Upon adopting a 3 mo. old kitten from the local shelter, I took him for his first visit to the VCA vet close to my home. All was well even after his first shot, until they used what seemed like an airgun for his second shot. It was really loud and even made me jump. It also made his tiny leg bleed a lot. They then gave me an estimate for his next visit. They wanted to see him in 1 month, they wanted to do a stool sample and a blood test, give him another set of shots and 3 mo's of Revolution.
The thing is...the pound already tested and treated him for worms, etc. They already did a blood test, but the vet said it wasn't done at the pound. They quickly flipped through the paperwork and said "it wasn't done and it needs to be." So long story short, the estimate for the next visit was $220. We didn't go, as he's an inside only cat so I wasn't worried.
6 mo's later, he shakes his head from time to time, so I take him back to the vet. He must have had flash backs because my sweet little cat turned into the tasmanian devil and wouldn't let anyone but me touch him. I did hold him so they could give him his booster shots (not with that damn gun again) and they were able to determine he didn't have ear mites, but that was all they could do. They gave me an estimate for anesthetizing him to look in his ears, along with blood tests (even though the vet said the results wouldn't be back before she did the procedure), stool sample(!!), and no matter what they do to your animal, they manage to tack on a $6 hazardous waste fee. The total estimate was between $550 and $641!!
To heck with that. I took him to my usual vet (which I should have done to begin with) and the charge to anesthetize him (yes, he hates all vets now) was $140!! FIVE HUNDRED dollars less than the VCA vet. AND my usual vet was at least able to get an ear swab from the cat, before the cat was done being nice.
VCA vets must work on commission as both times I went to that office they tacked on ridiculous fees for unnecessary procedures and tried to get me to sign the estimate as quickly as possible. Absolutely ridiculous. And to top it off, I have a cat that will need to be anesthetized for even basic procedures because some idiot thought they could use a loud gun on him to give him a shot. Who the **#$(@#&** does that to a cat??! I never should have let the vet do that.
DO NOT go to a VCA vet!