‘Oh my gosh, the kittens!’ How the pandemic unleashed bedlam in veterinary clinics

Staff attrition, high demand for appointments and enraged human clients have strained vet practices across the US

Early in the pandemic, Dr Monica Mansfield, a veterinarian based in Medway, Massachusetts, became haunted by a recurring nightmare.

There were these vulnerable kittens in my basement, and I forgot to feed them," Mansfield recalls. I'd wake up, terrified. Oh my gosh, the kittens! Where are they?' I felt like I was missing details and forgetting things that were critical to a case - that were critical to an animal's life."