What is an acceptable level of care?

RE: What is an acceptable level of care?

Judith Joyce — Thu, 07 May 2026 15:50:53 GMT

As a wise man once told me (admittedly a long time ago), if you leave a cat and its fracture in the same room, it will probably heal. We may have changed, don't think cats have

RE: What is an acceptable level of care?

Arlo Guthrie — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 06:43:23 GMT

[quote userid="8663" url="~/f/non-clinical-questions/31352/what-is-an-acceptable-level-of-care/248778#248778"]Once we set a minimum agreed level, I can be held against it. It’s seen as immutable [/quote]

Alasdair Hotston Moore I wasn't thinking of something quite so official, more like 'here are what a selection of vets on vetsurgeon think.'

[quote userid="9440" url="~/f/non-clinical-questions/31352/what-is-an-acceptable-level-of-care/248784#248784"]Which peers are you going to take ?[/quote]

janine redman Whoever wants to pitch in!

[quote userid="8991" url="~/f/non-clinical-questions/31352/what-is-an-acceptable-level-of-care/248798#248798"]I think it's quite a complex concept, as it involves numerous subjective judgement calls.[/quote]

David Mills Would an interesting way of doing it be to consider it from a welfare perspective only? What is the minimum that can be done that will maintain the animal's welfare?

Strip everything else away ...

RE: What is an acceptable level of care?

ian bates — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 09:38:31 GMT

just done exactly this with a cat with a fractured pelvis. Cage rest, analgesia and 'tincture of time'.

RE: What is an acceptable level of care?

David Mills — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:56:01 GMT

I think it's quite a complex concept, as it involves numerous subjective judgement calls.

For an owned animal, there is the vet, the owner and the animal to consider. The former two will have different views on what is 'acceptable'. Whilst evidence can help, in isolation it is not the answer and much of it is from patients (and in the case of surgery, surgeons) that do not always (or even a lot of the time) map well onto first opinion patient populations.

Individual vets will have cognitive biases, may be more defensive or not, have different levels of experience.

Owners may have unrealistically high (or less common, low) expectations, and may not have the time to treat to an acceptable level.

Different animals will tolerate different levels of intervention differently. There is no point in doing a complicated fracture repair if the animal cannot be rested, there is no point in treating a diabetic with insulin if you can't inject it.

So 'acceptable' can and does change from case to case and even within a case. Whilst general theories (such as an acceptable level of welfare for the greatest number) can help to an extent, there remains a large grey area. Whilst some things are obviously wrong to do (this may be a more deontological expectation), the 'right' thing is often multi-faceted and there is normally more than one option available.

One of the advantages of trial by jury is the different life experiences people bring, but they also suffer from a lack of expertise in more complex areas. I would argue the same for DC cases to an extent - first opinion vets would rarely be asked to comment on a specialist's care, but the reverse is common place. Partly this is because first opinion 'expertise' has been chronically ignored for decades (in terms of further qualifications etc) but it is out there. Logically peers should be those of a similar level of experience working in similar circumstances who understand what someone's work is like day to day. Anything else lacks logical justification.

[quote userid="9440" url="~/f/non-clinical-questions/31352/what-is-an-acceptable-level-of-care/248784#248784"] it was acceptable to cage confine cats with fractured limbs and the vast majority returned to functional use of the damaged leg. I think the outcomes were better long term than rushing to amputate but not sure how that would be viewed these days[/quote]

Still acceptable! Amputation should be the last resort for any fracture (unless it's open, infected, or the leg is in bits. I hate it when people rush to amputate (or in young animals operate on minimally displaced fractures).

RE: What is an acceptable level of care?

janine redman — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 10:54:57 GMT

Which peers are you going to take ?

if you opt for a query on dental work on small animal patients here are those who think you are negligent if you do not take full mouth X-rays pre and post dental surgery . (And possibly even if you just arrange a scale and polish ).
Whereas I wonder what percentage of veterinary practices have the facility to do so?

Even a cat bite abscess wil be open to discussion and debate on whether antibiotics are required or not needed.

there is so much individual variation and no two cases are the same. And once financial considerations are added into the mix , what we as veterinary surgeons want to do is often limited by what clients are willing to finance as well as commit to in terms of time and effort.

years ago, dinovet, it was acceptable to cage confine cats with fractured limbs and the vast majority returned to functional use of the damaged leg. I think the outcomes were better long term than rushing to amputate but not sure how that would be viewed these days

my concerns these days are as much the psychological trauma of dogs kept in inappropriate lifestyles and expectations . How many vets are currently trained in behaviour assessment in addition to medical and surgical procedures?

RE: What is an acceptable level of care?

Alasdair Hotston Moore — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 17:48:57 GMT

[quote userid="2100" url="~/f/non-clinical-questions/31352/what-is-an-acceptable-level-of-care"]conclusion of an agreed level of care that would be defensibl[/quote]

The leers a problem with setting any standard. Low or high. I actually quite like the the concept that if what I do is reasonable because a few of my peers would do the same, I’m ok. Because I get to chose the peers! Once we set a minimum agreed level, I can be held against it. It’s seen as immutable

RE: What is an acceptable level of care?

Arlo Guthrie — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 15:53:26 GMT

Just bumping this up … anyone have any thoughts? Really not offended if everyone thinks it’s a rubbish idea - would be lovely to hear either way.