Are you completely satisfied with your veterinarian?

wannahelp

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I was wondering if there is anyone beside me, who is not completely satisfied with his/her current vet?  I took my last dog to the same vet his entire life, based on a recommendation. While he was better than other vets I'd been to with my other dogs, I took him there because I couldn't find a better alternative.  That's not saying much.  When I got my first cat from the shelter, I began using the vet that spayed her.  However, there were three vets and they were inconsistent in their diagnoses and treatment protocols. Furthermore, they would not use Pure Vax. 

The vet my cats see now uses Pure Vax but again, I don't feel like we're on the same page with everything.  About 90% of the vets in mu area don't offer Pure Vax.  After a couple of bad incidents with 24 hour emergency vet hospitals, I will do everything in my power NOT to have to visit one again.  With that in mind, I don't want a vet that's too far away, in case of an emergency.  From my experience, it seems like a good vet is as difficult to find as a good doctor. My mother used to tell me about an old country vet that treated her dogs years ago.  They don't exist anymore, at least in my area.  

Do all of you really feel comfortable with your veterinarians?
 

neely

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We are fortunate to live near a major city and there is no shortage of vets.  However, that being said we have had to change vets several times. We choose our vet the same way we would choose a doctor for ourselves or our children.  Obviously word of mouth helps but we have found not everyone has the same criteria when choosing a vet.  I also appreciate a vet that is willing to listen to me and not be condescending when I bring up a particular concern or subject.  We had to use a veterinary specialty hospital for our dog when he was diagnosed with an uncommon autoimmune illness and I can't say enough wonderful things about their medical care and support.  We presently take our kitty to a feline only specialist and have likewise had a positive experience.  The few times we have seen a vet in the past that did not live up to our standards we moved on.  I'm sorry that you are having difficulty locating a vet you feel comfortable with and can appreciate not wanting to travel a long distance.  However, if you find someone you like who is further away it might be worth the trip or else you could ask them to recommend someone closer.  Best of luck.
 

Willowy

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I think it's pretty rare to be fully satisfied with your vet (or doctor). They aren't going to agree with you on everything, and if they did then the next person wouldn't be satisfied because they would disagree with them about something else! :lol3: I have tried a few vets I won't use again, but as long as I feel like they really care about the animals I won't quibble too much.

Note: I do use an "old country vet" for most things, but I can't be fully satisfied because he can't do in-house bloodwork or x-rays or anything fancy like that. He's good at basic care but if it's serious I need to go to a full-service pet hospital. So although people were satisfied with old country vets in the past, vet medicine has gotten to the point where they can't do everything.
 

msserena

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I found a new place, I've taken 2 of my 3 cats in for dentals, they do a check up first & then take blood. My first impression when you walk in is how quiet it is. I used to go to the cheaper, larger 24 hr animal hospital, but it's like a mental ward every time you go in. It's so busy & it's so loud, there are people running around all over, dogs & cats all over, to me, that's not a conducive environment to take a sick animal especially after a stressful car ride.

I will continue to use this new place & see how it goes. Of course they want me to feed dry, they promote Science Diet & promote products I don't agree with. I just stand my ground though & tell them how I feel. I think it's pretty difficult to find the perfect vet. Although, when the time came for my other cat to leave this earth, I called a vet that does house visits. She can pretty much do what any other vet can do except dental stuff, that's why I went with this new place. I still haven't forgotten about her & she was so gentle with my baby & listened & it seemed like she cared. Having someone come to the house instead of packing up kitty in the carrier & driving in to town is a huge plus, it's also way less stressful for the cat & the fees aren't that different from a vet's office.
 

sivyaleah

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Love our current vet practice.  We used 2 others in the area and hated them which helped when finding the one we now use.

Sadly, most vets still "push" prescription diets but at least ours is open to hearing my opinions and reasons why I'm not interested.  
 

muffy

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I took my cats to a clinic and there was one vet that I really liked. But she left and so did all of the vets and staff because of the way the owner of the clinic was treating them. They are having trouble keeping the new vets they get in. One of them showed up drunk one day. The vet I'm seeing seems to be OK. I only have one cat left and she is 17 and not doing to well. When I lose her I won't have to worry about vets anymore.
 

profdanglais

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I really like our vet. We chose them because they are close to our house and because they had a comprehensive and informative website. They have a special cat waiting area and a feline specialist. They're always busy and we have met people in the cat waiting area who have been going there for years. Hugo and Hester have seen three of the doctors and two of the nurses and they've all been really knowledgeable and competent. I particularly like the doctor who did their spay and neuter. She listens to our questions and answers them thoroughly and took a real interest in Hester's recovery when she had a slight complication. They have a good Pet Health Plan as well. I am very, very happy to have such a good local vet. 
 

