Last year in March, I got one of my cat's spayed (then a kitten). Everything seemed great for a couple months until she started showing signs (around July) of being in heat again which made me worried. I took her back to the vet, where he explained to me about the possibility of my cat having a rare condition called 'ovarian remnant syndrome'. He performed a small test to 'check if she was in heat' (that came back inconclusive), but he made sure that I wasn't charged for the visit (considered aftercare of the spay) and promised to call in to check. Luckily she got out of heat and stayed out, and so at that time it was assumed that maybe it was behavioural or a once off so we left it there.
Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, my cat started to display visible signs of being in heat again (yowling, affectionate, sticking her bum in the air, all that fun stuff) so I booked an appointment and took her back to the vet today.
This time, the vet surgeon that performed the surgery spoke with me. She came out the gate extremely arrogant and very unpleasant to speak with. My cat was freaking out at the sight of her (that never happens with the other vets or people), which in hindsight was probably the first red flag.
She brought out this 20+ year old vet text book and spent 30 minutes reading me passages (no joke) + giving me (expensive) advice to then only retract that advice after reading the next paragraph. At one point she googled something and insisted that I take a photo of her monitor (I eventually had to do it to humour her, just so she would move on). While this is happening, she keeps saying that my cat "definitely" doesn't have pieces left in her, and that she "knew" because she performed the surgery. Apparently, it was more likely that my cat had a third ovary than this human vet to have made a mistake, even with studies that say otherwise. Go figure.
Her ultimate recommendation was that I live in darkness by closing all my curtains and blocking out extra sunlight (for the rest of her life) to try curb her cycle rather than investigate the problem. I seriously wish I was joking.
When it came time to leave, she insisted that they charge me $80 for the 'consult' - where in which, at that point I'd had enough. After politely complaining, she came down to $56 instead of $80 - her first reason being I needed to pay the clinic for 'all the time she spent explaining to me how it wasn't her fault'. When I confronted her with studies and the knowledge I got from speaking to a vet nurse the year prior, she 'agreed' to what I had said but that I had to pay otherwise she would be "admitting fault" which she "wasn't going to do".
I went to this place even though it was a bit more expensive because I trusted the vets here + the aftercare was supposed to be covered (so if there were any complications, they would fix it). I have multiple cats, so I've spent a lot of money here and have never had any problems until now.
I'm currently angry, so maybe it's clouding my judgement - but it really feels like they made a mistake and want me to pay for them to fix it.
1) Is there anything I can do about this?
2) If not, is there a way to make them suffer on a scale from google reviews to reporting them to an ombudsman of some sorts (no body bags or graffiti - I'm pissed but I'd like to stay out of jail lol)
(I should note that in the end, I am going to pay whatever the cost to help my cat because it's too late and my partner and I love her)
Also if someone tells me that I should have got a dog, or a bird or a fish or another something - go to hell, in advance lol
srs though would appreciate any advice!
Couple of options -
If you think they've really stuffed it, get a second opinion. I understand that's at a cost, but vets are a closed group that will protect each other unless you have evidence of malpractice. Don't tell the other vet who did the first job. Just say the cat's been desexed, still exhibiting signs, concerned etc.
If comes out issue lies with vet A:
https://www.vpb.nsw.gov.au/make-formal-complaint-against-vet…