VCA ASEC

Reviews

• RT

  Reshma Thapa

  Dec 22, 2025
  1.0
  Extremely disappointing, misleading, and heartless care, would not recommend I am extremely disappointed and heartbroken by the care my cat received at VCA ASEC. My girl was running a dangerously high 105.9°F fever, yet despite the urgency, it took 12 hours just to collect a simple urine sample. I brought her in around 6 PM. The intake and initial process alone took nearly three hours. After finally seeing her around 10 PM, I trusted them enough to leave her there overnight, believing she would be closely monitored and treated promptly. Instead, they had nine full hours and did nothing meaningful. Blood and urine were drawn only at the very last minute, and antibiotics were administered after significant delay. My cat remained in emergency care for two days with a fever reaching 106°F. I then received a call stating: “Her fever is still high, the tests didn’t reveal anything, and she now needs another blood draw to test for infections,” which of course meant additional charges. My question to the doctor was simple: Why did it take so many hours to draw blood and urine? These could have been done earlier, antibiotics could have been started sooner, and her fever may have been brought under control. If infection testing was necessary, why wasn’t it done on the first blood sample? The doctor had no explanation and went silent. On top of this, VCA ASEC failed to disclose upfront that they do not carry blood for cats. This critical information was only shared after I had already approved and paid for blood-related tests and procedures. I was then told they would have to rely on a donor who might arrive after a day or more and even that was not guaranteed. This lack of transparency directly delayed my cat’s treatment. Throughout the night, her fever was never controlled, and no one could provide clear answers. It felt like care was based on guesswork rather than a clear medical plan. Delaying antibiotics in an emergency hospital is unacceptable. What made this experience even worse was the complete lack of compassion. Every conversation focused on cost warnings instead of whether the treatment would actually help my cat. Test after test was pushed without allowing time for medication to work or observing her response. The staff appeared robotic no urgency, no empathy, just business-driven decisions. I was also charged an internal medicine consultant fee, yet no new information was provided. Both shifts repeated the same details nothing new, nothing helpful, and certainly nothing that justified an additional charge. After already paying nearly $4,000, I question why this was not included in standard hospital care. Years ago, when I first adopted my cats, this hospital was compassionate and ethical. Doctors genuinely cared, avoided unnecessary testing, and treated us with kindness. That culture is gone. Ultimately, I lost my girl. The care felt incompetent and poorly supervised. The primary doctor caring for my cat was an intern, and no experienced specialist stepped in when it was clearly needed. The so-called internal medicine system felt like a billing exercise rather than expert consultation. The overnight team appeared to simply wait for the morning doctor instead of taking decisive action. I want to be clear: this review is not about the cost of care. I would have paid anything to save my baby. This is about poor medical judgment, lack of urgency, lack of transparency, and lack of compassion. I also emailed the person in charge requesting answers and accountability. I never received a response. That silence speaks volumes. At this point, this experience feels like a money-driven operation rather than a place of healing. I never imagined I would say this about a hospital entrusted with the lives of our pets. I feel used, unheard, and deeply disappointed. I will never return and strongly warn other pet parents to be extremely cautious.
• AB

  Apryl Boyle

  Dec 20, 2025
  1.0
  Many of the doctors are good, however, admin and communication issues have caused numerous delays, extra trips, and cost. They are extremely unorganized, making their mistakes my problem. Really too many to list but we are currently dealing with an incorrect prescription that we can't do anything about, further delaying my dog's treatment. We had to come here for a specialist and won't be returning if we can help it. That's the issue - there are only a few internal medicine specialists so options are limited. Not recommended.
• SI

  Sarah Irani

  Dec 11, 2025
  2.0
  I would NOT recommend their ER. I am so upset with how things were handled on the night of 12/10/25. I took my cat in for blood in stool and they told me there wasn’t anyone to do ultrasound and I’d have to go back in the morning. My cat was screaming bloody murder in the back, getting labs that he just had 2 days ago at another VCA, an an x ray that he was supposedly sedated for but was still screaming at the top of his lungs. All of this and I told the ER vet I didn’t want to wait for lab results if I’d have to be back in the morning + I would’ve waited to give my cat gabapentin vs being sedated for exams because I was coming back in less than 12 hours. Zero common sense as she had me sitting there for 3 hours waiting on lab results while my cat sounded like he was being tortured in the back. She also was looking at past visits and had the dates completely wrong for when I was last at their vet. Just overall odd and seems like she just wanted to rack up the exams for her benefit. I refuse to let my cat suffer at the expense of a visit that’s supposed to make him better, so I opted to call the next day to create an ultrasound appointment because the last visit I had with Dr. Rorke(?) was one of the most pleasant and I have 0 faith in the ER. It’s my fault for allowing the ER to continue on and I’m extremely upset with how the whole situation was handled. If an human were screaming and couldn’t talk, I’d hope a doctor would stop what they were doing vs continuing on for exams that seemed irrelevant. Even when the tech gave me my cat, he wasn’t sympathetic to the fact that he was just screaming. On the plus side, the front desk staff are very nice and the radiologist from before was too.
• JN

  Julia Sayuri Alvarado Nakashima

  Dec 2, 2025
  5.0
  Amazing staff! I came a couple days ago for a emergency when my dog started to trow up blood at 4am and they provide the most outstanding service! I was freaking out since it was the first time my baby got sick and they were so patience and guided me trough the best solution not just for him but for my pocket. Thank you so much for the amazing job !
• AF

  Aaron Freshour

  Nov 20, 2025
  2.0
  Mixed Experience - Communication Issues Dr. Chow is knowledgeable and thorough in her diagnostics, which I appreciated. However, there were significant communication problems that caused unnecessary stress and financial impact. I approved a treatment plan and scheduled my cat’s procedure, but on the morning of the appointment (after medicating my cat and clearing my work schedule), I was told there would be an $800 additional charge due to a scheduling mix-up on their end. An extra ultrasound that Dr. Chow planned to do as a courtesy was never mentioned in my treatment plan, emails, or any prior communication. I had to cancel the appointment and lost income from rescheduling work commitments twice. No preparation instructions were provided beforehand, and I wasn’t given informed consent about procedures being added to the plan. I understand specialists have busy schedules, but clients need clear communication about what procedures will be performed, associated costs, and proper preparation instructions before the appointment day. The expertise is there, but the administrative coordination needs significant improvement. I reached out and never got any response back from Dr. Chow or anyone in admin/reception. I only got a weird reply after telling my regular vet what was up as she recommended them and her wording exposed that she spoke with the specialist and was told I should be appreciative of the courtesy Dr chow was providing even though I was never made aware or gave consent of said procedure until on my way to my original appointment. I’m going back to Dr Bianco at MASH.

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