Frustrated With Veterinarian

[Lazy Orange House Cat]

My veterinarian is paranoid and still won't let anyone into the clinic except in the case of euthanasia, so all conversations are held in the driveway. When we could go into the clinic, visits were thorough and unhurried, but outdoors you're lucky if you get a minute or two to ask questions, and telephone conversations are even worse.
I have a very sick cat named Ramona Riddley. To make a long story short, her red and white cells are out of whack and she is strongly suspected of having cancer. The veterinarian wants to do an ultrasound. She's seventeen. She has kidney disease and a heart murmur. If I put her through an ultrasound (very stressful) and they find something, the next thing would be chemotherapy and perhaps surgery. She was not medically cleared for a teeth cleaning last year, by the way. So treating her will make her miserable and may kill her. If I treat the symptoms and give her a good quality of life, she will still die, but at least her last days on earth will have been comfortable and hopefully enjoyable. Currently, she is half syringe-fed and half self-fed. She is supplemented at the moment with a urinary tract support which she will finish on Friday, Adored Beast Feline Gut Soothe, phytoplankton, Nutri-Cal, and chaga mushroom. She also gets fluids in the morning. She's a bit quieter than usual, but looks comfortable and doesn't mind being handled. She is cleaning herself and watching the goings on at the school across the road. Every morning Montgomery head bumps her and she punches him in the face. This has not changed.
My point, and I do have one, is this. Ever since I told the veterinarian that I didn't see any sense in doing an ultrasound on this particular cat, she just shrugs us off. She doesn't have the time of day for us anymore, and if I get an answer to a question its not usually an answer that solves anything and sometimes it doesn't make sense. I'm not adverse to spending money on these cats and she knows it. Flapjack just had four teeth out and Montgomery is the million dollar baby. I even took her our zebra finch when his head blew up and I thought it was the end. Thankfully it was just a pretty wild eye infection and with medication he got over it.
I don't know how to get her to actually talk to me again. I don't know what to say that won't make it worse. I really don't care if she likes me or not. Its about the cat, bottom line.

 

[LTS3]

Vets and their staff are completely burned out and stressed these days. Long hours, more clients who have adopted pandemic pets, limited staff to help, compassion fatigue, etc have taken their toll. I posted this in another forum:

Huge strain on veterinary clinics post-pandemic

A combination of a rise in pet ownership and pet owners putting off veterinary care due to the pandemic has caused long wait times at veterinary clinics and a huge stress on veterinary staff. Be prepared for along wait time get a appointment booked and hours long waiting at a vet ER for an...

thecatsite.com

Have patience and understanding with your vet during these pandemic times.

 

[StanAndAlf]

Have you tried to explain why you don't want to treat? Perhaps presenting things from your point of view will help her understand your choice a little better. You would be surprised how invested some vets are in the health of their patients, and sometimes when a vet believes they can heal an animal but the owner decides not to treat, it can be upsetting for them. They should maintain professionalism regardless, but this doesn't always happen, especially in recent times with the extra stress loads, as mentioned above.

I think it's completely your choice, but an ultrasound would be well worth it IMO. What if its not cancer? And something far more treatable? We once had a client come into the clinic where I work with an appointment to euthanise her beloved dog, who she believed had an oozing cancer on the side of his face. It was actually just a hotspot and completely treatable.

Please keep in mind this may have nothing to do with you. Vets have personal lives, and not all clients are very friendly or respectful. It can take its toll.

 

[Lazy Orange House Cat]

Yes, I have explained it to her on several occasions. Her response is to turn around and go back inside. I understand busy. I work in the pet supply industry. If I see one more teacup shorkie doodle maltipoo I'm going to puke. However, I help the person find what they need for it, regardless of what I think of it. Its my job.

 

[neely]

I understand your concerns about Ramona Riddley. She is very lucky to have you as her caregiver and companion. Since you have obviously been disappointed with your current vet have you considered getting a second opinion from a feline only veterinary specialist?

We currently see a feline veterinarian and like you have had to wait in the car while our cat is inside then receive a phone call after the vet has examined him. However, last month they changed their policy and allow one person to go in with their cat. Maybe by contacting a different vet they might have a similar policy so that you could accompany your cat and talk with the vet.

 

[Lazy Orange House Cat]

I can't think of another veterinarian around here that I would go to and expect any better, that's the thing, and its worse starting over with someone new.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. It is tough thinking about finding a new vet at this stage of Ramona's life. I am going through something similar, and it sucks. Feeby is ~17 yo with H-T and early CKD. She was thought to have fluid in her chest and an enlarged heart, so it was recommended that I take her to a specialty vet for a complete analysis of her issues. As it turns out she may have asthma - but not at a stage requiring treatment, and a leaky heart valve, also not requiring treatment. When the specialty vet suggested an abdominal ultrasound, I totally freaked out. They said they would only give her a very mild prep-anesthetic sedative (butorphanol 0.2 mg) IF she was resistant to either being shaved and/or the actual ultrasound. Well, she was resistant to being shaved. It was a long vet visit (about 4 hours), but she came home about 2 hours after the ultrasound, and was just fine - not even a sign that they gave her any sedative at all.

