the Cost of Emergency Veterinarian Care

I made an emergency visit to a vet because my adult male cat had been in a fight with another cat several days before and had quite a large abcess on his right shoulder. During the visit the vet cleaned the wound, trying expressing it to see if any pus or foreign objects were contained inside the wound, and cleansed it again. She then took the cat's temperature rectally to see if he had a fever. She gave the cat a good exam,checking his mouth, looking in his eyes, ears and mouth, and prodded his stomach. She combed through his coat while looking for any other wounds he might have had that I was unaware of. She then gave him a shot of a painkiller and an antibiotic. She gave me a 10 day supply of antibiotic pills, instructing me to give him a pill each morning and evening until he had taken them all. She said even if he acted better in a few days to make sure that he took the whole course of pills. I was told to call her if he didn't seem any better within several days, and to keep him in as much as possible until the sore healed. After several days the cat developed gastric problems from the antibiotics and she had me come to the office and pick up another type of antibiotic that she felt he might tolerate better. He did well on the second type of pills and had a quick and complete recovery.

The quality of care I received was very, very good. The vet went out of her way to calm the cat down and to try and make him comfortable under the circumstances. She was very gentle while cleaning the wound, knowing that it must be painful for him. He is a very timid cat and frequently is traumatized by vet visits, but this doctor went out of her way to make him less fearful, including a little catnip sprinkled on the exam table. When the first set of pills caused him to vomit and I phoned the office to see what to do, she returned my call within ten minutes, telling me to bring the unused pills back to her office and she would switch to another kind that would be gentler to his stomach. There was no further charge for the new pills, and I didn't have to bring the cat back in either, which is so helpful when you have a fearful cat as I do. I was grateful that the original visit was booked the same day that I called, and actually was within three hours of the phone call reporting his abcess. I felt that considering the nature of the visit, the speed of the appointment and switching medicine and not charging me for it was a phenomenal service for very little money. I was very pleased with the quality of care and the low price for an emergency visit.

I would recommend this vet to anyone who was in need of emergency services, or just a well visit for check ups and shots. She was friendly, kind and very professional. I would tell people that when you notice an abcess on your cat, it's best to get help for them immediately. I had noticed the abcess several days before I took the cat to the vet, and because it broke on its own and seemed to drain, I thought it would heal if I kept the area clean. Within several days it had become swollen and filled with pus again, and this is when I made the emergency call. My cat seemed uncomfortable, slept a lot and was off his food. The vet explained to me that the skin of a cat heals quickly and that often it will heal over a wound before the wound underneath has had a chance to heal properly. I know now that I should have taken him in when I first discovered it and I would have saved him several days of feeling unwell and having a sore shoulder. I know now also that there are several types of antibiotics that cats can take for infections of the skin, and that if one doesn't work, there are others that will do the job. The main tip I would tell other people is to not wait, get an appointment as quickly as possible to prevent the infection from getting into the cat's bloodstream. By then, you'll have a very sick kitty.