James City Veterinary Clinic

Reviews 5

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Brandi Johnson

For four years, I thought Dr. Bates was a good veterinarian. I appreciated that he called us to talk to us about the condition of my cat and hes a seemingly nice man, but within the last month, I have discovered that Dr. Bates either doesnt know what he is doing or took complete advantage of us as loving pet owners...or both. 4 years ago, our family moved several times within a couple months because we were transitioning from the military; So, understandably our cat was stressed out. He soon developed an upper respiratory infection as well, diagnosed by Dr. Bates. He then stopped cleaning himself because he would get so exhausted; he started hanging out by the water dish more than usual it seemed; and he started coughing after exercising and threw up a few times. His feline acne also got a little worse. We spent a couple thousand dollars on different rounds of tests, including blood work and EKGs. Dr. Bates diagnosed our Maine Coon with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and told us he likely only had 3 months to live. He had us come back after a few days, then we were told to come back every three months for EKGs. EVERY appointment, our cat was sedated with anesthesia that lasted all night long (which doesnt seem that safe to me for a cat with a heart condition). After the first appointment, Dr. Bates put him on 3 different types of medicine, including a steroid that made him retain water and pee constantly. We were told that we could mix the medicine with baby food or tuna and feed it to him. Thinking that either was safe, without doing the research that we should have, we mixed his medicine with the baby food as suggested by the techs at James City Vet. Then less than a year ago, he was diagnosed by Dr. Bates as having diabetes. Every month, he wanted to do glucose testing for which we were told by the techs to not let him eat 12 hours prior to testing because of the sedatives, then to give him an insulin shot before the appointment (something our current vet tells us is deadly because he hadnt eaten); then they would sedate him, for reasons I still dont understand, and monitor his glucose. Every visit Dr. Bates increased his insulin dosage. Each visit for his heart or glucose testing was costing us anywhere from $600-$900. Then last month, we were going out of town and placed him in boarding in our current town that we live in (we were driving 1 hour to bring our cat to James City Vet!), this new vet decided to change our cats diet to a pate wet food only (he had been on dry food only at the advice of Dr. Bates); and instead of using the baby food that is loaded with carbs (which cats cant handle), she mixed his pills into a single vial and pushed them down his throat. This new vet also checked his glucose levels prior to EVERY insulin shot, something she said was absolutely necessary to safely administer the appropriate dose of insulin. Each test only cost $5. After one week, his diabetes went into remission! And still, a month later, it has not returned. Then she requested our records from James City Vet. 28 pages later, we realized that there was absolutely no evidence of a heart condition in his records. There was not even a record of him being diagnosed or any subsequent EKG results. The records only showed his glucose records, and that he was given MANY refills on his medicine and several EKGs. The new vet then informed us that EKGs cannot diagnose Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, only echocardiograms can. She then referred us to a local cardiologist. Today, we found out that our cat has a perfectly healthy heart and has never had any heart condition. We spent THOUSANDS (enough to buy a car) on the treatment of our cat after the tests, the visits, the sedations (WHY?!?!), and the medicine. His medicine even made him sick at times from the water retention. Thankfully, Dr. Bates decreased his steroid dosage at that point. My advice: GET A SECOND OPINION!

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Monika Saimre

James City Veterinary Clinic and Dr. Bates saw my dog on an emergency basis to have a bleeding mass removed. The vet I was previously going to advised that I would have to wait two to four weeks before my dogs mass could be removed because they wanted to give my dog a flu shot before they would do surgery. Dr. Bates was very helpful and understanding of my dog being in much discomfort because of the mass, and agreed to take her in that day to remove it. This was a god send because my dog was very unhappy and uncomfortable, but now we should be able to have a peaceful holiday. The office staff was very friendly, helpful, and professional. Thank you Dr. Bates and James City Veterinary Clinic! Dr Bates just did a life or death surgery on my senior dog...this was a godsend and my dog has fantastic results...we are very grateful for dr bates and the wonderful staff at James city vet clinic!!

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Mariellynn Maurer

Once again, Dr. Bates and his staff have gone out of their way to take care of my fur baby. Last night, I noticed some unusual behavior for my kitty and called this morning just to have her checked out. As it turned out, it was pretty serious and shes now undergoing some minor surgery to take care of the problem. Although this was unexpected, Dr. Bates and his staff made me feel comfortable and helped put the situation into a realistic perspective. Over the years, and its been many years now, this staff has cared both my pets and me through all sorts of events - from new kittens to my beloved boy who passed at the ripe old age of 22. All three of my current fur babies are taken care of by Dr. Bates and his loving team. I so appreciate you all and thank you for all your help in the past and all that is yet to come!

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Hannah Pecoraro

This was my first experience with James City Veterinary Clinic and it was excellent. I managed to take my cat, Jitter, into the vet the day after I called to make an appointment. They were really friendly and clearly experienced. I had a little bit of a wait but that was most likely due to forgetting my paperwork and having to have the details faxed from my previous vet. The doctor was friendly and Jitter seemed to like being there. They were able to take him in for an xray that day which was surprising but really worked well for me. They also offered 10% off using the online coupon, which I hadnt noticed but they put through anyway. Once they completed the xray, they called to give me information and allowed Jitter time to recover from being sedated. I was very happy with the treatment of my pet and of me.

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Julie Hanks

Ive been there three times with my two cats, but I wont be back. One of the women at the front desk is not someone with whom I care to speak ever again. Ive put up with her shortness, downright rudeness and impatience long enough. I dont feel comfortable doing business with her let alone leaving my pets with her. Also, I never met the actual veterinarian - not once. Not when I was a new client, not even when my cats had surgery. It was like, "Whos the man behind the curtain?" Just left me feeling a little uneasy. Never spoke to him, never even glimpsed him. I dont even know what he looks like. As far as I know, the service they gave my cats was fine, and there is another woman at the front desk who is nice and helpful -- those are the only two reasons Im giving this place two stars.

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