Brought my kitty cat Oscar into this facility. My kitty had breathing trouble. Very shallow breaths in his abdomen, not chest. I'm not new to animals, I'm not new to emergency care of those animals, m... Read More
Brought my kitty cat Oscar into this facility. My kitty had breathing trouble. Very shallow breaths in his abdomen, not chest. I'm not new to animals, I'm not new to emergency care of those animals, my family is filled with nurses, we've gavage fed kittens, I've provided IV support to a puppy with parvo, a ferret with pancreatic tumors, etc. When we arrived I informed them I had already checked his gums & tongue, they were pink. I knew it was a very odd way to breathe. The vet came in and immediately took him to the back, which is appreciated, but she came back out moments later (not minutes, moments) and said "His SP02 stats were at 80%, I got him up to 94% with oxygen," keep in mind, his gums were pink, healthy pink, tongue was pink. As we were checking-in the receptionist asked for his medical history, I gave it, he had only been seen for two things; one was a cough in January where the vet thought could be a sign of asthma due to his age and his quick improvement with a steroid injection, the second he'd had a stomach ache that caused him to stop eating/drinking 2 weeks prior but he had improved and been fine. He was up to date on all vaccinations. The vet came back out and stated, "It isn't asthma, I had a kitty that presented these exact symptoms, he has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Once he presented the symptoms, even with the best care he only lived another 6 weeks. The prognosis is not good. I will have the receptionist present you with a quote to keep him (my kitty) overnight because he needs oxygen." The receptionist said, "So you said he was diagnosed with asthma?" I said "no, they thought he might have asthma due to his symptoms, but he was not tested, so they THINK he has it, he has NOT been diagnosed with it. So the quote came and the low end was $1500+ and the high end about $2,600. It included just keeping him stable and an ultrasound in the morning. Now my fiance checked his bank account and promptly offered his card. I pulled him aside. I had more questions than answers and number 1 if my kitty is dying I don't want it to be in a cold clinic cell without me there if at all possible. I decided to get a second opinion. As we were telling them we were taking him home they had us sign an AMA (Against Medical Advice) which is understandable and all but you just told someone their cat is going to die soon, you also said the only way to verify he's going to die soon is pretty much to stay in the hospital overnight and have an ultrasound in the morning. The receptionist then said, "The doctor wanted me to tell you again 'this is NOT asthma.'" This is what was conveyed to someone. Luckily I know enough to know that this was fishy. This could have cost an animal its life. Not everyone CAN pay $2,600 just to find out for sure their cat is going to die in 6 weeks with additional support after that $2,600. Now I can and will pay that and more, but what a horrific manner. Here are the problems I have with this: the vet gave her diagnosis prior to ANY testing, the vet stated MORE THAN ONCE "This is not asthma". I went to our normal vet office, both vets in the office listened to him. Thank GOD I did. Guess what, he just has asthma, he had an asthma attack the diagnosis is verified through actual testing, by radiologists and two vets that I trust. They heard no murmurs. His gums were pink still. His oxygen levels were fine. They got X-rays, radiologist read them. Heart was normal, bronchials highly visible. The cat has asthma. This is highly unacceptable behavior to insist another vet is wrong and in the same breath tell you the diagnosis you have and that there's not a good prognosis and nothing you can do. If this were a child there would be media involved, I guarantee it. Read Less