During the course of my work today, I came across a customer, who asked me for some remedies to calm a cat down.

I thought he was a pet owner. During the course of our conversation, I realised he is a PET SHOP SALES STAFF from the shopping mall which I work in. Well, he should know more about this kind of stuffs than I do, and he knows s**t nothing about this subject.

Fine. I read, I update myself, he doesn't. He doesn't even know the name of the products, he can only describe the color of the containers to me, like an illiterate person.

Then he asked for stuffs to calm humans down. I showed him some herbal remedies, and told him these products are STRICTLY used for human consumption.

He said he wanted to try it on the stressed cats. I strongly advised him NOT to, as the dosage is meant for a 70kg man, and cats have different metabolism.

I asked him why the cats should be so stressed.

He said the cats are stressed during grooming sessions. He said they normally INJECT the cats with some sedatives before grooming, but the cats wake up too soon, before the grooming is over.

I was alarmed. I told him so. I suggested to him the various medical emergencies which may happen. He didn't seem concerned at all, he just brush my queries off in a non-chalant manner. And he even claimed that they have an in-house vet, which I knew is bulls**t, because I had been to the shop before.

Now I don't know how you all feel about this.

As far as I know, pet stores and groomers are NOT vets, not even close. They are not Health Care Professionals, and they ARE NOT licensed to give injections containing sedatives to animals.

Do they inform the owners of the kind of cocktails they are giving to the cats during grooming?

What if the cats have an existing medical condition which does not allow the use of sedatives?

What if the cats develop an allergic reaction to the "medications", and die before a vet can be contacted?

I am very upset by this person's unethical business practice, but I kept my tongue, because I am still on duty.

I just want to inform all of you pet owners out there, pet shops and groomers are NOT run by vets though some vets may help grooming, for medical purposes.

Be very careful what with the pet shop staffs and groomers tell you. They are not medically trained. They are just running a business.

Don't get me wrong. There are some enlightened ones out there. If you know them, luck is on your side.

Be well informed, read, update your knowledge. ASK YOUR VET.

Don't let these unethical swines take you for a ride, you lose your money and your pets lose his/her life.