"The Vet Can't See Me Until..." - Insert Timeframe Here

ARGH!  I obviously meant "The VET" not VENT ROFL  

Oh please oh please would a mod fix that?  

I'm curious about something I keep seeing a lot here.  Many people will start threads (not usually long time members) saying their cat is acting strangely, implying that it is seriously ill.  When questioned about taking it to the vet right away, frequently the answer is "The vet can't see me until..." whatever amount of time that seems implausible to me.

Both vets that I've used, had a walk-in policy for emergency situations during the day time.  If you called saying you had grave concerns about the health of your cat (dog, whatever) they always say to you "Bring him/her in asap".  Sure, you may have to wait a bit, but it's also known that if you have a standing appointment, you *might* get pushed back a bit if someone comes in with an extremely ill pet.  And everyone is cool with that.

I just find it hard to believe that a vet would say they have nothing available for another week, or even several days later.  It isn't ethical.  

Does anyone actually have problems like this, getting to their doctors when the furbabies are under duress?

I've only had one sort of emergency vet visit, and I called in the morning and was able to get an afternoon appointment. The vet office manager told me they always leave a couple of slots available for emergency situations. If I hadn't been able to get an appointment, I would have called other vets until someone could fit us in.

I am sure it will be different from vet to vet. Also, I imagine in small towns, there may not be as much availability or choices of vets.

I changed it for you.

Actually, a similar thing happened to us a couple of years ago.....and I was rather upset with our vet.

Some of you may remember that I had found a kitten, maybe 4 weeks old. Maybe. I looked outside one Friday morning and saw her huddled on the pool cover. It took my sister and I awhile, but we were able to catch her on Saturday morning. My sister took her home because she had the large cage and we figured we could keep her in that and my sister had decided that she wanted her. I called our vet to have them take a look at her (simply because she was so little and we don't know how long she had been on her own). We never saw her mom, so I think she'd been alone for awhile. The receptionist said they could see her that Thursday night, which was about five days later. I explained the whole thing and begged them to give me an appointment, but it didn't matter. Thursday night.

The kitten (we named her Lily) passed away the next day. I called the vet and raised heck; I was just furious. My sister was a mess and I wasn't much better. What really made it bad was that, about a year later, the vet's receptionist called and said, "We haven't seen Lily recently; do you still have her?" WTHeck??? And at that point? I hit the roof. Big time. I was royally angry and it wasn't pretty.

The hospital apologized to us for the entire mix-up, but that whole thing still rankles. The head of the hospital even called me and followed it up with a letter. But I can't help but think that if they would have seen her immediately, she might still be alive. Now they have 24-hour emergency care, but back then, they didn't. And I still think that since it was a Saturday morning, they simply didn't want to be bothered. They had Saturday office hours back then, but they said they couldn't fit her in. Well, that's bull.

Losing that poor kitten still hurts.

I think it depends on the vet.  The clinic that I take my cats to is really good about getting a sick cat in quickly.  The last time Patches, my IBD kitty needed to be seen I called when they opened in the morning.  It was their day to do procedures so they had no appointments scheduled.  They had me bring him in and leave him so he could be seen when his vet had a chance between procedures.  We also have a couple of 24 hr emergency vet clinics here.  I have used one of them twice and they are very good but of course very expensive.  I only use them when I don't feel that it can wait until their normal vet clinic is open.

Winchester, I'm so sorry for the loss of your kitten.  That, is just an awful situation.

I guess, from reading these few comments, it's possible.  Maybe I'm lucky to live in an area where there are a multitude of places for pet care, even if I might not be thrilled with the choices.  We even have a couple of Banfield places nearby, if worst came to worst and I know they always will see you, although you have to wait eons.  But, at least, you get in eventually.

If you don't make it clear that it's an emergency, they'll make you a regular appointment. But I've found that if you actually say it's an emergency, they'll tell you to come in. Worst case scenario---just show up. They can't do much about it if you're right there in their waiting room :tongue2:. I've done that.

