Annoyed with Vet

Smilerterry

We took our two cats to our vets today to have their teeth cleaned. They are both two years old, brother and sister, and this is the first time we are having them done as they seem to be both suffering from gingivitous, the boy more that the girl.

We had last been at the vet about 3 weeks ago when it was suggested that they needed a clean and we were given steroids to help calm the inflamation.

May partner took them in this morning and dropped them off with another vet (same practice). My partner enquired as to how likely it would be that they may have to teeth out and costs, the vet basically told him that he wondered if the teeth cleaning was worth doing as they will both always have problems, it may well be that they have FIV or FeLV and that this is what is causing the gum problems, rounded off with 'have you ever thought about having them put down?'.

I'm shocked that without doing even a test for FIV FeLV that the vet is suggesting to us to put them down! He had only just looked at them that time too, we ave not seen this vet before.

They are rescue cats, we don't know their full history, but they were hand reared from a young age. I had presummed that the rescue we got them from had tested for these things as they were both then vaccinated against it.

I am so worried that my poor little ones are now in this mans hands today.....

morganafay

That's awful that he just said that.

I would get them tested though, since the rescue might not have. Or if you can ask the rescue if they routinely test them? My friend recently got a kitten from a rescue in Dublin, and it turned out she had FeLV. It was very sad, and the worst thing is they had that kitten in a foster home with lots of other cats, and obviously none of them were tested and probably not vaccinated against it.

Do you know have they ever gotten any illnesses or infections? Do they get run down alot?

And do you feed them dry or tinned food?

I hope your cats will be ok

planetX

They sound very young to be having tooth problems, you might want to get it looked into.
My vets practice has one vet I don't like, so I avoid him - always ask who is on when you make the appointment, you know who to avoid from now on!

Smilerterry

morganafay wrote: »

That's awful that he just said that.

I would get them tested though, since the rescue might not have. Or if you can ask the rescue if they routinely test them? My friend recently got a kitten from a rescue in Dublin, and it turned out she had FeLV. It was very sad, and the worst thing is they had that kitten in a foster home with lots of other cats, and obviously none of them were tested and probably not vaccinated against it.

Do you know have they ever gotten any illnesses or infections? Do they get run down alot?

And do you feed them dry or tinned food?

I hope your cats will be ok

Thanks for your replies. I hope they will be okay!

We are getting them tested today too, not that the vet really thought it was necessary for the cost!

They don't get ill at all, this is the first thing that has happened, they only normally go to the vets for their once a year check up and vaccinations.

We feed them mainly dry Science Plan food and they get a couple of wet food pouches a week to share (as a treat). We may well stop this treat!

As typing, got a phone call from the vet - tests have come back negative and cats recovering! Yippee! Vet hsould give us a refund for the things he said.

PlanetX - will be avoiding that vet from now on. It's ridiculous that they can say these things to people.

perri winkles

The amount of times our EX vet suggested we put down our dog was a joke. She was 17 when she eventually did pass, but was only in pain for the last two weeks, other then that she just toddled around the place minding her own business.

I would write a letter of complaint to whoever runs the place. That's what we did (this vet has been so rude in many other ways also) and we got a letter of apology and I'd say the vet got a fairly good bollicking too (He came out to us and said our dog has 'pissed' all over him, she was terrified! So unprofessional) Needless to say we havn't been back since and never will again.

You need to pull them up on these things! There are a suprising amount of vets out there that make you wonder why the hell they would get involved with animals, they seem to despise them so much. How dare they tell you to put down your cats? Makes my blood boil :mad::mad:

joyce2009

that seems a bit much to suggest putting them down with out testing them first,,definatley a vet to be avoided in the future....I'm glad it turned out that they are both ok:D

Amberjack

If your cats are suffering from gingivits, you should stick to dry food - wet food causes more saliva = more plaque. I know that The Hills/Prescription Diet do a special dry food for gum disease T/D - I've tried it with mine and they love it, they think it's tastier than the other dry stuff. In saying that, it is quite pricey, maybe try some of the internet sites, Northern shops etc. Ask the vet for free samples as generally they have loads in stock.
Also, if you feel unhappy with your vet, do write a letter of complaint and book an appointment with a different vet in the practice next time. Good luck with the kitties!

