To leave the vets due to the rude nurses/receptionist

[blondlygoshferatus]

Every single time I call them, I feel horrible coming off the call.

All I want to know is how to take care of my 1 cat and 1 dog throughout the year - ie the fleaing, worming, ticking, prescriptions, weighing etc. I admit, I am not brilliant at working out the cheapest option, so at one point I was on their pet health plan, but this pricey and included stupid things I'd never have, like trimming their nails etc.

I just want friendly advice. The lady today was a total dick, with her 'Oh. Well. I thought you wanted this' when I was asking about alternatives for pricing and speaking to me like I am about 5 years old on every question. Simply unfriendly, unhelpful and impatient. I feel embarrrassed and stupid again today.

I get this from the doctors (in the past, as my current dr surgery the receptionists are lovely and I've heard them being super patient with even the most muddle headed member of the public).

But the vet is fucking expensive, aibu to leave the practice and find somewhere else. And tell them exactly why?

(Only reason I am loathe to is because most vets in the UK are owned by larger corporate groups and this one is the only independent in my town)

I don't want rude people looking after my cats. If they are rude to me I don't trust them with my animals.

Both.

You can find all the information online for free. We use Panacur for worms (including tapeworm) and Advantage for fleas. Never had a single issue.

Can I also find people to be rude to me on the Internet? Preferably if they could not be able to write animal prescriptions too, that would be amazing!

Thabk you

Quickly googling and panacur doesn't treat flea tapeworm apparently.... I'll investigate both further

EDIT: misunderstood you.

We've always used it and have never had any issues with it in over two decades, but obviously you need to do your own research.

We swapped vets recently as we could never get a timely appointment. It literally involved one phonecall - then the old vet called to ask if I was happy to transfer her notes over. Gone from a chain to an independent which is v much recommended locally.

I'm not entirely sure your attitude is helping. Anyone can look up online how often a cat or dog needs worming or flea treatment etc. The receptionists are not vets. The practice would not allow them to give any veterinary advice over the phone. They can't tell you how often your pet needs routine health treatment, as they do not know the animal's medical history or weight etc. We take our cats for an annual MOT, and get emails from the vet practice telling us when their next booster or flea treatment is due.

You are being completely unreasonable here, sorry.

Unless you are going abroad then this is fine
https://www.vetuk.co.uk/dog-worming-cat-worming-vetuk-dog-cat-wormers-c-17_2082
For cat fleas you need a prescription for Bravecto but Advantage works really well and is available online without prescription. We have a lot of cats but only use Bravecto for one with a severe allergy, everyone else gets Advantage.
https://www.vetuk.co.uk/advantage-flea-treatments-advantage-for-cats-c-3_660_873

But the actual gripe is about her being rude. They can explain what they are not allowed to explain (!) politely, no?

In any case I do actually need the practice's advice on the prescription/payment situation, but am getting some helpful alternatives here.

OP, are you taking your animals in for their annual appointments and getting their boosters done? If you are, then you should get reminders via e-mail about things like prescriptions - then you either ring and place an order for medication or book an appointment to discuss them with a vet.

If not, then I suggest you make appointments for both animals in the New Year (either with this vet or another) and have a list of all the questions you have prepared.

OP are you being deliberately helpless? No wonder the person on the phone is frustrated with you. How can you have owned a pet for a year without figuring out these very basic things?? Just bloody google it like everyone else.

Yes they are having checks annually.
They don't seem to send reminders for when they need the meds, only booster injections etc. Even when I was on their health plan.
They have stressed how inferior otc meds are, but it looks like a few people don't bother with the prescription versions.

And yes, Google. But Google doesn't know what my practice charges for scripts, individual meds etc, so I do need to ask (not on their website either)

Anyway, I shall look for somewhere else who can be nicer with the way they interact with customers.

Nail clipping isn't stupid. Most dogs need it and some cats (especially elderly or indoor cats).

