Pet emergency, 24 hour facility and bad outcome.

Sonic dB · Sonic dB's Garage

Sometimes life jumps up and kicks you in the teeth when you dont expect it, but this one is bothering me so I thought Id ask you guys your opinions.

I left on Monday for an annual trip to Vegas to attend the NAB conference there and meet up with some old friends. I planned to only stay for 2 days and be back in LA on Wed. night. I had my normal pet sitter come over to feed my 2 older cats and give the 2x small insulin shot to the 13 year old diabetic female cat. She was getting 2 shots of 3U per day which is a pretty small amount. She had always handled this very well and had never any side effects in the 4 years that we were treating her diabetes.

I woke up on Tuesday morning in Vegas and there were frantic messages from my cat sitter. She said that she had found Eddie almost dead on the floor and she rushed her to the vet but my normal vet was not in, so she took her to this 24 hour emergency vet that they recommended. She gave me the number to call this 24 hour vet... so I did.

The doctor there said that Eddie had gone into insulin shock for low blood sugar but they had succeded in starting to pull her out of it and her blood sugar was rising and they had it at 100 at that point. She said that the prognosis appeared to be good and that often in the past they had cats come out of this. They required a credit card from me and estimated the bill to be in the range of $1500-2600.

I swallowed hard when I heard that amount but I have spent thousands on this cat already for her treatment over the years, and I love the cat very much, she was very sweet. So I figured that if they were saving her life then I supposed that it was worth it....what was I going to do...let her die when I was out of town?

So I started to drive back to LA and I got a call midway through the trip and it was this 24 hour vet and she said that Eddie may have a tumor in the chest and she wanted to do an ultrasound...I said go ahead and she promised to call me back with the results...but she never did.

4 hours later I got home and went straight to the vet...she informed me that Eddie was "a very sick cat" and likely would not make it. I saw Eddie and she was almost catatonic, bobbing her head up and down in her incubator on drugs and life support. It was very sad. I started sobbing, crying...which I never do, I never cry but this hit me so hard I couldnt help it. The vet said that even if they operated Eddie had less than a 5% chance of making it... so I decided to have her euthanized. We did that when she was in the cage there, but before we did the process I petted Eddie and she seemed to recognize me and started purring a little, but her eyes were dialated from the drugs that they had given her and she tried to get out of the cage when I was there for the first time all day. They said that she hadnt shown any signs like this, until I got there.

I was very very upset and they presented me with the bill of $1880 which they ran on my credit card already. I got the itemized list of charges and left the facility feeling absolutely terrible. I still feel terrible 2 days later and miss my cat very much.

Yesterday I went in to my normal vet, who is very good and very cool guy and when I told him about the $1880 bill, he said "thats ridiculous, seems way too large for less than 1 day in their facility". I gave him a copy of the bill and asked him to call over there if he could. I havent heard back from him yet.

I also called this 24 hour facility and politely complained about the costs and they said that "Earl" their office manager would review the charges and call me back, which he hasnt.

I feel that they are doubling the charges that I really should be paying. I feel that up to $1000 would be fair for their efforts, but $1880 is really out of line. It seems like 'insult to injury' since I was given the impression initially that my cat would be OK...only to find later that she was "very sick with 5% chance to live" etc.

Ive talked with friends and family and they all agree that the cost are high...so Im considering, if the facility does not call me back, or not make an adjustment... possible legal action like small claims court. Honestly I dont know what chance that I have to win, probably none... but in my gut I feel that they took advantage of my situation of emergency, being out of town, hazy prognosis to get credit card and over bill considerbly.

Its hard enough to lose my cat of almost 14 years, but this is kind of a kick in the gut too...any opinions? thx.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

sorry to hear...god speed to Eddie.

I had to euthanize a very sick cat at a 24-hour facility a few years back. As I recall it wasn't cheap either. If your regular vet feels the charges are excessive then I'd dispute the charge with the CC company and go from there.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

I tend to trust my instincts and listen to my little voice when it tells me something is up.

Too bad about your cat, sounds like Eddie was lucky to have found you

livi · 04-17-2008, 11:59 AM

Sorry about your cat. Awful business.

Sonic dB · Sonic dB's Garage

Thx guys.

Also I should mention that Im not blaming my pet sitter, she said that she dosed Eddie properly the night before but Eddie wasnt eating which was odd to her. She also did her best the next day...Ive been using her for several years and she knows her stuff so I dont think she overdosed Eddie...it just happened and maybe this alleged tumor, which I didnt see could have caused the low blood sugar.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

If he got his insulin and did not eat much, that would do it. Maybe the tumor was the genesis, maybe because you were out of town, maybe, maybe. 13 is pretty old for a diabetic cat, figure they age at least a few years for each year with diabetes, physiologically.

Rikao4 · 04-17-2008, 12:17 PM

You tried, that is all Eddie could ask for.
Take comfort in that he saw, and recognized his friend before taking the walk across the rainbow bridge.

Rika

KFC911 · 04-17-2008, 12:24 PM

I'm very sorry for your loss. If I were in you position and didn't get a satisfactory "adjustment", I'd dispute the charges through my CC company. Good luck!

edited: oops, I didn't see Nostatic's response.

Gogar · 04-17-2008, 12:26 PM

Sorry about Eddie.

