Furious with Vet

Patches was spayed on Wednesday and when I called they said everything went fine and that I could pick her up anytime Thursday. I get a call Thursday morning saying the Dr. wanted to talk to me about Patches and asked me to come in. When I got there, there was another woman I met there on Wednesday who also had a cat getting spayed named Patches. When we finally got to see the Dr. he told me there had been a mix up and my Patches was spayed and front declawed :yell: . It was the other Patches that was supposed have that done. I am totally against declawing. I have never gotten a cat declawed in my life. Zoey is the first cat that I have had that was declawed but her previous owner did that. I was so sick that I didn't know what to say.The Dr. said the vet tech who took care of the paper work got them mixed up. I still don't understand how this can happen. Can anyone else shed some light on this? I am furious and I let the vet know how I felt. To top it all off the other woman suggested that we trade cats :frustrated: . I wanted to slug her, I was ready to lose it so I asked for Patches and walked out. The vet called me and asked to meet with him today a 2 pm. He is coming to the house and he said he also fired the tech who made the mistake. She had been working with him for 2 weeks and said he couldn't risk having her make anymore mistakes. So who is at fault the Dr. or the tech? What do I do now?
I love the Dr., he is great with my other pets and the dogs love going to see him.

OMG ! You know what ? It almost happen to me when i got Monsieur le chat neutered , but I was screaming on the phone so the vet tech double checked and apoligized as she was talking about another cat. :confused:

I think it is the tech's fault , the vet fired her because of it but I suspect he did it by fear of being sued by you (you could sooo sue them for this!) but the damage is done. Vets should be more careful too ! The other owner wanted to switch cats ? OMG ! What a (*??%( woman ! :frustrated:

You must be so mad , I would be too. I hope Patches is ok :grouphug:

Patches is ok. I have been up most of the night cuddling with her. I know she is uncomfortable but today she is a little better. I just feel so sick at what happened. I hope Patches returns to her normal crazy behavoir.

I hope Patches returns to her normal crazy behavoir.

Don't worry , she will ! She is just recovering. Needs to rst . Did you buy another litter for her ? She needs a special one until her paws heal. :sad:

I hope they didn't make you pay for any of this ? You shouldn't even pay for the spay.

Don't worry , she will ! She is just recovering. Needs to rst . Did you buy another litter for her ? She needs a special one until her paws heal. :sad:

I hope they didn't make you pay for any of this ? You shouldn't even pay for the spay.

pfft... they should give her 5 years of vet care free.

-ashley

pfft... they should give her 5 years of vet care free.

-ashley

Maybe that's why the vet is offering a house visit. I would try to get free vet care for the rest of her life.

The vet gave us litter made of recycled newspaper. The bill was just over $400 and he ripped it up yesterday and the other woman that was there wanted her bill ripped up to but the vet said she was only charged for the spay and will do the declaw for free once her cat recovers from being spayed.

I think what the vet did was fair and that by coming to your house he was expressing his remorse (and hoping to keep you as a client, but still). If he is a good friend to your animals and knows his stuff, I'd keep him. Too bad for the vet tech; I'm not sure I would've fired her, seems a bit harsh, but it is a huge mistake.
The other woman sounds like a piece of work :laughing: .
I rescued a declawed Burmese once. He now lives with my sister out west and spends part of the day outdoors. Caught a mouse! Climbs trees! So don't worry, cats find their way around things.

What a terrible mix up. I don't know where the blame lies Cathy but once you talk with the vet today you may have a better idea of where he thinks the blame lies. If he bends over backwards for you I would take that as an admission of guilt somewhat on his part. As far as he is concerned he fired the tech that supposedly made the error so if he further tries to pacify you I'd wonder how much of it he feels is his fault.

Oh poor you and poor Patches. I am sure the Vet feels terrible and really there is nothing that can be done for Patches except giving her LOTS OF LOVE.

That woman who wanted to trade cats is :crazy: . Doesn't she love her cat? What is the matter with that woman?

I have to admit I feel sorry for the Tech. Both cats named Patches and both females, not knowing the cats personally, it would be an easy mistake to make. We have all done mistakes in our lives and in our work and although declawing to me is mutilation, the cats did not have serious harm done to them. I think the Vet is ultimately responsible for it. The Tech was new and should have had proper supervision just like any other new employee.

I know it is easy for me to say that, I would have been screaming at the Vet.

Poor Patches (both Patches because the other Patches has to go home with that horrible lady).:grouphug:

Wow... poor kitties... both, cause that other lady will still be declawing the other!!

