(no subject)
I am in an annoying standoff with my cat's veterinarian.
Several years ago, one of lead vets at the animal hospital I take my pets to mixed the wrong reagents with my cat's vaccinations and very nearly killed her. She went into anaphylactic shock and almost died. Although she recovered, the vet told me that going forward, there was a strong risk that the same thing would happen any time that she was ever vaccinated again, so I'd have to leave her at the clinic for 24 hour emergency monitoring every time she gets a booster shot. My response to that was, screw you, I just won't get booster shots for this cat again. She's an indoor cat. She's not exposed to any other animals. When I did have another cat, he had his shots regularly so it wasn't like he was harboring anything. That cat is now gone, so kitty is an only cat. It's not like I have a forest full of rabid animals lurking inside the house waiting to bite her. She hasn't been exposed to anything.
Fast forward several years. The cat has not had any more shots. She's been in perfect health. Now, however, she needs her teeth cleaned. Her gums around one tooth are a bit pink which means that she may have a cavity but at minimum the gums are inflamed which has to hurt. The rest of her teeth are fine, but need a good cleaning. I took her back to the vet this weekend to get her teeth checked. One of the junior vets checked her teeth and agreed with me that kitty needs to have her teeth cleaned. However, says this vet, the clinic refuses to do it because the cat hasn't had her vaccinations.
Says this vet, my cat puts them at risk because she hasn't had her shots. I ask, risk of what? Rabies. Rabies? I repeat that this is an indoor cat who isn't exposed to anything dangerous, yet this vet gives me a look that very clearly implies that I am lying (seriously poor customer service there, lady) and says that they refuse to clean her teeth unless the cat is vaccinated. I say, 'Let me get this straight. The cat might die if she is vaccinated because of something that you guys did, but you refuse to clean her teeth unless she is vaccinated because you're afraid that you will get rabies from her, even though she is an indoor cat?" The vet gives me another stink-eyed look and says that if I want to contest her decision, I'll have to deal with one of the main vets (one of which is the vet who nearly killed her in the first place).
Seriously, I am so disgusted with them right now. The only reason I haven't changed vets was because of this unfortunate medical history. If something ever happened, I wanted a vet who was aware of her situation. Clearly, that was pointless.
...
In other news, I have to write a 20 page paper for my class. It's due today by midnight. I haven't even started on it yet. What are the odds that I will get it finished in time? Thankfully, this is the last task I have to complete for this class. First though, I have to go out and finish some yard work that I started on yesterday.
This entry was originally posted at http://saraqael.dreamwidth.org/7339.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Several years ago, one of lead vets at the animal hospital I take my pets to mixed the wrong reagents with my cat's vaccinations and very nearly killed her. She went into anaphylactic shock and almost died. Although she recovered, the vet told me that going forward, there was a strong risk that the same thing would happen any time that she was ever vaccinated again, so I'd have to leave her at the clinic for 24 hour emergency monitoring every time she gets a booster shot. My response to that was, screw you, I just won't get booster shots for this cat again. She's an indoor cat. She's not exposed to any other animals. When I did have another cat, he had his shots regularly so it wasn't like he was harboring anything. That cat is now gone, so kitty is an only cat. It's not like I have a forest full of rabid animals lurking inside the house waiting to bite her. She hasn't been exposed to anything.
Fast forward several years. The cat has not had any more shots. She's been in perfect health. Now, however, she needs her teeth cleaned. Her gums around one tooth are a bit pink which means that she may have a cavity but at minimum the gums are inflamed which has to hurt. The rest of her teeth are fine, but need a good cleaning. I took her back to the vet this weekend to get her teeth checked. One of the junior vets checked her teeth and agreed with me that kitty needs to have her teeth cleaned. However, says this vet, the clinic refuses to do it because the cat hasn't had her vaccinations.
Says this vet, my cat puts them at risk because she hasn't had her shots. I ask, risk of what? Rabies. Rabies? I repeat that this is an indoor cat who isn't exposed to anything dangerous, yet this vet gives me a look that very clearly implies that I am lying (seriously poor customer service there, lady) and says that they refuse to clean her teeth unless the cat is vaccinated. I say, 'Let me get this straight. The cat might die if she is vaccinated because of something that you guys did, but you refuse to clean her teeth unless she is vaccinated because you're afraid that you will get rabies from her, even though she is an indoor cat?" The vet gives me another stink-eyed look and says that if I want to contest her decision, I'll have to deal with one of the main vets (one of which is the vet who nearly killed her in the first place).
Seriously, I am so disgusted with them right now. The only reason I haven't changed vets was because of this unfortunate medical history. If something ever happened, I wanted a vet who was aware of her situation. Clearly, that was pointless.
...
In other news, I have to write a 20 page paper for my class. It's due today by midnight. I haven't even started on it yet. What are the odds that I will get it finished in time? Thankfully, this is the last task I have to complete for this class. First though, I have to go out and finish some yard work that I started on yesterday.
This entry was originally posted at http://saraqael.dreamwidth.org/7339.html. Please comment there using OpenID.