What thing makes the ultimate choice of vet?

[Fire Fox]

Noah has his first vets visit at the beginning of February, and you have all given me food for thought ... I'm worried they will frighten him and he'll bite someone. He only needs weighing, ears cleaning (he isn't scratching) and claws clipping but I know he won't like being restrained and 'interfered with'! Shall I take some prawns? Noah always purrs for prawns, tho it might be too much of a distraction? Is it best to put a blanket over his carrier since he doesn't like dogs or other cats?

Yes, cover him in a dark towel or blanket for the journey and while he's waiting. I always cover mine in the car as it settles them a lot better.  No matter how much be complains, the vets have dealt with worse and are experts at calming cats down and winning over confidences. Save the prawns for when you get home as you don't really want half a dozen doggies sniffing fresh prawns in the air and wanting to be your best friend, do you?  If bribes are necessary the vet will have his own stash of tasty nibbles. 

  I know I am worrying over nothing really but he is my baby ... You are right about the dogs and prawns, silly me!! I have a brown fleece that Noah has slept on so will use that. I don't mind Noah yowling, just not terrified or bitey. At least if they are not very good with him I will know before Noah needs any proper treatment, as I haven't anyone to recommend a vet locally.

[Desley (booktigger)]

I have used my vet for the past 6 years as they are the closest to my house (3 mins in the car, 8 mins walking). They aren't the cheapest, but they have 2 branches, so other opinions can be found - which the owner did with Zia, as she couldnt use her usual route. I did briefly change, as the rescues vet were a lot cheaper, but it was further away, and I didn't feel I got the same level of service - it took them weeks to deal with insurance claims etc. I also dont like one man band practices, I prefer places that have more than one vet - the rescues vet never got locums in, so I doubt he is that up to date on things, and there was a couple of things he did that I knew wasnt' the best way to do things. He is a popular vet, but after messing up things like dentals that had to be redone, I refused to take my fosters, and everything went through my own vet. My only problem at the moment is that my vet left last year after 5 years, we have had locums since, and we are apparently getting a male vet in March, I hope he is decent, as with two cats with long term health issues, I don't want to keep getting conflicting advice.

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Noah has his first vets visit at the beginning of February, and you have all given me food for thought ... I'm worried they will frighten him and he'll bite someone. He only needs weighing, ears cleaning (he isn't scratching) and claws clipping but I know he won't like being restrained and 'interfered with'! Shall I take some prawns? Noah always purrs for prawns, tho it might be too much of a distraction? Is it best to put a blanket over his carrier since he doesn't like dogs or other cats?

Yes, cover him in a dark towel or blanket for the journey and while he's waiting. I always cover mine in the car as it settles them a lot better.  No matter how much be complains, the vets have dealt with worse and are experts at calming cats down and winning over confidences. Save the prawns for when you get home as you don't really want half a dozen doggies sniffing fresh prawns in the air and wanting to be your best friend, do you?  If bribes are necessary the vet will have his own stash of tasty nibbles. 

[Fire Fox]

Noah has his first vets visit at the beginning of February, and you have all given me food for thought ... I'm worried they will frighten him and he'll bite someone. He only needs weighing, ears cleaning (he isn't scratching) and claws clipping but I know he won't like being restrained and 'interfered with'! Shall I take some prawns? Noah always purrs for prawns, tho it might be too much of a distraction? Is it best to put a blanket over his carrier since he doesn't like dogs or other cats?

[snarf]

Sounds standard to me, Snarf.  Vets do spend charity money like it's a bottomless pit and I've seen instances of them charging CP for owned pets and also charging fosterer's pets to CP. They do view it as doing the fosterer a favour. Our treasurer has to go through every single invoice to cross check them although some vets are worse then others for admin matters. We even found one case of them charging us for someone's dog! 

Oh... sorry!  I've hyjacked my own thread! 

thats shocking. ive kept the receipt for the bill i asked to be changed, i let my coordinator know what was going on and that i would pay any and all costs for that visit so if they get billed as well ill go mad. i cant believe theyd do that its basically stealing from needy cats 
hijack continuence over 
thank you for your thoughts on the vets Julie its helped confirm that im not happy seeing that particular vet. ill try the nice lady vet (who does charity work abroad neutering cats) for abit longer with my 2 but only her i think. spare cat lurves her    even after she took her temp!

