Background to keep in mind: We used AIM over three weeks ago and our cat is doing great. He grew up outdoors and has anxiety/social awkwardness, and we allow him outside because he thinks he's being punished when locked in our small place. We are currently in the design phase to make an external cat-io so he can go outside without leaving an enclosure.
On a Saturday our cat came home stressed, ate dinner, then proceeded to vomit on and off for 24 hours. On Monday night, he was warm and he was favoring one paw. When we woke up on Tuesday, his foot was swollen to twice its normal size. We made some calls to determine our options, and ended up taking our vet's referral to AIM. We were lucky to get one of the last appointments of the day on Wednesday, by which time we were terrified that our delay (financial reasons) would kill this poor kitty. The AIM team and Dr. Lamb did a great job getting us checked in, diagnosing our cat, and getting the necessary procedures done the same night.
We learned a LOT in this process, and here's some info new pet parents may not know:
1) Your regular veterinarian is the pet equivalent of a primary care physician for humans. They might be able to squeeze you into a cancellation, but you'll probably be referred to an emergency vet clinic (equivalent of urgent care or emergency room). AIM is more on the Urgent Care spectrum of pet care, but they handle some emergency situations, too.
2) Pet insurance is not accepted at AIM currently (we can't afford it anyway; watch out for predatory companies), but their fee to review your pet's condition and give options was $130 at the time we went. This was far cheaper than the "emergency" clinics who quoted me more than $200.
3) AIM does the initial intake exam, then the vet comes in to give you options based their initial diagnosis. For example, we spoke with Dr. Lamb, and her professional opinion was the injury was likely due to a bite, but the infection was so advanced that there were multiple skin ruptures where it was draining - too swollen to feel a fracture or dislocation. She gave us the option of paying for an x-ray or having them clear the wound, administer antibiotics and anti-inflammatory, then waiting until swelling goes down to determine extent of the damage. We chose the latter.
4) The cheapest neuter/spay service in Rochester is the Rochester Bay Clinic on Bay St. You have to meet their low-income requirements and provide evidence to qualify for pet care. They ONLY do spay/neuter or vaccinations/monthly flea-tick prescriptions. They are neither primary veterinarians nor emergency vets. AIM offered to neuter my sick cat at the same time they sedated him to squeeze and wash his paw, and they did it for the same discount price RBC was offering: $70 (we were already paying to sedate him, so I'm not including the $10 for that), and the Cone of Shame they gave him cost around $5. This was a great convenience for us, as we believed our cat might be getting in territorial/mating fights.
5) AIM is urgent care, so they open late, taking appointments from 11AM - 6:00PM. We met with vet around 6PM, so I was confused when she said we could leave and they'd call us when our cat was ready for pickup at around 8pm. They stop taking appointments at 6pm, but they keep working after that to prep animals for overnight stay or last-minute release to their humans for home care. When they called for pickup, they gave a lot of information and the opportunity to ask post-treatment care questions. When we picked him up, they gave us several pages of receipt and printed instructions.
6) In an emergency, you need stoic professionals who can get to the core problem and properly assess the damage. Before selecting AIM, I looked at reviews of all the emergency/urgent vets in the Rochester metro area. A lot of freaked out pet parents get angry at emergency pet care for not taking their concerns "seriously," or for doing something the parent thinks made the situation worse. When AIM took our yowling furball to the back, we could hear him screaming and it did freak us out. But you know what? Thank heavens for those vets and techs. I couldn't have squeezed out that nasty infection while my cat screamed in pain in my face. I'd be a blubbering mess and wouldn't be able to finish. My pet needed efficient professionals, and that's what he got. Also, bless the AIM administrative staff at the front desk for gently guiding these teary-eyed humans through appointment scheduling and check-in, when all of us start babbling waaaay more information than they need to know... I did it, and so did the next two couples that came in.
7) AIM is in Webster, NY, off Ridge Road (the 404). Going east on 404, away from Rochester, there is a yellow painted median (no turn area) where you cannot turn left into the parking lot. You'll have to keep going to the next light, turn left into the BJ's parking lot and turn around. read more