[ekyra]

I recently took my 13 week old kitten into the vet because he had been vomiting constantly. They gave me some pills and sent me home. Within 2 days he went from 3.3 lbs to 2. They ran all sorts of tests and they all came back neg. then hospitalized him and gave him fluids but he still wont eat. Now after running up hundreds of dollars in bills that i paid up front they told me they would need 300$ to do barium tests. shouldnt they have done xrays when i brought him in? i asked them to but they wouldnt. i think they know something is really wrong because i kept trying to ask the assistant what was wrong and she sidetracked me. then they told me if money was a problem i could take him home right that day. shouldnt they not send a sick cat home right away like that? i dont know if i should move him to another vet or let him stay where he is. sorry its a little ranty im just really upset about all this

 

[kittygirl04]

I had that problem too--a money hungry vet. I took my cat elsewhere and they helped her quickly without all of those expensive tests. The new vet is one that my aunt uses--so I knew they were reliable. It is sad that these vets seem to care about money more than the well being of an innocent animal! The first vet that I took Kittygirl to is in an expensive neighborhood and close to my apartment--I assumed they would be great, but I think they take advantage of the emotional owners (knowing that people will do anything to help their beloved pets). I hope that your kitty is ok--please keep us informed! If you feel that they are taking advantage of you--I'd go somewhere else!

 

[ekyra]

*sigh*

I withdrew him from the office this morning, they didnt bring him out until 5 minutes after my boyfriend paid the bill. he was emaciated, and covered in old cat food. the woman claimed that they had force fed him that morning, and didnt clean him up yet. Once we got him out to the car we knew they had known he wouldn't make it, so we took him home. I called my friends vet, and we took him in later. They said that because he was so weak, and that we couldnt afford a surgery at this point that he wouldnt make through, we should just go ahead and let him go to sleep. i dont think ive ever cried so much. I had called all day to the first vets office trying to get test results hoping that maybe that might help or something. When i finally got ahold of them at 5:20, he had already been gone since 3 . the receptionist was rude and said it came back negative, and that i should have him seen by a vet as soon as i can. the one that had been seeing him threw a fit when i told him that i didnt want him in a place where money is the top priority. i told the receptionist that i had already had him seen and that we had had him put to sleep. she said she was sorry to hear that but you know she was full of it. im calling one of the local tv stations in the morning, there are other people who were sitting in the waiting room with me this morning who were telling me their horror stories of that place. who lets these people take care of animals? i understand people need their fees but jesus when your cat loses even more weight in their care and you cant even clean off their little faces, ***are we paying for? i could poor gatorade down his throat and shove food in his mouth for alot less than 250$. this isnt the way its going everywhere is it? i know animals arent people but if they dont think they're important i dont see why they think they can charge out the butt and neglect animals. dammit!

 

[kittygirl04]

I am so sorry about your kitty. I was totally crying while reading it. I can't understand why people go into the veterinarian profession if they don't have a heart and love animals. You never did say what was wrong with the kitty? Maybe if they had gotten to you sooner--you could have taken him elsewhere to someone who does care about animals. I don't believe that all vets are this way--there are just some that truly are worthless. I am begging you to go to the local news stations. The ones around here really do "call out" these bad businesses and put them on the news so that other people won't go there. I hope that they lose their customers because they don't deserve the trust of people and their pets. Animals are just like humans when it comes to medical needs--what would happen to people if all doctors treated patients like this? I am so sorry for ranting--I just take this stuff to heart.

 

[ekyra]

*sighs more*

they think he might have swallowed a bead, i make jewelry so it could have happened. i asked the vet to go ahead and try to see if he had something inside him when i brought him in on monday, but said he probably only ate a bug. the one that i took him to today who put thor to sleep said she'd perform an autopsy and get back to me if anything was in his tummy. i should know on monday if it was that or if he was just really sick. he hadnt had anything to eat since sunday night so he was very weak anyway im just glad he's not hurting like that anymore. my mom is dragging me down to the humane society next week to adopt a cat, she said i needed to get another one and there are so many who need a home anyway. its like i dont want to replace him but i know that ill just develop a "i only have sixk pets so im not going to have anymore" complex if i dont. im thinking about maybe getting an older cat, atleast i know they have made it through the rough spots, only thing is i have a little dove who likes to fight cats and i dont want her getting eaten *sigh*

 

[kittygirl04]

Your mom is right--there are lots of cats that need homes. I don't mind not getting a kitten--of course they are cute--but many people take the kittens and the older ones are forgotten. I hope that you will get a new kitty and also be careful with those beads!! Maybe an older cat wouldn't be so tempted to eat them. Let us know if the vet finds anything--I am curious. Don't give up on pets--they need us and I believe that we need them too!