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Sounds standard to me, Snarf.  Vets do spend charity money like it's a bottomless pit and I've seen instances of them charging CP for owned pets and also charging fosterer's pets to CP. They do view it as doing the fosterer a favour. Our treasurer has to go through every single invoice to cross check them although some vets are worse then others for admin matters. We even found one case of them charging us for someone's dog! 

Oh... sorry!  I've hyjacked my own thread! 

[snarf]

Thanks Julie im hoping i can get them to talk to their usual vets.  from what i understand he would have had the op there as the AARU have an arrangment with that vets .
im also not sure if this particular vet understands what fostering means- spare cat had earmites before christmas so i brought giles and lucifer in together to be checked for them. giles is registered to the AARU and all costs get invoiced directly to them but as he was only there due to my cat i didnt feel it was fair for them to pay.i said when i came in that i wanted to pay for everything and had booked the appointment in lucifers name (so he had to call up giles records as well, he had been on canaural when he first came to me). they were both clear and he said hed only charge me for one consultation and i said thank you but please make sure you charge it to lucifer not giles as i dont want the charity to pay. he said ok then caught up with me outside to tell me me hed charged it to the AARU so i didnt have to pay anything-in a manner like hed done me a favour so i went to argue with the receptionist to get it taken off their charge and for me to pay. totally ridiculous. most people would understand that charities have limited funds. if i could pay for all giles treatment i would, as i cant i will certainly pay for anything that comes under basic care and any cost incurred as a result of me/my cats.
the more i think about it the more i dont trust this vet. one bad egg or bad practice though?

[bunglycat]

The one i used in Altrincham called Wipers was absolutely fantastic and went there the 4 years i lived that way.
When i moved here i used one that i was not at all happy with as Sophie had a dental and they left her in a stable block recovering away from the practise ! I was extremely upset and angry over this and afterwards wrote them a stinking letter of complaint of which i never heard anything from .

I then used another one that i also wasn''t overly happy with and both these were within about 5 miles .
I then remembered Mr Owen who has been running his own practise in Newark for years and knew he was really good .
I have now been with him almost 10years -its a 20mile round trip -but always worth it and never had cause to complain about anything - he also really loves cats , is very reasonable in the costs and has put himself out for me on quite a number of occasions - and never moaned at me when i rang him 3 times one night between 10pm and 2 am as Smartie had the runs and was sick at the same time !

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

That sounds like a lack of confidence in surgical abilities to me, Snarf, and it's a silly statement to make. I'd put him in a spot and ask him to explain his beliefs as it's contrary to standard advice from just about any vet you'd care to speak to. I'm sure you know then that the Thyroid is a butterfly shaped organ which stretches across the windpipe right near main arteries. Not a problem for a good surgeon but he may not be a cat specialist surgeon.  Not sure what your AARU will say but we at our CP branch would go for removal every time. With a dicky thyroid something silly can cause a spike and throw out the meds, and it takes months to get the condition stabilised again. 

[snarf]

well thats what i understood for hyper-T but todays vet "wouldnt advise the op for any hyperthyroid cat if they took their pills"
theres a longer explanation in
http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,28895.0.html
Hes been on vidalta for 2 months and the previous vets hes seen have been pro- op. As hes a foster its not up to me but i think if it was one of mine id be pushing more for the op. it seems the better long term plan but i think the AARU will take the most recent vets advice?

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Hyper thyroid cat, Snarf? Gee, that's a toughy.  You are right in that it won't directly affect his health, but think of thyroxine as being the oil in the system of an engine. Not enough/too much and all the other parts have to work harder to get the job done. The heart/kidneys/liver will come under greater strain and it will affect the metabolism and great variations in weight can occur. Left untreated the organs will age faster... so not a direct cause of death but certainly a cause of discomfort and pud will be feeling awful in himself until the meds kick in. 

Thyroids are notoriously slow to respond to treatment and a  to stabilise. We have one in our group at the moment and I think it's fair to say our Welfare officer would rather have 3 diabetics instead.  It can take months of fiddling around to get the right dose.  I wouldn't hold it against a vet for having to adjust the dose or meds themselves several times. If there's a choice (and sometimes it's possible) I'd go for a complete removal of the thyroid. Much easier to know exactly how much thyroxine is getting into pud's system. 

