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Old August 13th, 2007, 11:16 PM
bearlasmom bearlasmom is offline
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vets are impossible with billing

im sorry if this seems like a bit of a rant but i am really really ticked. My daughter rescues animals and she has always been one to rescue them or go the extra mile for those animals that are without homes.

She loves animals more than most people that she meets. She has 3 cats that she rescued, a dog, a rabbit and a ferret. She provides them with anything that they need. She has had two of the cats for 4 yrs now and they were just tiny new borns when she found them during a hurricane down in virginia when she was living there with her husband. They found them laying half alive under their moms dead body in a ditch where my daughter figures she had tried to take cover during the storm. The kittens were her babies for 4 yrs because she had been told she could not have a baby of her own. she took in the 3 rd cat and the rest of animals within a yr of taking the kittens on. The one cat had a severe problem with urine crystals and other issues because the vet that performed the spay, botched it and done damage to his urethra. The first time that it happened, it cost the kids $3000. to have the cat treated. The second time, (within a month of the first time) and with another vet due to the 1st ones incompetence. it cost them $4500. when all was said and done, (catheterization, draining, iv's, antibotic) the cat seemed fine for quite a while and put on weight (the cats are 18 lbs, 20 lbs and 27 lbs. ) They all are fed a perscription diet that is supposed to keep the crystals from coming on. My daughter had a baby in nov of this year and the baby has a fw health problems with her little belly. She was born with a partial blockage in her belly which causes the baby alot of pain and the wee one screams when she has a bowel movement.

last night the cat that gets the crystals started howling at 4 in the morning. My 2 this afternoon the cat looked half dead. we took him to the emergency hospital and they said what we already knew. the cat had crystals. but they said that it came on so fast that it was shutting down his kidneys, affecting his liver and even his heart. they told the kids that if they wanted to treat it it would cost $60. for the exam, $160. for the iv, another $175. per day (min 3 day stay), $200. for med, $85. for a blood test. $170. for a xray to see how much damage was done and test on its heart befcause they thought the heart was damaged as a result of the crystals again. They were also told taht they would have to pay a min $1000. up front if they wanted it treated.

They were told the only other thing to do was to turn it over to the humane society or to them and they would treat it and find it a new home.
look, dont get me wrong, we all love the little guy with all we have but the meds, etc that my grandbaby needs are more important. we tried to get aide from their hospital (health care aide). and we are looking everywhere we can to see what we can find. they discharged the cat into my son in laws care because the kids couldnt pay the account in full and told him to take it and surrender it. the animal shelter that would have taken it was closed. The vet told us there was blood in the urine and it was in really bad shape. they told the vet they could pay $200. max upfront, due to their situation and the fact my daughter is still on maternity leave and my son in law is trying to get permanent residnce here in can. here is from the USA.

i have gone through every sighte i can find, trying to find them help. its not like the emergency hospital doesnt know me because they take fantastic care of my german shephered and pit bull. They bend over backwards to help me but even with all the help the vet said he could be, the owners of the hospital stated that they needed a min of $500. to start treatment. The shelter isnt open and we now have a partially drugged up cat that is in alot of pain that no one in this dang city wants to help. any advice from you all.

im sorry this is so long, i didnt know who else to turn too. i dont want to watch this guy die tonignt. anyone know if there is a society that can help.

please help give some advice on a charity co for cats and their owners
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Old August 13th, 2007, 11:29 PM
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luckypenny luckypenny is offline
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Location: St. Philippe-de-Laprairie, Qc
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I don't see what difference it would make if the cat is turned over to the vet, he gives it the care it needs, then gives it to another home . Wow, how senseless is that? He refused your kids a payment plan while you're such good clients? It might be a good idea to plead your case to the owner of the hospital personally if there's time.

Another thought...perhaps if you called several rescues/shelters in your area and asked if their vet might be able to treat the cat. They often charge much less if referred by the Rescue. About where are you located?
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Old August 14th, 2007, 06:55 AM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Location: Calgary, AB
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Can you check out this website?: http://www.imom.org/fa/emergency/index.htm They provide financial aid to those with pets needing medical care. I've linked you to their emergency funds section. Perhaps your vet would be willing to work with them, but you'll have to move fast. Good luck!
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Old August 14th, 2007, 07:48 AM
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coppperbelle coppperbelle is offline
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Location: Montreal
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Cat crystals

[QUOTE=luckypenny;464163]I don't see what difference it would make if the cat is turned over to the vet, he gives it the care it needs, then gives it to another home . Wow, how senseless is that? He refused your kids a payment plan while you're such good clients? It might be a good idea to plead your case to the owner of the hospital personally if there's time.
QUOTE]
I was thinking the same thing, why would they treat it and give it someone else. That makes no sense at all.



Where are you located in Canada?
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  #5  
Old August 14th, 2007, 12:56 PM
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Dr Lee Dr Lee is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luckypenny View Post
I don't see what difference it would make if the cat is turned over to the vet, he gives it the care it needs, then gives it to another home . Wow, how senseless is that?
I don’t know if this was the only option for you and your family – my post here is just to explain why some vets would do something that seems on the surface so senseless and heartless. I am very sorry for what you and your family is going through and wish you the best of luck.

Our hospital does the transfer, treat and re-adopt. We have saved quite a number of lives. Also for the pets who end up being treated for less than we expect – we often offer the owners to pay for the treatment at a discounted price and re-adopt the patient. The first hospital I worked for out of school didn’t – they just euthanized the pets or gave the clients the door. My first boss told me that euthanizing pets was one of the better ways of making money. There is good reason why I don’t work there.

It is hard to impossible to judge who should and who shouldn’t get a discount. There are so many pets that need help and money is tight for everyone. This is the solution that many of us have found to make sure that the when the money is not available that the pet doesn’t pay the ultimate price. Also for reasons of liability and a tremendous overhead, and the difficulty in not being able to judge people’s financial status, the transfer, treat, re-adopt is the best option that many of us vets have figured out. We have been coached by MBAs, CPAs and lawyers who don’t want us to even do that!

Any vet who does the transfer, treat, readopt is losing a lot of money in order to do that. If it wasn’t extremely inconvient for everyone, the discount services would be too common. We hate to do it but hate letting the pet suffer or die worse.

Some vets are able to explain this well and some are not. Again, I am not trying to say that your vet was right in saying this, just trying to explain why some vets do this.
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