Do You Trust Your Veterinarian?

by Michael
(London, UK)

This sounds a bit harsh but do you trust your veterinarian? I cannot say that I do. Not completely anyway. The main reason is because I always think that he or she is going to make a decision on diagnosis and treatment that makes the veterinary clinic a good profit as well as cure my cat. There are two objectives in force when there should be one – getting your cat better again.

This cynicism is born out of experience. Just recently I took my elderly lady cat to the vet for constipation and the vet was a charming young women who had clearly recently qualified and who came from one of the European Union countries, probably one of the new members from Eastern Europe.

Her English was OK but not good and I don’t think she understood me.

She felt my cat’s stomach and then sought a second opinion but I was not present when she was discussing my cat with a colleague. I don’t altogether trust her diagnosis.

Some years ago at a different vet surgery the vet suggested I buy all my cat from his shop and it was all dry cat food. This is not good policy but it made him a tidy profit. He argued that the dry food was cheaper per meal etc. That is not a good reason to buy it from my cat’s point of view and not necessarily good for her health. He was undermining his position as a person who is meant to make a cat’s health better.

I guess you have good, bad and average veterinarians. Does the average cat or dog guardian (owner) know the difference?

Did we respect vets more in the old days!? When they were less greedy. Or am I just being sentimental in thinking they were better then?

Do we find the vet too expensive and do we put off going to the vet for that reason to the detriment of our cat or dog?

If veterinarians were cheaper and better would be go more frequently? If that is true are in vets in general not doing a very good job?

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Do You Trust Your Veterinarian?

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Jun 28, 2011 No
by: Ruth

No I don’t trust any vet any more which is sad because I’m sure some of them really do go into the profession to help animals rather than to make money.
When I started vet nursing the most technical piece of equipment those days was an x ray machine but the vets mostly diagnosed by taking their time examining the animal and listening to the person describing the symptoms.
Nowadays their first thought is expensive tests and always blood tests, which are frightening and upsetting to animals and many times unnecessary.
Twice we have been let down by vets and lost a much loved cat.
I would always urge anyone in doubt to ask for a second, third, even fourth opinion if they aren’t happy with any diagnosis or treatment.
Keep on asking until you get an answer !

Kattaddorra signature Ruth


Jun 28, 2011 I do trust my vet
by: Aimee

I have a cat only doctor who has proven to me that she is not out for the big bucks. She and I will discuss whatever is wrong with my cat and decide together whether or not it’s something that should/could/needs to be done. She has told me with Karma, that while teeth cleaning is good.. she doesn’t want to do it with Karma..he’s 20.. too much stress for his older system.. also she has never tried to force me to buy anything. We did try the special food she sells when Karma was diagnosed with renal failure early stages.. but she was in agreement when I told her I stopped using it. He wouldn’t eat. My friends kitten had a small problem that she could fix by surgery.. however.. his kitten was being neutered at another vet who works with the program my friend could afford for neutering.. and my vet said to have the problem done by the OTHER vet as it was less traumatic on the kitten to have surgery only once.

Can she make a mistake at some point? Of course.. no person is perfect.. everyone can make a mistake.. she’s still upset over my little girl we lost to cancer… but I know she and I did everything we could do at the time. We were limited by my extreme lack of finances and she charged me NOTHING except for medications and pathology that was done by an outside lab. I don’t trust her to be perfect.. but I do trust her to do what is in the best interest of my cats to the absolute best of her knowledge!


Jun 28, 2011 mostly
by: Eva

My cat is with a cats only vet and I mostly trust the two vets who work there.
They are both young women who clearly have a lot of love for cats and are really gentle and mindful with my little scaredy cat. I don’t think they’d put him through any unnecessary procedures. Obviously they’re only human, so I’m sure they sometimes make mistakes and get stuff wrong but so do all doctors.

I don’t quite trust them when it comes to nutritional advice but I don’t think that’s their fault. I think it’s more a case of the pet food industry trying to influence vets.


Jun 28, 2011 Surgeries are businesses now
by: Barbara

No Michael, I don’t trust vets either, I used to trust one in particular who many years ago saved our much loved collie Shep with a new type of surgery. And she cared for Felix my little soul mate, and for Ebony who had diabetes but then when Popsy was poorly she let us down big time and through that she caused Popsy’s death. That of course made us lose all trust in her so we changed practices but on the very first visit we saw the practice owner who straight away tried to get us to sign into a scheme where we’d pay so much a month towards any treatment our cats may (or may not) need and recommended things we just didn’t want for them, and then one of the times when their boosters were due we asked for the vet to come to the house, which he did, but he was so rough with them, holding them down on the floor and not trying to interact with them at all that we swore we’d never let him in the house again.

So now although we’re still registered there we dread ever needing their services, though some vets must genuinely love animals it seems that these days it’s all about profit and big business.


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