[snarf]

  Julie. i think i have some thinking to do. at the moment theres nothing serious up with mine just differing advice on worming products and ear drops. Giles Hyper -/thyroid advice is a little more annoying but ill see what the AARU wish to do. it wont affect his health either way for the next few years or maybe at all but it could affect his rehoming time and i dont know if it will affect his life expectancy or quality of life?

[Janeyk]

An example of the kindness of my vets, OH has just been to collect some Vidalta for Pepper and they have given him an extra bottle, apparently a lady's cat has passed sadly and only 1 tablet used so she took them back to the vets and the nurse said my vet had already thought of Pepper and wrote my name on the bottle 

[Den]

There is one vet at my practice who I prefer to neuter my animals and I will always ask for him. He does such good work even though he's very young. I think he's the youngest actually, although none of the vets are old  Only problem is ... He's terribly allergic to rabbits 

Even though they are a large animal practice, they are sooooooooo good with the small fluffs. Each one has their own love. Molly and Mig both see the head boss. He luuuuurves Mig and he's just fantastic with Molls. Memphis picked his own vet, the Aussie. He's the only vet that Memphs doesn't attack  the reception staff are brilliant and always come over for a hug as do the nurses. I can always get a same day appointment. Plus I can go visit them if they have to stay in for any reason .. This helps them a lot with Memphis as he's an awful, awful, awful patient!!! He growls every time someone walks past him 

I've been using them for years and plan to only use them. Even when I eventually move I'd make sure it was within a decent distance to the vets ... Lol thats how good they are. There are tons of vets in this town, I've heard a lot of bad things about a number of them but never anything bad about the one I use.

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Well Snarf even good practices can get lumbered with duff vets from time to time. And come to that a good vet can have a bad day - especially after a night on the WKDs.  I'm not sure dual practice registering is a wise idea myself. I certainly wouldn't take the same animal to two different practices over the same condition/illness unless I was gravely concerned about vet number 1's advice and the treatment regime obviously wasn't working. 

Maybe it's possible have one pet registered at one place and another pet with another practice. But it seems a bit of a hassle to me and often for unexplained conditions it's necessary to examine or test ALL animals in the household anyway - for example an unexplained skin condition is unlikely to be something like Ringworm if the other animals don't show symptoms. 

Uncle Rob, Uncle Simon and occasionally Aunty Emma (if it's a weekend) all work out of the same practice and look after all my lot. Chester likes Uncle Simon especially as he always gets a chin tickle. 

[CC & The Pussycat Guys & Dolls]

Oh forgot to mention my vet only charges me half consult price and sometimes none at all 

[snarf]

how does being registered at multiple vets work? id prefer to take mine to their first vets ive never been anything less than impressed with them and trust them completely but theyre too far away for emergencies. my current vets are mostly very good, theyre certainly all very nice and good with the cats but the last few times ive been to see them ive been given conflicting advice- this mainly seems to come from one particular vet but theyve got a funny rotating shift pattern and its hard to get to see a particular vet. ill go in for something, be told to come back in x amount of time to check it and when i do i get told "well its much to early to tell" or get told to apply for x amount of time then get "what how long o thats much too long" from the next vet.
they apparently open 5am till at least 8.30pm so in an emergency you can at least see a vet from that practice but obviously not your usual vet if theyre not on shift which maybe defeats the object of getting to know your emergency vet??

[fluffybunny]

I changed vets a couple of years ago when my previous practice owner retired and sold up to a chain.  I wasn't happy with the way it was going after that so started ringing round.  I settled on one further away from home, I confess I looked for one who is good more specifically with rabbits than cats as rabbits are classed as exotic so many vets haven't a clue unless they did an exotics elective or CPD on them.

The vet I found is excellent with bunnies and cats, she really listens and is open-minded to explore options.  She's happy to say 'I don't know' but will take the time to find out (e.g. through her own research or by ringing specialists) and get back to me - I would prefer this to a vet who continues to cobble it together without asking for help.  She's confident to prescribe off-licence drugs if she feels it's appropriate - often the case with bunnies as there are so few licenced drugs.  The final added bonus is that it is open 7 days a week so much more convenient as I work full time, and also reduces the risk of needing to use emergency vets!  This wasn't a key factor in my decision but it is definitely a bonus 

[Bazsmum]

I use three vets.....I am lucky that we have lots to choose from up here! 

I think its good to know that your vet is a caring one, one you can air your questions/fears to and you know they will give you an honest opinion! 

