# Angry at Vet



## Tiikiri (Feb 18, 2011)

We went out of town over the weekend to a wedding. We boarded Tiik in one of their 7' "luxury" condos. Long story short, I got a call when we were at Houston airport yesterday from the vet saying that Tiikiri had somehow gotten his boarding collar (that strip of plastic with their name written on it) stuck in his jaw overnight! He had the collar holding his mouth open for at least 8 hours! His face was swollen, his head was all pink, he was gagging and covered in drool when they found him. All that time he couldn't eat or drink. I am just sick about it. He had a fever and they started him on antibiotics "just in case". 
They have "kids" (18-20ish) people that work the boarding areas that just don't pay attention. I have had one other incident there that one of the kennel help gave one of my dogs someone else's medication. This was also their luxury suite boarding area where the animals are supposed to get extra attention and playtime. Never again.
One mistake is bad enough but my kitten could have died because of their negligence.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

I have heard too many stories like this. Cats are always better off at home. If it's only for 3-4 days, they will be just fine with self-feeders and a few large dishes (non-tip) of water. 
I hope your cat makes a full recovery. Why did he even need to wear a collar if he had his own space?


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## Lenkolas (Jan 18, 2011)

I am so sorry to hear that! That happened to my cat Gatito once when I was very unexperienced and I made him use a collar that was too long. But I was there to save him when he got stuck.

How is your kitty doing now? Is he at home with you now?

atback


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## Maggie the Cat (Mar 13, 2011)

Oh my. I would be FURIOUS. I hope you were refunded every penny. I would certainly switch vets and also inform them that after _two_ bad experiences you were going to let people know you do NOT recommend them. 

And I agree w/Greeport. That's one of the best things about cats, they can make it on their own if you just leave the basics. I've never boarded my cats.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

Did you report them to BBB?


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## Auntie Crazy (Dec 10, 2006)

That's so not cool. Have you seen your kitty since? How's he doing now? 

Poor boy; missed his mom and his home and then had to deal with this on top of it. 

Hope he's fully recovered ASAP!!!

AC


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## Tiikiri (Feb 18, 2011)

Yes, he is home and doing well. The swelling in his head is gone and he is VERY happy to be back on his couch. 
The boarding and "treatment" for their screw up was free. I made certain to politely repeat that my kitten could have died because of their negligence when I was at the counter in front of other clients. The front desk staff was squirming.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

As we have on other threads with complaints, I removed the name of the place in question. Due to legal reasons, slandering isn't allowed.


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## Julie Carvill (Jun 30, 2010)

That is awful, and I am glad your cat is ok. My cat had dental work, and the tech left the catheter in my cat's leg. When she got home she chewed off her bandage while I was sleeping and I awoke to find blood everywhere. What a mess!


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## Purrrfectlove (Mar 29, 2011)

What a nightmare story!! I'm thankful I have a friend who will come stay with Bella if I ever have to leave for a while. Let's face it no one will care for our.cats with the same amount of love.


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## cbickel (Mar 29, 2011)

Oh my word - I would have been BESIDE myself with frustration at the vet and heartbreaking worry for my kitty. I am so glad to hear that Tiik is doing well.


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## paperbacknovel (Jun 9, 2010)

marie73 said:


> As we have on other threads with complaints, I removed the name of the place in question. Due to legal reasons, slandering isn't allowed.


Politely butting in- I'm confused about this rule. This is written, so it would be libel anyway, but in order to be considered libel or slander, it must be a *false* statement. There is no law saying that you can't post true reports wherever you want, and CatForum is in no danger of being sued for libel and/or slander by allowing this member to post her experiences.

If it is a forum rule that we are not allowed to name the institution/breeder/vet that we are posting a negative experience about, then let's call it something more accurate...like "tattling isn't allowed". Or something. No snark intended, just trying to be accurate here.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I'm not an attorney, but I play one on t.v.

We have a lawsuit in our office right now about something being posted on a site like Yelp where you rate businesses.


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## Vivid Dawn (May 31, 2010)

I agree that "slandering" is either false, or maybe even over-exaggerated. True complaints are okay, but yeah...probably better not to mention specific places anyway.

Anyhoo! Back to the collar issue...
At the shelter that I work at, the cats are all roaming free in 2 large rooms. We have ID collars of plastic for all the cats with their name and ID number (our own number, not their microchip - those are way too long!). Some of the cats have worn these collars for years, without any trouble. If they're put on right in the first place, they're perfectly safe. As they are plastic, and relatively thin, they do get ripped off ever so often if the cats wrestle with each other or scratch at their necks too much. We just replace them, so we can always tell which cat is who (especially since we have about 6 brown tabbies that all look exactly alike!).
I have been working there for 2 years, and I've never seen a cat get jaw or paw stuck in them. When I put them on, I tighten them so that I can fit 2 fingers under, and that's it...my fingers are a lot smaller than a paw, but still leaves room for them to breathe. ALSO, we have to make sure the cat's chin is tipped up, and their heads aren't down, because that somehow makes the neck expand a bit and can make a wrong fit.

