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]
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]