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

My lot are all registered at two vets practices.  The first practice is approx 2 mins from my house.  The second is a good 15 - 20 min drive away and this is the practice that we use most often - however as we are outside their immediate catchment area they do not offer an emergency call out to us (hence being registered at the closer one).  The reason we go to the furthest one is for several reasons:

1.  2 of the 3 vets at the practice are most definitely "cat people".  The senior vet (practice owner) adores my babies and when he first met Zephyr informed me that his first cat had also been called Zephyr (name after his car at the time!).

2.  The vet nurses and receptionsit are all lovely, very friendly and caring and always seem to have time to speak to all the animals that are in the waiting room.

3.  The price ... not only are they very efficient and have a wonderful reputation they are also "inexpensive" ... many of the drugs are sold at cost or with only a very small mark-up.


Although my local vets is also very good - I've never had a bad experience with them and I would have no hesitation in going to them in an emergency I just get a better "vibe" from my  from the one a bit further away.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I don't have a choice of individual vet as all the vets at my practice are interns who tend to only stay for a year or so.  Most have been very good but it does mean that if I've not been for a while I have no idea who/what I will get!

[Christine (Blip)]

This is an interesting thread and useful for lurkers too!

We have a choice here but the vet we choose - Paws in Dawes, it's in Dawes Road and specialises in small animals, geddit?  - is the nearest to our home.  People come from quite a long way away because of its reputation.  So I'm influenced by that.

What I like about the vets there - all of them - is that they invest a great deal of effort in the relationships between vet and patient and vet and 'owner'.  They take a genuine interest in Blip and explain everything in great detail to me.  They also seem to be excellent diagnosticians.

Last but not least, the nursing staff are warm and welcoming to both humans and pets and genuinely compassionate.  They do refer to me as 'Blip's mum' rather than Christine, but to me this reveals the right sense of priorities 

[CC & The Pussycat Guys & Dolls]

I have been using the same vets for nearly 7 years now and I have to say I do really like them, they know what their doing (most times) they are very professional  and treat my pets with compassion- thats what matters to me 

They have 3 branches of these vets and I dont like it when they do a change round of vets, so I only really go when Peter Ollie's vet is working in my local branch. They have been very good with my pets and also Peter has given my little Ollie a normal chance of life, no other vets has tried that for him and for this I will carry on using these vets.

I actually think I started using these vets as they had parking space's, good when I have to take the kids also 

[tab]

When I first got Mogs I used the vet nearest my home. My friends also used the same vet and over time I realised I wasnt very pleased with how they dealt with people. I then started going to my current vet which is further away but has been used by family for nearly 40 years. Obviously the vets have changed over time but the ones Ive seen are always very good and caring and the reception staff are brilliant.
love
Tab

[LesleyW]

I chose my Vets because I used to work there, so know how it operates and used to know most of the staff, though some have changed now.  Am trying to get back to work that at the present time.  But now that Vet Practice is good as well as it is one of only  a few in this area that do not use Vets Now.  It has a hospital about 11 miles away from me (where I used to work) which has 24 hour emergency treatment covered by their own vets and nurses.

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

I think for all of us who have a choice, we will always go with good service and a competant vet first and foremost. I actually drive past 2 other vet surgeries to get to my personal vet as I have faith in them.  What I was getting at is that when all other boxes are ticked, the proximity of a decent bakers can't be overlooked. What's surprised me though is that many of us also value the totty factor high on the chart. 

I suppose I am kind of spoilt visiting so may different vets regularly for CP cases as I see great variations (all of them good!) in procedures and the way customers are treated. One of our CP vets is a one man practice and the waiting room looks like a 1970s dentist. All dark green and dingy. I keep expecting to hear the sounds of a distant drill.  But there's no doubting his dedication to welfare cases and some of his standard treatments are free to us - he doesn't charge us anything for flea and worm treatment I gather. 

[Leanne]

I picked my vet for 2 reasons, they were an RCVS accredited practice and their branch surgery was nearest to my house. The other thing that swayed it for me was they also have a hospital a few miles away which has 24 emergency care and a nurse on site all night.

I do prefer to see one particular vet though, as she allows me to ask lots of questions and is happy for me to order medication though work as its cheaper (so effectively doing themselves out of money) and also happy for me to talk to our veterinary director at work and then go back to her (I must be a pain in the  to her), her care of Jess when he blocked was amazing, even offering to take him over to the hospital herself when she finished at the branch surgery to save me a taxi journey when he needed urine tests. She always makes a lovely fuss of my boys and to me that goes a long way.