Maybe those "kids" need better training, or the place needs to hire mature/responsible adults that will monitor cats more closely.


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## Tiikiri (Feb 18, 2011)

I was thinking the same thing about libel. I would not post an untrue story, what purpose would that serve? I doubt that there are very many South Florida members here, but I wanted to save someone the potential trouble by posting the name of the clinic. 
That said, the clinic in question still has the most amount of specialists in the area. In the one year I have lived in Coral Springs I have used their cardiologist, dermatologist, oncologist, and GI specialist. (I have 5 pets, what can I say?) The care given in the specialty clinc is outstanding. 
Back to libel, I don't want to see the board shut down. I am not however concerned about a personal suit. I won't name anyone again unless someone PMs me and asks.
My kitteh!! He is back to himself, full of P&V and giving the dogs trouble. I so love him.


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## oceanmist (Feb 12, 2011)

That's in Coral Springs? I have an aunt there and I wonder if they board their cats...

But that's horrible that a vet would allow something like that to happen!


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## suwanee (Jan 22, 2011)

paperbacknovel said:


> Politely butting in- I'm confused about this rule. This is written, so it would be libel anyway, but in order to be considered libel or slander, it must be a *false* statement. There is no law saying that you can't post true reports wherever you want, and CatForum is in no danger of being sued for libel and/or slander by allowing this member to post her experiences.
> 
> If it is a forum rule that we are not allowed to name the institution/breeder/vet that we are posting a negative experience about, then let's call it something more accurate...like "tattling isn't allowed". Or something. No snark intended, just trying to be accurate here.


I'm a memeber of ScubaBoard, a scuba diving forum vBulletin-style.

There is a lawsuit being fought right now regarding libel on that internet forum. Even if it were to be true (I'm not saying either of these ones are or aren't true: I don't know) and not libellous, you still have to fight the legal system and that takes time and money. In this case on ScubaBoard, there was one death involved overseas so it's complicated...
Read about it here:Gundi Holm sues Scuba Board and 101 Members - ScubaBoard


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

It's kind of incidental if the statements were true or not.... the policy of the cat forum is leave names of businesses out of negative threads. Doesn't seem to be much more to say than that... policy is policy.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

Not that I'm saying Tiikiri is posting lies, because I'm sure the claim is true, but here is the scenario that could happen. Again, I'm NOT saying this is what Tiikiri is doing, this is simply an example.

1. Tiikiri (or whoever) goes to a business and decides they charged too much, their ex partner owns the place or they simply don't like the business. 
2. Tiikiri posts on forums and the like that the business hurt their cat and are really angry and they want everyone to know so no one else gets an unsatisfactory experience.
3. The business looses customers.
4. The business sees that catforum.com has negative comments about them in specific which are lies and caused them to loose business.
5. The business sues catforum.com
6. catforum.com, a free site, has no money to fight the suit and gets shut down.


Catforum.com does not want to take the chance in any case.


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## Tiikiri (Feb 18, 2011)

MowMow said:


> It's kind of incidental if the statements were true or not.... the policy of the cat forum is leave names of businesses out of negative threads. Doesn't seem to be much more to say than that... policy is policy.


I think it should be written into the rules. I just read them again because I didn't remember seeing it.
I understand why and am not going to argue. I *don't* want to see the board shut down. Sorry for causing a fuzz. I truely didn't mean to start a disagreement.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

It would be impossible to list everything that is or is not permitted here. 

I tried to make it rule that you had to have at least one black kitty to join.

Didn't happen. 

Tried to make it a rule that you had to send mods chocolate to join.

Didn't happen.

The one about Bailey's?

Nope.



:grin:


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Awwww, thanks! The mods don't get a lot of love. 


hmmmm, another rule in the making......


Good thing there's no rule against going off topic, huh?


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

I'm so sorry that happened to your kitty, and I'm so glad that he is going to be okay. He must have been terrified and horribly stressed during that period. Its why I won't ever board my cats. IMHO, they just do better at home with a sitter. 

That said, we had a cat in here a few weeks back that was being watched by a sitter while owners were away. The sitter came to feed the cat at 8am, cat was fine. Owner came by at 6pm, cat has somehow caught and broken his leg in a slatted table and was dangling upside down for untold amounts of that period. So accidents can happen anywhere. That doesn't excuse this happening. I don't see why the cat would need to wear anything around its neck if its kennel was appropriately labled. They don't allow the cats to mix do they?


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