If I could rate zero stars, I would. We brought our cat to this place because she was acting like she was dying - wouldn't eat, drink or even get up to greet us. We took it very seriously, and ostensi... Read More
If I could rate zero stars, I would. We brought our cat to this place because she was acting like she was dying - wouldn't eat, drink or even get up to greet us. We took it very seriously, and ostensibly the staff at VCA did too.
They were quick to get us in a room and talk to a doctor. They ran tests on the cat's urine and blood. The only abnormality was the glucose levels were a bit high, but they explained that this is normal in a cat that is ill and/or stressed. They gave her an antibiotic injection and told us they would call us later in the day to give us an update. They never called, so we stopped by to see what we could learn. They told us at that time they thought it would be best to have the cat stay there for the night so they could monitor her (turns out noone actually stays there overnight). They kept her overnight as we all eagerly awaited for the results from the urine sample they had sent to a lab. The doctor suspected there was a bladder infection related to undiagnosed diabetes, which is why the urine sample was sent off. This struck us as strange since she had already told us that the elevated glucose was normal for any cat. We took her word for what it was, being the professional and all...
I stopped by the following afternoon after we called and found out they had given her some insulin and she seemed to be responding well to it (her fever had dropped some). When I got there I was expecting to speak with the doctor, but when I approached the counter asking about my cat they only asked me "So, are you going to buy the insulin?", basically expecting me to pay up front without ever even hearing from the doctor that the cat had been diagnosed as a diabetic. I pretty much had to demand to see the doctor first.
I talked to the doctor who had decided that our cat was a diabetic, even though there was no sign of bladder infection, and the glucose levels in her blood had never actually been abnormal for a cat under stress (doctor's words, not mine). She had just decided it was diabetes, and we were going to give the cat two insulin injections a day for the rest of her life. Our cat was still not eating or drinking water, but the doctor assured me the insulin was effective and that this was the reason for her extreme ailment.
We brought her home and she seemed to be just as bad as she was, if not worse than she was before. She still didn't want to move, would not eat or drink. We did as the doctor ordered and gave her the insulin injections. Every time we gave her one her condition seemed to worsen. We eventually did some research on the issue, and to our surprise giving any animal insulin when they are not eating will eventually kill them. We couldn't believe the doctor hadn't told us that. We then began to question if the cat had diabetes at all. We stopped giving her the injections and watched her quickly get better.
We brought her to a different animal clinic the following day. This veterinarian confirmed everything we had been thinking. He was shocked at the incompetence of the doctor not telling us to refrain from insulin injections when the cat is not eating. He also confirmed for us that this was not diabetes, and that he wasn't sure how the previous doctor came to this conclusion. He noted that the lab results from VCA had shown high white blood cell counts, which indicated an infection of some kind. He prescribed a simple round of antibiotics. The cat is doing great. We had the blood glucose levels tested a week later and they were good (not diabetic).
$800 later we still don't know what the cause was, but it certainly was not diabetes, nor a bladder infection. DO NOT BRING YOUR ANIMALS HERE. They didn't take any time to communicate with us when they obviously should have. Their prices were outrageous, and they would not budge one cent, stating that corporate sets the prices and they are based on competition and not the value of actual services rendered. The doctor's incompetence would have cost our cat it's life if we hadn't grown weary and done our own research. Read Less