Extreme behavior at vet

[subconsciousme]

A wee bit long...

Alright, first -- I'm not sure exactly where to post this so my apologies in advance if it is in the wrong place.

Secondly, background. We joined the kitten plan at Banfield, which looking back is a mistake but it is too late to kick ourselves for that one. Nonetheless, she will be getting spayed there at about 20 weeks -- in just over a month.

I posted in a previous thread about this, but Lola is absolutely INSANE at the vet. We got her at about 5/6 weeks, when she should have been with her mother. She was abandoned and left in our neighborhood. We took her in and she's UTD on all shots, etc.

When we took Lola in to the vet a few days ago, for a URI, they were going to charge us an additional $20 for "extra physical restraint" because Lola is so brutal at the vet. We did not have the tests done and got the meds only, so the charge was not given since she did not have the tests (fyi: she's recovering great!).

Now I am concerned about her spaying. I am concerned they are going to charge the $20 and quite frankly, I am very upset about this. I did not raise Lola to be like that and always give full disclosure when we go about her behavior. And while the vet visits are supposed to be "free" -- they are not so free anymore with this additional fee being charged to us. She is NOT like this at home... quite the opposite... very much a snuggle bug.

If you followed all that, does anyone have any advice on what to do in this situation? I wish I could cancel the plan, but I can't.

Sorry for the length...

 

[strange_wings]

Given her history, she'll probably always be a bit wild at the vet. With as unpleasant as it is that will only reinforce that behavior.

That said, nothing it ever for free. I've never heard of a vet charging extra for something like. This sounds like their gimmick for getting extra money out of you.

It's too bad you've already purchased this plan as the advice here would simply be to find another vet that's more competent with cats and has had to deal with semi and full ferals (not saying that she is one, just that it's good experience for a vet to have).

The better the vet is at handling cats and more comfortable they and the techs are around them, often the more calm the cat will be, too. Is there another vet that works at that Banfield or another nearby Banfield that you could look into?

 

[mews2much]

I do not like them and would never take my cats there.
To bad you bought the plan.
They have no right to charge extra either.
My Meeko is very bad at the bit in fact she bit my vet and they never charged.

 

[Willowy]

Hopefully they won't charge the extra for "restraint" when she goes in for her spay because she has to be sedated for the surgery anyway.

But yeah, I've never heard anything good about Banfield. Evidently their fees are outrageous, and the vets only mediocre, at best. I'd suggest changing vets as soon as the plan runs out. Find one with experience in handling difficult kitties, and won't hit you with a lot of extra charges.

 

[auntie crazy]

I feel for you, SubconsciousMe. My Ralph gets violently aggressive (as in - will attack from clear across the room) whenever he's in strange situations, such as when he got loose in my apartment hallway and when at the vet's. He's the most charismatic, outgoing, friendly cat at home - he'll greet total strangers nose to nose - but outside his territory, he'll take that same stranger's face right off.

I take my cats to a cat-only clinic and my vet is very experienced. After Ralph's first visit, however, they put a note in Ralph's chart that he must be sedated at all subsequent visits. So, while I'm not getting charged a fee for a violent cat, I will most certainly be charged for the mandatory shot that calms him down.

It stinks, but after seeing Ralph do his Jeckle and Hyde routine, I understand where the vet is coming from. It took three techs to burrito him just long enough to get a blood sample and a quick listen to his heart.

(In Raph's defense, he was abused at his last home. It's a miracle, really, that he's friendly at all, never mind as incredibly laid back and happy go lucky as he is when on his own turf.)

 

[cococat]

Originally Posted by Willowy

Hopefully they won't charge the extra for "restraint" when she goes in for her spay because she has to be sedated for the surgery anyway.

And how will she be sedated? I foresee another charge added, but hopefully not.

 

[Willowy]

I don't know how that vet does it. My vet would give her a shot of Tramadol and then the regular anesthetic. Silka (she's crazy) needed the Tramadol and also the ferals, and my vet didn't charge extra. But you're right; Banfield will probably tack on all the extra charges they can.

 

[mews2much]

I just hope they are not mean to the cats.
They only care about money.

 

[taryn]

I personally wouldn't use them if they paid me.

Maude was a terror at the vet and they never charged extra. Most understand that being a vet means you are going to have to deal with animals that don't like the vet and don't charge extra. They want people to bring their animals in, not drive them away with extra charges. They know they have you by the cojones because you have the wellness plan so they will charge you extra because they can.

Honestly if her vet visits are 'free' I would either deal with it until the plan is over or fight with them over it. I'd fight over it, free is supposed to be free, not free as long as your animal is a perfect angel. Honestly $20 isn't bad for a vet exam, mine charges over $50 for an appointment unless it is a follow up and then it's around $30- $40(can't remember the exact cost.) Attitude has a lot of those because of her freaking eye. However if it's supposed to be free it's free, not as I said free only if your pet loves us.

