Northgate Veterinary Clinic PS

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: This is typing strangely on my phoneEverything that was written was a lieI was told that the Prozac prescription would not be filled unless I got a long list of tests and vaccines that totaled about $450! I was not offered a feliway sprayed blanket or even a blanketThe car ride continues to be brought up as excuse for my cat's inability to be examined and he did not have a traumatic experience anywhere but this vet office My my cat was seen shortly after at [redacted] by [redacted] He can tell you the temperament of my cat, which is scared but manageable [redacted] obtained bloodwork and a urinalysisHe did not force me to obtain this and wrote a script refill immediately I had a HORRIBLE experience with Northgate vet, demand a refund since nothing was done, and want an apology for these lies and experience! I do not have anything else to say and I am appalled

In response to ID: [redacted]We are happy to respond to the complaint raised by this pet owner. We consider all feedback valuable and the opportunity to address concerns are taken quite seriously.  With that in mind, our outcome is listen to all the concerns raised, collect all the facts...

associated with the complaint, then address it appropriately, ethically, and swiftly.  In the pursuit of this, we have made several attempts to contact the owner by phone from the first moment we learned of the owner’s dissatisfaction.  We have yet to receive a return call.In light of the procedure through Revdex.com, to respond to this complaint, we will outline the visit from the perspective of all the individuals that had an opportunity to work with this pet owner as well as the detailed computer records we keep during a pet visit at our office.The owners arrived at 1:29 for a 1:30 appointment. Upon arrival, the owner was very anxious and flustered stating that the drive to the clinic was very stressful. Her cat carrier was not secured in the car and tipped over and tumbled in route to the clinic. She said her cat was very agitated. Upon checking in at 1:29PM she was put immediately into an exam room (1:30PM). The cat was triaged by our Assistant.  Our assistant tried to open the carrier but the cat was hissing and swatting.  Obviously stressed and agitated as described by the owner.  The cat let the owners take him out of the carrier and put him on the scale.  The cat continued to hiss and swat at the owners.  The owners again reported to our assistant that the cat carrier fell over in the car, which agitated the cat and caused him to panic and he had been foaming at the mouth in the car after the fall.  Our assistant offered them a small blanket sprayed with Feliway Spray, a pheromone based product to help reduce stress.  Our Assistant reported to [redacted] that the cat was no longer foaming at the mouth, but was very aggressive/fractious.   She let [redacted] know that the owners had also requested a refill of prozac.  There was no mention that the owner had run out of the drug. When [redacted] went into the exam room, the cat was on the table with the feliway blanket.  The cat's posture indicated that he was overtly stressed - crunched down on the table with his ears flat back and dilated pupils.  The doctor chose not touch him, in an effort to allow him time to calm down and take the opportunity to talk with the owners.  The owners and [redacted] spoke extensively (at least for 20-30 minutes) on all aspects of the cat's medical history as well as preventative care (vaccines, diet, parasite prevention/control, senior wellness screening).  They also discussed the use of prozac in cats for urinary issues, answering all of the owners' questions regarding the drug, as well as feline urinary tract disease.  During the discussion, [redacted] recommended bloodwork for older cats and those on chronic medications to monitor for side effects of the drug, and the emergence of any illness (such as kidney, liver disease) which may be worsened by the use of the drug or could even be a contra-indicated for use of the drug. [redacted] explained that while this was a medical recommendation, it was not a requirement and she was free to decline the lab evaluation.  [redacted] told her that if she did decline-she would still provide her with a prescription, as long as she did not find a contra-indication based on the cat's examination.  [redacted] explained that she would have to exam her cat in order to provide a prescription.  The owner indicated that she understood all of this and liked the idea of screening senior wellness lab work and asked for the cost. She was informed that the assistant would come in with an estimate after the conversation and before any procedures were performed. Another concern the owner had regarded one of the cat's back toes.  The owner informed [redacted] that he injured it in Florida and she took him to an ER clinic where they told her that they took x-rays and the toe wasn't broken.  The Owner told [redacted] that she believes the clinic didn't actually take an x-rays (but did charge her) since the position of the toe made it appear broken to the owner.  