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Cats bladder ruptured at Vets [Staff Warning on OP]

3,379 Views | 15 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by zooguy96
Guppy
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AG
Cross posted from Aggies Only - figure more traffic here.

My wife and I have a cat named Stanley that we've had for almost 3 years. He is a rescue animal and the sweetest cat.

Approximately 24-30 hours ago he begain to vomit and he repeatedly threw up throughout the night until it was just bile. He also had an accident on the bed at around 5 am (he urinated on the sheets.) We changed sheets and at around 9 am when we woke up we realized there was blood in his urine. Stanley (the cat) looked in pretty bad shape so we decided to rush him off to an emergency vet clinic.

We arrived and were seen fairly quickly by a Doctor. He diagnosed that Stanley had an inflamed bladder along with a few other issues. We agreed to have the necessary procedures performed and signed a bill stating we would owe between 1000-$1200 (a variable amount so there could be some flexibility).

3 hours after we left the doctor called us to inform us that when he was squeezing Stanley's bladder trying to drain it he accidentally ruptured his bladder and this would require an emergency operation along with several other lesser procedures. We agreed over the phone to do whatever he felt necessary to help our cat.

Our cat is currently sedated and the procedure to repair him should take place early tomorrow.

My question is since the Vet ruptured our cats bladder should we be held financially liable for the operation to repair it? Or should the vets office pay for the operation. He claimed this is only his 2nd bladder to ever burst on him in over 25 years of practice - but I wonder did he take every safety measure to prevent this from happening? Yes, our cat had a swollen bladder, but he ruptured it when he squeezed it trying to drain it. Why didn't he use a needle to drain it or a catheter?

I know mistakes happen, but we are now looking at an astronomically high vet bill. And our cats life is in jeopardy. There is a chance he will not recover from this and even if he does, due to a ruptured bladder, he will need extensive care afterwards.

So what say you? I'm torn on how to proceed and what to say. Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

[This thread has also been cleaned up. Posters will be respectful on this board or get banned. There's the warning. -Staff]
SteveBott
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I have had cats and dogs all my life and put down too many. You really need to review your financial position and see if spending thousands of dollars is in your family's interest.
aggiesq
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not the vets fault


eta - put the cat down. this is a personal decision, but i've been there. i love my pets, even the cats, but when my cat needed 4 figures worth of care i didnt hesitate to do it. i just cant justify spending that kind of money on an animal when there are kids in this world with much greater needs*





* the time i had this come up, we actually donated money equal to the vet's proposed bill to a local kids home.

FIDO*98*
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Quote:

There is a chance he will not recover from this and even if he does, due to a ruptured bladder, he will need extensive care afterwards.


Based on this, I'd go with powerbelly's suggestion. You gave the cat 3 years it wouldn't have had otherwise. Say goodbye and ask your veterinarian if they will wave the cost due to their error
SECeded
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Love Gun
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Reluctantly, I have to agree with the others. All dollar amounts aside, there's no guarantee that Stanley will return to normal. It's rough to lose a loyal friend, but it's for the best to not have him suffer.
skelso
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I'm not a veterinarian but I am a pet owner who has spent thousands on a single pet. Here's my thoughts:

There are no guarantees in medicine whether human or pet. If the vet has been in practice 25 years, I would hope he knows to not over promise results. However, I would also hope if he has been in practice that long he also understand the business side of things and offers some financial relief as a show of good faith.

Not wanting to speculate about your financial position, I do want to pass on some wisdom that was passed to me when I had multiple surgeries done on the lab I have now. Care Credit can be used for veterinary care, if your vet accepts it. They will usually allow you 0% interest for a certain period. Just have to make sure you pay it off in that amount of time.
Rachel 98
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As a vet I can say that a ruptured bladder is something that can happen but is a complication that I think the vet should pay for fixing. That's what they have liability insurance for. And despite what everyone else says, fixing a ruptured bladder is not that big of a deal surgically and is something that a cat can recover from without a lot of trouble. I definitely wouldn't expect long term problems from it. I'd let the vet fix it if it was my cat and expect him to not charge me for the surgical repair.
Aggietaco
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To respond to your original question and not board the "kill your cat" train, when my lab went into heat after her first spay... that vet paid for a specialty clinic to finish the job. I would have argued that with them, but they offered to take care of the tab about 5 seconds into the conversation about why my dog was wearing a diaper again.
FishrCoAg
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i have had the same thing happen to me once in 38 years of practice. There was likely some urethral "plugging" going on and the bladder wall may have been weakened. There are risks involved in needle draining as well. That said, I would discuss it with the dvm to see what they will do cost wise. If the bladder wall is not too compromised repair should be pretty straightforward with little long term problems. That is difficult to know before opening his abdomen.
zooguy96
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See if the vet will work with you (I.e maybe claim responsibility).

