Am I being fleeced?

[Kirsten]

Well, I agree with the others. 6 months sound strange to me, I think a health check up and deworming once a year is enough, and a stool sample only if necessary.

Kirsten

[leslie flenner]

guess this should be a new thread but wanted to put in what I recently heard. Out here in the northeast, we are building more and more into the habitats of wildlife so every now and then you hear stories about coyotes eating cats, small dogs...
The most recent I heard from QueenScoopalot was that a pomeranian was let out on his back porch, and once he stepped off the porch, a pack of coyotes were waiting for him and, yes got him/killed him. These creatures (and I say "creatures" with love for them) are hungry scavengers. When we push out the small prey- they have nothing. A hundred years ago, they ate what wolves left behind, the food chain was balanced. Out here, we killed all the wolves by blasting their dens and building pits with spikes at the bottom. When an alpha went in the pit, the rest followed unknowingly.
So back on the topic- let us know how the vet visit goes!!!!

[halliecat]

Twink,

How did the visit with the vet go? I think what they were asking for is over the top....That B-something vaccine is called a "boarder" vaccine. It is supposed to be used ONLY if you are boarding your pet somewhere. One vet I talked said she would not use it on her cat EVEN IF the cat was being boarded.

Hallie had all her kitten shots and was spayed all before she was 7 months old. She did not go back to the vet until she was a year old. She did have to have a rabies shot because it is required in this county.

What part of North Carolina are you in anyway? Send some your spending people this way!

[ramanth]

Originally posted by kimlovescats
Sounds like a penny-hungry vet to me!!! If your kitty has had all of his 1st year vaccinations, then he should be plenty well for at least a year!!! In fact, they are warning against over vaccinating your cats now! If your kitty is indoors all the time, and especially around no other pets, then yearly vaccines aren't even necessary, PROVIDED he/she DID get ALL the 1st kitten shots and tested and vaccinated against Felv, and FIV! (Feline Leukemia and Aids)

Hope this helps!

Ditto. I too have heard about problems with over vaccinating.

Logan went in 6 months after his first set of shots for boosters, but now I only plan to take him yearly. Usually it's just for a yearly checkup and flea meds.

Every 6 months is nuts.

[Twink]

Originally posted by halliecat
Twink,

How did the visit with the vet go? I think what they were asking for is over the top....That B-something vaccine is called a "boarder" vaccine. It is supposed to be used ONLY if you are boarding your pet somewhere. One vet I talked said she would not use it on her cat EVEN IF the cat was being boarded.

Hallie had all her kitten shots and was spayed all before she was 7 months old. She did not go back to the vet until she was a year old. She did have to have a rabies shot because it is required in this county.

What part of North Carolina are you in anyway? Send some your spending people this way!

Thanks for asking! And the answer is...I need an new vet. I need to do a long rant....er, I mean, post....on that vet visit when I get the time. Rizzo's basically healthy. He has a runny nose. Which the dr. acted was like the end of the world. *I* have a runny nose. But that's beside the point. I don't think she's a moneygrubber any more. Now I just think she's wacky.

We're in Raleigh. Ah, Raleigh. Haven of yuppiedom on Earth!

Well, no, I guess THAT title would belong to Cary. I'd be happy to ship some of these people off, if you want 'em. Are you in one of our fine state's more down-to-earth regions?

[halliecat]

No, I'm just outside of Charlotte. Maybe there could be a contest for the haven of yuppiedom!

Fortunately, I do have a good vet! Maybe they know someone good up your way!

I think you need to rant....

[Miss Meow]

Maybe you could get a friend to ring your vet on the pretence of asking for an appointment, and see what choices they give on that day. If it sounds like there are lots of appointment times available, it could be further proof that they're not busy and looking for business.

We take our cats in once a year for checkups and vaccinations, and buy a year's worth of worming and flea treatment at the same time. No need to take them back unless we think there's something wrong. I think elderly or other kitties with ongoing health issues should go more often, but otherwise, I think it's unnecessary to go in for the sake of it ... FWIW

[Twink]

Originally posted by Miss Meow
Maybe you could get a friend to ring your vet on the pretence of asking for an appointment, and see what choices they give on that day. If it sounds like there are lots of appointment times available, it could be further proof that they're not busy and looking for business.

You know, after talking with the vet (until now I've only dealt with techs and the assoc. vet, all of who are wonderful), if I found out that their appt. calendar was largely empty, I would NOT assume that they were trying to make up for poor business by recommending lots of treatment and visits. I would assume that their calendar was empty because they're (well, SHE'S) just WAY too treatment-happy and hysterical, and they've lost all their business. I'm going to try to write a long post about it today or tomorrow, 'cause I'd like to see if you are all as put-off as I was!

