Question Of The Day. Saturday 6th Of May.

[Norachan]

Good morning.



When was the last time you had to take one of your cats to the vet? What was it for? Were you pleased with the treatment your cat got?

I had to take Forest for his annual hair cut on Monday. He's been much better about letting me groom him this year, so he wasn't as badly matted as he usually gets. This time he had a lion cut but he kept his whole mane. His bib wasn't matted at all, so he really looks like a mini silver lion now.



Our vet does a great job of clipping him. He gets a shampoo, ears and eyes cleaned and his claws clipped too. Forest knows how fantastic he looks with a hair cut. He's always in such a good mood when he comes home.

How about you and your cats?

 

[sivyaleah]

We were at the vet just last week. Casper was diagnosed with early stage CKD (chronic kidney disease) several months ago. He was there for follow up blood work and a complimentary nail clipping

I love our vet office. All of the doctors are fantastic as are the support staff. Plus they love Casper - he's so easy going, friendly and gentle. Their vet tech gets excited when he sees him!

 

[muffy]

The last time I went to the vet was on December 31, 2016 when I had to have Muffy euthanized. She was the last of my babies.

I was not to pleased with the vets visit. I've been going to that clinic for over 20 years and within this past year almost all of the staff and all of the vets I knew have left. I understand the owner was getting impossible to work for. One of the new vets even came in drunk one day.

I'm glad I won't have to go back there anymore. If I need to take one of the ferals to the vet I'll probably have to go to the ER if I can catch them. The ER is only 5 miles from my house but I don't like them either. They are so expensive. The last time i took Muffy there she had a UTI and they charged me $1,000.00.

Muffy

 

[ameezers]

I took my newest addition Tucker to the vet last week for his vaccinations. My vet is great, they are amazing with my animals (all 5 of them!) and great at taking the time to answer any questions that we have, and don't try to rush through our appointment.

Having a good vet that you trust is important!

My zoo crew is part of my family and I wouldn't take my children to a doctor that I didn't like or trust, so why would I bring my animals to one?

 

[denice]

The last time was Patches about three months ago so I could learn how to give him B12 shots. Alice has an appt next Saturday for a wellness check. She has never been as good at the vet's as Patches. The last time she was combative with the swatting, growling and trying to bite. I hope that was a one off rather than her new 'normal'. I go to a cat's only vet so they are good at dealing with it, she still got a complete exam. If she does it again though I will probably ask about some kind of tranquilizer before her next appt. There is no reason for her to be that stressed out if there is something that can be done to avoid it.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

the last time was in late january, and it was our Punky. she was having a UTI. i was pleased with Punky's treatment. however, not particularly comfortable with the new vet in the practice -- so will stick with the vet we know and have confidence in.

our Dude (aka, Jaspurr) has an appointment coming up soon -- his annual physical, no shots needed this year.

 

[Winchester]

We'll be starting to take animals back in for annual check-ups soon; we just got a reminder from the hospital that Ms. Pepe, Mollipop, and Muffin are all due. We'll take them all in together to save money.

We had taken Ms. Pepe in for a geriatric check-up back in January. For the most part I do like our vets; they don't really hurry through the exam, they don't try to force tests on us (unless there's a need), they answer my questions fully. But the waiting time is absolutely ridiculous; we know that, if we have a 5:30 appointment, we will not be back home much before 8:00 or even 8:30 that evening. And most of that time is spent simply waiting in the waiting room for our appointment. Again, we get there for a 5:30 appointment and may not even see the vet until close to 7:00. They consider 15 minutes adequate, but nobody is ever in and out of the exam room in 15 minutes. So they get behind early and they stay behind. And it's nothing to call for a general appointment and not be able to get the cat in for 6-7 weeks.

The hospital is expensive, or at least we think so. We try to take in 2-3 cats at one time because we do get a discount from the visit fee. But we can normally count on about a $200 bill for the 2-3 cats, esp if Pepe needs blood work for her kidneys or something else.

 

[Freedom]

Several cats were due for their annuals earlier this year: Tommy, Tuppence, Bobby, Mandy and Ebony. (Dogs Tasha and Belle were also due and were in.) I only maintain the rabies vaccine, now. The cats are indoor only, all had their shots regularly for several years, now they are age 8 and older. Bobby needed a dental, so did that. I always take in 3 or more at a time, as that gets me a discount.

No pets are due at the vet until Jan 2019 now! No cats, no dogs. I keep lecturing them that NO ONE is to get sick, NO ONE is to have any mishaps, the vet bill account is busted and needs time to recoup, lol.

 

[LTS3]

Emma went last October for a dental. Leroy went in September with Emma for the annual exam and rabies shot. I my vet and the hospital.

 

[neely]

We took Carleton to the feline specialist, (cat only vet. hosp.), last month for a follow-up check on one of his teeth. He is the second cat we've had with FORL and I want to be on top of it. The client before us cancelled so we not only got in a little early but the vet spent more than the allotted time talking with us. We love her attention to detail and compassionate demeanor.

 

[artiemom]

Emma went last October for a dental. Leroy went in September with Emma for the annual exam and rabies shot. I my vet and the hospital.