This is from someone who has spent large amounts of money on cats. They lived 17 and 16 years respectively.

Don't drain yourself financially, though.
Guppy
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First, thank you all for the thoughts and helpful advice. I am not trying to blame the vet, and I apologize if it looks like I did, I just am in shock that 2 days ago our cat was running around and fine and now he is in "guarded" condition due in large part to a ruptured bladder that he did not have when we took him into the vets office. I am just wondering if he took all precautions necessary. I am not a vet, nor in the medical profession. I fly an aircraft for a living. But my job as a captain is to manage risk to the lowest level. Do I use my training and experience to solve problems? Absolutely. But I never play statistical odds - I use every practical safety measure in place every time.

As far as money - to some it is just a cat - to my wife and I, Stanley is part of our family. Some decide to spent their money on new cars every few years, large houses, or other objects with their disposable income. My wife and I have decided that our pets are worth saving if we have the means. We are fortunate to have extra money and feel Stanley is worth it as he is less than 5 years of age. So is spending the money in our financial interest? Yes. To each their own in this regard I feel. However, the one poster made an excellent point in that instead of saving our cats life, donate the money to a local children's home. Something we will consider when our pets are older.

Part of me wishes I had that part in me that could say the money could be better spent elsewhere or saved and that putting the cat down is the smart thing to do. Guess I simply don't have it in me. Other than this medical issue, he is a young healthy animal. Had he been 12 or 13 - different story.
aggiedent
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Personally I wouldn't worry about what other people think regarding the fee to save your cats life. It's not the advice you were seeking. It's one of those cases where they ignored the questions but felt like giving you their 2 cents on another matter.

If saving your cats life is what you want to do and you have the money to do it, I say go for it and best wishes. Regarding your questions, I think RM98 gave you the best info.

Good Luck!!!
Guppy
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Thanks Aggiedent. I was not seeking approval for what we were doing, mostly curious had this happened to anyone before and how they handled it - which seemed to lead some posters down the money road, which I guess is just as big, if not bigger,of an emotional driver than a pets life - and that's fine.
Answers like RM98, AggieTaco and FishrCo were the ones I found helpful and informative.
zooguy96
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Dworak said:

First, thank you all for the thoughts and helpful advice. I am not trying to blame the vet, and I apologize if it looks like I did, I just am in shock that 2 days ago our cat was running around and fine and now he is in "guarded" condition due in large part to a ruptured bladder that he did not have when we took him into the vets office. I am just wondering if he took all precautions necessary. I am not a vet, nor in the medical profession. I fly an aircraft for a living. But my job as a captain is to manage risk to the lowest level. Do I use my training and experience to solve problems? Absolutely. But I never play statistical odds - I use every practical safety measure in place every time.

As far as money - to some it is just a cat - to my wife and I, Stanley is part of our family. Some decide to spent their money on new cars every few years, large houses, or other objects with their disposable income. My wife and I have decided that our pets are worth saving if we have the means. We are fortunate to have extra money and feel Stanley is worth it as he is less than 5 years of age. So is spending the money in our financial interest? Yes. To each their own in this regard I feel. However, the one poster made an excellent point in that instead of saving our cats life, donate the money to a local children's home. Something we will consider when our pets are older.

Part of me wishes I had that part in me that could say the money could be better spent elsewhere or saved and that putting the cat down is the smart thing to do. Guess I simply don't have it in me. Other than this medical issue, he is a young healthy animal. Had he been 12 or 13 - different story.



I understand. Our cat had an issue where we spent thousands of dollars. Not exactly easy on teaching salaries. But, they were part of our family. Our cat lived 3 extra years. Was it worth it to me? Of course. Would I do it again? Of course. It eventually got to a point were both were too old - nothing would save them.

But, doesn't sound like you are to that point yet. I hope your cat recovers. I love my pets more than most people.
JYDog90
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12 years ago our cat developed fatty liver disease and we had to spend $1400 and feed her through a stomach tube for 6 wks.

She's still around throwing up on our floors and waking me up at 5 in the morning today.

Spend the money.
zooguy96
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willie wonka said:

12 years ago our cat developed fatty liver disease and we had to spend $1400 and feed her through a stomach tube for 6 wks.

She's still around throwing up on our floors and waking me up at 5 in the morning today.

Spend the money.


This quote almost exactly describes my 17 yo cat who passed last year. Miss his meowing at 3 am in the morning cause he wanted to be petted. Dang, he was loud. Feral cat who I tamed, although he would revert any time he had to go to the vet (vet record had "cat from hell" on it).
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