[sirrahbed]

Originally posted by Twink
I'm going to try to write a long post about it today or tomorrow, 'cause I'd like to see if you are all as put-off as I was!

teehee I will look forward to hearing from you 1) maybe I will not feel silly for ranting 2) maybe we can gripe and rant together!!

[Twink]

Oh, yes, ranting is neccessary and good. And the more the merrier!

So, when we got to the office, I told the receptionist that we didn't want the fecal done (I'd have brought a stool sample, but Rizz wasn't cooperating), and that we were going to pass on the de-worming and board-a-whatever vaccine. She wrote it all down, and then a tech came and weighed Rizzo and took his temperature (poor cat), etc. So far all was well. Like I said, I really like the staff at that office.

Sooooo, then the vet came in. I've never dealt with her (except over the phone the day Rizz was fixed) before. She plops down, reads the receptionist's notes, and starts talking about how she COULD argue with us on all points, but she'll let all of it go but the de-worming. And then she goes off on a very long tangent that begins with "I don't know if you know this, but I'm an integrated physician. That means that I don't believe in completely alleopathic medicine, but I'm not one of those quacks who is completely holistic either." And I thought, well, that's good. It's nice to keep an open mind and get the best solution out of all options available. But then she proceeded to go on and on and ON about what she meant, and started talking about what she does for HERSELF..."I'm on this supplement and that supplement and the other one, and I've been through detox for mercury..." All of this in a very brusque, self-important, bossy sort of tone. I glanced at my husband, who was standing there TRYING to keep his face noncommittal, but I could read the crinkle between his eyes like a book, and it said, "What a weirdo." Personally, I was just wondering what this had to do with my cat, and I was thinking that if she was trying to impress us...well, this wasn't the way to do it. And I *also* thought that someone who has to point out that they're not a quack three times in one speech more than likely has some, um, quackish tendencies. *cough*

Then she finally got back to the subject at hand and said that she really had to strongly advise against not de-worming Rizzo. Me (mildly): "Why is that?" Her (snippily): "Why is that? Because he wasn't sufficiently de-wormed as a kitten. My cats at home are de-wormed every three months, blah blah blah....(rest is severely paraphrased, since my memory's not THAT good)...parasite eggs can be brought inside on your shoes, and there's a new strand of tapeworm in the area, which is the fault of hunters up north driving foxes and wolves down here (?). If an animal contracts that type of tapeworm, exposure to it can be fatal to humans. Chew on THAT." She actually said, "chew on that." In a rather nasty tone of voice, I might add. I was seriously offended. (Oh, and I should break in here to point out that I am NOT easily offended or upset. I'm very laid-back and generally see the best of everyone and make excuses for things that can be perceived as faults. The fact that this woman managed to tick me off so thoroughly during a single office visit is quite telling.) For one, that was just rude. For another, why didn't she just go ahead and say, "Well, you obviously don't care about your cat, but maybe you'll care about yourselves." Because that's exactly what she was implying.

This speech did not sway us. But she looked at Rizzy's records and found that he's never been treated for tapeworms in particular. So, fine. We agreed to it. (later, as we were discussing his history and how he came to us, we mentioned that he had fleas when he showed up at my friend's doorstep. Her: "He had fleas? Well, then he has tapeworms." (snippily) He does not HAVE tapeworms. They've done two or three stool sample float tests on him there since we've had him, and they've all come back clean.)

On to the next issue! I think I'll save it for later and post this now so that it doesn't get completely exhausting.


(and thank you for allowing me to rant, all. I feel better already!)

[ramanth]

I'm sorry, but after her rant about worming him, I'd of picked up my cat and said, "Good Day." and let myself out.

[Twink]

The Rant--Part 2



After the Great Worm Debate…..

At some point it came up in conversation that Rizz is easily put off his food if he’s stressed, like after a vet visit. To which the vet replied that we should socialize our next cat better…for future reference, because it was “too late for Rizzo.” Now, how many of you have cats that don’t get stressed at all by vet visits? Show of hands?

So then she did his exam, which all went ok, besides Rizz making a lot of very unhappy faces, until she shone a light in his face. At which point she said (in a tone that can only be called accusatory), “What’s up with his nose?” I said, “I don’t know. Is something up with his nose?” I wanted to add that SHE was the doctor, but didn’t. She said, “There’s some discharge here.” In a tone that made it clear that such a thing should NEVER be allowed to happen. I said, “Yeah?” and she said, “Do you want to look?” – not in a way that made it seem like an informative exercise, but rather like she thought I was saying I didn’t believe her. I looked, and sure enough my pooky had some nose crusties. “Huh,” I said. She asked questions: has he been sneezing? No. Coughing? No. She looked a minute longer and said, “It’s probably the herpes virus. It could also be (a b-word and a c-word, both of which I can pronounce but not spell, so I’m not trying ).” She did NOT say that it could be an allergy (cats get allergies, don’t they?), a cold, a minor irritation, or anything small, simple and unimportant. She did not say to keep and eye on it and let her know if it doesn’t go away within a few days. Nothing like that. Just, “It’s the herpes virus.”

