CF vet???

[Millionpoundvet]

NC for this because it's very outing and I'd rather it didn't follow me around. For ease I'll refer to my friend as VF.

This is a bit awkward. One of my very, very good friends is a vet, she owns and runs two practices and has an impressive amount of qualifications; far more than your average vet. I'm not sure what they are, specialisms in some things.

I decided to move my pets to her practice because of the friendship, her expertise and I wasn't entirely happy with the old vet. She very kindly allowed my dd (12) to go and do a few hours of work experience, my animals have been well looked after whenever I've taken them. My kitten was neutered, vaccinated and chipped there, and they spotted and dealt with a potential abscess on his tail. All great.

I have an old lady cat, she's 14, still sprightly but had got very, very thin, was messing around the house and had moments of confusion. VF had been to my house a few times, cuddled the cat and I'd asked about what could be wrong with her. VF could feel a couple of thyroid lumps and suggested that she have an op to remove the thyroid gland. I booked her in and delivered her to the surgery. I didn't hear anything for a week or so, but didn't mind, I assumed VF was doing what needed to be done. I bumped into her in the pub a couple of days after that, and she tells me that the thyroid tests have come back as normal. She now suspects that it's lymphoma. She says the cat is too poorly to come home yet, she will discharge her soon.

Again, we hear nothing for a week or so. I ring the practice to ask about what's going on and I'm told "Oh, I'm not sure, it's VF dealing with this. Can I ask her to give you a ring?" No problem. However, no phone call either. Again, I bump into VF socially (lots of the same friends) and enquire about my cat. She doesn't have lymphoma now and is ready to come home. VF says something vague about the cat having a liver infection. Along the way I've asked her to keep an eye on the bill and tell me when it's gone over a certain amount (£600 quoted for thyroid op). If I ask her directly, she says "It's still in 3 figures."

Anyway (sorry, this is really long! Didn't want to dripfeed), I arranged to collect my cat yesterday and I am greeted with a bill of £1,250. I was absolutely gobsmacked. She's billed me for that huge amount, despite:

Cat didn;t have or need a thyroid op.

Cat didn't have lymphoma.

Cat has had no surgical procedures at all.

Cat has had a few blood tests and basically been left sitting there for three weeks, whilst I was under the impression that she was being treated for cancer!

I asked for a breakdown of the bill and was told they didn't have it ready but that they can post it to me.

Awkwardly, it was my friend doing the discharge and I didn't want to challenge her at the time, because I wasn't sure if the fee was a fair one, and I didn;t want to accuse her of something she hadn't done, so I paid the bill and left.

I came home to my partner (who is a GP) and he says that we've been taken for a ride by VF and he's furious about the bill. Now that I've had time to process it, I'm furious too.

But what should I do?? If I go back and complain it will make things very awkward between VF and I and I do genuinely like her. Or shall I just chalk it up to experience and move my pets elsewhere? I feel like I can't say nothing, but I also don;t want to overreact. Or have I done something wrong along the way which has allowed her to bill this much??

Opinions please :)

As someone who’s had two older cats with hyperthyroid - vets do a simple blood test, try them on medication for a while, and only if the meds don’t work consider surgery.

Yes - this is what happened with ours. She had a blood test and that confirmed the vet's suspicions, but because her heart (and kidneys, I think) were under strain from the hyperthyroidism, she was on medication for almost a year until her organs were strong enough for her surgery. She went in on the morning of her operation, and they kept her overnight after surgery to ensure she was okay (she was an old puss, too - 15) and we collected her the next day. In the meantime the vet rang to say he'd had her op, and that she was doing well, etc.

Unfortunately that particular vet has retired, and I don't trust the new one who took over the practice, so we are with a lovely vet about 20 minutes away now.

And now, what should I do? Leave it and not go back again? Question the bill and risk losing the friendship? What's the best approach? If questioning the bill would ruin the friendship then I would also think that not going back to her would also cause her to wonder why and possibly have the same effect.

Can't you just ask her for a breakdown of all/any treatment your cat has had and a breakdown of the bill? Surely that would be an entirely normal thing to do. You need to be sure of what the cat has had done so that things aren't repeated, results are followed up etc, and surely most people check through vet bills if they are above say £30 to see that they've been charged correctly?

The friend might have pulled a fast one with regard to the in-patient stay and the bill, or alternatively she might not. You'll only find out by communicating with her.

And do they really purr to self heal and if they're nervous?? I never knew that.

Yes, they do. I would expect knowledgeable owners to know this. I would be very annoyed at a small animal vet not knowing it because it's such a basic way to check on an animal's welfare and it's also fascinating in itself.

OP I think your friend is nowhere near as good a vet as she thinks she is. You say "she owns and runs two practices and has an impressive amount of qualifications; far more than your average vet. I'm not sure what they are, specialisms in some things." So you have some vague idea that she's good but haven't fully checked this out. It sounds as if she can talk the talk, but not walk the walk.

I wouldn't continue to be friends with someone who had caged an animal of mine for 3 weeks and not kept me informed. Yes, you were remiss, but you did it because you were very naive and trusted her as a friend and as a vet. Does she know whether the cat is insured or not? If she doesn't know, tell her you are putting an insurance claim in and want an itemised bill. That should scare her as my bet is the bill won't withstand that kind of scrutiny. If she isn't insured and VF knows this then say you're getting her insured and the company want full vet records because of her age.

I'd ditch the friendship and fight the cat's corner. I wouldn't go in all guns blazing, but I'd keep a neutral tone with VF now and allow the social side to die out.

