If I could give a 0 star I would. Since I got my cat spayed here I've had nothing but horrible…read moreexperiences and stress.
Firstly, the communication was terrible. I dropped my cat off the evening prior to the surgery and they had kept her for an entire 24 hours. There was no phone call telling me when she was going to surgery, if she was back from surgery or even how the surgery went despite leaving messages. They also forgot to mention that they would be transporting my cat out of clinic to do surgery. This piece of information alone would have made me take her to another veterinarian clinic as she is a very anxious cat.
Second, my cat developed a cough and major congestion after leaving the clinic. I immediately knew something was wrong, therefore the following day I kept calling the vet to get an appointment the day of as she was not getting better. I left many messages with the call center, however no one ever got back to me. That's when I decided to show up in person with my cat so someone could evaluate her. Since I showed up around 7:00 P.M all the veterinarians have left, therefore they gave me an appointment for the following day instead.
The next day, when I showed up with my cat, they immediately took her into the back, which I thought was odd to begin with as veterinarians usually evaluate a cat in front of their owners. I also would have preferred if I was with my cat, as I stated before, she's very anxious. When they brought her back, the receptionist just gave me a medication, sparing the details of what the medication is and what it is to treat. When I asked what it was he had told me it was an antibiotic. I asked what it was treating, and he didn't know, therefore he went to ask the vet. When he came back he had told us it was being given due to a respiratory tract infection. At this point I asked to speak to the vet. I asked her what would have caused her to get a respiratory tract infection. She responded with "It was probably due to stress".
Having background in healthcare, I understand that stress alone does not directly cause infections. While stress can lower the immune system and potentially increase susceptibility, it is not a root cause of infections on its own. In my opinion, a more likely explanation would involve the introduction of bacteria into the airway -- especially since my cat underwent general anaesthesia and was intubated for surgery. From my understanding, if the intubation equipment or technique was not properly sterile, this could have led to a respiratory tract infection. Additionally, my cat arrived at the clinic in excellent health and was acting like a typical energetic kitten.
When I expressed my concerns to the vet, they stood by their explanation that the infection was likely caused by stress. I disagreed with this reasoning and felt like my concerns were not fully acknowledge or addressed. She responded with something along the lines of "Well, you don't have to take the antibiotics if you don't want them." At that point I was simply trying to get a clear answer about my cat's condition and felt like I wasn't receiving them. Additionally, they also said "Well I'm not even supposed to be talking to you" because I wasn't from CatChat Refuge. As my understanding is that I am the owner of my cat, I expected communication regarding my pet's health. In my opinion, this lack of clarity and communication contributed to my frustration and made the situation feel dismissive and unprofessional.
I'm extremely disappointed with the level of care my cat and I have received. I hope others will not have to experience this and is spared from the stress my cat and I have endured.