Vets: Did I Miss Something?
The vets in our area seem to have all taken the three day ‘Panic the Pet Owner’ seminar. Seriously. I have had a couple of vet interactions this year with three different cats and have come to the conclusion that they take the idea that a pet is a member of one’s family very seriously. Now, so do I, but somewhere there is a line. But where is it?
I value animals, I love animals. For years I volunteered at the Humane Society cuddling the animals. I believe in animal rights and I get livid when people neglect or abuse them. On the home front, I believe it is important to take my animals to the vet for check ups and I seek treatment and preventative medical care. I also feed them decent food, play with them, cuddle them, etc. So where do you draw the line with treatment? Do you cough up the money only for the most dire treatments and regular maintenance?
My issues with trusting vets began with my cat, Edgar. He developed an allergy to immunizations. Basically, they made his face swell until he looked like the beast, made him vomit and gave him diarrhea. Vets insisted that this indoor cat needed to have his vaccinations. It was URGENT. They’d give him an antihistamine. They’d give him the shot. I paid the bill. Finally I met a vet who agreed with me. No more immunizations for this cat. Whew. But then we got a different vet who guilted me. I didn’t submit.
A series of poor vet calls lead me to a very, very difficult decision last spring. My 11 year-old Edgar was very sick. I had choose to have him put down or spend over $1000 (which I didn’t have) and give him needles every day. While I didn’t feel that it was my right to take Edgar’s life, I also felt that as a pet owner, it was my responsibility to end his suffering as I had taken away his right to wander off into the bush to let nature take its course. Therefore, he was put down. By that point he had long since ceased being himself. I knew Edgar wasn’t well and I put off the vet appointment, knowing that what they’d tell me would lead me to a very difficult decision.
When I could put it off no longer, I took him in. Edgar had diabetes, kidney disease and poor teeth. The vet was quite willing to get his diabetes under control. But, it would have cost at least $500 to $1000, plus constant monitoring and insulin injections. Then she could work on the other issues. The problem that angered me was that we ended up in this poor-health predicament because of a vet’s earlier decision. It all started with bad skin. I later discovered on my own that Edgar had an allergy which led to his poor skin. That, unfortunately was after damaging his kidneys with vet prescribed medication. Because he had poor kidneys, I put him on the (expensive) protein reduced diet prescribed by another vet. I was being a good pet owner. But, the food caused the diabetes. By following their orders for a simple condition, I created two life threatening ones.
I’m so done with their fear tactics. I still feel guilty and angry.
Their fear tactics and persistent pressure guised as ‘if you are a good pet owner’ are more subtle now, of course. The new fear is that my 10 year-old cat is going to die of kidney, heart or liver failure because she has tartar build up. Yes, I do get the science behind it, but at the same time…$650? And who is to say that releasing all that tartar when they put my aged cat under isn’t going to cause those same very problems?
And ah, yes. Deworming. A strictly indoor cat. Three times a year. $12 a pill. Well! So I questioned the vet on how exactly my strictly indoor cat would obtain roundworms. Basically, my conclusion is that I have a better chance of getting the roundworms than my cat does. Maybe I should be getting dewormed three times a year. I wonder if they would squirt the water down my throat after the pill too.
I guess I just don’t get it. I promised when I rescued my kitties from the Humane Society and the SPCA that I would care for them. And I do. They have a great life and I love them. They are very important to me. At the same time, where do you draw the line with treatments? How can I trust their judgement and recommendations after what I went through with Edgar?
