Finding a Good Vet

Virginia and Paul found a stray cat outside their apartment building in Los Angeles. Neither of the two were cat people. In fact they had been talking about adding a dog to the household since both had grown up with dogs and felt comfortable with them. This cat was a whole new universe.

She was a poor little thing and needed immediate medical attention. Virginia took her to the closest vet in their neighborhood. She had always held veterinarians in high regard since the vet she had known growing up had been a saint. Without a second thought, she allowed the veterinarian to do whatever he felt was needed for the cat they named Casey.

But all was not well with Casey. She developed a variety of strange symptoms that seemed completely mysterious to the young couple. During that first year, Casey seemed to spend more time at the vet than at home. They were getting very stressed and hated having to take Casey into the clinic to get poked and squeezed and left in stainless steel cages.

Ten thousand dollars later, and feeling like monsters for all of the procedures they had put Casey through, they realized they had not chosen a good veterinarian. As soon as they transferred to another vet, all of Casey's symptoms cleared up and her only visits to the vet office from then on were for routine checkups.

This story illustrates a dangerous juxtaposition: two poorly informed new cat people and an unscrupulous veterinarian. Vets are people, too. Sure, they have gone to school for many years, received a degree, and have been granted a license to practice, but they can still be prone to the foibles of human nature. It did not surprise Paul and Virginia to learn later that the vet they had trusted with their beloved Casey had been a cocaine addict and was subsequently stripped of his license.

Thank goodness these kinds of stories are the exception, but they stand as a warning for all of us to be as careful in choosing a veterinarian as we would be in choosing a pediatrician for our children. And it speaks volumes about the need to educate ourselves about our pets so that we can take an active part in their care and not always be at a disadvantage when we talk with our veterinarian. There are many resources available to us via books and through the Internet to make us informed partners with our vets.

Experience helps, too. Virginia and Paul know all about vomiting cats and hairballs now, along with a whole load of other things that cats do. They know when a symptom is serious and needs immediate medical attention, or when it can wait until the morning. They have found a vet they adore and trust, and she is working closely with them to keep Casey and their now-quite-large feline family well and happy.

Learn to trust your instincts. Virginia and Paul ignored that niggly feeling that something was wrong with that first veterinarian. He was the doctor, and they were lowly ignorant people. Trust your inner voice and feelings to tell you if someone is the right person for you and your pets.