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ComplaintsforAnimal Aid Clinic-South
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Complaint Details
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Initial Complaint
12/15/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
When we took our cat in to get shaved the first thing we told them is not to do up his tail because he attacks it. They did anyways without our consent and he attacked it and has to have 2 inches cut off the end of his tail because of the blood and infection.Business response
12/15/2023
On 11/13/23, *********************** presented to be shaved since the owners are unable to groom him at home. The owners did specify that they did not want the tail shaved since he attacked his tail previously. Our registered veterinary technician determined that 3/4 of the proximal tail (closer to the body) was significantly matted and needed to be shaved for the patient's well-being. It is widely recognized within the veterinary community that significant hair matting is distressful for the animal and leads to pain,infection and sometimes even loss of extremities. It is also widely accepted that leaving significant matting is deemed to be neglectful.
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************** asked a receptionist to contact the owner and recommend that the tail be shaved in order to eliminate the hair mats. Initially, the owner declined because shaving the entire tail caused him to attack the tip previously. We contacted the owner again and advise that the technician did not want to trim the tip as was done previously. That was not matted. She wanted to trim the proximal 3/4 to remove the mats. The owner gave permission.
Four weeks later, the owner contacted us to let us know that the cat was again attacking his tail. Cats attack their tails for numerous reasons. Although, we do believe that shaving an area could cause overgrooming and self-mutilation, we do not believe that it would cause those issues 4 weeks later. We also see from the photos that were presented that *********************** is mutilating the area that is not shaved. We believe that it is likely that ******* may have a condition called hyperesthesia that causes him to self-mutilate the tip of his tail.
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Regardless, leaving significant matting on a patient would be considered to be below the standard-of-care. Owners can prevent matting of their pets' coats either by regularly brushing at home, or by taking the pet to a groomer that can brush the coat prior to matting developing. Once mats have developed, brushing them out is no longer an option.
While we empathize with both the cat and the owner in this unfortunate situation, we stand behind the fact that his mats needed to be removed, and believe that the owners could have prevented the need to shave him by regularly brushing his tail at home. We also question that the shaving of the proximal tail caused mutilation of the tip a month later. Therefore, we are not offering a refund for services at this time.
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Customer Complaints Summary
1 total complaints in the last 3 years.
1 complaints closed in the last 12 months.