Primula

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Our current vet is nice. All-female office & it's in a house one town over from where we live. Easy to get a bus there. Not inexpensive & there is no senior discount & you can't return unopened meds that cat won't take, which annoys me. Vet recommended my Harry to have all his teeth extracted in July at a specialist hospital where he subsequently died. I tell you, I had to think long & hard about returning to my vet.
 
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wannahelp

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That is a good point about vets that make house calls. There are a couple in my area that are mobile. i tried one in the past, with my dogs but it was very difficult to get in touch with him for follow ups. There is a mobile vet. Maybe I'll give her a try.  To address the point about country vets, what I meant is that, vets today, at least the ones I've encountered, are too dependent on specialists. In some cases, this is necessary but in other cases, I think it's a matter of the offices being to too busy for the vet to take the time to make a proper diagnosis. I had to take my last dog to a specialty center to be diagnosed with food allergies because he was vomiting frequently. I believe my regular vet could have suggested food allergies, without a stressful and expensive trip out of state, to a specialty center.
 

Primula

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That is a good point about vets that make house calls. There are a couple in my area that are mobile. i tried one in the past, with my dogs but it was very difficult to get in touch with him for follow ups. There is a mobile vet. Maybe I'll give her a try.  To address the point about country vets, what I meant is that, vets today, at least the ones I've encountered, are too dependent on specialists. In some cases, this is necessary but in other cases, I think it's a matter of the offices being to too busy for the vet to take the time to make a proper diagnosis. I had to take my last dog to a specialty center to be diagnosed with food allergies because he was vomiting frequently. I believe my regular vet could have suggested food allergies, without a stressful and expensive trip out of state, to a specialty center.
True, but on the other hand, you wouldn't want your vet to treat something for which he didn't train. I broke my wrist & my PCP sent me to an orthopedist, which is just as it should be.
 

Boris Diamond

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I was happy with my last vet.  I like all the vets there.  The office staff, on the other hand, were so full of drama that I did not enjoy going there.  Vet techs would take your cat without even looking at you.  When I first called with a purebred cat, I was insulted immediately.  Sorry, but I had bad allergies and had been alone for a long time.  My life changed so much when I got a cat and hypo-allergenic was the only way I could go.  The owner-vet's wife ran the office and she was just not a nice person.  She did the hiring.

So I changed vets.  The one I go to now is the highest rated vet in my state on vetratingz.com.  There is only one vet there and she is so very knowledgeable and helpful!  I've only been going there for a few months, but I am happy with the situation.  It is so much cleaner and no drama!  I like the people there and I like the way my kitties and I are treated.
 

marrin713

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We like all three vets in the practice. Very knowledgeable and caring. We've been through the wringer with the last two and they were with us every step.
 

LTS3

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I was referred to him by someone who was currently using him for her complicated diabetic cat. I wasn't happy with the vet I was using at the time for my diabetic cat. I only started going to that vet hospital because the low cost clinic I was using was affilated with that hospital and the low cost clinic didn't have the means to do more than shots and a general check up. Tried that vet hospital for a few months but wasn't thrilled with the service. So I went to the vet I was referred to and was blown away by how different he treated me and my then cat. He really listened to my concerns about my cat's diabetes and the current insulin and dose and food and he absolutely loved my huge data heavy spreadsheet of daily blood glucose number. He quickly realized that I was a pet owner who was very involved in every part of my cat's care. When my cat became very ill and had to be hospitalized, the vet made sure that I was kept involved in every part of my cat's treatment. A year after my cat passed away, I got Leroy and then later Emma. I still use the same vet for the two
He's perfectly happy to respond to my emails even if he reads them late at night or on his off days.

I have occasionally taken the cats to see other vets at the vet hospial when I can't get an appointment with our regular vet. Our regular vet tends to be booked weeks in advanced. The other vets we've seen have been friendly and professonal but it's not quite the same.
 

marrin713

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We also have a vet nearby who just sees cats. I interviewed with him for a job and darn I didn't get it. But I liked him and the staff I met.
 

moorspede

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I am lucky to have access to the best kitty specialists because I live in a major city but I don't have a car so for checkups I use the vets closest to me. It's quite frustrating because a couple of suburbs away there are cat only vets and diet specialists etc. One of my cat's has a nervous bladder and tends to pee when she's left the vets so I've walked her home a couple of times in a wet carrier, poor thing. 
 

