CATS ONLY VETERINARY HOSPITAL

"If there is one thing that is apparent from your review it is that money is of concern. Our main goal at Cats Only Veterinary Hospital is high quality health care and results. You have already alluded to this fact as you stated "The place is state of the art" and "they treated my cat very well." While we respect your choice to have a procedure performed at another facility at a lower price, the cost difference reflects a different quality of care in regards to anesthesia, medications, equipment, knowledge and technology. It is important to keep in mind when comparing prices or “shopping around” what you are actually getting for the price. Your assumption that you received the same care for a much cheaper price is incorrect. At Cats Only, anesthesia is tailored to your cat’s best interest with regards to pre-anesthetic and induction medications. All of our patients have an IV catheter, IV fluids and are monitored during anesthesia with state-of-the equipment. During the dental procedure, we perform a full oral examination, ultrasonically scale each tooth, polish each tooth, and apply a fluoride treatment to each tooth. The "cost to remove 1 tooth" at Cats Only Veterinary Hospital involves the following: (1) sectioning the crown with a high speed drill, (2) elevating the gingival off the tooth and bone to visualize the tooth and roots, (3) using a periosteal elevator to break down the supporting structures of each root circumferentially to remove each tooth root, (4) using a high speed drill to "smooth" the alveolar bone after extraction so there are no sharp edges and it is comfortable to chew, (5) closing the gingiva with absorbable suture, and (6) treating the tooth extraction site with Class IV Laser Treatment to speed healing. We cannot comment on what a "$5" tooth extraction would entail but suspect it is not the same procedure that we have outlined above. We also take offense to your statement that "at the place where she had the surgery the cost was $5. That's a large mark up." Unfortunately, there is no "markup” on a surgical procedure. The cost of the surgery reflects the time, care and skills required to surgically extract the tooth as outlined above. It is misleading, incorrect and unfair to say that the only difference between the dental procedures is the cost."

"We are sorry your experience at Cats Only was anything less than exceptional. Unfortunately, your comments are not completely accurate. You claimed "the doctor said he has fleas, yet there were no fleas on the table." You are correct in the fact that we did not see any fleas...we rarely do. Typically, the only evidence your cat has fleas are in the form of (1) flea dirt which presents as black debris when you rub the fur or (2) scabs/"bumps" in target areas (around the neck or above the tail base) which Cosmo had. Since cats are such fastidious groomers, we only see evidence of fleas, not the actual fleas. What you failed to mention was that you were already using an over-the-counter flea product. Your cat has fleas until proven otherwise since we detected "bumps" on the skin above the tail base (possibly representing a flea allergy) and you were currently using an over-the-counter flea product (that our experience tells us is not as effective as our products). You also claimed that "he looked at the cat's mouth and said "all his teeth must come out" I was speechless." Unfortunately, this is un-true. In fact, Cosmo has teeth already missing. We gave you an estimate for a dentistry with the possibility of 3 tooth extractions, not "all his teeth," as you claimed. We pointed out the 3 problem teeth to you, showed you what was wrong with the teeth, and told you why we think they should be extracted. Additionally, we never decide to extract a tooth until we have the patient under anesthesia and can adequately probe and evaluate each tooth. We are a bit confused as to why you would make this false claim against us when our recommendations were put on paper for you and explained to you in detail. Finally, you claimed "the doctor came in grabbed my poor cat and shook him when he put him down poor Cosmo didn’t know what was happening." This is a lie. As you stated, "he is a docile sweet boy." Your Cosmo is not aggressive and was nothing more than a pleasure to evaluate and treat. He was so good in our office, we were able to completely evaluate his mouth and give you an accurate dental estimate (some cats do not allow us to get close to their mouths). We are perplexed as to why you would say something to this effect which is far from the truth and very misleading. Being as we were able to evaluate your cat’s mouth thoroughly, we know that there was no need for additional restraint and your claim is false. The only services performed during the examination were we placed a flea product called Revolution on the skin on the back of the neck and administered an oral de-wormer. Sometimes, to administer the tablet we employ the scruff technique where one holds the skin on the back of the neck to administer the tablet. If this is what you are referring to, rest assured this was in no way what you described. Based on this response, we feel that you are not a good fit for our hospital. We cannot serve you or Cosmo's needs, especially if you are misrepresenting the truth and lying about your experience with us. The other comments about our hospital on Angie’s List are a true testament about who we are, what we do and the high quality medicine we provide. Please seek veterinary care from another hospital."