Bennett Creek was recommended to us as affordable and kind, which is why we chose it. We brought…read moreour cat Zorro in on September 3rd. I watch my animals very closely -- I even have a camera pointed at their litter box -- and the first thing I told the vet, Dr. Castano, was that I suspected a UTI. He was hardly using the litter box, and he'd also urinated a large amount on a blanket, which is very unusual for him.
Dr. Castano hardly documented any of what I told her, despite the fact that I explained I monitor my animals closely and know his patterns. She came out and told us the urinalysis was done and it was "fine," and that his abdomen was "fine" on palpation. We later learned neither was true -- her own notes said she couldn't get a urine sample and that his abdomen was tight, the opposite of what she told us in person. Instead of the UTI test I'd specifically requested, she pivoted to concern about a possible obstruction and recommended further testing and an overnight stay. We declined the overnight stay because of cost and because Zorro is a very anxious cat who does worse away from home and his mom.
We dropped him off again at 9 AM the next morning for a scheduled sonogram. The sonographer, a traveling contractor, was on vacation and never showed. There were two failed attempts to find a replacement, with the cost rising roughly $300 with each call. By early afternoon, the front desk said they were trying to get him to eat, which meant the sonogram couldn't happen anyway, so we went to retrieve him. We then waited two hours in the waiting room before finally speaking with the practice owner, Dr. Walcoff.
That's when I learned the urinalysis from the night before had never actually been performed. When I explained that the entire reason for the visit was a suspected UTI, Dr. Walcoff was able to obtain a small urine sample himself via ultrasound-guided cystocentesis -- the exact thing that could have been attempted, or at least honestly disclosed as not done, the night before. After waiting almost 3 hours since our arrival the result confirmed blood in his urine, consistent with a UTI. Zorro has been on antibiotics and doing fine since.
When I raised this with the practice, I was met with defensiveness -- told it was a "miscommunication," that I must have misheard, or that Dr. Castano was simply more focused on the obstruction concern. I'm an elementary school teacher and my boyfriend is a police officer; we don't fabricate details like camera footage, water intake, or litter box habits. When an owner specifically asks for a test, and is told it was done and normal when it wasn't, that's not a miscommunication -- it's inaccurate documentation and false reassurance, and it delayed treatment for a real infection. I won't be returning, and I'd urge anyone considering this practice to ask to see actual results in writing before accepting a verbal summary.
