Looking for a vet... What questions should I ask?

"Al Kondo" wrote in message
...
My wife and I are caring for two orphaned kitties that we found
abandoned in our garage. We love them and are doing our utmost to
make sure that our home and care is the best we can provide.

Congrats on the addition to your family!

We took
them to a vet a week ago.... one that was recommended by some friends.
I was a little uncomfortable with a couple of responses to some
questions I had. Specifically, I was uncomfortable with:

1. He recommended that we feed the cats a dry food diet following the
8th week. I know that there is quite a controversy over wet and dry
food. My research on the internet has convinced me that wet, canned
food is the way to go. It seemed that he didn't know that there was
an issue here.

While it's possible for vets to either attend seminars on feline nutrition,
and to take courses in their education on that as well, it doesn't mean that
they do or have or ever will. You can certainly ask if the vet has studied
nutrition or can provide proof of working nutritional knowledge beyond a
high school graduate's knowledge (which may involve certificates for
completion of nutrition seminars). Ask the vet what he or she feeds her own
cats and pay attention to whether they actually mention that, or if they're
trying to sell what's in the office.

2. I asked him about his attitude about declawing cats, and, he
responded that he would do it if requested by the owner. My wife and
I are convinced that declawing is not what we want for our cats.

His response isn't really surprising, at least not in the US. Most vets
declaw. A lot of them do so without questioning the reasons behind it. It
may be this specific vet that doesn't seem to care, but it doesn't mean
every vet in that clinic have the same ideas. Call around and ask about
declawing policies. See if they offer behavioral counseling (sp?) as an
alternative to declawing (keep in mind that vet schools primarily teach
medicine, not behavior - that requires more schooling and/or training).

From the above, I am beginning to explore other vets in the area. I
will ask them the questions that derive from the above issues.
However, are there other questions I should ask that are important in
selecting a vet for our two kitties? Also, are we being too
idealistic to think that vets would have a view closer to ours
concerning food and declawing?

You can ask about their stance on age for alteration (spaying or
neutering) - some insist on waiting until six months, some will perform the
surgery as little as two pounds (but if you're interested in that option,
make sure to find an experienced vet).
You should always feel comfortable asking anything of your vet, and you
should always feel respected by the staff you encounter in the office. My
last vet treated me like an idiot, so I took my business elsewhere, and I
can tell you that my cats have never so enjoyed the vet. The new clinic is a
feline-only clinic, and the people I see remember me and my cat... and my
kitties loooooove the treats and catnip pillows they get... not to mention
the love. They're professional, but they genuinely enjoy their job. However,
if you choose a cat-only clinic... well, this one at least tends to be more
expensive, and you really have to know where to draw the line. My Pan had
considerable conjunctivitis (something much seen in the shelter where I
work), and if I hadn't been familiar with the problem and how it's treated
in the shelter, I might have been talked into more tests than were really
necessary. But at least this vet welcomes questions and answers honestly,
with no evasiveness.
Plus, their staff is coming (for free) to the shelter to do a presentation
and training for our staff on cat behavior and proper, safe handling. It
means a lot to me that a busy vet still finds the time for things like that,
that they recognize the importance of a humane organization.

And they have several office cats. And kitkat bars on the counter for the
humans. *hehe*

And now I'm done rambling.

I switched to a cat-only vet a while back. I work with a rescue group and we
found that problems that our regular vet had problems with the cat-only vet
could more easily solve. Also, she is more comfortable doing surgery for
injuries. In one case a kitten that had a hernia was given a 85% chance of
full recovery by the cat vet and we were advised to put him down by the
other vet. Also, there aren't the dog smells and noises to bother kitty. She
is more expensive on routine stuff and harder to get into so we don't use
her for everything, just the special or difficult cases. You can read about
the hurt kitty at http://www.jwpitt.com/cats/squeaker.htm

--
Joe
http://www.jwpitt.com/cats.htm
Cat Rescue http://www.animalrescuefoundation.com
God created the cat so man could have the pleasure of petting the tiger


"Kalyahna" wrote in message
...
"Al Kondo" wrote in message
...
My wife and I are caring for two orphaned kitties that we found
abandoned in our garage. We love them and are doing our utmost to
make sure that our home and care is the best we can provide.

Congrats on the addition to your family!

We took
them to a vet a week ago.... one that was recommended by some friends.
I was a little uncomfortable with a couple of responses to some
questions I had. Specifically, I was uncomfortable with:

1. He recommended that we feed the cats a dry food diet following the
8th week. I know that there is quite a controversy over wet and dry
food. My research on the internet has convinced me that wet, canned
food is the way to go. It seemed that he didn't know that there was
an issue here.

While it's possible for vets to either attend seminars on feline
nutrition,
and to take courses in their education on that as well, it doesn't mean
that
they do or have or ever will. You can certainly ask if the vet has studied
nutrition or can provide proof of working nutritional knowledge beyond a
high school graduate's knowledge (which may involve certificates for
completion of nutrition seminars). Ask the vet what he or she feeds her
own
cats and pay attention to whether they actually mention that, or if
they're
trying to sell what's in the office.

2. I asked him about his attitude about declawing cats, and, he
responded that he would do it if requested by the owner. My wife and
I are convinced that declawing is not what we want for our cats.

His response isn't really surprising, at least not in the US. Most vets
declaw. A lot of them do so without questioning the reasons behind it. It
may be this specific vet that doesn't seem to care, but it doesn't mean
every vet in that clinic have the same ideas. Call around and ask about
declawing policies. See if they offer behavioral counseling (sp?) as an
alternative to declawing (keep in mind that vet schools primarily teach
medicine, not behavior - that requires more schooling and/or training).

