 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / June 2007Greedy vet!
I'm quite disgusted with an emergency vet clinic I took one of my cats to last night. Tom has recently started sneezing badly which started worrying me. The vet at the emergency place (whose name is Madonna) said that I should leave Tommy overnight which would cost me $500 to $600. On top of that they would need to x-ray him which would add another $200, making it a total of $800 for that one visit. AND THEN we would have to take him to our normal vet the next day for a follow up and antibiotics. After some questioning Madonna explained that the x-rays were needed to check if Tom's diaphragm had herniated (or something along those lines) and that although it was unlikely she felt obligated to do it. HUH! Even if he did have this, he is too old (being 16 to 17yo) and sneezy to undergo surgery to "fix" the hernia. After some more inquiry I found out that they were going to put him on antibiotics and fluids. I said just give this to him now and I would take him home tonight. So they did this whilst guilt tripping me the entire time with scowls and glares. They even asked me to sign a form saying that the clinic was not liable because I was unwilling to give my cat optimal care. As if I'd sue anyway! So Tommy saw the regular vet today who simply gave him a shot of an anti-inflammatory and 3 weeks worth of antibiotics. And that was it! I'm gob smacked about how inflexible and money hungry Madonna the awful vet was. I've been to that clinic once before, and saw a differnt vet that time who was excellent. Time to find an alternative after hours vet for next time. Dewi > I'm quite disgusted with an emergency vet clinic I took one of my cats > to last night. Tom has recently started sneezing badly which started [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Dewi Dewi, IMO that's just crazy. A few ER vets like that, and people will be afraid to take their cats to the emergency vet. There's no way (again IMO) to justify such a high charge. Maybe you can find a better/more reasonable facility Sherry > I'm quite disgusted with an emergency vet clinic I took one of my cats > to last night. Tom has recently started sneezing badly which started [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Dewi That seems a bit of overkill for sneezing. >> I'm quite disgusted with an emergency vet clinic I took one of my cats >> to last night. Tom has recently started sneezing badly which started [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > That seems a bit of overkill for sneezing. Does to me to. I'd expect the emergency vet to make sure there wasn't a burr or something stuck in the nose or sinus and then tell you to go to your own vet the next morning. (Anything other then something stuck isn't an emergency) Jo > I'm quite disgusted with an emergency vet clinic I took one of my cats > to last night. Tom has recently started sneezing badly which started [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > differnt vet that time who was excellent. Time to find an alternative > after hours vet for next time. That's a terrible story, Dewi. What was the explanation about the outrageous charge for an overnight stay? I am lucky that my vet practice has 24/7 cover, 365 days a year. I do moan to myself a bit sometimes as they are quite expensive but I suppose this is what funds this good service they provide. Last time I had an animal in overnight I think the charge for that portion of the bill was 12 quid *and* there is always a vet nurse there on night shift, who can call a vet out of bed if concerned. The rest of the bill made me faint though <g> Tweed They were going to quarantine him from other cats, so there were extra charges there. I assume they were probably going to put him on more antibiotics and fluids and they were definately going to do a blood test. The fact that my regular vet didn't suggest a blood test, indicates that this was unecessary - which I agree with. I think I over reacted this time and went to the vet too quickly, Tom could have waited until the morning. He did look horrible though. I'm still worried about Tom, he has picked up, but still looking miserable and isn't eating. I dare say his age isn't helping him much. He has pneumonia. None of my other cats are sick though, so hopefully it's not spreading. 12 quid, gee that's good. Do you live in a country area? I find country vets are so much more affordable and more practical. This is one of the *many* things I miss about not living in a country town. Dewi. >They were going to quarantine him from other cats, so there were extra >charges there. I assume they were probably going to put him on more [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > >Dewi. Emergency vets can get awful expensive! When I took Katie (RB) to the local one they charged 1200.00 for a 24 hour stay, and when she didn't respond to treatment, called in a internal medicine specialist - add another 2500.00US - and by the time my hubby and I had her pts the bill totaled 4700.00 - that is from Saturday 4 am to Monday, 10 am. I wish it had come out different, and I had brought her home instead. I miss my butterball! Mishi PS: an odd thing - nobody will sleep on her bed, and if you put one of our crew down on it, they immediately jump down or away like you had put them on top of someone...... > >They were going to quarantine him from other cats, so there were extra > >charges there. I assume they were probably going to put him on more [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > our crew down on it, they immediately jump down or away like you had > put them on top of someone...... Wow, those are incredible prices and on par with a humans hospital bill and people would get far more attention whilst in hospital. It is that much sadder when our animals die at a clinic, rather than at home. The same thing happened to a rabbit of mine, who I dearly loved. All those extra hours I could have spent with him, plus the additional stress it caused him. I wonder if Katie is visiting you. I'd like to think that they pop down for a visit. Dewi > I'm still worried about Tom, he has picked up, but still looking > miserable and isn't eating. I dare say his age isn't helping him much. > He has pneumonia. None of my other cats are sick though, so hopefully > it's not spreading. Mir and Caliban have promised to send their best healing purrs for Tom. I hope he feels better soon.  