I went to Athens Animal Clinic on the recommendation of a friend; her cats go there, and my cat had what appeared to be a large zit (it turned out to be a rodent ulcer) on his lower lip.



I first went to the clinic in Sept. 1, 2015. It seemed OK -- front desk people not super chipper, weird smell and TONS of fur on the floor. The vet techs were nice enough. But, OK. The vet, Dr. Janelle, has a tone I can only describe as condescending. It was like a sales pitch for more services delivered by the most awkward 4-H presenter ever. Everything was followed with a rude giggle. My cat is VERY overweight, I feed him HORRIBLE food (Whiskas wet food, Purina Beyond dry food). At the end of her spiel, I felt like the worst cat owner ever -- never mind that I brought my cat in for a zit on his lip. OK, I said, maybe I am too sensitive. She seemed to handle my cat OK and we all have our idiosyncrasies. I'll have his teeth cleaned here; if it doesn't go well, we'll look for another vet.



The cat went in for his teeth cleaning in late September. Before going over ANYTHING with me -- procedure, pain meds, etc. -- they made sure they charged my credit card. The vet tech, who had an attitude that could only be described as stank, explained to me about giving the cat his pain medication and feeding him. The vet tech put him in a carrier, so I did not notice that he still had a bandage on his paw when I picked him up. When he got home, I found the bandage -- surgical tape -- and thought it was odd. About an hour later, I saw that there was something underneath the bandage. It was a needle/port for an IV. My father helped me remove the bandage and the IV port. I called the vet's office and they are aware/have apologized. The vet tech apologized in a separate call. That is all that I was offered. Apologies do not help much. I would also note that the vet, once I got her on the phone, almost gleefully corrected me when I called the needle left in my cat's arm and IV. It is, she said, a catheter. I said, I don't care what it is, I had to pull it out of my cat's arm.



I am always hesitant to criticize local businesses. In this case it is truly merited. Based on my first visit to this vet's office, I was hesitant to return based on the vet's condescending tone and general lack of bedside manner. But, I said, maybe I should be less sensitive. She seemed OK with my cat. I know now that I should have gone with my gut. This is a very ugly thing to do to a pet owner.

Dr. Schroeder cared for our cat last week. She was professional, pleasant and, apparently, cat friendly since our kitty was all over her. I hope to have her around for a long time to car for any animals we have that need care.