[BarneyBearsMum]

Last week my 2 year old cat was not himself, slightly better ater a couple of days but not right, so I took him to the vet Sat. Was asked if he was eating -no , Drinking -yes, got the runs- no, weeing-yes.
She examined him and said he has a blockage in his urinary tract and would need to admit him for sedation and a catheter to unblock him, cost £120.

Vet left the room to get consent papers, on return said because its saturday they would have to keep him till Monday as there would be no one to discharge him and the cost was now £160.(Gulp but ok).

Vet then left room again as had brought no papers back,
Just then my mum who was in the waiting room came in and asked if everything ok as vet had just gone to receptionist and whispered something and they had both laughed.
When the returned papers put on table for me to sign and i noticed that the cost said £300, When questioned about this
vet only repeated what they had said about board and now blood tests for kidney damage.

I said sorry there is no way I can afford this and I will have to try and find another Vet (not happy about 3 prices given in the space of 10 mins. Vet then said they would try to relieve
cats bladder by drawing urine off with a sringe, got about 20ml and my now angry cat jumped off the table and wee'd all over the vet and the floor, I asked if cats with blockages can wee, Vet replyed that it may have temperarally disloged but if i didn't get him to another vet he would more than likly be dead by tomorrow.
Cat went home had a drink and went to bed , got up wee'd in his tray and now acting just as normal (I am keeping a close eye on him)
Have now registered with a different vet.

[DaisyBumbleroot]

That sounds very unprofessional of them, I don't blame you for changing.

Vets are expensive and theyre a business like any other, but ours lets us pay on payday if we need them checking over quick, and when we've had big bills, they've let us pay over three months, which helps immensely. They know they're expensive but they also understand the pets needs come first and they know we're good to pay. Since Ren had about a grands worth of surgery, tests etc June 2011 to march 2012, I've taken insurance for the other two.


Have you had a second opinion though from your new bet to be on the safe side?

[molliepops]

I would be inclined to find another vet and get another opinion, but they could be right and have dislodged a blockage. One of my dogs had something similar and turned out to be bladder stones and had to have a special diet to counteract their formation.

[BarneyBearsMum]

Thank you both for taking the time to read my v long post.
I would have gone with the diagnosis if he had shown any symptoms of a blockage, I did tell the vet he was drinking and weeing, he just looked "off colour" He's now back to his usual self.
the problem was the way the vet put the consent form on the table with the other paper partly on top and aked me to sigh, not mentioning it was now £140 more than quoted.

[duffsdad]

Our vet doesn't give a price til the end of the consultation and everything's explained giving you options. It does seem that some are more money orientated than others and I would say go with your gut instinct and you're doing the right thing in moving.

We had to take one of our dogs to the vet tonight as he hurt his paw. He was in such pain we just ran out the door and only had £30 on us. They were happy for us to hand the rest in next week. Our last vet would have made us sit while one of us went to the bank first regardless of how much pain the dog was in.

[BrambleRamble]

Got a brillaint vet just now but have had real chancers in the past. They are a bit like dentists. You get ones who are just in it for the money and are really unprofessional and others who care deeply about the animals and the owners and do all they can to help.

[niki1969]

This does not sound right. One of our cats has had a blocked urinary tract twice now and he was unable to pee which was one of the main symptoms I am glad you decided to change your vets, you have to be able to trust them as much as you would your own doctor. Hope your cat is ok now

[sallygill1961]

i have a fantastic vet nothing is too much trouble they give you time to pay huge bills the animals health is priority and the vet tries his best to keep costs low he is brilliant with both my cats and my guinea pigs