Changing Vets

[raecarrow]

As referenced in a previous post, my Teddy got a UTI over the holidays and I had to take him to my parents' vet because I didn't want to wait 3-4 days to have him seen. I took him in on Thursday night last week and they said they wanted to keep him overnight to give him Sub-q fluids, take a urine sample and make sure he wasn't completely blocked. I called the next morning and they said he was doing well with sub-q fluids, that he did have the start of a UTI and they started him on the antibiotics. They then said he needed a bath before I picked him up though.

When I went to pick him up I was expecting a whopper of a bill; overnight care, UTI test, sub-q fluids, bath, etc. To my surprise, the bill came to $173! Last time he had a UTI (two years ago) the bill came to well over $300 and that wasn't an overnight stay.

My parents love this vet and I'm considering having all their routine work done by them when I visit my parents'. The practice has very high ratings as well as being fairly inexpensive. I can't find a decent vet in my area that charges less than $250 for a yearly exam with shots. I know I would have to cultivate a relationship with a vet in the area for emergencies, but what do you think about developing a relationship with a good, inexpensive vet that is a 2 and a half hour trip away? Also, I haven't developed a good relationship with any vets around here, though there is one I like better than the others I would talk to because they would give me solid pricing up front on every procedure (still not cheap though).

Thanks,

[Susan]

I don't see a problem with that, since you presumably do the drive on a somewhat regular basis to see your parents in any event...and provided you have an emergency option available nearby.

[raecarrow]

Originally Posted by Susan

I don't see a problem with that, since you presumably do the drive on a somewhat regular basis to see your parents in any event...and provided you have an emergency option available nearby.

I do go to see them often, usually once a month or so. I generally only take the kitties with me 3-4 times a year (They watch them when I'm on vacations and I bring them with me when I stay over Christmas and Thanksgiving. I think that is enough to get their yearly checkup in though.

[NRD]

Originally Posted by raecarrow

I can't find a decent vet in my area that charges less than $250 for a yearly exam with shots.

Not your main question, I know, but since I happen to use an animal hospital in Gaithersburg, I'd thought I'd mention to you that I took one of my cats in for his yearly exam and an annual rabies and distemper booster two weeks ago, and the bill was $143. Not inexpensive, but also not $250. I am happy with the quality of service from the two vets there over the past year. One cat was diagnosed with conjunctivitis, and an eye ointment cleared it up. Another was diagnosed with roundworms, and the medicine for all my cats got rid of it.

They also do some surgery at the hospital, though my cats haven't needed it yet, fortunately.

Their services are not cheap, but also not expensive, in my view, and I have been gaining confidence over time that my cats are well served.

I don't want to recommend them publicly, lest somebody else rely on them and not be happy and I've only been using them for a year, but if you want to know who they are, say so and I'll send you a PM.

[Vivid Dawn]

I have used 3 different vets in the last 2 years, switching for various reasons. First vet more or less got kicked out of the clinic for business/financial reasons (not because he was bad at medical stuff). Second vet wouldn't take care of my ferals... so I figured I'd just take my cats to the vet that does do ferals. But this current vet and/or his staff is ditzy and tried to spay my 10 year old cat when I had just brought her in to get a urine test!

There's a vet that gets VERY good reviews (not on the internet, but by actual people I talk to in real life), the office was nice and clean when I went to pick up cats for our rescue group... only trouble is that it's 20+ minute drive, and both my cats go completely bonkers in a carrier. I have kept to the local vets to keep down the stress to as little time as possible (transportation AND all the clinic stuff).

Any suggestions how I might reduce stress if I do choose to go to a vet half an hour away?

Money is not an issue with me, as I always just use my credit card - easier to pay a bigger bill that way...little bit at a time, if I need to.


P.S. My cats will go INTO the carrier just fine... it's when they realize that the door is shut/latched and they can't get back out that they start freaking out.

