Do You Sometimes Think Vets Are Clueless Or Just Don’t Care About Cats?

I feel like I have been around the world trying to find a vet that I can have confidence in and the search is proving fruitless. I am discouraged. Does anyone else feel that way or am I just a neurotic CCL?

Vets are like anyone else...there are great ones and incompetent ones and I have had experiences with both. I get the feeling that something happened recently that has caused you to doubt the vets you are seeing?

I agree. Same with human doctors. Some take the time to really listen to you, some don't. Unfortunately, with animals, it's probably a little harder to diagnose at times since they can't really tell us what's wrong. They (the cats, dogs, etc.) nave to rely on US to tell the Vet what is happening as best we can, then the Vets take it from there IF they were really listening to us. But there are times even with the very best Vet or doctor when the diagnosis simply can't be found .

Sorry you are experiencing some disappointment in the vets you've been exposed to. Where are you located - do you have web sites like Next Door Neighbor where you could ask for other cat lovers' recommendations? Perhaps, even Facebook?

Or, try Veterinarian Reviews, Ratings & Recommendations.

You might even try something like Angie's List for vets who have received top ratings.

I have not been happy with any I have seen since my beloved vet retired about ten years ago. I have been through about four different ones. One who was prejudiced against purebred cats (my two Himmies were rescues) and didn’t bother hiding her dislike of them which infuriated me because they are the most docile cats ever and gave her no problems. Then there was the man who couldn’t diagnose anything (not even constipation) and referred me elsewhere twice, but if I dared ask questions it was because I didn’t trust his judgement. The woman who sent me home with an empty prescription bottle because she was distracted by trying so hard to sell me expensive supplements. And the one who is so loud and boisterous that he scares my poor cat silly, but doesn’t seem to realize it’s him who is the problem. And he insists that a steroid injection will cure a herpes flare. More like pouring gasoline on a fire. I mean, really?

I need a cat vet who knows WTH they are doing. I am to the point where I feel going to the vet just complicates things and usually doesn’t help anything.

I understand how you feel. The first vet totally missed pneumonia in Merlin chest x-ray, and it was pretty advanced. Another one didn't know the antibiotic we used (litterally, he had to search in a book, he never heard of azithromycin!). The third one, chief of internal medicine in a vet hospital, was pretty good with ecography, but told us the cat had "pathological breathing at rest", because he was breathing way too fast. In a clinic, surrounded by 2 vets, 4 students and lots of dog. At rest, right. He was terrified!
I spoke on the phone with a fourth, who told me that "panting is never a respiratory issue, just stress".
The vet we chose is a good one, but he is terribly busy, so we have to chase him to get answers. Meh, it's hard to find a good one. Like with human doctors, sure, but to be honest we have a pretty good healthcare system here in Italy, so I feel like there is a big difference in competence and realiability between human doctors and vets here. Or maybe there is simply more choice with doctors, you can easily go to another one, there are thousands of them

I think one part of the problem is vets are expected to specialize in many species, whereas I don’t think it is realistic. Then they are expected to know everything about the animal whereas humans have a range of specialists like gastrologist or ophthalmologist. It simply cannot work well imo. So myself I made a decision to use cats only vet for my cats and animal specialist whenever possible and I’m happy so far with my choices, but I live in a big, pet loving city so I do have choices. But I Know the struggle of finding a good vet, and I think this is a common problem regardless of the place on earth. I used vets services in 4 EU countries and USA (for short time but intense treatment) and there seem to be no rule. But American vets are so much more expensive so I would hope/expect they are more competent.

We have vets everywhere. I live in the area of one of the university vet schools. But as far as I know there are no cat only vets around here. And the vet school is NOT the right choice, either, because you never see the same person twice. I have been there when I had no other choice.

I have been to only two vets. For many reasons, I decided to find a new vet after 4 years with one person.

