I had three beautiful cats (siblings) that I have raised since they showed up on my doorstep in June 2009, tiny kittens who were very weak, malnourished, and covered with fleas. They have, without a doubt, become a big part of our family. I recently moved to a new location and had not become established with a new vet when one of the girls suddenly became sick. I took her to a vet who also happened to be a neighbor and had positive expectations. Unfortunately, his examination did not result in a diagnosis. He ran numerous tests, but detemined only that she had a severe lung infection that was interfering with her breathing - but no cause and no definite plan of treatment. He pumped massive amounts of antibiotics in her, hoping that would cause some improvement; however, it did not and she stopped eating and drinking. During this time, I began to feel that I was having a hard time getting information from him and his office. I don't think talking with them once a day was too demanding, but in most cases, I had to make that phone call to try to get information on what her condition was and what the plan was. After being in his hospital 5 days with total charges of $700+, we were told to take her home since she might start eating in her home environment, and if not, we would force feed her and continue giving antibiotics. His plan was to have us bring her back in for more treatment the following Monday if there was no improvement. After talking with family members and hearing their negative experiences with the first vet, then receiving a recommendation for Memorial Road Pet Hospital, I decided to basically show up on their doorstop Monday morning and ask for help. From the minute I walked in, they were concerned and a tech immediately came from the back to take my cat in order to "make her more comfortable". They assured me they would call me as soon as they knew something - I assumed this would be later in the afternoon or possibly even the next morning. Within 2 hours, one of the doctors called me with the conclusion that my cat had a fungal infection in the lungs that was so severe and was limiting her breathing so badly that there was really no way to save her - she was suffering a great deal. He and the other staff vet had studied the facts and firmly made the conclusion that this was the problem. She was not eating and drinking due to the fact that, with the condition her lungs were in, there was no room for her to be able to intake any food or water. Keep in mind that we spent the weekend force feeding her! Had the first vet recognized this as a fungal infection, the force feeding and large amount of antibiotics would not have been necessary. The Memorial Road vet was warm and caring, yet very detailed and thorough in his explanation of what she was going through. In my opinion, the other vet allowed my poor cat to suffer needlessly when the proper diagnosis could have ended this nightmare a week earlier. I don't believe the first vet could have done anything to save her; however, I do believe that her suffering could have been lessened with the proper diagnosis. After Memorial Road's phone call, I made the decision to have them euthanize her that afternoon, but was able to go and spend time with her before. The staff there was patient and sympathetic and gave me the sense of comfort I needed to be able to let her go. I appreciate their expertise and thoughtfulness and will definitely be returning there for my other cats' annual checkups.