Vet selection
Feb. 21st, 2011 11:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stephbgIt's time to take Cally to the vet for a review of her pain treatment. I knew it was coming, but the actual phone call was inspired by something very simple: the bottomless vial of Metacam I've been giving to her has finally run dry. I've had it for quite some time and only yesterday felt moved to belatedly check the expiration date (10/2012 fyi).
To date in my history of pet ownership vets have been pretty much interchangeable. If a cat needed to see a vet, I took them to a vet. Any vet at the nearest practice would do. Most of them I've liked, a few merely tolerated, and a rare one or two I've felt uncomfortable with. My opinion hasn't really mattered because until recently I haven't had to deal with long term issues and repeat visits.
But this time it looks like it's going to make a difference. I called my local vet clinic this afternoon to ask if Dr Laura had any appointments free this evening. I like Dr Laura. No, she was finished for the day and wouldn't be back until Thursday. Hmmm, I thought. What about Dr Marek? He's seen Cally on and off for a number of years and we've discussed her arthritis before. No, he's on holiday. I was told that Dr X would be in. I established that Dr X was the vet we all saw on the last mass vaccination visit, and that's when I discovered that I do really care about which vet was which. I felt a sudden aversion to the idea of consulting with Dr X.
Dr X didn't do anything wrong, but I most definitely failed to bond with her. I'd see her again for routine maintenance, or stitches, but not to plan palliative care for the rest of Cally's life. Instinct says No! Logic says she's fine for the job and when last we spoke she had lots of ideas about alternative therapies. Instinct says that's not what I want in a vet. Logic says I'm being irrational. Instinct is getting a trembly lip.
Thursday isn't that far away. If Cally *really* needs attention before then (if her appetite goes, for example, or her breathing becomes laboured) I will just request a refill of Metacam to tide her over for a day or two. Or a shot of something fun for cats. I don't want to have That conversation with Dr X :-(
To date in my history of pet ownership vets have been pretty much interchangeable. If a cat needed to see a vet, I took them to a vet. Any vet at the nearest practice would do. Most of them I've liked, a few merely tolerated, and a rare one or two I've felt uncomfortable with. My opinion hasn't really mattered because until recently I haven't had to deal with long term issues and repeat visits.
But this time it looks like it's going to make a difference. I called my local vet clinic this afternoon to ask if Dr Laura had any appointments free this evening. I like Dr Laura. No, she was finished for the day and wouldn't be back until Thursday. Hmmm, I thought. What about Dr Marek? He's seen Cally on and off for a number of years and we've discussed her arthritis before. No, he's on holiday. I was told that Dr X would be in. I established that Dr X was the vet we all saw on the last mass vaccination visit, and that's when I discovered that I do really care about which vet was which. I felt a sudden aversion to the idea of consulting with Dr X.
Dr X didn't do anything wrong, but I most definitely failed to bond with her. I'd see her again for routine maintenance, or stitches, but not to plan palliative care for the rest of Cally's life. Instinct says No! Logic says she's fine for the job and when last we spoke she had lots of ideas about alternative therapies. Instinct says that's not what I want in a vet. Logic says I'm being irrational. Instinct is getting a trembly lip.
Thursday isn't that far away. If Cally *really* needs attention before then (if her appetite goes, for example, or her breathing becomes laboured) I will just request a refill of Metacam to tide her over for a day or two. Or a shot of something fun for cats. I don't want to have That conversation with Dr X :-(