SignatureMarina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. > > I'm still worried about Tom, he has picked up, but still looking > > miserable and isn't eating. I dare say his age isn't helping him much. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > -- > Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. Thank you Marina, I hope he pulls through too. The vet said that if he recovers it will take a few days before we see some major changes. Dewi > Thank you Marina, I hope he pulls through too. The vet said that if he > recovers it will take a few days before we see some major changes. > > Dewi Purrs for your boy, Dewi and pox (cow pox) on that greedy vet. She should be ashamed - thoroughly unprofessional. Tish > > Thank you Marina, I hope he pulls through too. The vet said that if he > > recovers it will take a few days before we see some major changes. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Tish Tish! How's the little one? Dewi > They were going to quarantine him from other cats, so there were extra > charges there. To put him in another room, in another cat cage costs more? I assume they were probably going to put him on more > antibiotics and fluids and they were definately going to do a blood > test. Blood tests are expensive here, too, maybe 60 pounds, even though it can be done on the premises at my vet (and usually is, unless they are looking for something very unusual when they send it away somewhere.) > The fact that my regular vet didn't suggest a blood test, > indicates that this was unecessary - which I agree with. I think I > over reacted this time and went to the vet too quickly, Tom could have > waited until the morning. He did look horrible though. Well, if you were unhappy with how he looked, sooner is better than later to have a vet see him but you certainly seem to have had a bad experience with Madonna. > I'm still worried about Tom, he has picked up, but still looking > miserable and isn't eating. I dare say his age isn't helping him much. > He has pneumonia. None of my other cats are sick though, so hopefully > it's not spreading. We will continue to purr and pray for him. > 12 quid, gee that's good. Do you live in a country area? I find > country vets are so much more affordable and more practical. This is > one of the *many* things I miss about not living in a country town. It's semi-rural. I've owned a horse, kept goats for 20 years, and poultry too so I chose a vet that does "large animals" which means farmy ones, as well as "small animal" which means pets. The 12 quid is a "hospitalisation fee." Well worth the money, IMO, there is always someone there to monitor overnight. Otherwise their charges are just astounding. When my goose Enid was sick a while ago - she should have been on large animal charges, not small, it cost me £250 to lose her. The young vet overdosed her on wormer eventually.. I should really take this up, but I haven't. He gave her 2ml. The dose for a goose is half a ml. It's stupid for a vet to think that it's OK to spend money like this. Yes, I did like her, and I wanted to get her treated for her illness, but to be quite frank, I can buy another goose for £15. I think he forgot how it was different from the sort of money we are prepared to spend to save our cats or dogs. And then I thought, hold on a minute, you are exploiting our emotions here with these massive costs. Tweed On 16 Jun, 14:20, "Christina Websell" <spamf...@tinawebsell.wanadoo.co.uk> wrote: And then I thought, hold on a > minute, you are exploiting our emotions here with these massive costs. I've often told the sad tale of Jaws where a vet with both eyes on the slave's wallet kept the cat alive long after any decent vet would have advised the slave to do what had to be done on grounds of quality of life (almost none) and played shamelessly on the fact that his wife (the slave not Jaws!) couldn't bring herself to let go. He even called her at home when Jaws was at the vet with Jack (who was paying for all this) and said that he thought she should know that her husband was considering euthanasia whereas he thought this new treatment might give the cat a bit longer and he felt he ought to ask her as it was "her cat"whether she would consent..... Not only did the vet get well over ?2,000 (and this was a couple of years ago) for keeping alive a cat that should have been allowed over the Bridge 2-3 years before his heart gave out but he very nearly caused a divorce Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs Poor Jaws, having to go through that. What a name! :) Dewi > I'm quite disgusted with an emergency vet clinic I took one of my cats > to last night. Tom has recently started sneezing badly which started [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Dewi I'm so sorry you went through that, Dewi, but I'm glad you were smart enough to stop and ask questions. You might or might not remember several years ago when Brando blocked and the nightmare I had at the emergency vet clinic. It was terrible, and folks here helped me pay off the bill slowly, as the ER vet wouldn't. {{{{{{{{rpca}}}}}}}} Anyway, glad Tommy is okay, and I sure do understand your frustration and anger! Ginger-lyn I must have been on "extended leave" when this occured, as I don't remember it. But so fortunate for Barndo. Dewi |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.