We live in a suburb of a major city, so there are all kinds of vet choices available. However, we choose to stay with the vet in the small town we used to live in because we were always happy with their care. On their website and their phone message, they give the details of their affiliated vet hospital in the next town for if they are closed or full. They also list the contact info for the emergency vet, which l've used only once for an overnight visit. That would be a very difficult and heart-wrenching situation to be in, if your precious kitty couldn't be seen.   to Winchester.

I never realized how fortunate I was to live within 30 minutes of two 24 hour vet hospitals and within 3 hours or so of an amazing veterinary teaching school. One of the 24 hour hospitals only charged a slightly higher rate for emergency visits than regular ones and I took advantage of that many times(for both my own cats and others) over the years. It was great to have a place to go if a concern came up(even if it wasn't an actual emergency) and I didn't want to wait to for an appointment the next day, especially with a busy work schedule and a tendency to worry excessively about my cats. The other nearby hospital had a cardiologist, neurologist, the best and latest equipment, and so on. If I couldn't get an appointment with our regular vet there was always SOMEONE who could see us and I usually had "back-up" vets(whom I had researched) in mind.

Now I live in a rural area and it's honestly scary to not have a single 24 hr clinic in our area(nearest one is about 3.5 hours away), zero specialists, and so on. Fortunately, I've finally found a vet I like and there are others, like him, who will see you if you have an off-hours emergency. When we told our neighbors we were going to see him they mentioned how wonderful he was when they woke him up in the middle of the night to perform an emergency surgery on their dog. I've never had a problem getting a vet appointment here or in any place I've lived. Maybe others have difficulty because they are trying to see their one specific vet? I've noticed unyeilding loyalty to one vet("we've been going to him for years") even when that vet's advice has been proven wrong on here and so on.  My own sister is actually guilty of that(the only vet she'll see is my cousin/his wife) and it was to the detriment of her animals.

I'm sorry, Pam.

I've never had to wait to see my vet and if it is a surgery day, I have been asked to leave a cat there and they will fit in an exam between surgeries.

I'm lucky that there are two 24 hour ER vets in my small town, one less than a mile from my house.

Definitely there are vets who won't see your cat right away. We had a vet here who would never see our cats if something urgent came up. Her policy was if you can't wait two weeks for an appointment, you should go to the emergency hospital. That was so dumb and SO expensive and sometimes unnecessary! We finally found another clinic that is pretty good, but if you want to bring your pet in right away, you can't specify which vet (imo that is reasonable and okay). The main doctor also works at the emergency hospital and does follow-up and that's pretty nice too.

I was just at the vet this past Friday, we had an appointment for a minor skin irritation which turned into needed surgery. Anyway my vet is really wonderful but he has terrible terrible receptionists, I was literally 5minutes late to our appointment and the receptionists made me wait until all the walk ins who had been waiting had been seen which I thought was super unfair since it was just 5min and who every gets seen right at the appointment time? Anyway while waiting for 1 hour and a half a girl came in crying that other vet offices had sent her away and her new puppy was pooping large amounts of blood. The receptionists told her they had too many walk ins and could not see her then sent her away. It made me so mad as an animal lover to hear, if I did not have to leave at a certain time to pick up my nephews from school I would have happily given her my time slot. No one else waiting had real emergencies either and were walk-ins already willing to wait 3+hours, the walk in long wait time is so long because that vet is great and loved by many so we all ignore his mean rude receptionists. We have a couple after hour emergency clinics nearby but they are a last resort for me only in a major emergency since they are so incredibly expensive.

There's a 24-hour emergency vet about 35 - 40 minutes from us, but our usual vets are so good about seeing to emergencies right away, even on weekends, that I call there first. They always tell you to bring the pet in right away. There have been a number of times when I've had to wait despite having an appointment because they were dealing with an emergency. Just recently there was a poisoned dog (who made it), and I know there were two others the same week. Most pet owners are presumably very understanding when that happens, since it could be their pet next time.

One of the vets lives above the office and has her (non-vet) husband assist when need be on weekends and holidays.

All the vets I have used except one were great.  That one was a strange older guy who we only used for a few basics.

My current clinic will have you come in that day if it is urgent.  If emergency that tell you to come right over.  I agree that if you just make appointment they will not realize it is a urgent case unless you tell them so.  I am sure they get ppl demanding same day appointments and try to weed them out from the urgents.

