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Review content:
2014. Unfortunately our two most recent experiences --one urgent & another routine -- went very badly. We brought one of our cats in because he'd stopped eating. The blood-work they performed was incomplete and the expensive procedures they kept us there over an hour discussing would not have helped him. We took our pet to another vet the very next morning, even though Elam had wanted to schedule euthanasia given our refusal to accept their suggested care, & he is now purrrrfectly fine; it also cost us much less than the care program recommended by Elam. (If you're ever uncomfortable, seek out a 2nd opinion, always.) We decided that was due inexperience/bad luck. \r
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*However, a recent routine visit underscored many concerns. Expense. Cleanliness. Rudeness. The vet assistants are very nice, but the vets I've talked to there have been argumentative & just plain rude. **None of the current staff is familiar to us.** The exam rooms are dirty. There is no ""chill-out""/feliway room, though there are dogs barking, and people talking loudly. Other vets have these, so that when you & your pet must wait 40 minutes hearing all this traffic (Elam's facilities are small), they're a lot calmer than they'd otherwise be. When I mentioned that, because they feature feliway in every room, they insisted it would do no good after the fact. That has not been my experience elsewhere. \r
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Finally, the care: both cats were so upset one bit through his tongue, both messed their carriers and there was excessive hair loss. Both were hyperventilating while the vet kept me in the exam room talking to me about how we should have sedated them. Elam wants $60 per cat to sedate, which is much more expensive than ANY other vets we've been to; $120 for 2 cats was outrageous, as was their handling. I had listened to both screaming while they were examined in the back, and had wanted to take them elsewhere, but my grandfather wanted this over asap. I'd helped him during prior trips, bringing both cats to Elam for their yearly shots. These cats had been difficult before but Elam had handled that well. There was never screaming like I'd heard this time. One cat has not come out of hiding since bringing her home, and given the bad professional advice I received just prior to this terrible experience, I have to strongly suggest you take your cats anywhere else. Maybe they are better with dogs, but between the expense and their... approach to things, I cannot recommend them for cats at all.
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