As a vet, this whole story is so odd. Her approach to the case is very unusual, not ringing you at least once a day, the length of the stay and lack of diagnosis or treatment, and WTAF with her saying shes one of the top vets in the country!? She is not a good representation of our profession. I think she is either a bullshitter or there has been some SERIOUS miscommunication. I'm almost speechless if I'm honest. I really want to know what she was playing at!!! I really want to know who she is actually... but obviously not appropriate for you to name her.

An animal would NEVER be withheld until the bill was paid, its illegal.

And you would NEVER not get a printed itemised bill. EVER.

Get down there and demand an itemised bill and copies of the test results.

Finally, your cat sounds VERY unwell and really needs to be seen quickly by another vet in another practice. I'd be calling tonight or first thing tomorrow for an urgent appointment.

Great post LuckyKitty.

OP, honestly, you'd be better off at somewhere like Vets 4 Pets that are small animal specialists. £10 a month gets you on a plan. Like the vets on this thread like @LuckyKitty13 have said, this really isn't right. Or find an independent small pet vet.

Your cat must be getting vaccinations and annual/regular(ish) check-ups somewhere?

Pay it and go elsewhere next time. Not worth the ill feelings, especially if you might bump into her socially.

Does she have customer reviews online? What are they like?

I doubt this is the real story. If you got a print out of the vet's notes you might have your memory jogged as to what was going on.
I agree with the other posters here- you have been negligent in following up with the vet.
As for your GP husband...he is just that....a GP.

Get the notes and a print out of the bill. You have been 100% dozy so don't pass the buck onto your friend!

It may not be the real story, but it's definitely a story.

I also recognise the "she said something vague about liver disease" as an admission from you that you do not understand what she said but were too proud/lazy /disinterested to ask.

If your very good friend who is a professional vet cannot handle being asked for more information on what tests your cat had carried out, and an itemised bill, then they are neither a very good friend nor a professional.

Less angst more do, OP.
You have either
a) a poorly cat who has been ill-treated and needs more medical attention or
b) a well cat who's had an unfortunate, but quite cheap, spell in hospital.

You urgently need to know which.

This is really weird though, whenever i have a pet left at vets, I ring every day. Thats normal, surely?

That is a very reasonable price round here for being kept in a vets for 3 weeks to be fair. My main question though is why on earth do you not have pet insurance?!

Is the cat even vaccinated?

Still think this is weird..

Aged cat losing weight/vitality, yes thyroid issues, organ failure and cancer are all highly probable answers, but none require a 3 week stay at the vets to diagnose.

And yet the bill for that length of stay is cheap...

Is it possible she thought she was doing you a huge favour in keeping cat in and investigating everything, and has kept the bill low... but of course its higher than you expected...

I’m a veterinary nurse and everything about this story (from both sides) makes me want to smack my head off a wall.
OP, in all my years I have NEVER had an owner not push for updates (wether friends of the practice/staff or not). When we’ve been busy and not had a chance to call, an owner has persevered until updated.

You say two nurses fell in love with her, then they absolutely would have updated you.
Your story just doesn’t ring true to me.

ChrisPrattsFace, fellow RVN here, completely agree.

Sorry, haven’t RTFT but what?! You left your cat at the vet’s for two weeks without bothering to check if she was ok? FFS, if my cat is kept in at the vet I can’t think of anything else until she’s home with me, I’d be beside myself if she was there for two weeks! If I was your vet friend I’d be looking to get the poor little thing rehomed.

And now I’ve read it, your main concerns seem to be, have you been ripped off, and will your vet friend be offended if you question her! You STILL don’t seem to give a shit about the cat! You’re a disgrace, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Even if Noel bloody Fitzpatrick was looking after my cat 24/7 I would still be calling constantly for updates, your poor cat must have felt so abandoned no wonder the poor thing has come out worse than when it went in.

This breaks my heart. One of mine came in earlier this year with a swollen eye, to get him seen and treated at the emergency centre and a follow up the next morning at my normal practice was £280 all in. I could’ve waited until morning but it didn’t seem fair to him when I didn’t know what was wrong (turns out he’d smacked himself in the face with a tree twig. ) I can’t imagine leaving a cat for so long is a scary unfamiliar environment; just terrible. You need to take her to a decent vet and see if she’s OK, poor soul.

LoobyLou1976 whenever I’ve fell in love with one of my patients (happens a lot!) I do everything for them and to update owners - even if that animal is only staying as a favour to the vet, a friend of the manager or whatever!
I find it unresolved hard to believe that only the vet would update about that patient for THREE weeks!

Unresolved - incredibly** (autocorrect damn it!)

OP definitely needs to be reading the posts by @LuckyKitty13 and @ChrisPrattsFace, which lay out how incredibly odd this all is from the professional perspective, and maybe how to fix it.

Hopefully OP isn’t updating because she got her cat, who sounded quite ill (not moving back legs is a big deal) in to see another vet this evening, and OP, I hope you’re able to go into the original vet’s office and demand an itemized bill for your £1200+ tomorrow. I know you said you didn’t get a bill at all. This is just unreal as a level of unprofessionalism, but then again, so was your CF friend claiming she was A BIG TIME #1 SUPER SPECIAL VET to begin with, so that probably should have been the first red flag. Still, I hope you at least have a receipt as some kind of proof that you paid. This could all get a bit ugly before it’s over. CFs, when and if confronted, don’t usually just go, “Oh yes, so sorry, that was ridiculous of me; let me just fix everything, especially at great cost to myself.”