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?