I recently took my cat to the vet because he is excessively cleaning himself to the point of baldness. The vet examined him, took blood for immune tests and ran the fecal test. She also insisted that I have him re-tested for FIV, claiming that he didn't look as if he had it. (He tested positive with another vet.) When all was said and done, the bill was $200 and I have NO results. And, he is STILL FIV positive! The vet doesn't know what is wrong and stated that they would call me with the results of the blood work. I have yet to get a phone call and my cat is STILL licking himself. I went ahead and placed a "Stop Payment" on the check as I feel I should not pay for something that did not yield any results. What are your views?
2006-11-25 04:03:46 · 16 answers · asked by LuckyOne 2 in Pets ➔ Cats
Yes, you have to be careful with some people. Sounds like this guy is an amateur, or just graduated from Vet School. No, you are not wrong! Your baby is bald for crying out loud. Maybe he has a nervous disorder of some kind. They make psych meds for cats. I'm no vet, but I'm a mother of 2 cats & sounds like I know a lot more than this idiot. Good Luck.
2006-11-25 04:27:05 · answer #1 · answered by maggie w 2 · 1⤊ 3⤋
I would not pay until i got the results. Then if you get results and he still doesnt know what is wrong maybe finish the payment and find another vet. Vets should be trusted individuals, not scam artists that like to take advantage of people and it makes me so mad when i hear of vets like this. Also confront him on why he insisted that he be retested and charged you money for it, FIV doesnt go away so there was no sense in charging you extra for that so i personally would not be paying for that test. Definently get another vet though.
2006-11-25 07:33:24 · answer #2 · answered by mushroompumpkin 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unfortunatly, the services were rendered and just as a human doctor would need to collect for their services a veterinarian's office is just the same. If you do not agree with your veterinarian you could speak to the office manager and see if you get any results. You can ALWAYS request a copy of your pet's medical records and as long as you do not owe any money, the front office staff should provide you with your pet's records. If your veterinarian's office only has the one vet, after you get your pet's records you could take them to another vet's office and request them to be reviewed and get a 2nd opinion. I do feel you should pay the vet you already saw. Since you have not heard back from the vet you should call to see if the results of the bloodtest have come in yet. Your vet may not be eqipped with a lab and need to send the blood elsewhere to have the blood ran.
2006-11-25 05:33:56 · answer #3 · answered by Stacey 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You still owe the vet. He still examined the cat and has to pay the lab for the blood tests.
As far as your cat I think that his excessive licking might be due to stress. I had a cat that did that. The vet gave us some tranquilizers (I never used them) and told us to give the cat "her own space". (A place to relax). So we cleaned out a bottom shelf in a linen closet and put a blanket in there. That was her space and she would go there to be alone. She stopped the excessive licking soon after that.
Take a good look at your home. Is there something that is causing your cat undue stress?
2006-11-25 04:41:43 · answer #4 · answered by msnite1969 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well FIV doesnt go away so if it tested positive befor you took it to the vet that time you shouldnt of had him retested.
yes you should still pay as the vet did these tests to find out what the problem is. i would call them up to see if they have the results yet.
also your cat may have a behaveral issue as over grooming is a common sine of stress or depression
2006-11-25 04:12:07 · answer #5 · answered by Joanne 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You took the cat to the vet, you have to pay for it- plain and simple. Your vet may not have the equipment to find what's wrong with your cat- there are some diseases that take expensive tests in big animal hospitals, but the vet put time and equipment toward testing your cat. It doesnt matter if he didn't get any results- you have the responsibility to pay.
2006-11-25 04:08:32 · answer #6 · answered by piratewench 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Unfortunately, because you agreed to the services which were rendered, you do have to pay for them. Running the tests costs the vet clinic money and time. However, because you got no results, there is nothing wrong with talking to your vet and asking if he would reduce the cost, even if just a little bit, or if could work out a payment plan (if 200$ is a lot for you to pay at once.)
2006-11-25 04:14:49 · answer #7 · answered by Zoe 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
I agree with many of the others that said payment is deserved when services are rendered.
Also- you may want to try pheremone treatments to help the cat to relax. This may reduce the excessive grooming. Has anything changed in the house around the time this habit started? It could be something as big as a new person or pet in the home or something as small as changing the brand of food or litter. Some cats do not deal with change well.
One other thing you will want to keep in mind- Making enemies with the local Veterinarian may prevent your pet from getting care when he/she needs it the next time.....
2006-11-25 06:27:42 · answer #8 · answered by betsyssi2 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
uh oh. i don't think a court of law will see things your way. A vet is obligated to do all procedures that he charged you for. the vet is NOT obligated to ensure that those procedures produce results that you want.
furthermore, a test that gives you a Negative is not "no result". sometimes the way you test for certain difficult diseases is to rule out alll other diseases, which means that you have to accumulate a lot of negative answers in order to make that diagnosis.
thirdly, medicine is expensive. most people don't realize that because human beings have insurance. MOST veterinarians aren't trying to scam their clients. after all, if you get a reputation for being a scammer, then your business will crumble and fall. $200 actually doesn't sound that bad to me. my cat has a chronically infected toe and i had to pay $800 over the course of several months to try to get it cured. eventually we ended up taking him to the vet school where i spent another $300. now it is doing much better. once in a while, it gets expensive to take care of pets. if that irritates you, then you should find an alternate solution rather than going to the vet.
2006-11-25 04:26:09 · answer #9 · answered by blackglass337 2 · 3⤊ 3⤋
agree with first answer - but I would go back to the surgery and get printo ut of their findings and results, so when you get a second opinion you can show the new vet what has been done already
2006-11-25 04:08:50 · answer #10 · answered by rose_merrick 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