Vet Refferal Needed

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

Can any one recommend to me a good veterinarian in the Camber-Somer-ville area? I have a car and can travel a little, but would rather not have to cross the river into Boston.

We have picked up a stray who needs some non-emergency medical attention (checking her for FIV, etc., getting her shots and fixed and so forth) and would like to set up a relationship with a vet who will remain her vet.

I have had very bad experience with Porter Square Vet. whose cavalier recommendations regarding my beloved previous cat lead to her rapid death, an have been told by another trusted vet (whose practice is, unfortunately, no where near here) not to trust anyone who would make such a recommendation again.

Anyone one have a vet they would like to recommend?

Thanks!

Edit:
Since so many people have mentioned Porter Square Vet., I'll tell my objections here:

I took my cat in for an annual exam and Dr. Cohen said that she had a heart murmur, but it was noting to worry about. One month later she got what might have looked like a respiratory infection and he put her on antibiotics. After a week they still hadn't worked (she was obviously quite sick), and he said wait the weekend. I didn't. I took her to Mass Vet Referral hospital who said that she had Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (in short it is a congenital heart disease) and that it was genetic and she should have been on heart medicines since the moment the murmer was detected.

She died four days later.

Since then two other veterinarians have said that *whenever* a heart murmur is detected in a cat, an ultra-sound is immediately ordered because they are never "nothing," and there are good meds out there that can make all the difference in the world. (Much like adult humans live long healthy lives on anti-coagulants after a similar diagnosis.)

Add insult to injury, after GB died, Mass Vet sent a simple sweet card signed by all the members of the staff who dealt with her. Dr. Cohen sent a "sympathy" card in which he defended his diagnostic choices. That's just never appropriate.

While I realize he's one of many there, I won't return to a firm in which any of that is tolerated.

Comments

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Porter Square Vet (which is actually in Davis)
360 Summer, 617-628-5588

Very good with my little monster.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

I am surprised that the original poster has had a problem with them. They have been wonderful with my two Siamese boys over the past five years.

[frederic.livejournal.com]

Dr. Bujalski and the other quirky guy who talks to my cats have both been wonderful. Dr. Mary Schwacha I had to see for an emergency and she was a bit terse and rough (although seemingly rather competent). I would say that it's somewhat doctor specific like it is at any vet's office.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

oops--I either missed that or it was edited after I commented :p

But anyhow, Porter Vet is by far the best place I've been to in the Boston area; they really talk to you and go over all the options. Plus, my little Noodles has never gotten along with a vet like this before (he's drawn blood with pretty much every previous vet he's had).

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

very true, the vet we see there is Kat!

[jadelennox]

Can I ask which vet at Porter Square gave you the bad advice? I've never had a problem with Dr. Leavy (who is wonderful), but Dr. Cohen is very flaky. Which might not mean he's not on top of things, but I'm never sure how much attention he's paying.

Dr. Schwacha's lack of bedside manner is notorious, and I have heard through the grapevine -- note this is not first person experience -- of a friend whose dog was the recipient of her terseness who was told basically to get over it. On the other hand, I have that problem with every human doctor I see.

[easy-wind.livejournal.com]

my folks have also had bad experiences at porter square vet (not sure which doctor)... they now take their dog to union sq vet and have been happy there. i have two other friends that also bring their cats to union sq vet and say good things about it.

good luck with the cat! :)

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

i'm surprised too. i've been taking my little guy there for two months now (when i got him from the shelter, he had fleas, an upper respiratory infection, and conjunctivitis, plus was in need of all his kitten shots) and everyone there has been really good, dr. stewart in particular. she's very nice, knows her stuff, and is great with the kitty.

[fidgetmonster.livejournal.com]

I'm very sorry about your other cat, and I don't mean to open an old wound, but I'm curious if she was already ill or if there is advice you can give the rest of us so we don't have the same problem in the future with our kitties. I've gone to Porter Sq (Dr Leavy) for years, so I don't have a personal recommendation of anyone else. maybe post in the boston or cambridge forums since it seems all of us have stuck with Porter Sq Vet :/

It's good of you to take in a stray. Was she obviously homeless, or is she lost? Snowfalls make cats bewildered when they are caught outdoors and everything looks different. good luck!!

