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Changing
to a New Vet |
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Introduction | Previous Vets | Searching Criteria | New Vets | Links
Introduction
When Susie became diabetic and I started reading about feline diabetes, I came across a number of pages that recommended selecting veterinary practices carefully. They indicated that attitudes and experience can vary enormously. Since Susie was already registered with a veterinary practice, I thought that I wouldn't need to be concerned about this. I was wrong and after 10 months I eventually changed and registered Susie with another practice. In hindsight, I should have changed much sooner. I have published this page to summarise my experiences of the different practices. Whilst some of this is detail and is based on my own personal experience, it illustrates some of the difficulties that can arise with poorly informed practices.
I should also add that in more recent years, diabetes in cats and other companion animals appears to have become a more common condition, or perhaps it is simply better known. Either way, it is likely that the number of poorly informed practices should be decreasing, so the problems that are documented here should be becoming less common.
In the end, the responsibility rests with the cat owner, but successful management of a cat's diabetes depends on good co-operation and trust between owner and vet. For this reason, managing a diabetic cat is far more likely to be successful where a positive professional relationship exists with the vet.
The Previous Veterinary Practice
I had originally chosen my first vets without any recommendations or checking, simply because they were local, a 10 minute drive away. The main factor was convenience.
Over the first 4 years, between 1995 when I got Susie and 1999 when she became diabetic, the vets were perfectly satisfactory. I would take Susie there at least once a year for her annual check and vaccinations, and on other occasions for specific treatment such as tartar removal from her teeth and trimming her claws.
Lack of Explanations
It was only when Susie became diabetic that I began to have
some concerns about their continuing suitability to treat her. My
doubts first started because I was aware that the symptoms or
initial diagnosis could also have been the result of other factors:
- I knew that Susie's symptoms could be the result of other conditions, most notably kidney disease. I was aware of how common this condition is in cats, so I wanted to hear from the vets what led them to the conclusion that it was diabetes. I was not given any explanation.
- When I saw the first high blood glucose figures, I also wanted to know whether they might have been caused by stress related factors such as travelling in a car. Again, I was not given a satisfactory explanation.
My concerns at this early stage were really about their lack of explanation of their diagnosis. Even though their diagnosis was correct, they were aware of my questions and they didn't explain to me why the two specific points above were rejected.
Other Points
Several further points also helped to convince me that this
practice was not the best to help me manage Susie's condition:
- Under their supervision, it took about 6 months to get Susie stabilised. This was far too long and I don't know of any other cats who took as long as this to become stabilised. They never suggested any blood glucose curves or blood testing and I began to wonder whether they had ever treated a diabetic cat. Normally, the vet would normally take the animal in to the surgery for 1-2 days to do some detailed testing and perhaps to see how the animal responds to different types and dosages of insulin. My vet at the time never suggested this.
- They recommended a specific type of insulin for Susie that was not then approved in the UK for treating diabetes in cats. When I changed to the new vets later, they were surprised that Susie was being treated with this type of insulin, but they suggested that since her diabetes was stabilised and under control, there was little point in changing. It was subsequently licensed a couple of years later. I continued to use the same type of insulin for the rest of Susie's life.
- After I had stabilised Susie's diabetes, I began to consider whether it would be appropriate for me to test Susie's blood glucose at home. When I first mentioned this, I got the impression that they had never heard of this being done on an animal and they were strongly against the idea. It seemed to me that at least part of the reason for their strong disapproval was because they had no experience of this area of treatment and were therefore unable to help me evaluate its suitability for Susie. Later, after obtaining advice from other sources when changing vets, I decided myself that it would not be appropriate for Susie.
These experiences convinced me that Susie's best interests would be served more effectively if I registered her with another veterinary practice.
Searching for a New Veterinary Practice
Once I'd made the decision to change, I put together a simple check-list with which to compare different practices in a way that was as impartial as possible. The list included the following criteria:
- Whether currently treating other diabetic cats
- Experience of treating diabetes in animals in general
- Opening hours - evenings, late nights, weekends
- 24 hour emergency cover
- Car parking - on site or very locally, ease of use, adequacy
- Immediate availability of the type of insulin that I was using for Susie
- Availability of the other supplies that I would need
- Whether the receptionist put me through to a vet to discuss Susie's needs
- Whether cats were considered as importantly as dogs at the practice
- General attitude to feline diabetes and other chronic conditions in elderly cats
- General impression
- How long it would take to drive there
There was one clear winner. I managed to speak to a vet there who had a specific interest in cats. There were also several other diabetic cats on the client list, all successfully stabilised. I was given the telephone number of a specialist veterinary referral centre and it was suggested that I talk to the relevant specialist there, which I did. Susie was registered at the new vets in July 2000, under the care of the vet to whom I had first spoken.
The New Veterinary Practice
The differences in the attitude of my new vet compared to the previous practice were immediately clear:
- At the first visit, a blood sample was taken for full analysis, something that had not previously been done
- Susie's fructosamine level was checked at regular intervals for the rest of her life
- We discussed positively the merits and pitfalls of home blood glucose testing
- Susie was very soon given a new calorie controlled diet, something the previous practice had never suggested
- The follow up from the initial blood testing was thorough and was explained to me very well
- Explanations were willingly provided in appropriate detail
Not long after changing, my new vet left the practice to work abroad, but other vets at the practice ensured that I continued to have confidence in the care that Susie was receiving. The younger vets seemed to be much more knowledgeable about diabetes in animals than the older vets. No veterinary practice will be 100% on every aspect, but at least I had confidence in the clinical judgment of most of the vets there. This was of huge importance to me when Susie's life came to an end in January 2006.
Links
The Pets With Diabetes site is particularly helpful in this area. An excellent comprehensive page with suggested topics and questions to discuss with the vet is available here: Diabetes Questions. In addition there are links to other very useful pages on their site. (Note: links checked Oct 2005).
Important note: All information and opinion in the Susie, Diabetic Cat pages is from personal experience. Nothing in these pages is intended to be a substitute for proper professional advice, which should always be sought from a qualified veterinary surgeon.
This page
was last updated
May 2006