Do you still have him? Maybe your regular vet could do a "Cat-topsy" on him, so you could at least find out about the tumor. Good vets sometimes will do it just for the education of it; and it can provide you with a little peace. You can also find out if the emergency vet was BSing and maybe trying to ring up your bill a little.

Godspeed, Eddie!

Sonic dB · Sonic dB's Garage

Rikao...yes I take some comfort in that I was able to see her before she was gone, but at the same time I feel a little guilt that i wasnt there for her when she had the seizure, but that irrational thinking i know.

Gogar, that is a good point im going to try and get copies of the records from this 24 hour vet, including the scan of her abdomen and give them to my regular vet.

Dueller · 12:32 PM

Well, she probably knew it was her time. Can't beat up on yourself...you were there for her at the end.

As to the vet issue, I think you should stop by in person and talk with the vet in charge. Explain your concern over the bill without getting hostile. Ask for an itemized list of the services performed. With permission from your vet tell them that your vet feels the bill is excessive on its face. If he doesn't offer some reasonable compromise you can accept, inform him you are going to dispute the charges and stop payment on you credit card. Inform him you will be contacting the state veterinary board and turning this matter over to their fee dispute division.

This is the advice of my brother who is a vet. His reaction was that he could imagine no heroics that would warrant such a bill. He figures there is no way the bill should be higher than $500 + the after hours emergency fee (typically $150-200).

Gogar · 04-17-2008, 12:32 PM

Oops, I forgot to add:

I had a pretty bad experience once at the emergency vet with an old girlfriend and her sick cat. We took the cat in; not eating and diharretic and obviously unhappy about something at about 11PM one night.

The emerg vet came back with a "treatment estimate" of about $1200, which was WAAAY out of the question for either of us at that point in our lives.

We got a lot of disgusted stares when we finally decided we could swing about $300-400 bucks and asked "Can we try a couple of the most important things tonight for the kitty and see how he does? We can't come up with that kind of money right now for ourselves, much less the kitty."

The whole experience gave me nightmares about the future where pet owners get arrested for ANIMAL CRUELTY when they refuse "emergency treatment" for their pets.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

Speaking as someone who went through something very similar recently, I feel your pain. I wish you consolation in this difficult time. Losing a pet like that is awful. I still get torn up thinking about how cruelly Charlie was taken from us in what should have been the prime of his life. We've moved on and adopted two other cats who needed a loving home, but there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of Charlie (I still have his picture as my windows desktop at work and at home and likely won't change it anytime soon). I don't WANT to forget what a great companion he was.

Something to look into for the future - veterinary insurance. Yes, there really is such a thing and I have it on my cats now. The costs can simply get too high and the last thing I'd ever want is to be in a situation where it's up to money (or lack thereof) that forces me to have to see a family member (and I view my pets as nothing less) have to be put down.

Awful to hear. I'm with you. I hope things look up for you. Here's a link for you and anyone else so interested:

http://www.petsbest.com/ There's also VPI, which I think is offered through ASPCA, which is pretty good too.

scottmandue · 04-17-2008, 12:34 PM

Sorry to hear of your loss... you did a good job of taking care of Eddie for his short time here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tobra

13 is pretty old for a diabetic cat, figure they age at least a few years for each year with diabetes, physiologically.

I'm no vet and I haven't dealt with a diabetic cat but I was thinking the same thing. I have raised several generations of cats and 15-17 is about normal for a healthy cat give or take a few years.

Sonic dB · Sonic dB's Garage

update: I just called them and requested copies of everything, and they set an appointment for me to talk with the office manager tomorrow about the bill and pick up the records. I doubt that they are going to make adjustments, but we will see tomorrow.

Dueller, thanks so much for your brother's opinion as a vet. That is the plan of action that Im going to follow!

Porsche-O-Phile, she was too old for vet insurance by the time she was diagnosed with the diabetes at 9 or 10! Next time I will get them insured faster...im thinking about adopting a new cat or a kitten to keep my other cat who is 16 company in his later days. Nothing will replace Eddie, but new faces are always welcome and add to the life around here. Id get a dog but I live in an apt.

dtw · 04-17-2008, 12:38 PM

Sorry to hear about your kitty. Seems as though those places vs. regular vet clinics are often like the difference between convenience stores and grocery stores.

May you have many happy Caturdays with your remaining friend.

Dueller · 04-17-2008, 12:46 PM

Another thing my brother mentioned. Explain at this point you have no reason to think they committed malpractice given the cat's age and medical condition. Ask if they have frozen the corpse in the event you do need an autopsy.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

If you're anywhere close to Long Beach I can put you in touch with my vet who did the autopsy on Charlie and now cares for Bonnie, Linus & Lucy. He's very good and extremely professional.

Seric · 04-17-2008, 12:55 PM

Sorry to hear about your cat

Those 24 places are insane price-wise. My dog swallowed a cat toy one night and we called a 24 hour place and they wanted $1200 to examine and treat. Ended up feeding her Hydrogen Peroxide to induce vomitting. Still scary...

Sonic dB · Sonic dB's Garage

Here is a copy of the invoice. They nickled and dimed on everything. Dr. Liebel is my normal vet.

She has probably been cremated by now, so an autopsy isnt going to work. I didnt ask for the ashes back
its hard enough to accept this without having that, however I could have spread her ashes somewhere..but her soul was gone by then. I dont know how I feel about that exactly, maybe i made a bad choice but i wasnt prepared to do anything because it was so sudden.