She proceeded to tell us to buy some L-Lysine and powder it into some wet food for him every day, and then come back in about 8 weeks to see if he’s improved. She talked about herpes viruses in general, and all of the different forms they can take in both humans and cats. She explained the benefits of L-Lysine in bolstering the immune system, and then she said, “I take it for my herpes.” Now, I know she meant cold sores or something, but as irritated as I was by then, I needed some sort of catharsis, and that just did me in. I spent the next three minutes thinking “DON’T look at Seth; DON’T look at Seth…” because my sweetheart has a very immature and infectious sense of humor, and I knew that if I looked at him it was all over. I also couldn’t look at the vet, b/c I knew I was making faces at her without meaning to. So, I looked at Rizzo for the remainder of the appointment. Good thing he’s so great to look at!

So, that’s that. I made an appt. to bring him back in May so that she could look at his nose again, but don’t think I’m going to, unless it’s still a problem. Yesterday, we shone a flashlight in his face, and there were no nose crusties at all. The day before he sneezed a couple of times and his eyes were a little runny. I’m willing to bet that he was having some sort of reaction to sleeping in the open windowsill with his nose stuck in the wind all night a few nights ago.

Honestly, though, what do you guys think? Am I being too sensitive? The more I think back on the whole appointment, the madder it makes me. And you know what? If I had a suspicion that something MIGHT be wrong with Rizz…if his appetite dropped a bit or his runny eyes had kept on for more than a morning or something…I don’t think I would call this vet office to get an opinion. I don’t trust this lady. I’d be afraid that she’d drag Rizzo into the office, hang him by his back claws, administer twenty different shots and put him on three types of medication, just in case. You know? I really would like your opinions, though. Or failing that, I would simply like to thank you all for letting me get this off my chest!! I know it’s a couple of ridiculously long posts, and I won’t to it again. *is sheepish*

[sirrahbed]

I have three healthy cats. I just inspected them all. Two have eye boogers and one has nose crusties. I am NOT going to rush them to the vet. My wacko health nut friend also uses L-lysine because she is SURE it prevents herpes and also takes megadoses of vitamin C to prevent colds. HER colds last only seven days while MY colds last an entire week! SHE also takes her pooch to a dog psychiatrist. MY neurotic and mistreated felines must simply suffer without a therapist because I obviously do not want the BEST for MY animals. OH! Emily sneezed. Sorry but I must rush her to the 24 hour vet care place!!! Oh wait, she just left her litter box where she frantically does litterbox patrol so I can relax....
Sorry - all tongue in cheek but this vet sounds like a total wacko. When care is needed, I am the first to rush out for it - BUT this is ultra preventative care pushed to an extreme and I could not stand the holier than thou Lazarus complex either. I HATE the guilt factor - so subtle. You will likely lay in bed tonight and break into a sweat wondering about those nose crusties - is it feline URI? hmm....Gizz is going to the box again - could it BE a tapeworm??? Am I a BAD Meowmie?

Oh, and I would also love to hear from any PT'er who has a pet who is NOT stressed by whitecoat visits. My RB Bert used to actually FAINT from fear. The vet finally told us to just keep him home (he was 17) unless absolutely necessary and spare him the trauma.

So, you had him treated for tapeworm right? You know, I would really be looking for another vet. This should be a *partnership* in healthcare for your animals - with your wishes and concerns respected. Mutual respect and partnership is not what this sounds like. Some people may need and want what this vet offers - but I personally could not stand it. The highest technology is not always the best. My very BEST vet was a little hole in the wall country vet in Nebraska. Treated horses, cows, dogs, cats, everything. One treatment room and he made housecalls! Common sense goes a long way - along with a dose of modern prevention.

I am done now

[halliecat]

RUN...do not walk...the other way!

BTW Hallie does not like the vet either! The last time she went to the vet she was pretty hostile...and she is usually sweet with other people (someone new to play with!)

Sure you don't want to move a little west?

[Miss Meow]

Originally posted by Twink
The Rant--Part 2



... and then she said, “I take it for my herpes.”

Way too much information

I think she's lost the plot, truly, totally, completely