Just over 7 years ago my mom came home from the vet and said, "There are kittens. Let's go look at them." I told her, no. "If you look at them, you will want to keep 'em." Somehow she got me to the vet.
There were a bunch of orange and white striped kittens, each and every one of them just as adorable as the next. "Look at the kittens! Let's pet them!" Again, I said, "No, mom. If you pet them, you'll start coming up with names for them." She picked one out that as she would say "has character." She picked Logan out and let me tell you something, my mom is never wrong about character. Now, my mom tells me that I said something like, "I've never had a cat before." But I swear! I don't know what happened next or how she did it... I walked out with a kitten.
"Pumpkin" as he was called was crazy from the get go. The tiniest thing would scare him and that orange and white tail would fluff out just like a pipe cleaner. It still happens today and I love it.
No one was more upset than Logan when I moved to Germany for the summer of '08. He moped the whole summer and then punished me for the next several months. And no one is more upset than Logan when I'm gone for a few days or even just come home late from work. I can always rely on him to be sitting on the stairs when I walk in the door with the glare that can only mean, "Where have you been?" We're pretty co-dependent, him and I.
As he gets older, I have to start taking care of more things. A year ago he got a really bad UTI and now has to eat special food to keep those issues from resurfacing. And there's also the issue of dental hygiene. I brushed his teeth as a kitten. He insisted on chewing my hair in my sleep, so I insisted that he keep his teeth clean. Unfortunately, I didn't do it enough to save him from the need for dental cleanings. I wish I had.
He's gotten his teeth cleaned before. It wasn't too much of a big deal. They over-doped him the last time, so he slept for a few days in his "tent" (a big sheet that I hung in my window that was immediately adopted as a cool cat place). But the vet called in to check on him and addressed all my concerns right away. I was really impressed with the PetSmart Banfield hospital in Knightdale. But then I moved! It seemed so simple, Logan would go to a new vet, but still would be part of Banfield. I assumed that the quality of service and care would be comparable.
I was wrong.
I had to drop Logan off to get his teeth cleaned. I let the tech know that my brother needed to pick up my baby and gave him the contact info for both of us. I let my cat go the back with the tech and went to work. I got a call in the afternoon and had to ask about his physical. The vet said that they hadn't done the comprehensive exam yet and kind of stumbled around on it. It was strange; I honestly wasn't convinced that they knew they were supposed to do that...even though I called the day before to confirm everything that they were supposed to do.
My brother picked up my cat at the appropriate time. My brother was never asked for any identification, literally just said that he was there to pick up Logan McNeill and that was that. Well, almost...The kid that brought Logan out asked my brother about his "dog....err....cat?" And the very same tech asked my brother if Logan was a boy or a girl because, "It's impossible to tell, you know?" Conclusion: The kid was high as a kite or extremely incompetent. Or both.
So Logan came home. He was completely alert and even more terrified. He acted like he'd never been put under – an idea terrifies me than anything. He ran out of his carrier and we found that both of his hind legs were bandaged up. Logan got to work on getting rid of them quickly and what was left behind were two very bloody bandages. One of his legs looked bedraggled like a homeless cat. I couldn't believe it.
I was in the dog house. Not only did I trick him into going to the vet by feeding his brothers and luring him into my trap, I let someone hurt him. He is only starting to forgive me. I'm apparently safe now, so long as I'm asleep. Poor thing is extra jumpy. He’s a jumpy cat in general, but this is a little ridiculous. I've never seen him in such a state. And every time I feed him and his brothers he goes to hide, certain that I'll trick him again.
It'd been 5 days since he went in and I'd heard nothing from the vet. So I decided to call and instead of getting solid answers about what happened to my pet, I got laughed at. "Oh, you know...it happens!" She tried to play everything off. The blood was from the IV, maybe it didn't take right the first time, lots of blood isn't a big deal, and everything is routine, etc. I wasn't getting anywhere with this person. I started to ask about his comprehensive exam and she replied with, "Why would you want to know about that? He's fine."
Who in their right mind asks why a pet owner or pet parent wants to know about the well-being of their baby? I pressed her further. She said, "Well, what do you want to know?" "Ummmm...how did it go? What are the results of the tests? Should I have any concerns?"
"Well, what kind of concerns would you have? He's fine."
"What was done do to my cat?"
"I wasn't there so I don't know!"
"Ummm...You should have detailed case notes."
This is how the entire conversation went. Ridiculous! She finally agreed to write down my number and have the vet call me back.
I really doubt I'm going to get a call...But I will be calling back until I get some real answers. I've already sent a complaint in to the Brier Creek Banfield and will keep sending complaints. This is my baby. The fact that he's so upset depresses me. The fact that I took him to a place with substandard care makes me even more upset! I expected better from a PetSmart hospital. My cat deserves better than this and I need to know what my pet care providers are doing behind the scenes.
After all, I decided a long time ago that Logan's going to live forever; and having a vet that doesn't give a care makes it hard for my baby to be his immortal, crazy, and fun-loving self.
No comments:
Post a Comment