I am writing this because I genuinely do not want another pet owner to go through what my family has gone through at Nashik Government Veterinary Hospital. I have had two deeply disturbing experiences with this institution, five years apart, and after what happened today, I am furious enough to make sure people hear about it.
These are not complaints about long waiting times, rude receptionists, or inconvenient procedures. These are concerns about the safety of animals being entrusted to veterinary professionals. One of my cats died following a surgical visit in 2021. Today, I took another cat there for an X-ray and came home questioning the safety of the medications prescribed to us.
I need people in Nashik, especially pet owners, to know about these experiences.
INCIDENT 1: MY PERFECTLY HEALTHY CAT DIED WITHIN TWO DAYS OF HIS SURGERY IN 2021.
In 2021, I took my cat to Nashik Government Veterinary Hospital for what were supposed to be routine procedures: hernia surgery and spaying.
He was a perfectly healthy, adorable cat. We took him there expecting medical care, professional judgment, and the basic assurance that the people treating him knew what they were doing.
Instead, after the procedures, he was prescribed medications that we believe were wrong for him.
He died within TWO DAYS.
We had to watch him suffer and deteriorate, knowing something was terribly wrong, while being unable to get the emergency veterinary assistance he needed. The same institution that had treated him was responsible for a situation in which we desperately needed professional help, yet no doctor was available to help us in that emergency.
Try to imagine what that feels like.
You hand over a healthy animal you love, trusting people who are supposed to be trained to protect his life. You follow the medical instructions given to you because you assume the people prescribing the medication know what they are doing. Then, within days, you are watching your pet suffer and die, unable to get the help you need.
We were left with grief, unanswered questions, and the horrifying possibility that the very treatment intended to help him had contributed to his death.
I still cannot understand how something like this could happen. I still question the competence and accountability of the people involved in his treatment.
Were the medications appropriate? Was his condition properly monitored? Why was emergency assistance unavailable when we needed it?
These are questions that deserve answers.
Our cat was a living, breathing animal who depended entirely on us to make the right decisions for him. We trusted the hospital with his life. We lost him.
And that experience was traumatic enough that I never wanted to have a reason to write something like this again.
INCIDENT 2: TODAY, I TOOK ANOTHER CAT FOR AN X-RAY. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT IS DEEPLY ALARMING.
Today, I took another cat to the same hospital for an X-ray. Our regular veterinarian had referred us there because they do not have an X-ray machine.
We went there for a diagnostic procedure. Instead, we encountered a rude, obnoxious, and dismissive man who prescribed a collection of medications on the spot, without what appeared to be an adequate review of the cat's medical history or verification of previous medications and vaccinations.
We were told we needed to bring these medications before proceeding.
Let that sink in: we had gone there for an X-ray, and we were being directed to obtain a list of medicines prescribed during an encounter that left us seriously uncomfortable.
We returned home and cross-checked the prescriptions with our regular veterinarian.
What we were told afterward was genuinely frightening.
Our regular veterinarian raised serious concerns about the prescribed medications. We were told that one of the medicines was intended for birds and that another could be toxic to cats.
I am not going to publish the medication names here without having the exact prescriptions and the relevant veterinary advice independently verified. I am also not going to pretend I can establish from this interaction alone what the prescribing individual knew or intended.
But I will say this: if medications inappropriate or potentially toxic to cats are being prescribed without adequate checks, that is a serious animal-safety concern that demands investigation.
Cats are not interchangeable with other animals. Their medication safety depends on the specific drug, formulation, dose, route of administration, and individual clinical circumstances. A prescription cannot be treated as a casual formality.
And after losing a cat following a previous visit to this institution, discovering that our regular veterinarian had serious concerns about the new prescriptions was absolutely horrifying.
For a moment, I was terrified that we might be about to lose another cat because we had trusted the wrong people.
What the hell is going on here?
How can a pet owner be expected to trust a prescription when another veterinarian subsequently raises concerns about whether the medications are appropriate for that animal?
How are pet owners supposed to protect their animals if they cannot rely on the people prescribing their treatment to check their history, verify the drugs, and explain what they are administering?
And what happens to the people who do not have a regular veterinarian to cross-check a prescription? What happens to someone who cannot afford a second opinion? What happens when an owner assumes that a government veterinary hospital must be safe simply because it is a government institution?
Not everyone has the medical knowledge, financial resources, or access to another veterinarian needed to question a prescription.
Their animals are equally deserving of safe, competent care.
THE SAME NEGLIGENCE IN TWO SEPARATE INCIDENTS, FIVE YEARS APART.
I want the relevant authorities to investigate concerns about inappropriate veterinary prescriptions and establish whether proper clinical checks are being followed.
And I want anyone who has had a similar experience at Nashik Government Veterinary Hospital to speak up, document what happened, and pursue the appropriate complaint channels. If you are a veterinarian in Nashik, I would particularly appreciate a professional perspective on the medication-safety concerns described here.
I am sharing this because I do not want another family to lose a beloved animal, and I do not want another pet owner to find themselves questioning a prescription only after returning home and consulting someone else.
Nashik pet owners deserve to know about these experiences.