morganafay

That's great that the tests were negative

My cat has gingivitis too (though he is 6, and won't eat dry food because the neighbours fed him instead! and now his teeth are too bad for dry food) so he's meant to be tested for FeLV too. Though he has never been sick before so I kinda doubt he has it. WOuldn't he be getting sick all the time if he did? He hasn't gotten tested yet because he got knocked down by a car :eek: and is recovering from that first. Anyway, I'm rambling

Sigma Force

That's awful not to mention putting the frightners on you before even testing the cat, I know FLV etc. is always something to be wary of but cats can get along with things even if they have it.

Great it's negative, as said a presciption food might be an idea, since they are rescues it could just be the bad start to life that caused their gum problems and with a special diet they might not have the problem again.

Don't worry they can't go putting an animal down without your written consent or at least they shouldn't unless something seriously went wrong with an animal and there was no other option.

shanagarry

That's horrible, I can't believe that was the vets' attitude.

Gingivitis/Peridontitis is one of the indicators of FIV/FeLV, so that's good that the tests came back negative.

Do keep an eye on their gums though, and maybe get another opinion. My cat (also a rescue) had a terribly bad case. It would respond somewhat to steriods, but as soon as she finished the course it would come back as bad as ever. She ended having all her teeth removed by a veterinary dentist! The good news is that it was a total success. Now that she has no teeth, there is nothing for the plaque to stick to (it's essentially an allergy to plaque) and her mouth has healed completely. Being gummy doesn't seem to bother her in the slightest, she eats away as normal.

fend

Oh for the love of...... I had gingivitis [The human version...] Should I be put down too? :rolleyes:

Stupid vet...

boomerang

In fairness to rescues, you cannot blood test for FIV or FeLV with any reliability until the kitten is at least six months old, so rescues would waste funds testing kittens that are rehomed before they're six months of age.

The Sweeper

OP, consider a different vet.

It's a sad fact that some vets don't like some animals. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? But it's true - vets are only human. Some will treat every creature that comes through their door, some won't.

Vets who share large and small animal practice can sometimes be dismissive of small animal problems (unless it's a dog, because everyone likes dogs).

Also, some vets just don't like cats. (The same way some people just don't like cats.) A cat will virtually never bond with the vet. They will almost always behave as though they're entering the ninth circle of hell when taken to the vet. Sometimes they will injure the vet - and it's more difficult to restrain a cat than a dog, since with the dog it's just one muzzle, but the cat can do damage with its claws even after muzzling.

I've seen some crackers - including one vet bundling (I hesitate to use the word 'throwing' but it virtually was) a 17 year old cat back into its carrier and shouting at the owner to get rid of it. The owner had mentioned she couldn't worm the cat and the vet told her she was just doing it wrong. So she brought the cat to the vet, who tried to pill her, and the wily old thing stayed completely still and cooperative until he had his finger nearly in her mouth wtih the tablet, then she jerked her head and bit him as hard as she could - her owner had said "I can't worm her, she bites me".

It's unforutnate, but unless the vet likes cats, they can be very impatient with these scratching, biting, uncooperative animals that are hard to diagnose because they hide their symptoms and who are unrewarding to treat because they're never happy to see you like a dog is.

I skip the vet in my town completely and drive 25 minutes to the next town over to see the vet up there with my brood, because she loves cats.

planetX

+1
my vet is good with cats, but there's definitely a different attitude than with the dog owners. A tense atmosphere as they wait to see what's coming out of the carrier.

convert

Does your vet specialise in small animals? Or is it a general practice?

I only brought our dog to a small animal practice once (to get broken leg pinned) and I swore I'd never go back again. Not only were they over priced, to add insult to injury they tried to charge me twice what they had quoted, did a completely botched job on the dog's leg (pinned it really badly, the stitches were atrocious, they let the dog walk around on his leg after the operation), his leg never healed, and he had to be put down 18 months later because his leg completely broke again (it never really healed in the first place) and couldn't be reset.

