many places don't HAVE cat-only clinics, so it's not even an option.... i've worked with both, can't say that either kind were intrinsically BETTER. the chemistry between vet and cat, the openness to new ideas and learning is what's paramount to me--i've seen pompous, know-everything, don't-talk-to-me cat-only vets, and i've had general practice vets who talked to me as i were another professional. if my cats like them, they seem to like my cats, and they work with me, that's a major factor. (like when i called my housecall vet and asked if he had room to take on a few more cats, cuz i'd started a new job that needed a vet.... he asked how many, and i said, um, well, 500..... he was silent for a moment, but didn't hang up or say no.... yep, he's still my vet.)
i don't know of any local vets that absolutely do not declaw, but i've also never ever been to one who pushed it--it'd NEVER bee suggested to me, it's never been offered as part of a spay/neuter deal, i don't declaw, tho i have some rescues with both front and all-four declaws, but i don't think i would have realized from my own experience that so many people just thought it was the done thing to do, nor that so many vets and veterinary chains push it so aggressively as a money-making item. so it's never occurred to me to even ask. i agree with marylyn that i'd MUCH rather have a good, compassionate, aware vet doing a declaw if one had to be done--even if the reason is one that many of us would NOT consider valid--with the most up-to-date procedures, pain medication and follow-up than someone who pushes it on all cats. i don't really have that much trouble with the vets taking cats in the back--but the only time i take cats TO the vet (as opposed to the vet coming here to the house, where, clearly, everyone sees almost everything!) is when it's for surgeries that my housecall vet can't do. having tired of chasing cats throughout my and other folks' house while trying to get bloods, ken now takes them out to his new, larger van to do it, but i'm welcome to go sit with them if i want to. i usually don't, as i know how ken treats them, so i trust him with them. one thing that's been mentioned in a lot of places that i'll probably do if i leave town and have to break in a whole new set of vets (a thought that absolutely terrifies me), is to make an initial appointment to tour the clinic--and if you're not welcome to, take that as a warning bell right from the start. what vet clients--and human patients--tend to forget is that WE PAY THE BILLS, we are the customers, and we don't have to settle for things that make us uncomfortable. see how the FRONT-OFFICE STAFF TREATS YOU, on the phone and in person. we (a nationwide rescue group, with vets all over the country we work with) had a long-standing relationship with a wonderful vet, with an incredibly well-equipped facility--and an office staff that was atrocious. rude, inefficient, uncaring--but no one had the guts to say anything to the vet.... guess who was asked to be the one to do so..... find out IN ADVANCE how the vet will handle emergencies, and emergency PAYMENT. as some of you know, i've been disabled for many years, but worked part-time til 1991, since then i've been on disability based on part-time work. i couldn't afford to rent a litterbox in most large american cities.... so a major surgery, or a catastrophic illness is not something i will EVER be able to handle upfront. but i have NEVER found a vet, other than ER ones, who was not willing to work with me. but i told them about my circumstances at the very beginning, and always made every payment, so that when the times came when a big bill needed to be stretched out, i already had a history with them. places that will NOT make arrangements for payment are, to my mind, not the people i want caring for my animals--yes, it's a business, and yes they need to pay their bills and i understand that--but if they're passionate about the human/animal bond, they are not going to make people choose pain and death for their animals due to an immediate shortage of cash. this is a good discussion to have; maybe input from lots of us could be edited into a separate page on the site for folks on, "what to look for in a vet," or, "interviewing your next vet?" we used to hold periodic chats on this with vets, to see what the best client for THEM is--it's possible i could get one to come to the list and talk about that, if there's interest (she's a cat-only vet....) On 9/28/07, catatonya <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > How important is it to you when looking for a vet that it be > > 1- a cat only clinic > 2-doesn't declaw > 3 doesn't take your cat 'to the back' to do everything? > > That is what I had and lost. When Bob got sick last week I took off the > morning to call and get him in and there was no doctor coming in at all > until 2:00. So I tried this highly recommended new vet I'm seeing and she > seems very knowledgeable and thorough, but doesn't meet any of those > criteria. She is far away, but they are open until 9:00 every night and > Saturday and Sunday. That would keep me out of the emergency vets whom I > hate.......... > > I'm just at a loss as to what to do. I don't know of any other vets in my > area that don't declaw. The new vet at my old vet's office was required not > to do it as part of the sale of the practice. But she just does not seem > good at all, she does everything in the back as well....thus wondering if I > should put up with these things and use this new vet I feel is very > knowledgeable or keep looking. And I have been looking and looking. :( > tonya > > > -- Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... MaryChristine AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 289856892