Me too---

 

[AbbysMom]

About 2-1/2 weeks ago. She's been going every 2-3 weeks for B-12 shots. She's scheduled for Wednesday, but she hasn't been feeling well and we may end up there sooner.

 

[margd]

I took Chula to the vet about a month and a half ago because she was throwing up more than usual. Her vet is wonderful - she's very gentle and affectionate and clearly loves cats. She also explains things completely and is happy to entertain questions. Every visit to her has left me with a very positive impression.

A couple weeks later, I took Paul and Chula to the boarding facility at the same veterinary hospital. They were there for 6 days and I was not happy at all with the experience. I had left my number in case there were any problems but never received a call. After telling me how well everything had gone, the tech added casually that Chula had barely eaten anything and had lost 9 ounces in 6 days. That's far too rapid a weight loss and I felt they should have done more than just let her mope and starve herself. At the very least, they should have called me and let me know how poorly she was doing.

 

[DreamerRose]

I took Lily in about two months ago for her annual vaccinations and wellness check. The techs were delighted to see her again as I adopted her last August from the rescue organization they sponsor. She was overweight at the time and I have gotten her down two pounds, and everyone said she looked great. The site owner treated her; I love this vet. She is understanding and knowledgeable and gentle with the cats. Lily "bunny hops" when she runs, and the vet did a thorough exam but could not find a reason for it. This clinic is a VCA clinic, probably more expensive than an individual vet, but they are good and very close by.

 

[betsygee]

I'm taking Zoe and Ozzy in next week for annual exams and shots. I looove our vets. Both of them are knowledgeable, very nice people, and I trust them completely with our cats. They also help out in the community, providing low cost services for our local no-kill shelter.

 

[jcat]

Mowgli had a post-op checkup in November following full-mouth extractions due to FORL.
Two of us took a shelter dog and cat last Friday. The dog is coughing and needed a heart worm test (results today). The cat was surrendered because her owners thought she was pregnant. She's not, so she got her first shots (at two!) and is scheduled to be spayed tomorrow.

 

[Mother Dragon]

Chocolate went to our vet recently for a followup on a small lump between her shoulders. Our vet feared it might be a vaccination sarcoma. However, it hadn't grown and could be moved about, so he now thinks it's just a pad of fat. I sure hope so.

We've had our vet for about 42 years. He has connections to Texas A&M veterinary school that no one else does. If he has a question, he picks up the phone and calls someone there. Add to it that he loves to keep up with all the latest information. He's also old school in that he doesn't really need a lot of fancy tests to make an accurate diagnosis. He's pretty much seen it all. He trains his interns not to depend on technology totally, although he certainly uses it when necessary. He takes lots of time with our cats and we end up having all manner of personal conversations, too. He's reduced his office time to two days a week and I fear we're going to lose him to complete retirement soon. The other doctor there is nice but more formal. I don't know what we'll do then.

The last time we had to give one of our cats peace, he carried her body out to the car for us and stood there and cried with us. We got a sympathy card signed by the whole staff.

If you find one of these very special vets, hang onto him for dear life.

 

[catlover73]

Starbuck went to the vet this morning because she peed on the floor last night which is not normal. Her regular vet was booked for the day so we saw a different vet at the same practice. He did a great job of keeping her calm during the exam since she does not like strangers. Even though he felt that this was an isolated incident as a reaction to us being out of town he did take a urine sample and send it to the lab at our request to make sure she does not have a UTI. Starbuck handled the exam well but I still think she is more comfortable with her regular vet. I did not want to wait longer to try to get an appointment with her regular vet due to our work schedules the rest of the week. We both had today off and go back to work tomorrow. Hubby is off over the weekend but we did not want to wait that long in case this was the beginning of a medical issue.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
It's been some years since any of mine have needed to go to the vet. I don't like my vet, really - he eats more slices of pizza and more chicken wings than I do, he sits in Bob's spot on the sofa, and despite knowing where the coasters are, he always has to be reminded to put one down before he sets his beer on the table. He has his good points, I suppose - he's decent at the barbecue grill, has fair taste in red wine, and he's a positively brilliant veterinary surgeon with a secondary MS in molecular biology who keeps up with modern technique.

His Wife and his bigger-then-Life Mastiff, on the other hand, are simply delightful.

.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

The vet I had for my last cat was really good --it was a feline only practice-- but the distance a bit too far to travel. So, with Milly, we had to find a vet closer to our home.

We have a clinic a few blocks away, for both cats and dogs and other small animals. There are a couple of good vets & vet techs at this practice but it has a very strange business model... walk-in appointments only. You can call the day of your anticipated vet visit to see if your preferred vet is working (or find out their approximate work schedule for the upcoming month), but if you fail to do that, you pretty much just go in and roll the dice as to which vet is on duty.

Although it is convenient in some ways being faced with this type of business model, I really miss having ONE "anchored" vet that gets to know Milly well over the years as she grows up. I find the feeling of not having the same, or a consistent, vet a bit unnerving, esp. at times when Milly might be having more issues than other times. The vets I like (there are two) work only on certain days of the week. I would encourage any vets to not adopt a "walk-in appointment only" business model, if they are thinking of doing so. It does give a client the benefit of easy access to multiple opinions at a vet clinic, though, without begin tied to one vet. I suppose that can be good and bad. You really have to be a good advocate for your cat.