I would say it was definitely not the vets fault, they really have to rely on their techs because I know mine anyhow is run ragged with appointments and surgeries. They have to be prepped and ready and organized all by the techs. It's good that he fired her, those mistakes could be worse even! (Not that declawing a cat isn't bad enough!)

I'm so sorry that happened to your kitty, and although you (and I) are against declawing... your kitty will probably recover and be none the worse for wear. And I'll bet she won't even hold it against ya ;) :lovestruck: . (They are amazing little creatures.)

As for the vet I really hope he does something above and beyond to make up for that. I would say he may be just as appauled as you are, if not more so because he is responsible for it. (And I'm just wondering but does he not try to dissuade owners from declawing? My vet does. I think a lot do now, and explain what an unnecessary procedure it is. That other woman concerns me... ready to trade pets and still wanting to declaw after seeing how upset you were... :frustrated: yikes.)

The vet was here and kept saying he was sorry. He said he feels responsible because this vet tech was working somewhere else and had given wrong medication to a dog and was let go but decided to give her a chance in his practice. He has been a vet for 21 yrs. and never had any problems before and assured me that something like this will never happen again. His wife was his vet tech for 18 yrs. and retired 4 months ago but has decided to go back to work for him. He offered 2 yrs. of service for my 2 cats & 2 dogs, so I'm taking it. He also had a look at Duke while he was here because he has a nail (no toe) that grows on the side of his foot which he says should be removed because he keeps breaking it off which causes it to bleed. Patches sat on his lap the whole time he was here and was giving him head butts. He checked her sutures and her feet and everything looked good. He seemed to be very hurt over this. What my husband doesn't understand about me is that I was trying to console the vet. That's just the way I am.

He offered 2 yrs. of service for my 2 cats & 2 dogs, so I'm taking it.

Even better ! :thumbs up He is a pretty good vet, I know lots of them wouldn't have done the house visit , they may have given free services to Patches , but he did for your other animals !!! That's pretty nice ! :thumbs up

the vet probably isvery upset and made you a very nice offer ( he probably doesnt want a call from a lawyer eithier} It sounds like kitty is doing fine. I have known a few cats that have been declawed and as long as you watch for signs of pain I am sure it will adjust. You might want to try a bit of kitten proofing as to hieght esp if he's a jumper climber.
It is a shame though, but I also know that around here it is very hard to find good vet techs due to various factors including lack of adequte compensation

And I'm just wondering but does he not try to dissuade owners from declawing? My vet does. I think a lot do now, and explain what an unnecessary procedure it is. That other woman concerns me... ready to trade pets and still wanting to declaw after seeing how upset you were... :frustrated: yikes.)

He says he talks to the pet owner about the procedure in declawing and some change their minds but others go ahead with it anyway because the cat is destroying their furniture. Patches liked climbing curtains so I put up curtains I didn't care about and I also had a spray bottle which worked great. I really never had that much of a problem with scratching furniture.

The vet said the other woman is still going to declaw and she couldn't understand why I was so upset.:wall:

I'd say the vet went above and beyond, even before he went to your house. And if this is the second time the tech made a serious error, then I'd say firing her was the right thing to do.

It's too bad some people are so cynical that they're suspicious of the vet if he went so far to appease you. Probably the same people who'd scream if he didn't do anything.

Personally, I don't blame you for being angry, but I also would say that you've got a good vet there, and you should definitely hold onto him. He probably has the same theory I do in my business (and as I tell clients who apologize to me for venting on my when the company I work for screws up). I don't care who made the error, or why. What I care about is the fact that you were wronged, and I want to make sure that I do what I can to make it right. I don't believe in the "it was that person's fault, and we did the minimal to fix it" way of doing things I run into so often. If the company or business you work for (or own) did something wrong, you take ownership of it, and fix it. And I think that's what he did. AND I think he was sincere.

What a terrible mixup, Cathy! :grouphug: I would have been livid! :frustrated:

But I agree with Schwinn. It sounds like the vet is honestly appalled at what happened and is accepting responsibility for it. It sounds like he acted responsibly in firing the tech, and he's trying to do the responsible thing by you, as well, making such a generous offer. Despite your bad experience with his clinic, he sounds like a gem of a vet! I'd hang on to him, too!

I hope Patches is feeling better soon :fingerscr :goodvibes:

Poor Patches :cry: , I also would be furious through the roof, it good he has made compensation gestures to you. I hope he reported the fired tech to the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association so she isn't able to make such a mistake or even worse again.