[trysha.livejournal.com]

I used doctor stewart at the porter sqare vet, and have found her to be the best for our dogs and cats.

She saved our kittens life (runt of the litter with severe immune system issues) when no other vet we tried had any idea what was wrong. She's been great for all our other animals.

There was another doctor there that did a procedure on my partner's guinea pig. He died shortly after treatment, sadly I do not remember the doctor's name (it was not doctor stewart)

I think the big thing with any vet practice is to pick a doctor at the vet that you like and stick with that one.

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

Can I ask why/how Dr. Cohen was flaky with you?

I took my cat to Port Sq. and we went with Dr. Cohen; we ended up having to put the little guy to sleep, but Dr. Cohen was really thorough with all his explanations..and then he sent us a sympathy card after. Do vets normally do that? We were pleasantly surprised.

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

My only beef about Porter Sq. vets was when I went back after having to put my cat down: "I'm here to pick up my cat's remains," I said. The girl there assumed that I had my cat cremated, and first said "We don't have him here," and then said, "we send them to a pet cemetery, and we call you when they get back."

Needless to say I was a bit confused. Lucky for her, I'm rather well-adjusted about my cat dying, so I was able to figure out where the misunderstanding was....can you imagine if I were a stereo-typical-crazy-cat-lady and I start sobbing? "YOU LOST MY CAT'S BODY!?"

My SO was saying that he could go down there and ask for our cat's remains again, to confuse them back.

Boy. This makes me miss the little furry guy.

[freyja.livejournal.com]

it's standard where i work to send a sympathy card. but not required by any means.

my best guess for the differing opinions on the vet or any vet is that they're human and sometimes they have off-days, or maybe you happen to hit something that isn't their specialty, or whatever.

[julishka.livejournal.com]

i go to city cats in arlington center (straight out broadway in somerville through to arlington center, and just past rt. 60 on mass ave.
http://www.city-cats.com/

speaking of which, i really should schedule a checkup.

[lissie930.livejournal.com]

I 3rd the recommendation - though in part, we go there because it's very convenient for us. For any sort of a non-standard care (and when we had ferrets), I go with Angell. Yeah, you have to cross the river, and it's more expensive, but I think it's worth it.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

I've updated my original post to describe my interactions with Dr. Cohen, if you're interested.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

I've updated the post to include my experiences with Dr. Cohen at Porter Square, if you're interested.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

I updated the original entry with the details of my experience with Dr. Cohen at Porter Sq. if you're curious. She had a genetic condition that could have been mitigated (though not cured) with medications, had she been properly diagnosed earlier.

As for the new stray- poor sweetheart was *obviously* abandoned. She's got an impacted claw (she's poly-dactyl, but on one paw *also* has an extra claw ingrown horizontally between her toe-bed and her "extra" claw) and can't walk very far without what looks like serious discomfort. High in the priority is to ask a vet whether they would recommend removing the impacted claw. One vet has said "absolutely!" as not only does it appear to be causing pain now, but it will lead to arthritis later. I still want to double check with someone else, though, since it might also be quite traumatic to her.

Anyway, she was abandoned at a rural airport over Christmas. Couldn't have gotten there herself, and the managers of the airport tried for a month to find her owners through everyone in the small town, and everyone who had logged in a trip through the airport.

She's loving and gentle, but twitchy if you come up behind her. She seems very happy with us now, and we're happy to have her, though I still miss my sweety-cat.

[fidgetmonster.livejournal.com]

I must have blocked it out because it was quite traumatic, but when my former cat needed urgent care we went out to Grafton to the Tufts vet hospital. Saying your new cat may need surgery reminded me. My spouse works at Tufts and his co-workers recommended we go there--plus he gets a steep discount at the hospital, so if you're affiliated with tufts in anyway.... Everyone there was *so amazing*. the hour drive with a yowling cat was not fun and is not something I would do for routine care, but for surgical procedures that regular vets don't perform, I would choose them hands down over the animal hospitals in woburn or Angell.

If removing the impacted claw is low-risk for complications and infections, then it will be less traumatic for her than walking in pain every day. cats heal very quickly and if it removes her pain you will be amazed to see how happy she instantly becomes as she realises her life just got a whole lot better. she sounds very lucky to have found you.