[raecarrow]

Originally Posted by NewRescueDad

I don't want to recommend them publicly, lest somebody else rely on them and not be happy and I've only been using them for a year, but if you want to know who they are, say so and I'll send you a PM.

Please do, I can deal with $143 for a yearly exam.

[raecarrow]

Originally Posted by Vivid Dawn

P.S. My cats will go INTO the carrier just fine... it's when they realize that the door is shut/latched and they can't get back out that they start freaking out.

Have you tried covering the carrier? When I take my boys to my parents' they (well Teddy at least) would howl for most of the ride. On the last trip up to my parents' I decided to cover the carrier with a large towel because I had to pack them in tight and I didn't want them clawing at my homemade presents. My sister happened to be with me. They cried for the first 10 min of the trip but after that they were so quiet that my sister (joking of course) suggested that they might have passed out from exhaust leaking through the hatch of the van. Of course, I got unnerved (even though it was a joke) about that and had to stop to check on them. They started crying a bit when I picked up the towel to look at them but they quieted back down once we were on the road. I guess the sensory depravation made them more comfortable. The trip took us 4.5 hours (durned traffic). Normally they would have been throwing a fit by then but they were fine. The trip home was about the same but two hours shorter.

[OsnobunnieO]

I think the bigger questions is what is included in the $250 for the yearly exam? The vets I used to work for would include an exam, stool sample, vaccines (and HW test for dogs). While I understand the need for the stool sample, IMO indoor cats are much less likely to have intestinal parasites (we very rarely found any sign of parasites on any cats other than strays and kittens). Some vets will also run small blood panels or check urine, though I think that is highly unlikely. The point is not all vets make it completely clear what is being charged for until after you go to check out.

I think there are a lot of vets who do not fully explain what they are doing, and I also think there are a lot of people who do not fully absorb what was done. Now that I work at an emergency clinic I often see people come in to us from their regular vet and refuse the tests we recommend because they are certain everything was just run at their vet and checked out just fine. Then they hand over the invoice they were given and there were no diagnostics run at all. Or we mention running bloodwork and they say they just had it, but all that was run was a HW test or FeLV/FIV test.

Some people assume all sorts of things are included (or that a "wellness exam" with no obvious problems found means there is no need to run bloodwork or radiographs because their pet is clearly in good health and can't possibly have problems that can be found with diagnostics).

I think if you were happy with your parents vet you should try to stick to them. At least have records sent so they have all of your pets history on file. Do keep someone local in case of emergency, but stick with who you are happy with. Even after working at several clinics and understanding the reasoning behind charges... I think most vets do way over charge for some things. The concept is that clinics with higher costs often provide better services for their fees. So they may have the same vaccines, the same diagnostic tests they can run, etc. But that the staff provides better customer service, you have more time spent with staff and less time sitting alone waiting, things are better explained to you, etc. In my personal experience this is not often the case. The very expensive vets I have worked at are often over booked, have long waits and just minutes with techs and vets, and people are rushed out the door without having any idea what was just done.

Stick with who you are happy with. But more importantly let them know why you are coming so they know they are appreciated and even more so let you other vet know why you are leaving. Most vets see clients come and go but never hear a word of why. They may not care that you think their service does not match their prices, but if they start to see a pattern over time they may do something to change it.

[October]

Rae (and NewRescue, if you're interested), I have a friend who takes her cats to a cat-only vet in Germantown. She has said very good things about them, although I'm not sure of their prices. Your cost for all they did sounds amazingly low!

[NRD]

OK, Rae, will send you a PM.

And October, sure, happy to have the name of the cat-only vet. I'm reasonably happy where I am, but I don't have a lot of data points yet, so it's good to know who has a good reputation in the area.

By the way, since I'm coming up on one year since I adopted the first of my four, it's time I asked the admin if I can change my handle. I'm no longer a "New" Rescue Dad, and I've learned since joining this Forum that technically, I did not rescue them, the agencies did, and I adopted them from the agencies. I guess my handle will be shortened to NRD, which also may be read as "nerd", but such is life, lol.