Second Veterinarian Opinion
by Elisa Black-Taylor
(USA)
Laura holding Booger
Please get a second veterinarian opinion on your cat if you don't like what a vet is telling you.
The first picture is of my young daughter and a stray we fed named Booger. He died a senseless death thanks to a stupid vet.
Readers, PLEASE, I know most of you are intelligent enough to realize this. I just can't stress the importance of this enough!
If I'd listened to one vet last week, my Cocoa would probably be dead now. Here's the story of that experience. You don't have to be empathic or psychic for an alarm to go off in your head when your cat is seriously ill. It normally stares you in the face.
Why is it so hard for some people to seek a second vet opinion? We do it all the time on everything else. We do it before human surgery. We do it on our cars if a mechanic finds nothing wrong yet we KNOW there's a problem. Think of it as life-or-death comparison shopping.
Because your failure to act could KILL your cat!
I listened to this same vet almost twenty years ago and lost four cats because of a misdiagnosis. Here's the story about the worst week of my life. I was young and naïve and too trusting of someone who shouldn't even be allowed to practice.
I literally had flashbacks a few weeks ago when this same vet told me to let my Cocoa go without food for five days and there was nothing wrong with him. My regular vet was out sick that day.
If only I'd listened to my inner voice in the early 1990's, I believe I could have saved at least two of my cats. Whiskers almost made it.
It may be wishful thinking, but we believe Cocoa is slowly improving. No thanks to a man trained to help animals yet turns them away as if they didn't matter to him.
I don't believe they do. There are vets out there who don't have a "bad day." Everyone in my town knew who I was writing about. I feel so sorry for those who lose their cats because they ignore their intuition and then have to deal with the grief and the blame of knowing a second opinion could have saved their cat.
Readers, have any of you ever listened to that voice in your head that your animal was a lot sicker than your vet diagnosed and gotten a second vet to examine your cat? Or worse, have you NOT listened and now have to live with your mistake for the rest of your life?
Do you know what it's like to tell your only child that not one-but FOUR of the cats she loved are DEAD?
And yes, Scrappy looks a lot like my little Mandy. I'm sorry I couldn't locate a photo of Tom. He was a feral and I never took many photos of him. He was solid black and a real sweetheart.
I get very upset and very angry when I think of what I've gone through. I know someone is going through this right now and won't realize it until it's too late.
Women especially are born with a sixth sense of something being wrong. Don't ignore it.
Please share your stories here. I'm really concerned at how many bad vets are out there.
Elisa
