heat yet. She's also a loud caller like her mother. Nearly a week of constant yowling when it's "that time". She's still very kittenish with her behavior, I couldn't imagine her being mentally ready for kittens yet, so likely she'll be mated from her 3rd heat. Then again, Brits are known to be often slow to mature.

Yes Brits are slow to mature and you have the advantage of knowing what's normal for that line, likewise my odd girl is abnormal for her lines

Most cats don't call so infrequently.

For vets to not even mention the risks of Pyo or silent calling is really not good enough

ETA: fingers crossed for Luna