Vets fees

[townend81]

Hi.

 

I'll try and keep a long story as short as possible.

 

Recently, one of our three cats had start to find it difficult to climb on things or jump. He was really struggling with his back legs. He couldn't even swivel/turn round without completely falling over. We took him to the the vet who had a quick look over him (I personally wouldn't call it thorough) and came to the conclusion he was constipated. I thought it a bit strange due to his symptoms but thought they'd know what's what so went along with it. They gave him an injection for "pain relief" although he wasn't showing any signs of pain and a course of cat laxitive. Along with the consultation fee, the total came to £61.

 

After the weeks course of catalax had finished, there was no change in his condition whatsoever.

 

Then a couple of days after (a friday I think) he had what I would describe as a seizure or fit. It was absolutely terrifying. We phoned the vet a.s.a.p but they couldn't see him until after the weekend. He had another 4 or 5 fits over the weekend (That we saw).

 

So we took him back to the vet on the tuesday (i think) and saw a different person this time. They gave him a really thorough check and noticed a few things that worried us, especially as the previous vet hadn't. They noticed he had enlarged lymph noids which was a worrying sign and said it's possible he might have leukemia. Anyway, they quoted us £120 for tests and a scan so we went ahead with this. The blue cross offered to pay some as were on a low income due to me being in college just now. We took him in for the tests and scan and when we went to pick him up, we got handed a bill for £246! The lady said they forgot to add the blood tests to the quote or something.

 

Now I dont mean to sound like money is the most important thing because obviously our cat is very important to us but we struggle enough as it is without this.

 

Do you think there's anything we can do about the first (poor) diagnosis or the mis quote?

 

P.S 2 of the 3 tests and the x-ray came back clear. The third test got sent away to a university and we wont hear back for a week or so.

[hightail]

Do you know what tests were done? I'm guessing the x-ray was over £100 and they would have done an in-house blood test including FeLV/FIV which could have been another £40/£50. The remainder is about the right amount for a lab blood panel.

 

Did they show you the results of an in-house blood panel and did they tell you what lab tests they reqested?

[townend81]

Hi. The work done was:

 

Sedate cat £17.92

Radiography 1st exposure £55.32

Radiography, additional exposures £39.47

Blood sample £11.27

Vet Test general bio-chem profile (in-house)

Haematology (in-house laboratory)

Lab GUVS retrovirus/coronavirus profile £55.20

 

They never showed us the blood test results, they just told us they were clear. I think the last thing on the list is the one they sent away. I dont know what it means though. They did say his white cell count was high but didn't say why.

 

I dont know anything about it but it seems reasonable.

 

It was just the first visit to the vet seemed like a total waste of time and money. Should I write them a letter or something?

[hightail]

White cell count can be high because of recent infection - it would be in you if you had a cold.

 

You're not there yet on where to question costs but you might get there. Please check your private messages. This now gets a bit technical and I will need two numbers from the in-house haematology to check if there is justification for the lab test they've requested. Please ring your vet tomorrow and ask for those figures.

[townend81]

Replied. Thank you