Porter Square Vet

[sly-salkie.livejournal.com]

I took my cat to Porter Square Vet about a month ago because she had a severe UTI. They gave her antibiotics without doing any tests and the symptoms went away. Exactly 7 days after I stopped giving her the medicine (I followed the directions very carefully, mind you), her symptoms returned. I called them and they gave me another week's worth of antibiotics. I gave them to her, and again the symptoms went away, and now, 7 days later, they're back again. I called again and they once again offered to refill the antibiotics.

Does this sound strange to anyone? Does anyone have relevent experiences to share about Porter Square Vet and why they're ok/not ok? I declined the antibiotics and made an appointment for Tuesday because I want them to ACTUALLY look at her.

On a side note, has anyone had a problem like this with their cat? I've tried changing litters. I've gone through pine and wheat. I thought if pine was irritating her, wheat would be ok. I haven't heard anything bad about either.

Thanks in advance for any responses!

Comments

[inkscarred.livejournal.com]

Who did you see? Did they do a urinalysis? What are your cats symptoms? Straining? Male or female?

[sly-salkie.livejournal.com]

No urinalysis, just really obvious symptoms that I told them about:

-Female cat, 7 years old
straining
frequent trips to the box
frequent urination outside the box
tiny amounts
blood
odor
and the most pitiful pained look on her face when she's trying to go

And I saw both Dr. Grosser and someone else... I wish I could remember who's who.

[inkscarred.livejournal.com]

It's true that those are common symptoms of a UTI however if the antibiotics aren't helping your cat then I'd go back, see a different doctor, and request a urinalysis. I'm really surprised that they didn't run a urinalysis-- it's pretty standard procedure at that place. If you're looking for a doctor recommendation, I'd see Dr. Parker.

[st-emma.livejournal.com]

I'd be a little leery of going back to Porter Square Vet if they just keep throwing antibiotics at the problem without checking to see if there's anything else going on, or why an infection might not be responding adequately to those antibiotics. Have they checked for urine crystals? One of my cats has similar symptoms, and that's what it turned out to be.

FWIW, I used to use Porter Square Vet. Our favourite vet (Dr. Leavey) left, and then it seemed like every time we got an appointment, we were seeing someone new. Eventually we followed Dr. Leavey to City Cats in Arlington and have been really happy with the standard of care we've received.

[jadelennox]

We followed Dr Leacey to City Cats, too, and have been very happy there.

[modlin.livejournal.com]

Dr. Leavey is great, I'd definitely recommend her. We had some complicated and extended cat issues this spring, and she was really good about wanting to figure out what was going on and doing additional research. I can't imagine that she'd just repeatedly throw antibiotics at the problem.

[swingchickie.livejournal.com]

my cat had recurring UTIs a few years ago, and my vet finally did a few tests when the antibiotics didn't last very long, and discovered she had lymphoma in her kidneys. not saying that's the problem with your little one, but you should definitely take her somewhere else and have them do some tests.

good luck!

[knowthyself.livejournal.com]

I don't even have a pet and I'd also be wary of taking her to that place yet again if it's taken this long and you almost forcibly making an appointment for them to finally check her out to take a look at the problem.

[forgotten-aria.livejournal.com]

I use porter sqaure vet (Dr. Parker) and what I can say is, you need to be careful of which vet you are seeing. I've had some really horrible experiences (Dr. Cohen, who has left) there and some really wonderful (Dr. Leavy was also one of my favorites.)

My cat had urniary problems (crystals) and they put him on special diet and after a long while of finding a perscription food he would eat, his problem has gone away. They were very helpful as we struggled with his finnickiness.

[masswich.livejournal.com]

I've always had good experiences with Porter Square Vet. They are the only place that took the time (and my money) to finally figure out why my male cat kept having urinary problems. I'm surprised they didn't run any tests on your cat- they tested the hell out of mine.

I have liked most of the vets there (current and past) including Dr. Cohen (who really figured out what was wrong with my cat), Dr. Snyder, Dr. Bujalski (sp?) and others.

But the bottom line is that if you're uncomfortable find another place. There are lots of vets out there. Its a very personal decision and there is a lot of trust involved.

[cfox.livejournal.com]

I get the impression that PSV has a lot of customers who're doing the bare minimum in terms of caring for their pets, and who flinch at any extra cost. They do seem to be the cheapest vet in the area, and as such they have fast staff turnover.

I would expect that you'd get much better service if you make it clear what kind of customer you are; "I want to do what's medically best" is usually how I put it. My dog has complicated health issues, and each of the vets I've seen there (she's now Dr. Parker's patient) has provided excellent care (to the extent of spending a lot of time on the phone with specialist vets, at no cost to me). They really do seem happy to answer my questions in lots of detail.

I did learn the hard way that getting a free-catch urine sample at $5 less cost, does not beat having to rerun the test if it's contaminated or inconclusive (presumably not an issue for you, since I don't think you can catch pee from a cat the same way). I do seem to need to remind them from time to time that I'm in it for the long haul, I will not pinch pennies in the care of my dog, and I won't be upset if I'm given advice that's inconvenient for me.

[pants-of-doom.livejournal.com]

Porter Square vet blew me off twice about my (now deceased, but formerly) quite elderly cat's rather severe arthritis. I switched to Boston Cat Hospital in Kenmore, who I was very happy with and will be going back to if I get another cat.

Porter Square Vet

[dfischman.livejournal.com]

Porter Square Vet was wonderful with my old cat. After developing kidney disease, he survived for 4 1/2 years, and they taught us how to administer the saline solution ourselves so we didn't have to keep running in and out (not to mention running up bills). I do agree that it makes a lot of difference whom you see there. They seem to turn over their younger vets every three years or so. Dr. Snyder and Dr. Bujalski really do know what they're doing, however, and the new people always treat the cats and the owners with respect.

Porter Sq Vet

[chairmanmeowmom.livejournal.com]

I also went to City Cats after going to Porter Sq. Vet. I liked the vets at Porter Sq, but they just weren't willing to think outside the box about my cat's asthma. City Cats has been a much better choice. Go there, quickly!