I've only ever brought our animals to a general practice vet since. They are really good, explain things properly, list out all the options available and recommend the one which is best for the animal in question (whether large or small) rather than just recommending the one which is the most expensive.

I really feel that quite a number of the vets who specialise in small animals have done so simply because it's an easier life than large animal practices (which, in fairness, it is) and much more lucrative. I know several people who have gone through vet college with the sole purpose of specialising in small animals for the said reasons. They've actually told me this and were completely unashamed.

(I am aware that this doesn't apply to all small animal practice vets, and it is people such as those I've met who give them all a bad name).

Definitely if you're not happy with a vet, and you're in a situation to do so, change vet.

Graces7

If a vet spoke like that to us, we would just walk out.

Cannot believe you left the cats with him after that.

And yes, it has happened. One of our cats was missing three days. Finally found him and worked out that he had been stuck eg down a rabbit hole and not got out until he lost weight. He had also been bitten on the jaw and was in pain, and weak simply as he had not eaten etc.

It was late on a Saturday of course, so finding an emergency vet was not easy.

The only one open within 50 miles simply did not listen; ignored the fact he had been bitten and said his glands were swollen in his jaw, that he looked thin and haggard and obviously had feline leukaemia and would probably not ever bother to eat again. But I could try if I really wanted to.

I held my tongue long enough to get the pain relief and anti biotic the cat needed, but ignored the request to take him back to be tested, and of course, cat once the pain was sorted ate a hearty meal and soon was back to his usual form.

But we never went back to that vet.

Smilerterry

Amberjack wrote: »

If your cats are suffering from gingivits, you should stick to dry food - wet food causes more saliva = more plaque. I know that The Hills/Prescription Diet do a special dry food for gum disease T/D - I've tried it with mine and they love it, they think it's tastier than the other dry stuff. In saying that, it is quite pricey, maybe try some of the internet sites, Northern shops etc. Ask the vet for free samples as generally they have loads in stock.
Also, if you feel unhappy with your vet, do write a letter of complaint and book an appointment with a different vet in the practice next time. Good luck with the kitties!

Will definiatly try out the special dry food. Thanks for the info.

I didn't see the vet as partner took cats in and picked them up. Apparently he was nice as pie after and told partner that they should be fine now. 5 teeth out each though....

They wont come near us now and we need to give them tablets. Have tried crushing them up and putting in pate on paw, but they are having none of it and have gone into hiding:(

shanagarry

Hopefully they will be ok now.

When my lady had hers out the vet advised me to heat her food very slightly in the microwave to encourage her to eat as it releases the flavour of the food. She would take the tablets once they were crushed into the gravy of the food. They should come around quickly though. Abbie was very groggy and very sore for the first day or two, but started eating again after that.

pandora_mole

Irrespective of anything else, I would get a second opinion from another vet just because of the ridiculous "have you thought about putting them down" comment. That alone would justify you looking elsewhere.

I have had okay vets, good vets and then had two amazing vets who have gone above and beyond the call of their job or duty, ESPECIALLY with my rescue cats.

Graces7

pandora_mole wrote: »

Irrespective of anything else, I would get a second opinion from another vet just because of the ridiculous "have you thought about putting them down" comment. That alone would justify you looking elsewhere.

I have had okay vets, good vets and then had two amazing vets who have gone above and beyond the call of their job or duty, ESPECIALLY with my rescue cats.

It is so difficult, isn't it? In the case I mentioned, he simply did not listen to anything I said and I knew that the cat was simply injured. Amazing how they assume Fel V though.

Glad you have found good vets; we never have sadly.

Shewhomustbe...

Sheila, our eldest cat, has only three teeth left as she had to have the rest taken out because of gingivits, never once did our vet suggest putting her down, absolutely shocked a vet would say to do that to two young cats.