If you had to do it over: lessons learned

[nurseangel]

Was there no real chance of e.g. keeping him somewhere away from the other cats (I know it seems unrealistic as a lifetime thing)?

On the other hand, would it be realistic to sue them - it happens for worse reasons than yours! And we're so 'trained' to believe everything doctors say.

I have a large room (what is sometimes called a "mother-in-law suite"), but the vets seemed to think it wasn't realistic, with other cats in the house. DH also discouraged it, because he felt Big Gray was too sick, which is why he took him to the vet in the first place. Maybe they all weren't wrong, but their choice of explaining things to me has been beyond blunt. When Rue had a heart attack during a routine grooming, one of them said, "A lot of cats die at the vet."

Also, suing wouldn't be an option even if I wanted to, as DSH cats aren't worth very much in financial terms, no matter how much we treasure them. (This information came from the People's Court TV show, I think.)

Please don't think I am against getting vet care. Our cats still go to the same vet, the one that owns the clinic, who once told me that we were some of the most compassionate people he'd ever met. I always encourage vet care if in doubt. I just think a second opinion is needed sometimes, or even a change of vets. I am still okay with this clinic, though our feelings should have been taken into consideration.

I'm so sorry. I am not trying to change the original subject on this thread.

If I had it to do over, leash training would be on the top of my list.
Also, I would never introduce them to the cat treats that shall remain nameless. I will refer to it as Kitty Crack.

 

[Margot Lane]

Gosh, such good advice from the sages here, am taking copious notes. I have nothing to add, only that every cat I’ve ever had has been different, with its own set of challenges (& charms). But everything everyone has said here rings true and offers healthy guideposts. Very good to know I’m not alone with these struggles.

 

[BellaBlue82]

What I would differently...

Trust my gut.
Not let money be a convenience - we take ourselves to the best doctors, I will take them to the best vets!
Do my research!!
Invest in pet insurance from day one.
Do NOT let a vet push a vaccine if I have any doubt about it. I did this with one cat and it triggered an autoimmune disorder that she has for life now.

Our first cat was so we'll socialized, LOVED car rides, and loved to visit his "grand parents." (Yes lol, he loved visiting my mom and dad!! We went to their house often in the beginning.)
All it took was one horrible horrible vet to ruin that. I will never EVER forget sitting in the vets office listening to my cat screaming in the back. I kept asking the font desk if he was ok, I was reassured he was.
That was the last successful vet visit ever, and no more trips to my parents house. Anytime he went in the car he became extremely aggressive, but this was no fault of his own. Whatever they did back there, he remembered for the rest of his life.

I've had a chance to learn and grow with each cat... Sadly the hard way with each. After two babies with multiple random health conditions, pet insurance is a must for any future newbie.

 

[BellaBlue82]

I have had good and bad experiences with cat-only vets and all-animals vets. It's often the doctor, not the hospital that makes a difference.

One thing I did do differently with Betty was that I got her seen by both cat docs in her home base VCA so that she can see either one if the other is not in, or not available. This doubles our appointment opportunities and covers the off-day gaps.

Another thing I did differently with Betty than Krista is contrary to most here. I put more trust in the vets rather than trying to off-road it or go natural/alternative therapies. That's not to say that I don't also do my own homework and call them back when things don't seem right. Betty is young enough that I decided to engage a specialist right away when it looked like I had another IBD cat on my hands. I gave steroids and prescription food a try, and she's doing much better than my attempts to do it on my own with naturals and alternatives.

I totally agree with you on this. There are bad vets, and there are good vets. And yes, sometimes when I'm in panic mode I can make a situation worse. Human nature though. But I do think finding a GOOD vet or having a repitoire with a clinic is extremely handy. Knowing you can have an intelligent conversation with them and come to a medical based conclusion is worth it's weight in gold.

 

[daftcat75]

I totally agree with you on this. There are bad vets, and there are good vets. And yes, sometimes when I'm in panic mode I can make a situation worse. Human nature though. But I do think finding a GOOD vet or having a repitoire with a clinic is extremely handy. Knowing you can have an intelligent conversation with them and come to a medical based conclusion is worth it's weight in gold.

I would add a corollary to the making your cat known to all docs in a clinic/hospital, and that's when you no longer trust one of them, that's when it's time to start looking for a new clinic/hospital. I tried to work around the one I didn't feel was stepping up for Krista and it didn't work. The "good doctor" doesn't work everyday and Krista couldn't wait for her days. So yes. Introduce your cat to multiple cat docs in the practice. But if you don't like one of them, it's probably better to find a new team than to try to avoid that one.

 

[maggie101]

I have had good and bad experiences with cat-only vets and all-animals vets. It's often the doctor, not the hospital that makes a difference.

One thing I did do differently with Betty was that I got her seen by both cat docs in her home base VCA so that she can see either one if the other is not in, or not available. This doubles our appointment opportunities and covers the off-day gaps.

Another thing I did differently with Betty than Krista is contrary to most here. I put more trust in the vets rather than trying to off-road it or go natural/alternative therapies. That's not to say that I don't also do my own homework and call them back when things don't seem right. Betty is young enough that I decided to engage a specialist right away when it looked like I had another IBD cat on my hands. I gave steroids and prescription food a try, and she's doing much better than my attempts to do it on my own with naturals and alternatives.

I so agree with daftcat75 . No more trying to fix anything medical related on my own. Tho you need to find a good vet

 

[Elvgrengrl]

I feel pretty good about how I’ve raised my kittens. They are good about eating well at mealtimes, not picky, they are on mostly wet food, no aggression, good litter box habits, dont scratch up the furniture, let me brush their teeth, will go in carrier, good at the vet, stay off the counter, etc. We found an excellent vet that we trust and he has already successfully helped us with some health situations. My only real regret is i didn’t train them to be okay with travel. They hate riding to the vet, which is the only time they ever leave the house. It was for the most part a conscious decision, though, because it would be hard to carry around three cats. I wouldn’t bring three cats on vacation with me, I don’t see a real reason to drive around running errands with three cats in the car. So it just didn’t seem practical, but I do feel bad about how they cry on the way to the vet.

If I only had one cat, though, I wouldve done it. There are some vacations I could have brought just one cat on, and it wouldn’t be hard to wrangle just one cat when running errands.

I knew someone who would take his cat, Mr. Peterson, everywhere. Like from California to Sweden for month-long dance camps. I'm definitely going to try to condition my next cat to travel.

 

[Margot Lane]

OH!! Also one thing I feel immensely relieved about is that I have a plan in place for my cat should something happen to me first.

 

[platty]

I'd do research to and buy him from a decent place because a kitten needs a socialised start in life otherwise you lose them from the starting grid

 

[Antonio65]

All it took was one horrible horrible vet to ruin that. I will never EVER forget sitting in the vets office listening to my cat screaming in the back. I kept asking the font desk if he was ok, I was reassured he was.

That's the reason why I never leave my cats in vets' hands while I'm waiting in the waiting room.
I go where my cats go, this is the rule.
The only time a vet asked me to wait while my cats were being taken in the back, I grabbed the carriers off the tech's hands and said we were done. He suddenly changed his mind.