 

[fuzz de mtl]

sorry to hear about your little kitty....i don't understand vets like that either.

when you get your next cat from the local animal shelter, ask them to recommend a vet or two. they usually know a few good vets around town.

 

[Jeanie]

I share your feelings of outrage! I hope you find a vet who is worthy of your trust. My sympathy to you. I know you are heartbroken as well as angry. I think Mom's right. But it's up to you. Go over to the shelter and you'll know if you're ready for another kitten or cat. One of them has your name written on its heart. You'll find it!

 

[ekyra]

Thanks all

thanks for all the nice comments and sympathy. I had to throw out his dishes and box last night, it was sorta sad they were always by this one closet and i would stub my toe each and every time id go over there on his box. i really miss my kitty but im glad i didn't make him go through another day like that. once i get pictures i guess ill post them, i got camera happy but never developed them if i need to go see another vet ill go see the one i met yesterday who put him to sleep. she seemed nice, though they're a little expensive. but hey whats the point in having a pet if you cant spoil them via pricey medical care hehe.

 

[HelloBeautiful]

Wow...it does suck when you pay all that money, only to have to put the pet down anyway, doesn't it?
We had a yorkie/silky terrier mix that my mom bought on the rebound when one of our cats died. She got it unknowingly from a puppymill. 2 days after we got him, he started throwing up and having diarrhea. We took him to the vet and they said he had cocciddia. (We didn't find out until the day we had to put him down that he REALLY had parvo. )
So here we are for 3 days, treating a dying puppy for cocciddia, for nothing.
We made 2 emergency trips to the vet in the middle of the night, and on the last time, it was for good. He was so far gone after all the many many tests they ran, that we decided to put him down - after $200 worth of vet bills. We got the money back from the breeder, but she refused to pay the vet bills.
So, not only did we have to go through heart-ache, major stress, sleepless nights, vet bills, having a very sick , miserable puppy, but we also had parvo in our house!!!!! We wound up buying tons of bleach and something called KennelSol to kill the parvo.
We wound up buying another PUREBRED Yorkie, and a Maltese at a later age then the puppy before, and with many parvo shots, they've never gotten parvo.
It's just a shame that vets have to charge so much, and often times run all kinds of tests for no reason. If I had allowed the vets to run all the tests for Misty's diarrhea, they would have probably done $100 worth of tests just for roundworms :roll: That's why it's very important to find a good vet and talk to them before letting them run tests.

and again, I'm very sorry for your loss. It must have been hard

 

[ekyra]

thank you. well see we've taken all our animals to the same place, this one guy had known my greatgrandparents and worked on their budgies. but i didnt know he had all these other people running his practice now and i got some opportunist. i have no problems paying bills, if it were my hamsters or birds or anything else id pay it. its just he told us he was doing ok and then they brought him to us and he was so sick. so it makes me think he was just trying to milk us for all he could sadly. i called a local tv station with the nosy reporter guy, they've had complaints before. so all i can do now is take whoever we have next to a better rated place *sigh* anyway im really sorry about your puppy. my friend had that and couldnt have another dog in her apt. after it all happened. im just glad the kitty didnt have it.

 

[Rayona]

I would contact both your BBB and the American Veterinary Medical Association http://www.avma.org. If this vet really completely misdiagnosed and was not providing appropriate care they might have a complaints department. When you go to the Humane Society, let them know about you troubles with the vet. You don't want them referring people to him.

It is so sad when something like this happens. The vet I had for my first dog refused to do preventative worming, and the little puppy got such a bad case he almost died. And when we switched vets, the new place said they had tons of complaints about him! I am sure you will find a wonderful kitty at the shelter who needs all the love you obviously have.