My cat was presenting with what could either have been a UTI or stress related inappropriate elimination. This was causing her to urinate on my loveseat. Because she has a history of doing this when s... Read More
My cat was presenting with what could either have been a UTI or stress related inappropriate elimination. This was causing her to urinate on my loveseat. Because she has a history of doing this when she's stressed out, I suggested that it may be stress or anxiety related. However, in this instance, she was doing things a bit unusual for her... she wasn't just urinating on one surface once or twice over a period of time based on a recognizable stress related factor (like a new person in the house), she was urinating multiple times in one night and even defecated on a soft surface (thankfully not furniture). So we isolated her on our screened in back porch (a place she enjoys being) until we could afford a vet visit. I made the appointment, explaining everything I needed to see the vet for. It had been a while since we could afford vet visits, so she is overdue on her shots and she needs flea treatments. She also is half bald and covered in scabs from over grooming because of what we assume is a flea allergy.
After making the appointment, I filled out a new patient form the vet has on his website. My husband and I had taken pets to Dr. Guidry before when he was at another location, but he is now self-employed. My husband liked him, so we decided to continue seeing him. In the form, there is a space for explaining what the initial visit is for. I wrote the following:
Is eliminating on upholstery and other soft surfaces, like clothing. Has what appears to be flea allergy which she is over grooming for and is now half bald. Has occasional anal gland issue where something is squirting out and smells foul. Seems to be somewhat stressed out often and cries loudly all the time. Appears to have recently lost a lot of weight but is eating and drinking well. Needs updated shots.
I turned this in when I checked her in. The vet tech had be take her from her carrier so they could weigh her. She weighs 10.4 pounds. They felt her abdomen and commented on her scabs, which I explained that I assumed it was a flea allergy. I stated that I hadn't been able to go to a vet for a couple of years, which I figured would suggest that she has not had any vaccines or flea preventative for that time. They tell me to put her back in her carrier. I am asked what I feed her and I can't remember the name, but I know it's made by Dick Van Patten (it's Natural Balance and she gets the limited ingredient diet). He sneers at this and brings me a bag of Hill Prescription Diet Urinary Care. Later, he makes another comment about my choice of cat food (food I had researched and which, unlike Hills, I hadn't found a ton of negative ratings about, including that it was recalled for killing people's pets).
At this point, I'm left in the exam room for a few minutes and I keep thinking they're going to come back and give her vaccinations. That never happens and it was never even suggested by Dr. Guidry. They don't run a UTI test, they don't run a fecal float. Every time I've ever taken my cats to the vet, I've been asked if they vaccines (unless they've been there before and then the doctor checks the chart and gives them if they are needed), I've been asked if I needed flea meds (and it was obvious that I did), and a fecal float was done to check for parasites. A urinalysis should have been done because that's what I was there for, but I just told that if it wasn't a UTI, the meds wouldn't do anything. I'm pretty sure that's why so many things are antibiotic resistant now, but I didn't go to med or vet school, so I guess I don't know anything. They eventually bring me up to the front desk to pay and she tells me how much it will be. I ask if this includes flea meds. The tech asks if I asked for them... um... it's on the freaking form I filled out, along with the vaccinations I didn't get, but I say no and she gets one for me.
So worst vet visit ever and we will be finding a new one for our five pets. I won't be going back. Read Less