posiepurrs

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While I absolutely loved our previous vet there were some things I didn't like about the hospital. Her partner for one - I had it in all my pets charts that the only way we would see her was in an emergency. The partner had misdiagnosed one of my cats and suggested immediate euthanasia - which I refused to do. I took the cat to another specialty clinic and my cat was treated for a completely different ailment and fully recovered. Lived 10 years after that. The second thing I disliked was when they were taken over by VCA. I understand that Vet medicine is a business and they have to make a profit to stay in business, but VCA more than doubled all the fees. I found my present vet and really like him. He is willing to listen and try treatments that I suggest sometimes. When one of my girls ahd an ulcer in her eye a fellow breeder suggested eye serum.  I had never heard of it so I spoke with my vet about it. Even though he had never tried t with a cat, only dogs and horses, he was willing to try it. That is only one example of his willingness to listen. Another of the vets in the clinic always asks me questions about genetics involved in my breed (silver and golden Persians) and the office staff is wonderful! I never have a problem being seen when I call - they always manage to work us in. The down side is they are 10 miles away, but it is an easy drive unless it is snowy. We have a 24 hour emergency hospital about 15 miles from us - have used them but it has never been a good experience when we do.
 

fiorya

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I picked my current vet because he had a lot of positive Yelp reviews. He's nice enough and fairly knowledgeable. But I don't know, sometimes he doesn't take things seriously. He's very quick to assume that a possible warning sign is nothing and to sweep it under the carpet.
 

Cataria

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Not particularly satisfied with any of the vets around where I live, to be honest. I won't deny that they haven't helped my cats a lot and even saved their lives in some cases, but I do question a lot of their recommendations and wish they would actually tell me what I could do to treat something instead of me offering suggestions.

1. During a spay surgery, they discovered one of my cats had a mammary tumor and removed the tumor. Biopsied it, determined it was cancer. Did not inform me there were any options for treatment, so I was under the impression that there was nothing I could do and that it was a waiting game. It wasn't until I temporarily moved away to another area, found another tumor, and had it investigated by the vets there that I learned that there were actual treatments, and I that I needed to start doing my own research.

2. After moving back, had another cat that needed a spay surgery, I was told that cats don't need pain medication. Yeah, just because a cat hides pain doesn't mean they don't feel it.

3. I took in a feral cat and wanted to get some blood tests to get her checked out. While examining her, they thought she might be pregnant and did a pregnancy test. After doing the test, they asked if I actually checked if she was male or female or if I guessed, then proceeded to check themselves. Did they really just do a pregnancy test on a cat without determining the sex of the cat...?

4. Spay surgery on same cat went a bit funky because it turned out she had an ectopic pregnancy, and they only took out one ovary. That's not their fault at all, but when I asked what my options were to get the other ovary removed after we verified via biopsy that they only got one, they told me to not worry about it and maybe she wouldn't go into heat anymore. She did. They said they could try the surgery again, but they probably wouldn't find it, and I'd be better off leaving it alone. I finally had to suggest to them that perhaps I could take her to a specialist, which they thought was a great idea and recommended one to me. But why was I the one who brought up getting a specialist involved, not them?

5. Took in a week old kitten, discovered she was infested with maggots internally and did an emergency visit. They saved her life by giving her medication that wasn't approved for week-old kittens and removing the escaping maggots, which I will always be thankful for. However, after doing this (and them still being very skeptical about her chances), they asked me if I wanted to leave her there overnight. Since I know the office was closed at night and I actually ended up dragging in the vet from her house, I was a little confused at this suggestion and asked if someone would be monitoring her and taking care of her. They said no. So... they suggested I leave a week-only kitten that needed to be fed every two hours overnight with no one to feed her or nothing to even keep her warm?

I really liked the vets in the place I moved to for about a year because they were very proactive and always told me the treatment options available to me. Around here, I seem to have to suggest the treatments myself.
 

lmb83

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We live in a country village and are very fortunate to have a great vet here. We're looking at moving next year but will continue to stay at the vet here if we can. I never feel rushed at appointments, they listen to our concerns and answer all our questions, even if they seem stupid! The nurses there are so good with all our animals too and seem to genuinely enjoy coming in to work.
 

di and bob

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I live in a small town (8000) and it has three vets. I went to one for a few years, but felt they preferred to work with dogs, they seemed uninterested in cats. Then I found Dr. Wayne. He is absolutely wonderful! He came to our house when I had an outbreak of distemper amongst the ferals, he vaccinated many and charged for few. He cried when we lost a litter of kittens and their mother after trying so hard to save them, and stops by even now to see how the others are doing. He didn't charge at all when we had to euthanize three old timers that were strays we took in over the years, thank goodness we were able to give them some care and kindness at the end of their lives.  Since I have spayed/neutered so many he gives me a discount, though it is still over a hundred dollars with all the shots, but I don't want to short him either. He always gives me advise starting with "if it was MY cat...." and always starts with the least expensive and least invasive testing available first, like an x-ray for my elderly Burt instead of a CT scan, which diagnosed his enlarged heart. He even advised me not to bring him in unless absolutely necessary so he isn't stressed, and has offered to stop by for exams. He never charges for these 'house calls' either. I think I'll keep him! 
 
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