Accused of Abuse

[JoyRenee]

I mentioned having to pick Beckett up from the vet today (he got neutered). Well I felt like the vet was silently accusing me of breaking the cat's leg. I can understand his point of view because he doesn't know the story. But even when I explained that Beckett was a stray that we found and his regular vet already took x-rays and diagnosed him, this guy was just glowering at me.

I feel terrible and I wish I'd never taken him there because I feel like this man is labeling me an abuser. The reason we went to this vet is because our regular vet doesn't work with PAWS. Our regular vet didn't give me the same vibes and I didn't feel like he was accusing us of abuse.

Anyway, when I picked Beckett up the vet said, very loudly in front of a packed waiting room, "Make SURE you write broken femur on his chart," then turned to glare at me.  ??? Excuse me! I basically rescued this cat, got him immediate medical attention, took him in when we swore we wouldn't have pets, got him a collar and made him a name-tag (I hand-make them)... Arg!  When he said that, though, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I stared right at him and said, "I know he has a broken femur as HIS vet already confirmed that with x-rays. You can verify that with them if you want." He pretended not to hear me, though he was only a few feet away, in a QUIET room as everyone listened to the drama unfold...

Luckily I won't be going back there again. Has this happened to anyone else?

[AppleBr]

Not that bad, but once I took Joy to a vet cheaper because of a small problem and the man treated me quite bad,as all I ever do and did for 6 years was absolutely wrong.Later on I noticed he prescribed and give a medicine not ok for cats.
I could skip the prescribed one, the other happily wont hurt her
Vet disappeared not a long time before - he must have done something serious

[Stepkidnightmare]

Leave!

[CatShapedHeart3]

No thats never happend to me..But when I had taken shanks to the vet that luffy was nuetered at..the vet's assistant lady whatever...told me that they had no idea why he was sick.

Later after shanks passed we got a phone call and the lady was all oh hows shanks i was like he died because you people lied to me...she was like we didnt lie we just didnt tell you that he had the coronous whatever thing virus i was like.... I hate you...I hope an animal bites your hands off...and then hung up. But atleast you didnt like go off the edge like i did :D

[Savas]

While I applaud a vet who has the will to look for potential abuse; next time I'd deal with it outright;

Tell him that you approve of his having a suspicious nature, but he shouldn't be a melodramatic child and whinge and huff around the issue. If he suspects abuse, REPORT IT. Then let the chips fall where they may.

Otherwise, keep quiet and do your job.

It would be a shame if you missed out on a good vet because of this. Chances are he was displacing anger from an earlier abuse issue he neglected to do anything about.

[JoyRenee]

Thanks so much guys! PrettyKitty, your story if very sad and I think I would've bawled my eyes out for a few days if someone actually said, aloud, that I hurt the cat. And I totally understand the vet's point of view. But I wish he would've talked to me about it or at least given me the benefit of doubt. Oh well! It's over and hopefully I don't hear from them in the future (for medical updates, etc.).

[PrettyKitty1]

Vets see hundreds of pets daily, some of them abused, some of them left to fend for themselves or left at their door steps. It has become so common these days for someone to just say "This cat isn't mine, I found it like this on the street" that they're starting to believe people are all liars, EVERYONE. That is why he can't sympathize with you. I know what you went through, as I went through something similar.

Back when I lived with my parents, I saw a starving black and white male cat crying and begging for someone to please give him something to eat. He was skin and bones. Because pets aren't allowed in that community, the cat was going to be thrown out or possibly left in a dumpster. Still, I started feeding the cat, and mistakenly took him to a shelter in hopes of helping the kitty find a good home. Well, the cat ended up being euthanized because he got URI, which he tested negative when he got there, but got infected once at the shelter. He even passed the behavioral test and they put him up for adoption. It was all going too perfect. That day they were scheduling the cat's euthanasia, I got a call from them, saying he was going to be put down. I said "Could you please wait 'til tomorrow? I can't pick him up right now, I'm at work". The lady said: Why couldn't you just keep him? I said I already had a cat when I wasn't even supposed to own one, two would have been too obvious. I had my kitty hidden in the apartment. Then, she replied "well then if you already have a cat, then that leads me to believe this cat is yours, you just abandoned him because you couldn't take care of him". I was going to answer to her but she hung up. I even told her I could pay for his medication if they could just keep him there, that I was going to donate money and practically pay for the cat's antibiotics etc. She said they didn't have a single room for one sick cat. He needed to be put down because they couldn't afford meds for him and he was going to pass it on to the rest of the shelter cats.
The difference here is that the vet didn't TELL you what he thought. I was told I was a criminal, and I could not do anything, and the kitty I tried to help was killed at 2 years of age.
My advice to you is.....don't give it too much thought. Beckett's true vet is not judging you, your conscience is clean, and your cat is happy. You could not ask for more, right? At least you managed to keep this one alive. I couldn't even do that. Don't let things like this bother you. Besides, your friends on MH are not judging you. That guy is just a one time thing you had to do to keep helping your pet. He shouldn't mean anything. You're a great pet owner hun. Beckett is one lucky fella.

[kitty51]

Dont worry about the that vet,you know you took care of the cat and thats all thats matters!Hes probably an ignorant person anyway so I wouldnt give him a second thought!