I recently relocated to Pasadena, CA and had to take my cat, Freda, into the vet for a sudden sickness. I chose a vet that only sees cats but found the office to reek of cat urine.
Business in the office was steady but I thought the smell was unusually strong. Freda changed into a caged beast and became enraged at any movement outside of her carrier. She even hissed and batted at me! The vet had to sedate her to even examine her. After five years of visiting the Vet in Washington, DC, I never witnessed such a violent reaction from Freda. Also, until this recent visit, I always took Freda to a vet that saw both cats and dogs. The odor had never been so strong at my DC vet.
I was very traumatized by Freda's reaction at the vet, her sudden sedation, and the fact that they kept her for 48 hours for observation. In the end, they diagnosed her with a tapeworm from swallowing a flea. As near as I could tell, the vets were competent, caring people but I couldn't get past the strong odor of the office.
I feel such guilt for taking Freda into that situation and although she is fine now, I can't see sedating her everytime I take her to the vet. I'm worried that she'll never get near her carrier again after this experience. And if I have my way, she'll never stay over night at the vet's again.
Clearly, I need to shop around for a vet and would have done so earlier had she not been so sick unexpectedly. I'm wondering what criteria others have used to make their vet choice when moving to a new area. Unfortunatley, I don't have any friends in this area who are cat owners to give me a recommendation. Do all cat only vets smell so strong? Any advice would be welcome. Thanks, Jeff
Business in the office was steady but I thought the smell was unusually strong. Freda changed into a caged beast and became enraged at any movement outside of her carrier. She even hissed and batted at me! The vet had to sedate her to even examine her. After five years of visiting the Vet in Washington, DC, I never witnessed such a violent reaction from Freda. Also, until this recent visit, I always took Freda to a vet that saw both cats and dogs. The odor had never been so strong at my DC vet.
I was very traumatized by Freda's reaction at the vet, her sudden sedation, and the fact that they kept her for 48 hours for observation. In the end, they diagnosed her with a tapeworm from swallowing a flea. As near as I could tell, the vets were competent, caring people but I couldn't get past the strong odor of the office.
I feel such guilt for taking Freda into that situation and although she is fine now, I can't see sedating her everytime I take her to the vet. I'm worried that she'll never get near her carrier again after this experience. And if I have my way, she'll never stay over night at the vet's again.
Clearly, I need to shop around for a vet and would have done so earlier had she not been so sick unexpectedly. I'm wondering what criteria others have used to make their vet choice when moving to a new area. Unfortunatley, I don't have any friends in this area who are cat owners to give me a recommendation. Do all cat only vets smell so strong? Any advice would be welcome. Thanks, Jeff