Vet to Pet

Our first visit was pretty horrible. Like with most pets, trips to the vet are always stressful. Normally, our cats just aren’t big fans of going (though they tolerate it, with puffy tails and lots of shedding) and this year, I was going to have to take the two cats PLUS an infant with me. I don’t have enough arms for all of that, so we called Vet to Pet to try their services out.
When the vet and tech arrived, they brought in their tools and set up shop in the living room, which was totally fine. I was expecting them to sit on the floor and get to know the cats for a couple of minutes, maybe getting in some pets and calming «conversations» before starting the exams, as most animals prefer to get to know new people prior to being touched and handled. The two vets we’ve gone to in the past have always done that… they talk to the cats and pet them for a bit before getting anything started. That didn’t really happen. The tech did sit on the floor, but there wasn’t much interaction between her and the cats outside of the cats sniffing all of her things. I was immediately asked for payment. Between the time I went to get our credit card and the time I came back, our laid back cat was hissing, growling, and clawing like I’ve never seen. We’ve had him for almost 10 years and he’s never, ever reacted that way to us or anyone else he’s been around, including his normal vet. They ended up putting a muzzle on him, which was pretty horrifying. I should have ended the appointment there, but by that point, I had a crying baby on my hip who was upset by the whole scene. They were finally able to give him his shots and I think they maybe listened to his heart, but he had no other examination because he just didn’t want to be touched or handled by these strangers he had no chance to get to know. We still paid the full amount for his examination. When they were done with him, he got loose before they could get the muzzle off and ran into several things, hissing and shaking, because he was so upset by the whole situation. Totally unacceptable.
Our second cat was a little easier for them; she allowed them to examine her. Again, the muzzle came out for the shots. The way they handled her, too, was way more aggressive than I’ve ever seen her be handled before and I think that was a huge part of the problem. Our usual vet has me hold her legs, the vet tech holds her front paws and she does nothing more than growl.
Overall, the whole scene was very chaotic and atypical of our cats. The older male is usually very laid back, the younger female is kind of crazy but in a very playful way. Neither have ever had to be muzzled or held aggressively in order to be examined or given their shots. Maybe they just weren’t into the whole vet in their home idea, but the whole visit just didn’t feel right for anyone involved.
Both the vet and the tech were nice enough. I didn’t feel like the vet was really hands on or that interested in our cats, but maybe that was just because it was a Friday afternoon, or she’d had a bad day. Who knows? I can’t imagine that we’d do this again; from here on out we’ll stick with their usual vet.

Vet to Pet is a mobile veterinarian service, with two doctors. You call, make an appointment, and the vet will come to your house. No more lugging animals in crates to and from a veterinarian’s office!
Their website explains all of their services, so I won’t try to outline them here.
I’ve been using them for years, and have nothing but great things to say about them. I’ve always used Dr. David Ruble. He even put one of my cats to sleep in my home (he was very old, and had cancer). Dr. Ruble did this in a respectful, dignified, gentle manner. I will *always* be grateful to him for that.