UPDATE AFTER BLOODWORK:
The doctor called me to tell me Mackie's potassium levels were high, and that it was very serious. He said I should bring him in for more bloodwork to verify this & if the results came back he same, Mackie should go on treatment since this can cause heart complications and failure (basically leading to death).
Like any cat mom would, I panicked... but I also found this very strange since he wasn't showing any clinical signs of deterioration AT ALL. I asked for records of the bloodwork, and boy am I glad I did. Sure enough it stated in small print that the blood sample may have been contaminated. Why? Probably because of the bruising! How does this relate to the results you may ask? Because when brushing is involved, blood vessels may have been popped, leading to contamination & inaccurate results (thus the high potassium count).
I'm so glad I got a second opinion and blood work done at another doctor. Blood work from the second doctor came back completely fine, with only 1 minor thing that the doctor told me not to worry about since it might've been due to stress (makes sense! since Mackie gets very stressed when at the doctors).
I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH:
If you bring your pet here, ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS. I WONT be going back like I originally intended. Other people may love them, but they are not the right fit for me & my cat.
PREVIOUS REVIEW:
I took my cat Mackie here today for a regular check up (physical exam, which took less than 5 mins b/c he's healthy which was good to hear), and some blood work.
After his physical, he was placed back in his carrier, the doctor debriefed everything, then said "Ok so we're going to get his blood work done & we'll give you a call with the results". That's when the assistant immediately grabbed Mackie off the table & took him to the back. I was COMPLETELY flabbergasted!
The sudden shift really got me nervous b/c that's my baby! Hello! A simple notice such as, "Ok we're going to take Mackie to the back to get the blood drawn & we'll be back with him". But not even that. I was so anxious the rest of the visit, especially since the last Vet I took him to drew Mackie's blood while I was in the room. So I asked the doctor if they could draw the blood in front of me, but by then it was too late. The doctor said, "This is our protocol so we can't, but I'll see where they're at". It wasn't that I didn't trust them, it was that I know how Mackie moves around a lot. The doctor never came back out with an update, so I got a kind of annoyed about that lack of communication. Other than that, she was very nice and caring towards Mackie.
5, 10 mins pass by (seemed like forever) and I'm getting nervous. Again, the last doctor who withdrew his blood in front of me did it within a matter of a minute or two since his assistant was in great control of Mackie. I knew something went wrong. So when the assistant & the tech come out with him, "Was everything ok? That took a while...". They said, "He was fine but he did bruise since we had some difficult getting the blood out". This is normal, I know, but the bruising and the length of time it took made me really uncomfortable. I respectfully told them, "Not gonna lie, this did make me feel uncomfortable, and I would've liked if you guys respected me wishes". And the tech said the same thing the doctor said, "This is what the doctor's protocol is, so unfortunately we couldn't. But if he was here, we would've definitely told him & asked for his approval".
The doctor later came out, and said, "Sorry we couldn't do anything, that's just our protocol, and sorry about the bruising". I told her, "I get it. It's just that I've worked at a Vet before, they did it in front of me so I wasn't expecting that. It wasn't that I didn't trust them". She explained, "We don't want people to get upset when they see their pets get upset, it's not that we like abuse animals never, but they do get upset sometimes". I said, "I understand. I really do. But I just could've helped them if I saw him giving them a hard time". She explained that's a liability issue b/c if I had gotten bit or scratched they would've been responsible. I get it that since I've worked at vet, but she still was not really understanding where I was coming from. I left it alone b/c it really comes down to talking to the head vet about my concern.
I'm going to sending this exact review to him, with the hopes that he understands how this one interaction could change the way they communicate with their other clients for future interactions. If they change just this, they will be solid.
I would've given 4 (or 5!) stars if it wasn't for this one small detail.
Other than this, I do like them, and will be going back for a dental. read more