From the above, I am beginning to explore other vets in the area. I
will ask them the questions that derive from the above issues.
However, are there other questions I should ask that are important in
selecting a vet for our two kitties? Also, are we being too
idealistic to think that vets would have a view closer to ours
concerning food and declawing?

You can ask about their stance on age for alteration (spaying or
neutering) - some insist on waiting until six months, some will perform
the
surgery as little as two pounds (but if you're interested in that option,
make sure to find an experienced vet).
You should always feel comfortable asking anything of your vet, and you
should always feel respected by the staff you encounter in the office. My
last vet treated me like an idiot, so I took my business elsewhere, and I
can tell you that my cats have never so enjoyed the vet. The new clinic is
a
feline-only clinic, and the people I see remember me and my cat... and my
kitties loooooove the treats and catnip pillows they get... not to mention
the love. They're professional, but they genuinely enjoy their job.
However,
if you choose a cat-only clinic... well, this one at least tends to be
more
expensive, and you really have to know where to draw the line. My Pan had
considerable conjunctivitis (something much seen in the shelter where I
work), and if I hadn't been familiar with the problem and how it's treated
in the shelter, I might have been talked into more tests than were really
necessary. But at least this vet welcomes questions and answers honestly,
with no evasiveness.
Plus, their staff is coming (for free) to the shelter to do a presentation
and training for our staff on cat behavior and proper, safe handling. It
means a lot to me that a busy vet still finds the time for things like
that,
that they recognize the importance of a humane organization.

And they have several office cats. And kitkat bars on the counter for the
humans. *hehe*

And now I'm done rambling.

I switched to a cat-only vet a while back. I work with a rescue group and we
found that problems that our regular vet had problems with the cat-only vet
could more easily solve. Also, she is more comfortable doing surgery for
injuries. In one case a kitten that had a hernia was given a 85% chance of
full recovery by the cat vet and we were advised to put him down by the
other vet. Also, there aren't the dog smells and noises to bother kitty. She
is more expensive on routine stuff and harder to get into so we don't use
her for everything, just the special or difficult cases. You can read about
the hurt kitty at http://www.jwpitt.com/cats/squeaker.htm

--
Joe
http://www.jwpitt.com/cats.htm
Cat Rescue http://www.animalrescuefoundation.com
God created the cat so man could have the pleasure of petting the tiger


"Kalyahna" wrote in message
...
"Al Kondo" wrote in message
...
My wife and I are caring for two orphaned kitties that we found
abandoned in our garage. We love them and are doing our utmost to
make sure that our home and care is the best we can provide.

Congrats on the addition to your family!

We took
them to a vet a week ago.... one that was recommended by some friends.
I was a little uncomfortable with a couple of responses to some
questions I had. Specifically, I was uncomfortable with:

1. He recommended that we feed the cats a dry food diet following the
8th week. I know that there is quite a controversy over wet and dry
food. My research on the internet has convinced me that wet, canned
food is the way to go. It seemed that he didn't know that there was
an issue here.

While it's possible for vets to either attend seminars on feline
nutrition,
and to take courses in their education on that as well, it doesn't mean
that
they do or have or ever will. You can certainly ask if the vet has studied
nutrition or can provide proof of working nutritional knowledge beyond a
high school graduate's knowledge (which may involve certificates for
completion of nutrition seminars). Ask the vet what he or she feeds her
own
cats and pay attention to whether they actually mention that, or if
they're
trying to sell what's in the office.

2. I asked him about his attitude about declawing cats, and, he
responded that he would do it if requested by the owner. My wife and
I are convinced that declawing is not what we want for our cats.

His response isn't really surprising, at least not in the US. Most vets
declaw. A lot of them do so without questioning the reasons behind it. It
may be this specific vet that doesn't seem to care, but it doesn't mean
every vet in that clinic have the same ideas. Call around and ask about
declawing policies. See if they offer behavioral counseling (sp?) as an
alternative to declawing (keep in mind that vet schools primarily teach
medicine, not behavior - that requires more schooling and/or training).

From the above, I am beginning to explore other vets in the area. I
will ask them the questions that derive from the above issues.
However, are there other questions I should ask that are important in
selecting a vet for our two kitties? Also, are we being too
idealistic to think that vets would have a view closer to ours
concerning food and declawing?

You can ask about their stance on age for alteration (spaying or
neutering) - some insist on waiting until six months, some will perform
the
surgery as little as two pounds (but if you're interested in that option,
make sure to find an experienced vet).
You should always feel comfortable asking anything of your vet, and you
should always feel respected by the staff you encounter in the office. My
last vet treated me like an idiot, so I took my business elsewhere, and I
can tell you that my cats have never so enjoyed the vet. The new clinic is
a
feline-only clinic, and the people I see remember me and my cat... and my
kitties loooooove the treats and catnip pillows they get... not to mention
the love. They're professional, but they genuinely enjoy their job.
However,
if you choose a cat-only clinic... well, this one at least tends to be
more
expensive, and you really have to know where to draw the line. My Pan had
considerable conjunctivitis (something much seen in the shelter where I
work), and if I hadn't been familiar with the problem and how it's treated
in the shelter, I might have been talked into more tests than were really
necessary. But at least this vet welcomes questions and answers honestly,
with no evasiveness.
Plus, their staff is coming (for free) to the shelter to do a presentation
and training for our staff on cat behavior and proper, safe handling. It
means a lot to me that a busy vet still finds the time for things like
that,
that they recognize the importance of a humane organization.

And they have several office cats. And kitkat bars on the counter for the
humans. *hehe*

And now I'm done rambling.