Would you change vets?

[Jiskefet]

I think the only thing you might want to change is a special mention in his  file that he is nervous and best treated at home, if at all possible. Even if you go to a regular practice, there may be several vets, and you will not always see the same one.

Excellent emergency service, no unnecessary moving of the patient and state-of-the-art care is what I would go for. And it being so close to home is an added benefit.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Thanks - I think you have all confirmed what I suspected - that I am best of with the good emergency care and the out of hours service.  It's not as though the general care is poor, just that with vets leaving after a year there there's no chance of building up a relationship with a particular vet and benefitting from them understanding your pet's little quirks etc.  But on balance I think I probably am best of staying where I am.

[LesleyW]

My opinion may be biased due to working in a veterinary practice, but our practice is one of the few in our area now that offers 24/7 emergency cover but we have had many clients move to us due to suffering bad experiences with other out of hour services where animals have to be transferred at night, etc and have suffered because of this.


We have approximately 8 small animal vets so clients don't always see the same vet (they can specify to do so if they are willing to be flexible with appointment times) but all notes are computerised so all pertinent points, characteristics and medical conditions can be picked up by any vet treating the animal at any time.


You sound very lucky to have a practice that is at the forefront of new medical developments and having it's own 24/7 emergency cover.  For that reason I would stay where you are.  New medical advances are being discovered, especially in some of the conditions experienced by older cats and these could well stand you in good stead as Jaffa enters his senior years.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

24/7 is so important for emergency care and as I have found out with Franta, at the vets we were with originally he would have died because he would have had to be moved every day twice!

It would be lovely to have continuity of care as well, which I have and I drive for about 45 mins to my vets. I do think its important though for a vet to know your cat and you, I am being lucky that the vets who have been on each night and over the big holidays have been great but they also respect the views of Frantas vet and me.

It is also obvious that they do not know him very well, cos they tell me he is eating, drinking purring etc and Franta hardly ever Purrs and all the time he has been in the hospital but when Gareth saw him this morning he was horrified at the weight lose.

You do need to think hard and long and try to get recommendations if possible cos you need to feel comfortable with the vet and that you can talk to them and in the facilities they have.............so hard and I am about to move all my cats to Frantas vet cos of the 24/7 care and also they have offered me a payment plan for Franta cos he is no longer insured.

AS I have discovered you can never think it wont happen to my cat!

[Tiggy's Mum]

I would stick where you are, purely for the emrgency care arrangements. It's all good and well having continuity for minor illnesses but when it comes to the crunch if one of them was seriously ill would you want them being pushed from pillar to post twice a day (ie transfer from new vet to out of hours vet, then back in the morning).

I've been with my vets for years and am very happy with them but from where I live now it's a 15 minute drive, there's a vet clinic which is a 2 minute drive away so I recently looked into changing vets purely for convenience factor as when I was going regularly with Riley being 15 mins drive away was a real pain.

The close by vets don't do out of hours whereas my current vets is the host for vets now in the hospital I go to now so if I changed vets for convenience factor for routine appointments it would mean that if they were hospitalised they would end up being transferred twice a day which is going to do nothing for their recovery!

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Sorry this is a bit long.

This is something I've been thinking about over the years but the theoretical is becoming the practical now that Jaffa is getting older (he will be 14 next month).  I have been with the same vets since Jaffa was a kitten and I have never had a problem with the treatment I have received.  It's also very convenient as it is 5-10 mins drive away and they do their own out of hours care.  However, it's a referral centre primarily and postgraduate training centre.  That means the general practice is done by interns who are usually only there for a year.  They are qualified vets and I don't question the quality of care, but obviously that means there is no vet who gets to know the cat and it's a different person every time.  Now that Jaffa is getting older I'm realising that it would probably be better for him to have a vet who can get to know him and understand that he's a nervous cat etc. so I have been wondering whether I should switch to a different practice where one or 2 vets can get to know the cats better. 

Advantages of staying where I am
- excellent emergency care due to specialists on the premises (I have before had a specialist pop in to give an opinion on something without paying for a referral).  When Magpie died, he was seen by 3 vets including the senior partner who is an eye specialist. 
- no need to go to a different out of hours place and no moving a cat in the morning if taken to out of hours surgery at night
- access to the latest drugs and specialist equipment which is on the premises.  Magpie was offered a new drug that only a handful of practices in the country had at the time
- convenient location.  If I'm carless I can still get there via a short bus ride and a taxi doesn't cost much

Disadvantages of staying where I am
- no continuity of care which I think would benefit Jaffa now that he's getting older.  When he had cystitis a few years ago the vet was going to keep him in - I didnt disagree with that course of action in general but when the nurse arrived she recognised Jaffa and advised the vet that he was a nervous cat who would be best off going home with medication
- it can be expensive.  general vacs, neutering etc seem reasonable and out of hours consultation charge is reasonable but I paid a fortune for Jaffa's dental 5 years ago (about £400) - or rather petplan did!
- they will not deal directly with insurance companies.  As they are used to high bills due to being a referral centre, they always insist you pay there and then and claim back.  They do seem to be helpful with completing insurance forms and helping you get the money back.

There is one other practice nearby which I think I will investigate to see who they use for out of hours care, but it seems to boil down to general care v emergency care and I can't work out which should be my priority.  I think their emergency out of hours care is second to none and that gives me a lot of confidence.  I like and trust the senior partners (one of whom saw Jaffa a few times for routine stuff as a kitten) but they only do specialist, referral work now. I am hesitant to move from somewhere that I think is good in case the new place isn't as good.  I will not be able to go back to where I am now as they only take on a limited number of general practice patients and I have been there when people have tried to register and been turned away after being told it is a referral centre only.

Any advice?  Esp from those who have older cats.