I have a dog. I used to use Drontal for worming but less frequently than the vets would recommend. Maybe twice a year. You don't need a prescription and if you buy online it's much cheaper than the vets.

I used to use Frontline for fleas and ticks which you can also buy without a prescription but it seemed to stop working on our dog and after a persistant flea problem a couple of years back I bought Simparica Trio from the vet and it's fantastic. It deals with, fleas ticks and worms so you don't need separate treatments. I treat her about 3 times a year (I would do it monthly if she had fleas). The vet would recommend monthly but I haven't seen a flea since we started using it. I buy 3 tablets when she has her annual boosters.

I think what I am trying to say is what the vet recommends and what most people do isn't necessarily the same thing. You have to look at the various options and decide for yourself. I used the two separate products for a few years before switching.

I would make a post on the pet boards (or try searching for old posts) and ask what people find effective and then have a google about what is officially recommended and make a decision from there.

But yes, by all means change vets. My practice has a receptionist who at times appears a bit frosty but the vets are fantastic so I wouldn't switch.

You should be getting reminders about flea and worm treatment, but if not, all you need to do is ask at the appointment and pop a reminder in your diary to ring up and order your next prescription.

And yes, they will say OTC meds are inferior because they don't make any money if you pop home and order on Amazon

However, and I mean this kindly, it does read as though you expect the receptionists to do a lot of work for you for nothing (ie. over the phone) instead you going in, paying for an appointment and asking the vets or nurses themselves.

You might be better going to a decent pet shop / country store and speaking to them about stuff like worming and flea treatments, if you want to chat through with someone rather than googling. If they sell the POM-VPS / NFA-VPS products they'll have properly trained staff, but who will have more time to chat through options without you blocking the vet's phone line for emergencies.

I found you have to be quite firm with vets as they can really take you for a ride.

Sadly, it is run as a business and some vets have become like dentists looking for ways to maximise profit.

Of of my cats has hyperthyroidism and my vet was charging my 3 times the price of the same drugs that could be obtained online.

Vets can't buy in bulk in the same way online stores can - that's why they charge so much more - because it costs them more in the first place.

Online stores have warehouses with thousands of units of product, whereas a vet can maybe store 50 or 100 bottles of the same product.

But a good vet should offer to write you a prescription so that you can buy online if you want.

Don’t be daft!

A ‘quick Google’ brings this up
https://www.vets4pets.com/pet-health-advice/cat-advice/tapeworms-and-your-cat/
And this
https://www.petdrugsonline.co.uk/drontal-cat-wormer?optionsUIDs=Y29uZmlndXJhYmxlLzY0Ni84MTc%3D&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19343876322&gbraid=0AAAAADL7Hz4TrucKiuNkNTZB3YpQfnC08&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuaS0gMDMkQMVrpBQBh1PlQfXEAAYAiAAEgJSxfD_BwE
and this
https://www.viovet.co.uk/blog/p3764-How-Often-to-Flea-and-Worm-Cats---A-Vet-Approved-Guide

So in fact, all the answers you needed!

I would suggest Droncit as a multi wormer or Drontal for tapeworm neither of which require a prescription but regarding fleas i wouldn't waste my money on anything other than a prescription only product (POMV) as they are vastly more efficient than an 'over the counter' product , there will be plenty of people on here who will disagree but i see the results regularly of useless flea products and the desperate owner who is living with a flea infestation as a consequence.

Yes I suppose I was thinking of the wormer etc the OP was talking about !
Although I shall look at one of the online vet sites mentioned above if I need cream for my cats eyes at £40 😱

Worming and fleas etc we always just bought on line and did ourselves, and we always googled to see how often and best treatment, it never occurred to me to phone a vet and ask advice. I would say nail clipping is really important for dogs , I’m surprised you called it stupid. Although I don’t know about cats.

I no longer go to places that have rude service (unless I need to). Just find someone else.

im not justifying the rudeness but this is why it seems some people have to explain things this way due to not everyone understanding or realising etc