The owner then proceeded to attempt to lift the cat up to show [redacted] the toe.  At that point, the cat attacked the owner- swiping at her, growling and attempting to bite.  The owner was unable to touch the cat and [redacted] advised her to stop as she did not want her, or the cat to get injured in a struggle, nor did she want his stress/anxiety/aggression to escalate.   [redacted] asked if the cat was always like this at the vet clinic, or if this was a new behavior.  The male owner told [redacted] that the cat is always a little upset at the vet clinic, but never to this extent.  He attributed the cat's behavior to the accident that occurred in the car where the carrier fell over and caused the cat to panic with foaming at the mouth. At that point, [redacted] suggested that after the owners see an estimate and decide which procedures they would like today, that we take the cat to the treatment area, in order to efficiently and safely perform and exam +/- lab collection with the aid of our trained staff, in an attempt to do so without causing further stress to the patient.  [redacted] discussed the possible need for sedation, depending on the cat's behavior.   [redacted] discussed our "fear-free" approach to patient care as it is important for the cat's health and well-being to not be overly stressed.  The owner told the doctor that she wasn't opposed to sedating the cat, but would like us to try examining him without sedation first.   [redacted] told her that she would try, and would let her know if sedation was needed and explained the process of sedation, the drugs used and our ability to reverse the effects.  [redacted] also told them that another option would be to bring the cat back for an exam sometime in the following week, since the owner seemed convinced that his fractious behavior was due to the accident in the car with the carrier. The owner told the doctor that historically, covering the cat's eyes helped past vets to handle him without sedation.  When the owner went to demonstrate this by covering the cat's eye with her hand, he tried to attack her again and she backed away.   [redacted] expressed concerns of being able to perform a proper physical examination safely without sedation for a patient who would not even allow his owner to touch/handle him. The owners indicated that they understood this.   [redacted] discussed the use of one of our cat muzzles, which would cover his eyes, as well wrapping a towel around cat - this swaddling often helps calm a cat down (safe and humane techniques developed by [redacted]).  The owner agreed to the use of the muzzle and towel-wrap.  [redacted] suggested the cat stay with the owner in the exam room until our treatment staff were ready to help with him, to minimize time away from the owner/give him the most time to calm down in the exam room.  The owners were asked if they had any further questions, they said they did not.  The doctor left the room and told our assistant the plan. Our assistant then created an estimate for all of the recommendations and went into the exam room.  The doctor specifically communicated to the assistant that the owners can decline the lab work and still get a prescription, but that an exam was required for the prescription. When our Assistant went back into the exam room, the owners had put the cat back into the carrier.   The owners approved the estimate but declined blood work. The owners left the clinic to grab coffee and said they would come back soon to check on the cat. The cat was taken to the treatment area, and taken straight into a room that was the quietest space.  There, the room was kept dim in an effort to help calm the cat.   Experience staff members were assigned to his case.  They were able to take him out of the carrier, but he continued to behave aggressively and dangerously - swatting/scratching, growling, hissing and trying to bite.  At that point, [redacted] decided that pursuing the current course of action was unsafe for the cat, as well as the staff members.   We are not a clinic that approves of "man-handling and strong-arming" a patient into submission.  Such a method can be detrimental, especially for older cats - allowing a cat to be subjected to such high levels of stress is harmful, particularly to their cardiovascular system. This was communicated by [redacted] to the owner prior to the cat being taken to the treatment area.[redacted] asked our assistant to call the owners and let the owners know that we tried to perform the exam without sedation, but the cat's fractious behavior would not allow for safe handling of him.  [redacted] asked that the owner give us permission to sedate the cat.  A few minutes later, the owners told our assistant and our doctor that they no longer wanted an examination, they wanted to take the cat home.   [redacted] said that was fine and that we can schedule an appointment in a few days time, so that hopefully the cat would have calmed down from the accident with the carrier in the car.  The cat was returned to the owner at our front desk.  