I avoid er vets as the fee to be taken in is double the office call as it is at local vet.  And the tests tend to be 25-50 percent higher.  Exam is waived if you euthanize though.  I find the er to be run slower and frustrates me that things take so long that I know the other places I have used are faster.  Like they may not give bloodwork results back for a while as you wait in room and at the reg vet they are in so much faster,  and felv/fiv test they took 45 minutes.  There was no one else.  I KNOW they had to have read it sooner so why?

I only will go to er if I think the cat is sick enough that euthanizing seems likely.  Have pain meds on hand to wait 12 hours and I will set the cat up in a crate away from the others in a room they are not allowed in for the night to help them stay calm. 

My regular vet is open 7 days a week(limited weekend hours but any sick ones will be examined if you push for it/tell them that cat needs to go in today).

Some people may be first time owners or just first time the cat is so sick and they truly do not know the ins/outs.  I am sure there are some that are hoping for online diagnoses but sometimes the er is not the best choice as the money may be better spent waiting a day.  If in pain that is different. 

Lilys story is so sad.  The call later really angers me. 
 

Sorry Pam for what happened to your kitten. I guess we are very fortunate. Our vet is also our very good friend. His dad and my husband were fishing friends. They had a house on the beach and we had spent some holidays there with them. So this young man has tried faithfully to help us with our cats. One morning, I found Muffin lying on the ground outside, not moving at all. I called the vet's house I was so upset.. It was maybe seven in the morning. He said for me to have him there when the office opens. I had to leave Muffin there several days for treatment. We have had several instances where we have had to be seen. He has never denied us that. Guess we are just lucky. I agree that unless you really stress that it is an emergency, they might would put you off in most cases. If so, I would call other vets. Even though I live in a very small rural community, there are three other vets around here. Choices would be more than that in town. If someone has a cat that really needs to be seen, please don't take no for an answer.

Thank you, guys, for your thoughts for Lily.  Not too long after Lily passed away, a co-worker came to me to tell me about kittens her dad had on his property. My BIL and I went over and picked up Liam and brought him home to my sister. She took one look at the carrier, started to cry, picked Liam up and held on to him for dear life. To this day, that boy sleeps on her pillow by her head. He's a sweetie.

Awl I am so glad she got Liam!  How well it worked out that she got to love a little one while mourning Lily.

I tell people all the time to not let a receptionist put them off. Vets leave openings for emergencies in their schedule. Or simply pack up the animal and go to the vet. Walk in and state that you have an emergency.

Remember, it's not the VET refusing, it's the receptionist who has taken it upon her/his self to decide how urgent something is. That isn't their job, don't let them push you off.

When it comes to our pets health and safety, one must learn to be a little assertive. It may very well be a matter of life or death, certainly a matter of preventing suffering.

otto said:

I tell people all the time to not let a receptionist put them off. Vets leave openings for emergencies in their schedule. Or simply pack up the animal and go to the vet. Walk in and state that you have an emergency.

Remember, it's not the VET refusing, it's the receptionist who has taken it upon her/his self to decide how urgent something is. That isn't their job, don't let them push you off.

When it comes to our pets health and safety, one must learn to be a little assertive. It may very well be a matter of life or death, certainly a matter of preventing suffering.

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Yes, my vet has spaces for emergencies, plus you can go in as a walk-in and wait to be seen in between patients, just like a person does in an ER or walk-in-clinic.

my vet takes emergencies.. they also charge extra for emergencies. bleh

Draco said:

my vet takes emergencies.. they also charge extra for emergencies. bleh

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That's not nice to know.  I guess it would be cheaper still then the er but for regular hours I would be annoyed.

I met a vet when my then regular vet refused a same day appointment(this was around the pet food recalls and we lost 2 to it we think)  I ended up being referred to 2 clinics and the first one I called took us in on spot before the scheduled appointment who had arrived right before us.  Never went back to the orig vet after that as we were within a mile from them and they sent us 25 minutes or so away.  They upgraded to much and lost that caring attitude and were getting more into high end tests/scans.