Does your Patches & the other look alike same colouring etc or was it just same name? How a mistake like that could be made is beyond me.

:grouphug: :fingerscr :goodvibes: speedy recovery Patches:goodvibes:

:wall: Some people just dont want to put in the work...

That is one great vet you have there. I hope also like Jim that he reported that tech, once is an accident... twice is teetering on just sloppy and unqualified.

How is Patches doin today?

Does your Patches & the other look alike same colouring etc or was it just same name? How a mistake like that could be made is beyond me.

:grouphug: :fingerscr :goodvibes: speedy recovery Patches:goodvibes:

The other Patches is an orange tabby, mine is grey with a little orange. She seems to be good today, she is playing with her toys and back to stealing the dogs toys, towels and our mail.:laughing:

Heres my Patches

double post

Oh she's beautiful. I love her

What a pretty girl Patches is. :lovestruck:

It's hard to believe that the girl mixed her up with an orange tabby. :eek: She deserved to get fired and she should be reported since it was her second mistake. I hope she decides to find a different career as well. :fingerscr And your vet certainly sounds like a great person. :thumbs up

Glad to hear Patches is recovering well. :thumbs up :cat:

The vet gave us litter made of recycled newspaper. The bill was just over $400 and he ripped it up yesterday and the other woman that was there wanted her bill ripped up to but the vet said she was only charged for the spay and will do the declaw for free once her cat recovers from being spayed.

OMG, first of all, I'm so sorry for you and especially patches! That's a complete nightmare to have something like that happen. The vet tech should have been more careful. It's not like the other woman asked for a nail trimming, which if your patches accidentally got one no big deal, but instead she got mutilated. I would have lost it, so I congratulate you on keeping your cool.

The other woman was a complete moron as well. And why did the doctor offer to declaw her cat for free? She would have paid for it anyway, its not like she's going to suffer.

I'm so glad I've had the Dynamic Duo spayed and neutered or else I'd be a nervous wreck at something like this happening to them by mistake. Although, I doubt they have any other kitties named Vlad and Oksana.

I hope patches recovers well.

Cathy,my stomach turned over,reading about the accidental declawing,I would have thrown up right there in the office:yell:
As for your vet,he is utimately responsible for his staff,firing the girl was the right thing to do.
I would stick with him,he is showing deep remorse and hopefully he'll be a little more watchful who he is operating on from now on.

That ignorant woman:evil: ,poor orange tabby,too bad the vet cannot convince her not to declaw,if she was willing to trade cats,she obviously does not love her Patches...how sad.
My vet do not call my cats by their first name only,they also use the family name.

The other woman was a complete moron as well. And why did the doctor offer to declaw her cat for free? She would have paid for it anyway, its not like she's going to suffer.

He said he was going to do it for free because it means putting the cat under again and he said he would of preferred to have done it all at once. His vet tech has been reported. I called this afternoon because I just remembered about the blood test that was done before surgery and wanted to make sure that they got that right and he said they did the test over again when they found out the mistake. She has a collar on because she was pulling at sutures and doesn't like it one bit. She has to wear it until Aug.18. I like this vet because he is also the emergency clinic and available all the time. All my other cats were already fixed when I got them so this is the first time I had to go through this and I think the vet did a good job. The first pic is her incision.

That makes sense. I know putting them under can be dangerous, so I can understand why he'd do if for free, since he's putting the other patches at risk again.

Your patches is a total cutie.

I have to say, I love my vet(s). I go to Knowles, which has been around for a long time here. There are about 5 or 6 vets who work there, and they've all handled my kitties at one point, and I've been very happy with all of them. And so far the vet techs they have are very competent. I've only cringed at one. He took little Oksana out of her carrier by pulling her by the head. When I saw him doing it, I looked at him like I was going to take a torch to him, and he noticed, so going forward in his examination, he was very gentle with her.

I've learned from here and from talking to my friends here who have pets, that a good vet clinic is so hard to find, so when you have one stick with it.

Your vet sounds like he's really trying to make up for the mistake his ex-tech made.

Your Patches is a beauty :cloud9: I'm glad she's doing good :highfive: . Good girl Patches you go grab all the toys. And so glad the tech was reported.:thumbs up

What a beautiful girl! I just love that light torty colour, they always look so dainty and delicate!