A consultation fee was charged for the doctor and staff time and expertise (the owner had extensive health concerns for her cat, all of which took a long time to work through and address) as well as the time spent by our staff attempting to safely handle the cat.  A few minutes later, our front desk staff called [redacted]  to say that the owner and her cat were in the quiet room and that the owner had some more questions.    [redacted] immediately went to speak with the owner.  [redacted] described the cat's aggressive and unsafe behavior and that we were unable to safely put the muzzle on him as he continuously was lunging, swiping and trying to bite.[redacted] explained the basis of the consultation fee (see above) and the owner told her that she understood why there was a charge associated with the visit but was frustrated that she couldn't get a prescription for prozac as she would run out of the drug that day.   [redacted] explained (again) that in order to legally be able to write a prescription, a doctor-patient relationship must be established, which requires a physical examination.  The owner asked if [redacted] would write a prescription anyway.   [redacted] told the owner that she was sorry that she is in this situation, but she could not risk the legal issues if she complied with her request.  For the safety and health of her cat, the doctor must perform an exam before she could prescribe any drug for her cat, as he is a new patient at our clinic.  [redacted] again suggested that we either try seeing the cat again in a few days time, once he calms down from the traumatic experience in the car, or that we sedate the cat today in order to properly examine him - which would also assess for injuries that he might have sustained in the car.  At that point, the owner stated that she would never return to our clinic because we see both cats and dogs and in her opinion there are far more dogs here than cats and that our clinic was too loud and busy. She'd prefer to use a cat-only clinic.  [redacted] explained that we see both cats and dogs here, and that Saturdays are a particularly busy day for us.  [redacted] suggested that a week-day, early morning appointment be considered, however, as the owner prefers a cat-only clinic, she also advised she contact a cat only clinic and a recommendation was given.  [redacted] told her that while she was sorry to see her leave our practice, her primary concern is with the health and well-being of her cat and that it's important that she find a vet clinic that would make her feel the most comfortable and that we could transfer the medical records to a vet clinic of her choosing.  The owner indicated that she appreciated [redacted]'s approach to her situation but was concerned that the cat would start urinating outside of the litter box now that she's run out of prozac.  [redacted] explained that the drug has a very long half-life, meaning that it takes weeks to get out of the cat's system and thus, missing a day or two shouldn't be a problem. The owner was relieved to learn this.  [redacted] also suggested that she try feliway and/or rescue remedy as these are OTC products that can help reduce the cat's anxiety, particularly if the owner is concerned about the cat missing a day or two of his prozac.  [redacted] also suggested that in the future, she not wait until she's run out of the drug to pursue getting a refill, especially if that would require establishing a new doctor-client-patient relationship at a new veterinary practice.  The owners paid the bill and checked out at 3:14PM.We are ultimately committed to the very best care that we can provide for the pets we have the privilege of caring for, treating and healing.  We also want to give pet owners the knowledge that allows them the ability to make very personal choices for the pets.  We do not and quite frankly, would never want to force someone to do anything.  We provide multiple options based on what we are presented and then, we work to support owners in that decision.  We realize that the experience for this pet owner was stressful and things did not go as smoothly as one would hope.  We still welcome the opportunity to talk directly with the owner.  We hope the very best for them in the future and wish them well at their new clinic.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: 
This is typing strangely on my phone. Everything that was written was a lie. I was told that the Prozac prescription would not be filled unless I got a long list of tests and vaccines that totaled about $450! I was not offered a feliway sprayed blanket or even a blanket. The car ride continues to be brought up as excuse for my cat's inability to be examined and he did not have a traumatic experience anywhere but this vet office. 
My my cat was seen shortly after at [redacted] by [redacted]. He can tell you the temperament of my cat, which is scared but manageable. [redacted] obtained bloodwork and a urinalysis. He did not force me to obtain this and wrote a script refill immediately. 
I had a HORRIBLE experience with Northgate vet, demand a refund since nothing was done, and want an apology for these lies and experience!
I do not have anything else to say and I am appalled.