Our latest kitty adventure...
As yesterday was a holiday from work, I made an appointment to take Susano (our boy kitty) to the vet for his routine check-up and vaccinations. Our appointment was at 3:30. Hubby had to work yesterday, so he came home for lunch and then I took him back to work so that I could have the car for the afternoon.
We made it to the vet on time. We had an ok experience with the vet tech, though I could tell she was new. Nothing wrong with newbies, but she didn't inspire much confidence. The vet's office has begun to take the pets in the back to give them their vaccines. I felt uneasy about this, since I wasn't sure what they were giving him, though they had gone over the list of which vaccines he was due for.
After awhile, the vet came in and told me that the vet tech had given him the wrong vaccine! Instead of giving him the kitty vaccine, they gave him the one for dogs! (Not sure which one it was, but apparently the same vaccine has different contents and doses for cats versus dogs?) The vet told me they thought he would be ok but wanted to keep him for another hour or so to monitor him. !! I was starting to get a little scared for our kitty.
I left the vet's office to go pick up Jeff from work. We swung by the house and dropped some stuff off and then headed back to the vet to pick up Susano. We had to wait for a few minutes and then the vet tech (the same one who didn't inspire confidence earlier!) came out and gave him to us. She said that the vet had given him some Benadryl and that he might experience some vomiting. If he had a severe reaction, bring him back to the vet office (if they were still open) or take him to an emergency vet.
The only apology we received was from the vet when she told me that Susano had received the wrong vaccine. After we got home, Susano did throw up on the carpet. He's extremely lethargic today. Normally, he's all bouncy bouncy. I know he's on the mend, because he tried to sneak out onto the patio earlier. ;) But he is still spending all of his time today curled up on the couch. Right now, he's very happily curled up on a clean towel I left for him.
Jeff and I are talking about finding a new vet. We use Banfield, which is located in PetsMart. They have many Banfield locations here in Phoenix, so we might find another Banfield that cares more about the pets. Our experiences with them have been less than assuring, with very little education. When I lived with my parents, I had a kitty of my own. I took her to a different Banfield location and LOVED the vet there. She was always happy to sit down and talk to me about different issues, educating me as a cat owner. This vet isn't so involved in her patient's lives.
The only issue is money (of course!). We try to give our cat the best care we can. We have him on a pet Wellness plan, which means all office visits and vaccines are free. We pay a monthly fee but tons is included. Over the life of Susano's care, which has been about a year now, we've saved $1,000 by using the Wellness plan. Would an independent vet offer something like this? I'm not sure we can afford to pay full price, especially since Susano has had very unique issues (his face twitches sometimes and he had deformed reproductive organs). All of this has cost more than any other cat has cost.
I really just want the best for him, within the limits of our budget. We knew adopting cats cost money, but there's only so much we can afford. And even though Susano acts like a dog, he isn't! No dog vaccines injected in our cat!!
We made it to the vet on time. We had an ok experience with the vet tech, though I could tell she was new. Nothing wrong with newbies, but she didn't inspire much confidence. The vet's office has begun to take the pets in the back to give them their vaccines. I felt uneasy about this, since I wasn't sure what they were giving him, though they had gone over the list of which vaccines he was due for.
After awhile, the vet came in and told me that the vet tech had given him the wrong vaccine! Instead of giving him the kitty vaccine, they gave him the one for dogs! (Not sure which one it was, but apparently the same vaccine has different contents and doses for cats versus dogs?) The vet told me they thought he would be ok but wanted to keep him for another hour or so to monitor him. !! I was starting to get a little scared for our kitty.
I left the vet's office to go pick up Jeff from work. We swung by the house and dropped some stuff off and then headed back to the vet to pick up Susano. We had to wait for a few minutes and then the vet tech (the same one who didn't inspire confidence earlier!) came out and gave him to us. She said that the vet had given him some Benadryl and that he might experience some vomiting. If he had a severe reaction, bring him back to the vet office (if they were still open) or take him to an emergency vet.
The only apology we received was from the vet when she told me that Susano had received the wrong vaccine. After we got home, Susano did throw up on the carpet. He's extremely lethargic today. Normally, he's all bouncy bouncy. I know he's on the mend, because he tried to sneak out onto the patio earlier. ;) But he is still spending all of his time today curled up on the couch. Right now, he's very happily curled up on a clean towel I left for him.
Jeff and I are talking about finding a new vet. We use Banfield, which is located in PetsMart. They have many Banfield locations here in Phoenix, so we might find another Banfield that cares more about the pets. Our experiences with them have been less than assuring, with very little education. When I lived with my parents, I had a kitty of my own. I took her to a different Banfield location and LOVED the vet there. She was always happy to sit down and talk to me about different issues, educating me as a cat owner. This vet isn't so involved in her patient's lives.
The only issue is money (of course!). We try to give our cat the best care we can. We have him on a pet Wellness plan, which means all office visits and vaccines are free. We pay a monthly fee but tons is included. Over the life of Susano's care, which has been about a year now, we've saved $1,000 by using the Wellness plan. Would an independent vet offer something like this? I'm not sure we can afford to pay full price, especially since Susano has had very unique issues (his face twitches sometimes and he had deformed reproductive organs). All of this has cost more than any other cat has cost.
I really just want the best for him, within the limits of our budget. We knew adopting cats cost money, but there's only so much we can afford. And even though Susano acts like a dog, he isn't! No dog vaccines injected in our cat!!