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Review content:
I first took my kitties to The Cat Hospital in 1996 when I moved to Orlando. I saw Dr. Summerlin in those days and received excellent careAs time went on, I started going to another vet as I had acquired dogs. I returned to The Cat Hospital sans Dr. Summerlin, when one of my kitties, now getting older, went into pulmonary edema. She was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and treated with a diuretic and BP med. responding very well. I didn't have a problem with the vet except that she kept pushing for an ultrasound (US) to evaluate the type of cardiomyopathy. The bill was already huge and luckily I have been a cardiac nurse for years and know that while US can be helpful with tweaking medications, it is not a necessity. Every check-up, I would get a bit of pressure to do an US despite her good response.
Much later, all of my kitties, now elderly, came down with a terrible GI infection. Immediately I brought them all in. One had an accident on the way in his carrier and they offered a bath. I waited a while and asked to have him back and the groomer, who was very nice, said he was still slightly damp - I wasn't concerned about that! I didn't want a pretty, fluffy cat - he was super sick. That's when I started noticing how expensive every charge was, including meeds. They all did get better but no clear diagnosis was ever made nor did I get a call to see how they were doing.
Fast forward when I found my kitty got fleas from a rescue cat and I brought her in b/c she was not feeling well and I wanted her checked out before putting Advantage on. I hadn't bathed her because she got very stressed during baths and with her bad heart I was afraid of stressing her too much if something was going on. The vet scoffed at my reason for not bathing her and wanted their groomer to give her a bath; I declined reasoning as long as she felt it was safe to give her a bath, I would just go home and do it - her reaction was odd, one of disbelief. I did bathe her and give her the advantage and she did just fine; not that anyone called me with the bloodwork - I had to call several days later and was told that she had renal insufficiency and mild anemia, hmmm.
I continued to see this vet - why, I don't even know. I would call ahead to pick up a refill and arrive to find the office staff to have no idea what I was talking about. At one point, her BP medication was changed and the new charge for one month's worth was $50! I asked for the human version to be called in to CVS, this was met with some disdain from the desk but it was called in and 3 mos worth was $6.
Close to the final visit there was a check up. I entered with my giant crate (I like my kitty to be comfy) right around 7:30 or 8:00. Up the stairs I went, opened the door with my crate on the ground, kept my foot at the bottom of the door in order to pick up my crate and make it into the office. I come in to find two of the office staff sitting at their desk chatting away without even a greeting. I waited over five minutes and then sat down. I really wanted to say something after signing in but decided against it, what would be the point? Then another person pulled in and was carrying in a crate and one of the staff who had yet to even acknowledge me or my kitty, got up and held the door for her and started chit-chatting with her. I feel that all patients should be treated with the same respect. I was always pleasant, even when they had messed up the refills I'd say ""no problem, I'll come in the am"". I never confronted them or reported them trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, Last encounter, they lost one of my kitty's chart (the one with heart problems). They asked my husband, who was there to pick up a refill, if he was sure he wasn't the one confused!!!! Oh dear God, what happened to this place! That was the last time we ever went in and I had had a copy of the chart made prior to that visit just on a whim - good thing since they obviously lost it, probably when they made my copy!
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