They only care about the money and will pinch every penny out of you that they can.

When Mama was spayed they simply sedated her through the front of the carrier. She ripped out the first shot so they gave her another and she rather mean about it they had to wait until she was out before they could even get near her to release her from the carrier to spay her. That is how a feral cat is spayed. When she had the prolapse I warned them when I got there and before I released her from the carrier that I couldn't promise she wouldn't try to rip everyone apart and wouldn't be shocked if she did. They were fine with that, so they just opened the carrier and let her come out on her own and shockingly she was a perfect angel and remained one for her 7 day hospital stay, but even if she wasn't they weren't going to charge me extra because she wasn't 'nice' that is beyond ridiculous.

My vet didn't charge extra because they had to come in in 'full body armor' to deal with Maude(who was actually Paul's cat, Attitude and Nuts are mine, in other words he paid for her vet care and I pay for Attitude and Nuts'), they just dealt with her. There is a reason there are cat gloves and muzzles and other forms of restraints and sedatives and why all vets have them in a very large variety of sizes, not all animals like the vet and that is a known thing to vets, not all animals will appreciate them and some will be quite mean about it. Paul's old vet never charged extra because his dog Molly had to be muzzled so she didn't like the vet. She had been mistreated by a vet years before and she was already very skittish because her previous owners had abused her so she wasn't about to be nice about it.

I would ditch them as soon as the plan is up and find a vet that isn't motivated by money and trying to get every penny they can out of you.

They are mediocre vets at best as well. Like I said I wouldn't use them if they paid me.

For future reference never use vets(or groomers for that matter) that chain stores have in-house. I won't even use them to get my ferals vaccines. I go to Petco on low-cost vaccine days. They have awesome vets who have an independent pet hospital and are no way associated with Petco come in to give the vaccines. The vets that come in to give the vaccines are my vets
and they give their time to do this because they care. The vaccines are so cheap I doubt anyone makes any kind of money doing it. They don't care about the money they care about the pet. Try convincing Banfield to do that. They are just all about the money and I have never heard anything good about them ever.

Taryn

 

[merrytreecats]

Sounds like they're nickel and diming you. There any way you can switch to another vet?

Seriously--this is a vet; what are they expecting. A domestic cat IS quite strong for its size but if they cannot handle a 10 pound animal then they should get some practice with actually handling animals before they go into vet practice. Sounds to me like what is more likely is they have no actually issue handling the cat they just want to look for a way to charge people extra fees.

 

[taryn]

I could understand it if you had a large and/or powerful dog(rottie, doberman, pit bull, German shepherd, large lab, Old English sheepdog, Great Dane, Saint Bernard, etc) that was aggressive and actually HAD to be truly restrained. A tiny kitten doesn't require that much restraint, much less enough to require an extra charge.

They are trying to nickle and dime you and I honestly would have it out with them, because that is total bs.

Taryn

 

[subconsciousme]

Thanks everyone for your input. I have filed a complaint, but have not heard back. I will call corporate again tomorrow and file another if I have to.

I realize that I made a stupid mistake agreeing to the plan at Banfield. However, we do not have a car and there are few vets so close to the light rail. My options were limited. Obviously, we can rent a car through my account with zipcar, however, we try to not do it unless absolutely neccessary ($9-$10/hour adds up with all the kitty appointments we've had lately).

I will probably get her spayed there, but that's it. Since it is on the plan and I have called around and the cheapest I can find elsewhere is $235 total. Which, I understand is cheap -- but with Banfield, I am only supposed to have to pay for the meds at $25. Otherwise, we are currently looking for another vet.

I feel awful on so many levels. Agreeing to the plan. Living where I do. Not having a car readily available.

We do our best and we love our kitties so much.

 

[mews2much]

I hope they do not take it out on the cat when she is altered.

 

[cheylink]

I have to say that this 'Banfield' sounds extremely questionable. At this age they are much more open and accepting new experiences as well as easier to handle. Did she seem traumatized, display negative behavioral changes after original visit? I understand when money is tight, but this sounds like either a nightmare for your baby kitty, money scam, or both...... It would make me think twice about taking her there to be spayed. You mentioned you are supposedly paying for meds only after spay, normally there are no meds prescribed.......

 

[taryn]

Originally Posted by cheylink

You mentioned you are supposedly paying for meds only after spay, normally there are no meds prescribed.......

