Cattery Negligence to the point of being sniffed to the veterinary hospital within two hours of being home

[NoTimeToDillyDally]

We are very upset. Our cat has diabetes and was very stable before we put her in the cattery for two weeks. We took her for a check up the very day we took her in - just to check she was on the right dose (weight and glucose levels, etc.). All was great. A letter from the vet was given to the cattery, along with her needles and insulin.

In short, we collected her this morning and she was admitted to the vet (for at least 3 days) for being unable to walk properly, 5% dehydration, a loss of 700g in weight since going in, sunken eyes, lethargic to the point of laying on the floor, etc.

The cattery claim she's been absolutely fine but was a bit quiet this morning.

What do we do?

I'm despairing! Although I'm confident in the be
We have a bill of over £1000 but MOST distressing, a terribly poorly cat who quite unnecessarily has been and now is in this state.

If a child had been in a residential camp and been returned in this state, the Social Services would've been contacted.

The cattery claims they'd had no concerns about my cat until this morning, when we collected her but are now saying she'd been seen by a visiting vet, twice.
None of this makes sense.

How can they have been negligent if they've had the cat seen by a vet, twice?! That's the very opposite of negligent surely?!

Presumably because if a vet had examined the cat it would've had treatment and not be in the state it is now

OP that's appalling. The cattery must be insured I hope so should be ok to pay your vet bill.

Hope your cats ok

But the cat has diabetes, it can be very unpredictable. At this point the OP has no proof at all that the cat has become unwell through lack of care by the cattery.

Cats don't lose 700g overnight...

My cat was extremely stable. Since we go for very regular checks at the vet, to monitor her insulin (glucose levels and weight), we know she's been stable for months now.

If I can be clear, when we collected her this morning, our cat (with well managed diabetes) was unable to walk properly, had lost a very significant amount of weight, was unresponsive, lay flat other than when she attempted to walk, fell when she tried to jump, was very dehydrated and had sunken eyes. Her breathing was not normal and neither were the noises that she was making.

She was fit and healthy, responsive and reactive when we took her in and she'd been so for months.

Your first step would be for the treating vet to obtain the clinical records from the vet who saw her whilst she is the cattery to determine why she was presented, what treatment was prescribed and what follow up actions were advised. It is entirely normal for one practice to request records from another in this situation.

Lonecat that's a good idea. I'll ask the vet to contact the 'vet' they now admit saw my cat twice. He's a vetinaru student, apparently. It appears that no records have been taken of my cat's food, drink or insulin administration and when we called after having seen the state of her when we got her out of her cat box, we could not BELIEVE their response: they don't keep records of these things but they've possibly got something written on the chalk board. My DH has given them 24 hours to come up with all
and any records including visits from
their 'vet'.

Lies
Lies
So many lies.

We've gone from: she's been absolutely fine but is a bit quiet today, to...

We had a visiting 'vet' see her twice and she was only given half her vet-instructed insulin dose this morning as she'd not eaten much by 8am!

A veterinary student? They can not and should be providing care without the direct supervision or direction of a qualified veterinary surgeon ( there are specific legal definitions of supervision and direction and what tasks are suitable).
Some of the things that spring to mind would be incorrect storage and administration ( poor injection technique) of insulin. Poor communication leading incorrect insulin dosage, I have had a case of this involving a cat sitter and the cat sitting service's insurance covered the not inconsiderable bill for sorting the mess out. The cat sitting service now have record sheets at the homes recording what cat ate when, insulin dose when given by whom etc.

How long was your cat with them? It is not unusual for a cat in an unfamiliar location to feel a little stressed and go off their food. Did the instructions provided to the cattery include anything about amending the dosage if the cat was not eating the normal amount? If the cat had refused food would the insulin dosage given have caused the symptoms you are seeing now?

Lone cat, exactly that. They have no records other than what might still be scribbled on the chalkboard, according to the owner.
I cannot believe they let her become so terribly ill and not notice unless they didn't go near her or look at her for two weeks. Anyone seeing her degenerate by seeing her twice daily (to administer insulin) would've noticed. It's dismal.

And there's no way on earth acetobacter student should've been giving advice. But so many lies... we were told they'd had no concerns other than her being quiet the morning we collected her.
Now, they say a veterinary student did see her twice.
Why didn't they mention having halved the insulin dose the morning of collection? No records of her foo, drink or insulin. Abhorrent.

Kate, I agree. It's not at all unusual for a pet to go off their food and be unsettled or withdrawn - but not to the extent of losing this much weight, becoming dehydrated, unresponsive and unable to walk.
They'd have noticed her decline if they'd been monitoring her.
We did, of course give them the vet letter with clear instructions on the insulin dosage and timings. They'd assured us they'd take her to their insurance-covered vet (also our own vet) should they have any concerns. This is neglect of the worst kind.

A vet student (not acetobacter)

What do you want OP though?

Money back for the cattery fees?

You wont really get anything in terms of compensation for an ill cat. I did vet negligence on a couple of cases a few years ago. If the animal dies as a result of negligence you get the cost of the cat.

The vet bill should be compensated.

Thanks for your comments.

My cat is still in hospital with the vet. The cattery has accepted full responsibility for not having noticed how ill she'd become in their care (for not noticing she'd not been eating or drinking had lost 18% of her body weight, was so ill she could no longer walk, etc.).
THIS WAS NOTHING RELATED TO HER DIABETES and the cattery had not been giving her the vet-stipulated insulin dose, either. Much was wrong. My poor cat is not yet well enough to be home with us SEVEN DAYS LATER.

It's a clear case of negligence and unnecessary suffering. The cattery have now taken responsibility, having been spoken to by the vet. They're paying the current bill (now over £3000) and all related follow up bills plus related expenses.

We hope that our cat will be stable, pain free and able to come home soon.

This sounds utterly horrendous and you are quite right to be raging with them. Paying the bills is the least they can do. I hope your poor cat is recovering now with proper treatment but it's awful what suffering they have caused.

It really is. I'm so upset. We all are. To get her out of the car box and see her so very ill was an absolutely horrendous shock. It was quite obvious to me that she was dying. I'm very grateful to my vet, who told the cattery, in no uncertain terms, that they were responsible and that they should have systems in place to notice whether cats are eating, drinking, losing weight etc.

That is terrible, I hope your poor cat recovers fully

Good to hear the cattery are paying all bills, and I hope they haven't charged you for the stay either.

Can they be reported to some 'body' somewhere?

THIS WAS NOTHING RELATED TO HER DIABETES

Dont shout at us op.

We can read block capitals or not.

Oooh, is there a prize for gratuitously dickish post of the day babe?

Was wondering the same thing.

Looking forward to collecting my cat from the hospital tonight. Have bought a pet fountain for her (she used to jump to drink at the tap in the sink so this will be safer while she's still weak).
Thanks for everyone's advice, care and concern. I'm glad to say that, having been given a straight taking by the vet, the cattery have used their insurance to pay out the bills and all related expenses (liability claim). They've also refunded the stay. So, most importantly, we can focus on getting her well. First bill alone was well over £3000, so this was no small thing.

Hope she is back to herself soon, OP.

Aaah, thank you. Really appreciate that. We are on our way to collect her, now.

This would absolutely break my heart if this happened to my cat. Your poor puss. I don't care if they're covering the bills now, it's unforgivable to neglect a cat like that and then lie about it. Hope she's doing ok.