Roland Schwinge Dr. Marco Herr Praktische Tierärzte

My cat, 14 years old, had her annual check-up and vaccination with Dr. Herr: He was generally very taciturn, didn't explain anything technically, but tried to make me feel guilty. He claimed to have detected a heart defect while listening to her heart and told me it was very dangerous. He ordered full-body x-rays and blood tests. The x-rays diagnosed severe arthritis, and they tried to sell me expensive pain medication. The blood work was also bad, and they said medication would have to be prescribed for that as well. The whole thing didn't seem right to me because my cat is very active and shows no signs of pain. So I got a second opinion. They told me: mild arthritis, which is perfectly normal at that age and doesn't require treatment as long as the cat is still active. The blood test showed only one slightly elevated value, which is normal at that age and doesn't require treatment. They couldn't hear any heart defect either, even though the vet listened for a full 15 minutes. All in all, a healthy cat with perfectly normal signs of aging. Another cat, 10 years old, inflamed tooth, treated by Dr. Schwinge: Again, he was rather taciturn. He couldn't assess the severity of the inflammation, wanted immediate dental surgery, and at the same time, a full-body X-ray and blood test. Apparently, that's standard procedure there now. I went to a different vet again. He explained and showed me, and said I could wait and see, as all the other teeth still looked fine. The inflammation cleared up on its own, and six months later, the teeth were properly cleaned and treated, without X-rays, blood work, or any of that fuss.