Also something that was a bit freaky is when Jess did his Zylkene trial, (though our own vet) when I spoke our veterinary director at work about it he had the pharmaceutical company in to our HO and I asked whether we'd be a case study, and put me in touch with another lady and the pharmaceutical company as we got chatting over email it turned out she actually trained with my vet who arranged for Jess to be involved in the first place. Incidentally if you got the Vicky Halls newsletter last month it was the lady who took the pics of the tiger who was in Zylkene at WHF. Anyway all this reaffirmed my faith in our vet which I already had.

Wish there were hunky vets at our practice though, there was one locum who was rather tasty but long gone.

[Dawn F]

its the one nearest to my house!  I do ask for a specific vet though

[Janeyk]

We've gone to our vets in the village the whole time we've had cats 20 years.  It is a clinic really - the main practise is in the main town and there are many branches.  Our vet is lovely as are the 2 nurses.

[Kirst]

The lady we got the Birmans from works at the vets - they were already registered there anyway , so it seemed sensible not to change. Good job too , our vets is amazing!

[woodlandcats]

When I moved here, I got this address from the guy where I bought my guinnea pigs. But quite soon I realized I didn't like that vet at all. So I moved to a well known clinic here, only to find I didn't like them either. Then by chance I saw this practice in the street where our (then) doctor was, so I went there and that was the lucky find. So I have been going there for 5 years now and she's the best!
I did have the twins neutered elsewhere though, saved me 30€, this is a vet that works for the local stray project.
Surely the choice depends on the distance, you don't want to travel far with a sick cat. But I'd rather drive 15 mins longer than visit that clinic anytime 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

i deliberately looked for one that was a small animal vet and loved cats and had that knowledge, also one i could talk to cos i had a bad experience with the vet i took kocka too.

so i deliberately travel a round trip of 25-30 miles to both of the vets i use.

I am only interested in good quality care and knowledge.

[blackcat]

Mine is the only one in town, so I am lucky she is interested in animal welfare and a good diagnostician. Since she is only open three days a week, however, and has no after-hours service, there is another one about an hour's drive away that I keep in my back pocket 'in case'

[Yvonne]

It is Hobsons choice here I am afraid.

Well there is a choice - take it or leave it

[Gillian Harvey]

Well I've been with my current vet for about 10 yrs - at the time the choice was just look in the phonebook for the nearest one! There is just her and one other vet who does the homeopathic/acupuncture stuff, who I also know well - because she used to own the practice!

Prior to that my choice was based on recommendation by a friend when I moved house and it was the vet she used. There also happened to be a very good looking vet there  I always tried to see him if at all possible  - because he was such a good vet you understand...

[Rosella moggy]

Depends on what treatment is needed.  Not overly concerned if it's just annual check up/vacs. 

Very different when a pud is ill though.  Then I'm looking for a well experinced vet (i.e. not a young un) that I know and can talk to.  I suffer from "too much respect for medics" syndrome so afraid I hold out for Mr Watts if at all possible as he is so very easy to talk to and thorough.  Of course the other concern would be with a chronic illness where I would want to stick to same vet each time so the vet can guage any improvement or sliding downhill.  Sorry don't mean to be so serious   

Aaw Noni's playing footie with a table tennis ball.  Think she wants her supper 

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Oh, I know what you mean ladies...   Trouble is a vet that's too hunky is fatal for me. I am still allowed hormones at my age.... just!   I remember a different CP practice had a Locum a year or so ago... all bronze skinned and flowery casual shirt, Australian accent, rustic blonde flowing hair. Looked like he's just walked off the beach.   I just stood there grinning like a teenager when I first saw him and forgot what I'd brought the kitten in for.  

[Claire_smc]

Well I've only used a vet once to get Pepsi's vaccs and micropchipping done, the reason I picked the one I did is because they had an offer on initial vaccs and they were the cheapest place but I'd definately go back there. It's close to my house, the vet was really nice, and the lasses on the reception desk loved Pepsi and complimented how nice her coat looked    I'm easily swayed by flattery haha

[Den]

Ooooo the one I prefer to see Memphis is Australian!!

[JackSpratt]

Both the vets (once of which moved back home to be near her family) I trust the most at our practice are Australian....no idea why. The guy I always ask to see kind of looks like the blonde bloke in Green Wing!