Pain killer are prescribed post spay, every vet I know(other than 1 TNR) usually does that now post-spay. That said I paid $15 for post spay pain killers. Of course the actually surgery was over $200 so I'm sure that might have something to do with it.

Taryn

 

[GoldyCat]

My vet doesn't prescribe any pain meds after spay/neuter. He told me there is something in the anesthetic combination that he uses that acts as a pain killer. I'm sure he would have given me something if I'd asked, but the girls didn't seem to need it, especially the kittens.

I did a search on Banfield plans. They won't tell you their fees unless you start the sign-up process, but you can see what's included in the plans. I didn't see anything about paying extra for hard-to-handle cats, but they've definitely given themselves room to charge huge amounts extra.

They include one blood test in the spay package, but if they decide on the basis of that one test that the cat is not healthy enough, they will not do the spay and you have to pay for the blood test!

I'd say it's time to walk (er. . .run) away from that company. I know you don't want to lose what you've already paid. However, it sounds like you could very well end up paying as much in extras as you would going to a different vet for the rest of your kitty's care.

 

[cheylink]

Originally Posted by Taryn

Pain killer are prescribed post spay, every vet I know(other than 1 TNR) usually does that now post-spay. That said I paid $15 for post spay pain killers. Of course the actually surgery was over $200 so I'm sure that might have something to do with it.

Taryn

This never happened with any of my kitties........

 

[dave_ph]

Originally Posted by SubconsciousMe

A wee bit long...

Alright, first -- I'm not sure exactly where to post this so my apologies in advance if it is in the wrong place.

Secondly, background. We joined the kitten plan at Banfield, which looking back is a mistake but it is too late to kick ourselves for that one. Nonetheless, she will be getting spayed there at about 20 weeks -- in just over a month.

I posted in a previous thread about this, but Lola is absolutely INSANE at the vet. We got her at about 5/6 weeks, when she should have been with her mother. She was abandoned and left in our neighborhood. We took her in and she's UTD on all shots, etc.

When we took Lola in to the vet a few days ago, for a URI, they were going to charge us an additional $20 for "extra physical restraint" because Lola is so brutal at the vet. We did not have the tests done and got the meds only, so the charge was not given since she did not have the tests (fyi: she's recovering great!).

Now I am concerned about her spaying. I am concerned they are going to charge the $20 and quite frankly, I am very upset about this. I did not raise Lola to be like that and always give full disclosure when we go about her behavior. And while the vet visits are supposed to be "free" -- they are not so free anymore with this additional fee being charged to us. She is NOT like this at home... quite the opposite... very much a snuggle bug.

If you followed all that, does anyone have any advice on what to do in this situation? I wish I could cancel the plan, but I can't.

Sorry for the length...

The Vet's is such a scary place. I have the world's gentelest cats but one has been nicknamed 'fiesty cat' by my vet. She had to be re-spayed because her prior unknow vet left some uterine material in her and I heard horror stories from my Vet and the guy at the desk about how hard she fought. They said it took three people with gloves to put a catheter in her arm before surgery. The night before I went to pick her up after surgery (my fantastic vet calls me at home at night for for status reports) my vet sighed and said "I don't know what we're going to do to get the catheter out, we'll probably have to sedate her". The next moring when I went to pic her up she growled at the vet tech from her carrier It's the only time I've ever heard her growl

This is a cat who has never scratched or nipped me even when we're playing or when I had to pill her (pilling is a non-clawing wrestling match).

When I was in the room with her on subsequent visits she was good. They even got a rectal thermometer in her with barely a 'meep'.

Even with the nickname 'fiesty cat' I've never been charged extra for her behavior.

 

[gloriajh]

Have you requested your $$ back? (I guess I'm a little late coming here, as I read through it looks as if you're kinda locked in with no transportation, etc..)

I joined a plan once - because we were about to move and I hadn't made use of all the shots, etc that the plan allowed - I thought it was a reasonable request to ask for the balance be returned.

I sent them a letter asking for the balance returned to me. They did the accounting, (still giving me a discounted fee for what was done), and were great about sending me a check. It helped that they had just discontinued the Plan - maybe they changed to another one since then, but - it was no hassle to get the balance returned to me.

We didn't move, and we're still with them today - and, they're giving me discounts on things - like - the strays I've adopted -- great care, and they can be expensive! The last stray I took in to be neutered cost me almost 3 times as much as the last cat I took in to be neutered. I could have
gone to a clinic, but - I guess I'm just very satisfied that my cat will get the optimum care at the VCA, Palm Springs Animal Hospital. (so far

)

I guess you don't know how much their regular fees are for ... but maybe they would deduct the costs of the services that they've already provided and send you the balance? but, ? oh, well , ?? it may be worth the try???

Peace of mind has some value, too.
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