vet check for rescue charity - gobsmacked by vet comments

[IsletsOfLangerhans]

Hi. Feel like I've been punched in stomach over this. Yesterday, after 4 years of grieving and missing our lovely tom cat, we bit the bullet and decided to go to a local charity to find a new cat. Chose a lovely 4 month cat and left our details so they could do a vet check. Had a call earlier from charity saying they needed more info as we only saw that vet twice ( I daftly assumed they would have obtained previous records). They said all that the last visit recorded was, " brought cat in, lethargic, and owners asked for it to be put down". Am I the only person who would find that extremely upsetting, bearing in mind the vet told us he was dying and it would be the kindest option? He hadn't eaten for a few days, eye sight had severely degenerated and the vet told us his organs were failing. We spent an hour talking options over with the vet and then making the decision to put him to sleep - it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, and the vet told us it was the right option. Am I overreacting over the brevity of the notes? I certainly don't think it looks good on paper. The vets also failed to tell the charity we had him cremated and ashes returned. Maybe I'm overreacting, but it's made me feel very upset and I'm concerned it will affect our plans to give another cat a loving home.

Vet check with old vets was absolutely fine! We are collecting Frazer on Monday - will post a piccie if someone can tell me how to! Thank you all so much for your wise and calming words last night, it really helped, as did the early night

Oh Islets that's fantastic. Squeal!! have you got to go out now and buy all the essentials like Ping Pong balls??

Frazer is a great name.

Excellent, Islets! Looking forward to the pics.

Islets brilliant, I am pleased for you.

holtby thanks for that, i do consider us as good owners and we do care deeply for our very happy cats. Good idea re finding a local shelter. The time is not there yet but I would rather have a rescue cat than a kitten anyway. And if we were to get a kitten, it wouldn't be a pedigree one from a breeder but a standard moggie from someone who needs to find a good home.

We aren't telling the girls until he's here, so will have to do some stealth shopping..... luckily DH works in Waitrose so can get all the essentials (including ping pong balls Sparkling at work! Borrowing a carrier from a friend on Monday (will buy one for us ASAP). I'M SO EXCITED NOW!!!!!

Don't forget post it notes on all outside doors with CAT!!! written on. I had to do that to stop DC letting the cat out accidentally.

Aldi cat litter is very good-they only sell the one sort.

We have a plastic carrier with a silver metal door at the front. It's crap, and I never know if it's shut properly as it doesn't seem very positive IYKWIM. So peruse the carriers carefully.

I'd second Sparkling's comment on carrier perusal. They're quite a big expenditure so try to get one that works well and will be robust.

I think the lid comes off ours too cozie but it just seems really plasticky and horrible. I quite like the look of the wicker ones.

Personally, I wouldn't get a wicker one, Sparkling - at least not without looking them over very carefully. I had one once and when you actually looked inside, there were quite a lot of unfinished jaggy bits of thick twig which had been simply cut off. They weren't necessarily standing proud of the surface much but they could have made a bit of a mess of a cat if it was vexed and moving distractedly about the cage.

Just my own view though - maybe there are expensive ones which are better finished.

Fantastic news! :)

We had a huge metal cage for Jerry as he was enormous (he had been a stray and wasn't neutered until he was 6!!). He just would not fit into any of the standard plastic ones! Gave it to a cat shelter after he died. And the post it note idea I will definitely steal!

I think our carrier was from pets at home, just a standard plastic with metal door jobby.

I am pleased for you getting you new cat.

That's great news Islets! I hope you have a lovely time with your new cat. Don't be offended if he hides under the bed at first, it's a big adjustment for him. Frazer is a lovely name :)

Ah, I'm a bit of an expert on carriers. You really don't want a wicker one - car sickness makes some cats wee and wicker is neither waterproof nor watertight.

We've gone through dozens to find the ones that work best and I would recommend this one above all others:

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002KSI78C/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&psc=1&s=pet-supplies

Top-loading boxes make it a million times easier to box up a grumpy cat and the front door can be opened with one hand which is very useful. It clips open at the middle to be cleaned/stored but is still really robust. And it has a slot in it for a seatbelt if you're ever on your own in the car with the cat box.

(You can probably tell I feel strongly about this. So many adopters buy the basic model from Pets at Home which is only about £5 cheaper than the one above and then I have to wrestle a wary cat through the tiny frontloading opening and normally end up wounded, panting and fraught!)

The watertightness is a good point which I forgot to mention. I've had one accident in years of cats (but sadly in a wicker carrier) and the scrubbing, cleaning and drying afterwards was no fun. Having an impermeable base gives you a lot of confidence while travelling -especially remembering that you may be in someone else's car/a taxi/a hire car and that most car's seats and coverings are material; which might absorb pee.

I have to say I am surprised that the vets actually wrote clinical details as these are confidential. The most normal vet check is what pets had this person owned, how long have they been registered with you and have they visited you as regularly as expected ( if they have been once a year that would be a yes less than that a no).
We receive no payment from anyone for this.
If a rescue asked for clinical details we would have to obtain an owners permission to release these.

Out of interest, Lone - to your knowledge, would it normally be a vet that would do this or would this sort of task be delegated to a practice assistant?

The forms we receive require the signature of a veterinary surgeon, but do not request clinical history in any shape or form. They are presented to a vet who reads the history fills the how long, how many pets etc and then sign.

I agree with Holtby about carriers. Much easier to get a cat in if you can take the top off.

However, once you've got your cat home, I'd also recommend training him to go into his carrier. Keep it in a room that you use often, with a towel in the bottom, so he can go in there if he wants some peace and quiet; and throw treats in there from time to time. Mine were scared of the carrier at first so I had to start with them going just to the doorway of it for the treat, and then progressively move the treat further back. Now it's dead easy when we go to the vet as I just say 'basket' and they go in happily. I really wish I'd done this with previous cats too.

I've posted a piccie of Frazer on my profile - we brought him home Monday and he is settling in very well. He's very sociable and spends most of his time purring! He's enjoying his ping pong balls too! Took me ages to take a photo as he won't stay still, and as he's black, he can be difficult to see sometimes!

Thanks again for all the advice x

Fab, sounds like he's quite at home already. Can you make your profile public? Ta.

Sorry - thought I had done, but obviously hadn't saved it. Should be visible now!

Oh he is just gorgeous.

What a confident chappy!

He looks right at home doesn't he? He's a handsome cat.

What a great looking kitty!