I first brought my then thirteen-year-old cat to Towles last June for a minor ailment. What Towles didn?t tell me--that my cat?s weight had gone from 7.8 or (as noted on the ?09 record of my Marietta vet) to a mere 6.6 pounds?likely shortened my cat?s life! This, I belatedly found out from research, is often the first sign of kidney disease, and prudent vets recommend blood tests on cats of this age, so they can catch such ailments, and recommend in-home shots and diets that can extend a cat?s life by several years.
Last month, I noticed that my cat (seemingly healthy otherwise), had gone down to 5.5 pounds, so I again took her in to Towles. She gave my cat a physical exam, and checking her vital organs, pronounced her to be ?in good flesh!? Slow weight loss was common in older cats, she said, and didn?t prove anything amiss! She could do blood tests, but ?not necessary.?
Unfortunately, I listened to her!! This month, I noticed my cat becoming twitchy and lethargic. I took her to Cherokee Hospital, where she was diagnosed with Stage-four Kidney disease, and had to be put down. Dr. Maddox?s exam alone showed her kidneys to be small, which Towles, of course, had not detected last month.
And, yes, her office smells and she?s often rude. But far worse, your pet might die before its time due to her incompetence!
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