Please do not take your pet to this veterinarian. In response to our concerns about mild sneezing, they sold us medication for our cat that can be dangerous if not administered properly, and neglected... Read More
Please do not take your pet to this veterinarian. In response to our concerns about mild sneezing, they sold us medication for our cat that can be dangerous if not administered properly, and neglected to tell us (1) how to administer it safely and (2) about the potentially deadly side-effects of not doing so.
One of the veterinarians here in particular rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning (didn't use a stethoscope when we told her our cat was wheezing, made a nasty crack about my hypothetical future parenting skills when my partner informed her we disagreed with her suggested (corporal) discipline of our cat, etc.) We took our cat in one day for a routine vaccine, and because he was sneezing a lot (but otherwise fine). They gave him doxycycline in tablet form and we were given no real instructions for administering it (written or otherwise) except that the tablets be given once a day "with meals." Turns out that doxycycline can cause severe esophageal damage when administered in tablet form, even in humans (but particularly in cats) - it should be taken with a lot of water, or it can damage the esophagus such that it may swell or render the cat unable to eat. We were not warned about any of this, or of any other possible side-effects besides lethargy. I called an emergency veterinary helpline after the third administration of the medication, when it became apparent that my cat was in pain and unable to eat. The helpline expressed concern about the medication, and advised me to take my cat to the ER immediately. There we received new (liquid) medication to coat his throat so that he could swallow his food, and we've had to monitor him to make sure his throat doesn't swell up. It took two (fairly forceful) calls to Royal Oak Animal Hospital before they sent the necessary paperwork to the ER. Despite being fully briefed of the situation, they've never contacted us to check on his progress at all, which strikes me as extremely telling and irresponsible, and unusually callous, in my experience with various veterinarians.
This was, in my opinion, an extremely negligent mistake that could easily happen to someone else. No one should have to research/double-check the medication provided by a veterinarian for a (possible) mild cold to make sure it won't kill your pet. Read Less