And is there anything more heart wrenching than that look they give you when you put one of those collars on.... :o

I am so sorry for your Patches and for you!! I'd be furious!!! I ask in advance to make sure the vet I go to does not do declawing at all but I do realize that is not always an option for everyone. Personally, I cannot imagine anyone who is a vet doing that surgery but alas, there are some whop do, too many it seems. It seems to be to be very unethical!

My guess is he fired the tech perhaps because of her/his (?) incompetence but also to defer any litigation and I would certainly think about that. Even if he did not charge you, he did not do what he was supposed to do and even if the paperwork was wrong, he is ultimately responsible. I am a physician and even if someone inappropriately mixed up the paperwork on a patient, I am the one who ultimately is responsible if anything did go wrong, not a nurse or a clerk - me!! I think it is the same situation here. Most vets should know their clients - I mean I am guessing you go there all the time so why did he not know this was your cat? I bring my cats for a get to know the vet and basic exam and then their required vaccinations, spay and neuter when old enough and other issues as they happen and annual checkups sop I do not understand why he could mix up the cats. My vet would never mix up my cats - well especially YY, lol (She is a very loud and bossy Siamese).

So I would work out something with him. Ask him in writing to give you free vet care for so many years in lieu of legal action. I mean , if you think of this in human terms, it is the equivalent of a surgeon removing a limb on the wrong patient! It's certainly actionable and he knows it, I'm sure.

This makes me so angry - to think of this cat undergoing declawing and you will have more vet bills later in Patches life for the arthritis and other ailments many declawed cats suffer from. How does it cover the personality issues? You can help that , granted, by giving her extra care and helping her not be afraid and helping her not become a biter, as many declawed cats also do.

Good luck and please talk to him - he does have to accept some responsibility.

I just thought of something else... make sure that the vet will not charge you for any complications due or related to the declawing for her life, I know you got the two years but I forgot to tell you that my cat Cordelia (who resides with my parents) had a complication at 7.5 yrs old (7 years after being declawed) due to her being declawed. (My mom said I had to have her declawed to move home... I was young and we were all ignorant when it came to declawing and the vet did not deter us... and none of our cats have been declawed since- we learned our lesson!)

She had to have surgery to remove a large growth that had started on the bone where the claw once was, vet said it was like the claw was trying to grow back:shrug: ). She was having trouble walking and was in quite a bit of pain. It was quite costly and although she recovered pretty quickly from the surgery it just made me feel all the more guilty for ever declawing her in the first place.

I just thought that knowing it can cause problems later, the vet should offer to remedy any problems that may come up related to declawing since it was never supposed to be done in the first place. And the problems if they happen may not happen for many years.

Most vets should know their clients - I mean I am guessing you go there all the time so why did he not know this was your cat? I bring my cats for a get to know the vet and basic exam and then their required vaccinations, spay and neuter when old enough and other issues as they happen and annual checkups sop I do not understand why he could mix up the cats. My vet would never mix up my cats - well especially YY, lol (She is a very loud and bossy Siamese).
.

This is my new vet since April and Patches has only been there once before. I agree there shouldn't have been a mix up.

I just thought of something else... make sure that the vet will not charge you for any complications due or related to the declawing for her life, I know you got the two years but I forgot to tell you that my cat Cordelia (who resides with my parents) had a complication at 7.5 yrs old (7 years after being declawed) due to her being declawed. (My mom said I had to have her declawed to move home... I was young and we were all ignorant when it came to declawing and the vet did not deter us... and none of our cats have been declawed since- we learned our lesson!)

She had to have surgery to remove a large growth that had started on the bone where the claw once was, vet said it was like the claw was trying to grow back:shrug: ). She was having trouble walking and was in quite a bit of pain. It was quite costly and although she recovered pretty quickly from the surgery it just made me feel all the more guilty for ever declawing her in the first place.

I just thought that knowing it can cause problems later, the vet should offer to remedy any problems that may come up related to declawing since it was never supposed to be done in the first place. And the problems if they happen may not happen for many years.

The vet said that he would offer 2 yrs for all my pets and will cover Patches after that if it is caused by declawing. Sorry I didn't add that to my other post.

No prob, just wanted to let you know that the complications can come WAY later... Although the vet did tell us the majority if they are going to have issues, have them right away.:o How's she doing with the collar?

She is used to the collar now, she has learned to live with it. She mostly lays around right now and swats the dogs when they walk by. I check her paws a few times a day to make sure everything is ok. I never knew they used glue on the paws instead of stitches.