While searching for a vet, I found vetratingz.com. According to that service, the highest rated vet in my state was less than twenty miles from me. I decided to try it. What a great place! The vet there has two Ragdolls and is a cat lover. It is such a clean place, they have the same great staff they had when I started there 30 months ago and for a similar price I get twice as long an appointment. She is very knowledgeable, takes her time and knows my cats and she makes so many helpful suggestions. I feel blessed to have found such a place and I don't know why I put up with that other place for so long.

I feel for those who can't find a competent vet. I got one on my second try. If I hadn't, I might still be searching!

Have you checked for any cat only vets in your area? That might give you better luck.

- My vet isn't on that site Boris Diamond posted, but I have a cat only vet, which seems to be working out pretty well! Granted, I haven't had any major health issues that might cause misdiagnoses or such, but I already feel better knowing everyone there loves cats.

furrypurry said:

We have vets everywhere. I live in the area of one of the university vet schools. But as far as I know there are no cat only vets around here. And the vet school is NOT the right choice, either, because you never see the same person twice. I have been there when I had no other choice.

Click to expand...

Same here, we have a vet university and no cat specialists. LOTS of dog specialist, though

Dont feel alone...This is the Vet I accidentally chose...The worst!

https://www.yelp.com/biz/noble-veterinary-clinic-hayward?sort_by=rating_asc

I feel your pain. Out of the 4 vets I've had I liked 2 of them. I use my dog to gauge whether the vets are good people or not because he's always a great judge of character. The first one my dog loved to death for whatever reason and they put a lot of effort into making the animal feel comfortable. The second one sucked and the entire office seemed incompetent. I had to drag my dog through the door. The third one was wonderful and they had multiple vets and some specialists so there was regularly a group effort to figure out a bizarre problem. I liked all the vets there but one guy was just super thorough and nice (thus he was always requested and had a long waitlist) so I would request him if it wasn't an emergency. My dog was stressed there because they're super busy but they made a big effort to make him comfortable. The fourth/fifth (it seems to be an interconnected network) suck. My dog literally climbed up on top of my shoulder and tried to go through the window in the door. I'm in a rural area now so I'm very limited and they just seriously suck. People who have never left this area love the vets because they've never experienced anything different, such as the wonderful care the third vet office provided.

I don’t trust any of my vets, but I like some more than others. I like the ones that are thoughtful and listen to me, return my calls, and will work out a treatment plan. Not much to ask from any vet, in my opinion. There are plenty of vets in my area but I can’t seem to find a good cat internal specialist. There is even a major university vet school. I can see that the vets have the tendency to jump to the familiar cat diagnoses, even when the symptoms don’t quite fit. There are only so many diagnostic tests available.

I find it frustrating and scary to be the one driving the train, propelling the treatment forward, doing the research, making the treatment decisions. The vets have no answers for the current simultaneous illness of my two cats, except that one had biopsies and was diagnosed with IBD. Well, IBD is not contagious! Why are both cats sick with the same symptoms? The vets have no answers.

I had this problem after my vet that I had been going to since I was a kid around 1972 sold the practice. The new vet that bought the practice totally botched diagnosing my 16 yr old MC that had cancer. I just sensed incompetence in general. The owner herself and a couple of staff seemed to be ok but over all incompetence. After my MC passed and I adopted another cat I gave them one more try. The prices doubled with less for the money and I still sensed incompetence. I even had a couple of their staff say they weren't cat people.

My old vet was 30 mins away with no traffic and it's in a high traffic area. I researched vets close to me and decided on one that is only about 7 mins away. I figured If I was going to change vets I might as well find one close to me. So far....I've been very happy with them. They are a little more expensive than my retired vet was but, not much. There staff is very thorough and it seems that although there are 4 vets at the practice you get assigned to one of them. The vet I've dealt with is a cat owner and reminds me of my retired vet. I feel fortunate to have found them at this point. I guess I got lucky!

It's not just vets though. My longtime dentist that I had since a kid retired and the new dentist that took his client base was the same way. Maybe it's just growing pains and getting the right staff together but, it took me years to find a good dentist that I felt comfortable with. Ironically! I found out that the dentist I found had interned and worked for my old dentist before he retired!