A Caturday Caution: Online Sites with Live Vet Advice
This past week my sweet little Snyezhka, who suffers from lung cancer, developed a really bad upper respiratory infection almost instantly -- sniffles in the morning and difficulties breathing at night. The vaporizer, which often helps, did not fo its job very well this time, and her breath became labored -- but it was unclear whether it was labored enough to take her to an emergency room, a very complicated fact since we live very far away from any emergency services that are open after 7:00 at night. The closest one is an hour away, and I would not be able to drive in the dark and observe her condition -- or do anything about.
So, I turned to a place where I have found helpful information in the past: the Internet. I wanted to understand the severity of the URI this time, wondering what the intersection with lung cancer might be, if any. I came across one of these 24/7 places that promises great vet advice (without even knowing your pet) for $5. Well, not quite as advertised. They quickly took my $5, along with a hidden $35 (I got both fees back by talking to their customer service later and forcing the issue), and nearly immediately promised a vet would respond right away to my urgent and in-detail-described issue. Right away turned into one hour and then two while I continued to monitor the cat. I could have made it into the emergency service in a not-so-near town in that amount of time, but the cat would have been deprived of the benefit of the vaporizer, which did provide some relief. As the sun rose, and our regular vet opened its doors at 7 a.m,, I hung up, put the cat in her carrier, and hastened off there, where the technician grabbed her and quickly put her on oxygen.
The cat is fine now after two stints on oxygen with her vet. She is taking clavamox for her URI now, and has perked up. She will be seeing her oncologist on Friday so that I can better understand the relationship between URI, lung cancer, and breathing.
The bottom line was very much a learning experience. The online vet service appears to be a great lifeline, but I certainly would not recommend it. Long time to reach, deception about charges, and likely unskilled vets (that could have been the reason that none appeared available to answer my question).
With the cat at her vet, a VCA Pet Hospital, I learned something really valuable. VCA nationwide (not my local vet) has a 24/7 online helpline. Just what I needed! Had I only known -- and so close to home and to her records!!
Suggestion for all pet owners: check with your pet's vet before you need help during closed hours whether there is a vet answering service that they use or can in good conscience refer you to.
For more Caturday posts, click HERE.
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