I have a diabetic cat who has been diabetic for 7yrs I know how to handle her illness and luckily she has been stable for years I inject her everyday etc..I have changed vets these past few months as my own vet who I trusted has moved and 2 new vets coming in, this vet was quite a distance away so decided now was the time to get one closer to me.
I did my homework asked around etc finally decided on a practice that a friend has used for years and recommends I visited them and was impressed a little more expensive than previous one but more local with good facilities.
Well back to my diabetic cat who is stable happy 14yrs old , this new vet insist I bring her every 3 months for a check up before they will supply me with her caninsulin I explained to them my previous vet was happy with 6m check ups (legal reasons) and they only charged me for the medication as she wasnt ill just a legal requirement ....if she was ill I would be at the vet in a flash.., this new vet wants to do blood test etc eventough she is fit and well showing no signs of needing her medication changed (why fiddle when it aint broke ) I refused told them that because they insist I bring her which anyone with cats will know completely freaks her out she pants and screams all the way there and back hides in the vets under my coat then I dont see her as she hides under the bed when we get home which completely stresses out a happy stable old cat probably causing more problems , I get so annoyed and this is because they wanted to charge me £45 for the privlege , of course I let them know it last night but they are not interested they just quote me it is a legal requirement ...surely they should take into consideraton that it is possible causing more harm than good ....insisting on seeing animals that are well to make a buck!

I get so mad as alesi was very ill when diagnosed she had hepatitis and her organs were failing she pulled through was in hospital for a week took a long time to get her stable where her life was free from pain , she used to scream at us when we visited her in hospital and I hated leaving her but she survived with the help of my vet (who has left) between us we nursed her back to where she is now......still with us.

sorry for the long post feel better now !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Roni

Thats aweful for you.

I have had a smiliar experience in which i have stayed with the same practice but the 2 normal vets weren't there in that 1 has left the practice and the other was away.
So i get a new vet, who seemed to be newly qualified(i know we have to start somewhere) and quite unsure of himself.

My cat was diagnosed with a tumour last year and has lived to tell the tail being that he was only to have no more than 3 weeks to live a year ago.
He now has developed a swollen stomach so i took him in to be checked over. They did all these tests and gave him more meds which have done nothing. I am not sure why i agreed to it, all i wanted to know was if the swelling was linked to the tumour of not and have a feeling that my normal vet would of said yes or no with just a feeling of him.
£95 later and we still have no answers, can't be doing with going back yet again as he is fine within himself and is 13yrs old.

Hi Roni

sorry to hear your news - I can understand your frustration and not wanting to unnecessarily travel with Alesi :(

Playing Devil's Advocate perhaps because you're a new client with a new patient the vet is ethically bound to do his own tests before establishing and maintaining routine treatment?  Not everything is fair unfortunately or reasonable in your own circumstances when you're clearly well able to treat your cat at home.

I hope you get something sorted out soon and to your satisfaction.  If any new practice/vet does insist in satisfying themself by a full exam then before arranging it I'd lay out the position that you're only moving to this practice on the proviso that when initial consult has taken place you can then go on to home treat Alesi with whichever drugs they deem appropriate.

Good luck and chin up kiddo ;)

Teri x

My mother is diabetic and I also have a few friends who are diabetic, any stress however caused, always sends their bloods all over the place and it can take quite a while to settle down again, depending on how much stress and how long.  I can't imagine it would be any different for a cat :(
Hope the vets will take this into account when dealing with the blood readings.

Is there another vet around who would be able to take on you cat and treat her?   alternatively how far has your original vet moved? could you not travel to them?  or could they write a letter outlining the successful treatment regime for you?

Good point Dill - single blood sugar readings will be no use whatsoever - if they want to assess how stable she is on her current medication then measuring a fructosamine level would be better.

http://www.caninsulin.co.uk/fructosamineglycoslated-haemogllobin.asp

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119205045/abstract

Have a look at these Roni. :-)

at the vets i work at we always take a glucose and fructosamine sample, and we take into account the stress levels in cats with regards to their glucose readings :)

my point is why do they need to take the samples when she is stable not showing any signs of her levels dropping etc if she had been I would take her to see them for blood tests , what is annoying me is she is completely fine and happy over 14 yrs of age eating going out for a stroll a good weight I dont have any concerns , I feel as if they are only after cash which is what is annoying me .
When I changed vet they asked me to bring her in to be assessed which I was happy to do as I expected they would want to see her but now its getting ridiculous when she is stable.

Dill
My own vet has gone to Africa to teach , she worked for   (Liverpool vet hospital ) the vet before her was brilliant one of the old school very rarely left her surgery with medication afraid not many like her left sadly she retired a good few years ago.

My cat was diagnosed with a tumour last year and has lived to tell the tail being that he was only to have no more than 3 weeks to live a year ago.

Our boy Scatty had the same, a boney tumour was in his lower jaw making him look more like a Lion then a domestic cat, they pumped him full of steroids and all sorts to the point where he couldnt walk straight and they said he would only have a month to live, so we decided if he only had weeks left it wouldnt be spent on drugs so he couldnt enjoy life so we took him off all meds and let nature take its course.....
He battled on being healthy apart from drolling as his mouth he couldnt shut properley and was feeding like a horse as normal so I dont put much stock in vets now as he lived for 3 yrs with the tumour before he was taken from us by a hit and run driver :( But otherwise the vets were wrong once again and he would still be here if it wasnt for the coawrd who hit him and then drove off.