I took my cat in for dental clearning/tooth extraction at Dr. Barton's recommendation. On the day of the surgery, we got a call to pick the cat after 5. Upon arrival, an assistant rattled off a list of post operation treatment instructions and handed over syringes etc. Then she brought out our cat and put it in our carrier. She said the cat "took really well to the anasthetic" and "would be sleeping it off over the next few hours". We were told to "keep an eye on her" and bring her in the morning if he wasn't up and about. I checked the cat around 7 and didn't like the way it laying in the carrier--seemed unnatural to me. I check again at 8 and then at 9 --FOUR HOURS since I left the clinic and the cat seemed the same. I took him out of the carrier and placed him on the floor--he was awake but seemed to be paralyzed and could not even lay upright. He could move all his legs, but it was if he didn't where his front legs were or use them. I located a 24 hour emergency clinic, which was fortunately close by. They provided great care but since my vet who had performed the dental procedures "didn't have even the decency" to come out and inform me that the cat was in medical distress at 5, it was extremely difficult to diagnose or look to possible strategies to address a situation that was worsening--i.e. cat's breathing was labored and needed to be placed in oxygen tent. The following day, it was clear that the cat was essentially paralyzed, we sadly gave instructions to have him euthanized. That day, we also phoned Dr. Barton to find out what had happened during the operation. He was initially "not available", but when we indicated we would be calling back at 10:30 AM if we hadn't heard from him, he called a few minutes later. All he could say was that he had been hoping that the cat's condition would improve by morning. So it was CRYSTAL CLEAR to he knew of the cat's dire condition at 5 o'clock. It is hard to lose a pet when you take them to vet for what is considered so "non-life threatening" that your vet doesn't indicate that there are any risks. But IT IS TOTALLY DISGUSTING that a professional vet, who is there to provide the best care for the animal, fails so dismally at an animal's most critical need. If the cat was in this state at 5--I think the owner should be informed of that.
Who cares about better prices for annual shots, when the doctor uses that opportunity to push other expensive treatments, particularly when they don't even bother to explain the risks. read more