I'll Never Go Back to Mamontova's - A Cautionary Tale of Overpriced Care and Misdiagnosis

I'll never set foot in Mamontova's veterinary clinic again. For the outrageous price, these 'experts' can only misdiagnose and put my pet's life at risk.

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Veterinary clinic named after Eugenia Mamontova, Tyumen

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Aliks Tess

Published

July 10, 2017 - 2:40 PM

I'll never set foot in Mamontova's veterinary clinic again. For the outrageous price, these 'experts' can only misdiagnose and put my pet's life at risk.

Experience:

several times

I'll immediately clarify that I'm writing this review based on my personal experience. If you were helped by this clinic, I'm happy for you.

There are plenty of veterinary clinics in our city, but if you start searching for reviews, you'll find a bunch of stories about how they didn't help, didn't save, ruined, or prescribed the wrong treatment. But, in my opinion, Mamontova's clinic has outdone all the rest.

Why? Well, for example, this clinic is the most expensive in our city. They try to be friendly, but they're not available for a long time. I heard the administrator explaining to a client over the phone why their cat needs to be sterilized – she got frustrated on the third minute.

They try to show that they have highly qualified specialists. They have almost all the doctors you can think of. For example, it's hard to find real experts in rodents and birds in our city – they all work with cats and dogs, and know the rest superficially. But Mamontova's clinic has ratologists and ornithologists. They have a hospital, a cardiologist, a reproductive specialist, and a ton of new equipment. And the prices! Our average primary consultation costs around 300 rubles, while in Mamontova's clinic it's 600. Do you think it's worth it for good service and experienced doctors? I thought so, but I was unlucky.

I'll tell you about two of my experiences, but after that, I won't try to treat my pet there again.

1. I had a pet marine rabbit.

He was a lovely, problem-free companion for two years, but then he suddenly stopped eating. For a marine rabbit, refusing food is a serious issue. If they don't eat, their digestive system doesn't move, food starts to rot and ferment, and the animal dies from bloating. I panicked, of course. I called every vet in town – no one specializes in rabbits. Mamontova's clinic has a ratologist, though. The consultation costs 650 rubles, and you need to book it in advance. There's no consultation without a booking, because they don't have a specialist available every day – only on certain days. They booked me for five days in advance! Of course, I spent those five days researching online, talking to breeders, and visiting other clinics. One of them said, 'Is this some kind of hamster?' Another did an X-ray and found the bloating, but couldn't determine the cause. Unfortunately, I never got to see the amazing ratologist at Mamontova's clinic, because my poor rabbit died from bloating. The autopsy didn't reveal the cause of his refusal to eat, but they did find that he died from bloating.

2. My grandma had a cat, and I'm being serious. Okay, let's get into the story. I took him to this other clinic, 'Sobacheye Serdce,' where they diagnosed him with calcivirous (that's what they called it). Then I had to leave town for work, and they gave him a bunch of shots. My grandma was closer to the Mamonova clinic, so we went there. After the first visit, she was really upset. She said they kicked her out and refused to give him the shots that the other clinic prescribed. They even told her that the shots would cost 200 rubles each, just for administering them. Of course, that didn't include the cost of the medication. They explained it by saying that it was their responsibility to handle foreign prescriptions. If they wanted to give him the shots at the regular price, not the exorbitant one, she'd have to go through their own testing.

I guess I was the one who messed up by trusting the vets. I went to Tumen, took the cat to the clinic, and they didn't even do any tests! I didn't insist on it, though, because they told us that the other clinic must have messed up the tests, and the cat had a tumor in his throat. Inoperable. That's why he was drooling and refusing to eat. They prescribed some shot to be given every six months (if he made it that long) to slow down the tumor's growth. We'd have to come in for check-ups if he got worse.

A few months later, the cat's condition worsened. I took him back, and they told us the tumor was growing. They recommended spraying Lugol's solution into his throat (I'm still trying to process that).

At that point, I woke up and decided something was off. I figured I'd go back to 'Sobacheye Serdce' to get a second opinion and consult with a third clinic. Unfortunately, the next day, the cat was almost gone. I took him to Mamonova's again, hoping they'd at least give us some prognosis and take some action. We went there because it was closer, naturally. They told me that the cat had lived with that tumor for a while and that they didn't perform euthanasia, even with a terminal diagnosis.

I went to a different clinic, where they confirmed that the cat couldn't be saved. However, they didn't put him down immediately; they took a closer look first. They told me that the infection was severe and untreated. They asked me how I could have let it get this bad. I explained the whole story, and the doctor examined the cat's throat, feeling it (Mamonova's just looked at the tumor during the examination). He called in another doctor to take a look, and they both found nothing.

My grandma was devastated, and I'm still beating myself up over trusting those vets and not thinking things through.

A few words about the hospital. It's great when your pet is under the care of compassionate doctors after surgery... Yeah, right.

My friend started working there in the hospital ward. Let's just say they took care of the animals in their free time. They had to study in their breaks and then take an exam. When they weren't studying, they sort of kept an eye on the patients.

Oh, and we once brought in a fox with a tumor, but they refused to treat it. Eventually, we found a better clinic because they even estimated the cost of their services over the phone. Take a look:

650 rubles - consultation

1000 rubles - examination and consultation with a surgeon

1000 rubles - X-ray in two projections

450 rubles - blood test

2000 rubles - biopsy

After that, we'd have to pay for the operation, depending on its complexity. At the other clinic, we managed to stay within 3000 rubles.

So, think for yourself, make your own decision, and I wouldn't even trust them to give my cat a haircut, especially since they'd require a blood test during the initial consultation, which is unnecessary stress for a healthy animal.