My point being is that if you would decide to follow up on the ultrasound, I would highly recommend a specialty group who has internal med vets on board, as I believe how things worked out for Feeby had a lot to do with the expertise at their clinic. They have a staff that does nothing but ultrasounds all day long, and because of that are very efficient. The sedative they gave Feeby has analgesic effects only lasting about 40 minutes - just long enough to get the ultrasound completed, with the sedative effect dissipating within a couple of hours. My current (may soon be my ex) vet's office also offers ultrasounds, but only by a traveling vet who comes in to their practice twice a month to perform them. I think taking Feeby to the specialty vet was a much more ideal situation.

Unfortunately, she will have to undergo another ultrasound as follow up for multiple issues they noted on the first one to see if any changes occur between the two tests. Will cancer be involved - I hope not (the first ultrasound suggests not). But, the bottom line is whatever they do decide, if she should need treatment it will be specifically targeted to what they find. Ideally, no guessing about the best path forward for Feeby, which means better managing Feeby's overall health and well-being.

My last point - and then I will shut up - is that while your vet should not be reacting the way she is - regardless of the reasons - she might turn around once the ultrasound is done, possibly alleviating the stress of trying to find a new vet. Sorry for the long post.

 

[Lazy Orange House Cat]

I'm sorry for what you're going through with Feeby, and I'm glad things are progressing in a more positive manor. I hope she does really well. As for Ramona, those of us closest to her have discussed her situation at length and have decided against an ultrasound. We have predisilone (sp), fluids, and gabapentin from the veterinarian. We have phytoplankton, chaga mushrooms, gut soothe, and a urinary tract supplement (she's finished that on Friday), and Nutri-Cal. The past couple of days she's been much brighter. I think the fluids and the Nutri-Cal have done the most, to be honest. We're left to our own devices yet again and we will manage. It would be nice to not be so alone, though. We can't always get our own way.

 

[countrygirl576]

Sorry for what you are going through and I really can't give you an opinion because I went through sort of what you are going through now last year. Had 5 cats then and they misdiagnosed 4 of my cats. One had cancer when they told me she was constipated after paying for an x-ray and then 4 months later they did another x-ray and it was cancer. She had 3 days left. Another cat in December last year they said arthritis from the x-ray and she was diabetic. She suddenly couldn't walk with her back legs after they did her butt gland which had been done before many times. I had one big argument on the phone with the vet who treated me so sweetly and nice before this. Since I was no longer agreeing with her and I made sure she understood that then the true her came out. I left...thought I found another wonderful vet place that had 6 vets. My other place had just 2. Well, the only good vet is the owner and he is wanted just about by everyone so he is booked out at least 1 month. So, finding another place might not work out either. Plus a lot of places are full anyways and not accepting new patients. You just have to put up with it and not be so friendly with them. I'm tired of hearing how vets are over worked because of COVID. Everyone is over worked at this point. It does not give them the green light to treat their patients/clients like dirt. You want to be treated nice then they do the same. My old vet I had been there for 13 years. Since the kittens were born and I would bake for them.....make things for when they were having babies ect so I treated them very nice and so to end up leaving was awful and I just still can't believe how stupid I was not to see the true side to them all. Not one of them called to find out what was really wrong with their client of 13 years. I sent an email wanting their records and told them she would have died if I had listened to them. I was not going to tell them what was wrong with her. They could call and ask or look at her record and figure it out for themselves. I can tell you for sure if my client told me my patient would have died with my wrong diagnoses I sure would have called to find out why and apologize but I think some of them think they are god. The vet even laughed at me because I was stupid. Actually out of the 5 cats I had last year and now the 4 this year the only cat I have in good health is the only one I hardly ever took to the vet. Pretty much sums it up I'd say. I hope the best outcome for your fur baby.

 

[Lazy Orange House Cat]

I'm sorry for what you went through. That's absolutely awful and there's no excuse for that. I'm glad you're a strong advocate for your cats and I hope you find a really wonderful clinic in the near future.
Ramona was euthanized yesterday. She passed peacefully at home in her favourite bed, a couple weeks past her seventeenth birthday.

 

[Lazy Orange House Cat]

I've been scammed by the clinic closest to my home and the same veterinarians still own and run it. One veterinarian is aggressive and angry. A friend got us in with her in an emergency and she was gruff and angry and if we hadn't done something she would have been very rough on little GoGo, three weeks old and very sick. Another old clinic has a reputation for doing tests without asking. Another clinic has changed hands and I don't hear good things about them. Two clinics are cheap and scary. One is a good clinic but too old-school for this. Working in the pet supply industry, I hear about them all.

 

[countrygirl576]

I'm sorry for what you went through. That's absolutely awful and there's no excuse for that. I'm glad you're a strong advocate for your cats and I hope you find a really wonderful clinic in the near future.
Ramona was euthanized yesterday. She passed peacefully at home in her favourite bed, a couple weeks past her seventeenth birthday.

I'm so sorry to hear of Ramona's passing. It's the hardest part of having fur babies. When they cross that rainbow bridge.

 

[betsygee]

Very sorry about Ramona. We'll close this thread now out of respect for your loss, and we invite you to post a tribute to your sweet kitty in our Crossing the Bridge forum.