Did I get ripped off at the vet?
Found my cat lethargic and yowling. Took him into see East Plane Animal Hospital. Dr. Rosen said he would need catheterization, antibiotics, fluids, urine analysis, and an overnight stay or he would die. Ofcourse I submitted. The approximate charge right now is $400. Has anyone had a similar situation and how much did you pay? Want to know for next time this happens.
Thanks
Honey 
not sure about the amount, but he misdiagnosed my parents' cat years ago and we switched to Tranquility Vet. Dr. Hewitt is wonderful!
justcurious Yeah, Dr. Rosen... I don't know about that guy. I've been taking my female dog there for her annual shots for five years now and every time he comes into the room he sees my dog and asks "How's he doing?".
RJ my cat had same problem and took to another vet in Hackettstown and it cost me a little over $600.00. Did same stuff and he had to stay overnight.
Craig With almost a decade of vet tech experience, I would say he is hydrating him with fluids, Antiboitic for an infection and cath for possible stones ??? The overnight stay is for U not to worry about the the urinary cath if that is infact where he placed it. The urinalysis will let them know more. Did they do it inhouse or send it out??? Your cat may have had bloodwork done within six months of this time, did they do it at ur visit today, (it would tell more about organ effiencies and blood cell counts). Every vet practices different. As far as your charges that sounds about normal.
I hope your kitty is back to normal soon. It's so hard to see our "4 legged" kids in such distress. Hope this helps :)
Luckygirl First off, I hope your cat gets well! Second, I'd think that it would be a bit premature without first finding a reason for the cat's pain for a vet to say that the animal will die unless it stays overnight, no? I know when that happened to the cats at the clinic where I worked in the past, they'd scan for stones, hydrate IF dehydrated, and check the urine. Sometimes an overnight stay was required, but not all the time. I'm also not the biggest fan of that vet as he told me that my small pet was a female when in fact it was a male. It's a good thing that I noticed before I got another female as a cage buddy for HIM!
Deedle I have used Dr Rosen for many years and the one thing I will say is that he has never pushed any unnecessary testing and has always taken the cheaper way first to see if it works. He's never been an alarmist about my cats condition. He has done testing, and I've had 3 sick cats since I've been going to him, never thought he was ripping me off or doing anything unnecessary, not once.
Bessie I agree with LuckGirl. Also in the vet industry myself, it sounds like he's doing the minimum until the test results come back. In the meantime, he's trying to stabilize the animal by hydrating it, protecting/treating infection with antibiotics, and observation. I know that sometimes, when we are faced with dire emergencies with our pets, it can be difficult to remember everything the doctor says. Did he really say he "would die", or did he say it another way? If kitty was severely dehydrated and had a low body temperature, there is a chance he may not turn around and come out of it. You did the right thing leaving him there, price sounds about right, but the only negative thing is there are certainly no guarantees. Write any questions you may have and keep in contact with him throughout the entire process.
I hope your kitty feels better.
3wbdwnj
shoebie when I took my cat to the vet they said he could not urinate and that he was blocked. They said he would die without being treated. So you did the right thing.
From my own experience with 2 of my male cats they can get blocked and if they cannot urinate they will die. They were both trying to urinate and crying and so we rushed them to the vet.My vet said to try to give more canned food, that cats fed dry have more problems. My cats both had to have a tube put in so they could go. Hope you kitty does well!!!!
We've used Fredon Animal Clinic in the past and we only had to pay a little over $100 for surgery on one of our dogs. They actually repeated the process for free after the condition came back again and their service is very good. Just a bit far from Hackettstown.
Liz New in Town Not long ago our Jazzy got very sick. The ER VET Center said she needed to stay over and get loads of tests. I REFUSD! Been there done that. I told THEM what the y would do woth the pet step by step. Th eoriginal quote with overnight and all the shebang was over $1400!!!!! We left there under $400 and she got better. Of course if she didnt we would have gone back BUT the moral of the story is tell the vet to start out with the most obvious then work your way up.
Christine If she didn't get better, you would hope she would get the chance to go back alive and not dead. I do think those ER places tend to charge a fortune, but if your pet is really sick, what do you do. I don't think for the price the original poster was charged, it was being over reacting by the vet. By the way Honey, how is your cat doing? I hope they figured out what was wrong with him and were able to make him better.
I have strongly recommended to my girls that they study to become vets or dentists - great professions!
Kate S. Very true Kate, and they don't want to wait for their money. Money due when the patient is seen.
Coach Coach, meaning when many go to the people doctor, they have to pay a co-payment or a $100.00 doctor visit. You could bring your pet to the vet because he's not feeling well and wind up writing a check or having to charge $400.00 on the spot to take care of the bill. Of course, people want to be paid, I realize that and never said they shouldn't get paid. I'm sure that other pet owners can sympathize with vet bills and payment on the spot rules. If you've never been in that position, lucky you, I wish I hadn't been.
something pet owners may want to consider is pet insurance. It does help. Or, simply set up an account with money set aside for veterinary costs at your local bank (not BOA heehee)
As a dentist myself, I can say that we don't usually get paid on the spot. I have my own practice and often don't get paid for my services for about three weeks after it is rendered due to filing and waiting for insurance claims to be paid.
I think we paid more than $400 at Hackettstown Animal Hospital the first time Rascal got blocked for similar work to what you described. Wait until he gets blocked again and the choice is letting him die or paying $1,400 or so for a "perineal urethrotomy", where they shorten his urethra and have it exit in the area just below the anus (called the perineum, coincidentally).
Urinary tract blockages are more frequent in male cats due to the curve of the urethra to exit through the lower abdomen, so by shortening it and eliminating the curve, many cats have less problems and live long lives... but they will always be more prone to urinary tract inmfections as well, unfortunately.
ianimal Thanks Bessie. I needed to hear that. The cat is still not 100% but he is being released today and we will observe him at home. Looking back I don't think Dr. Rosen lied that if I didn't do the procedure he would have died. I believe he probably would have. However, forking out $400 also hurt considering we have two young kids I eventually have to put through college and a car that just broke down. Every penny counts and sometimes that means it isn't possible to keep forking out a big amount of cash when pets get sick. Will look into Fredon Animal Clinic and switch to wet food if he pulls through. Thanks for all the well wishes and advice.
ianimal - One of my cats had the same thing a little over a year ago and it hasn't happened again yet (thank goodness!). What happened with yours? Did he get blocked again? Did you get the surgery? Sorry to change the topic of the thread but I didn't know how common these urinary blockages were!
I use Family Pet Hospital in Budd Lake and I highly recommend them if you ever need a second opinion or need a different vet. I had an issue last summer with my dog in which we rushed her to Newton at 1am and received a 2400 quote. They gave a breakdown of all the charges as I submit stuff to my pet insurance anyway. When I compared their quote with that of Dr. Bleisath's at Family Pet, it was significantly lower. So different vets CAN vary widely in pricing structure.
One question I have is do they have a 24hr vet on staff where you took your cat? Why did the animal stay overnight if no one was there to assist if needed? Did they charge you for an overnight stay? Sometimes you can get hit with "fluff" charges like thatOverall though it seems like the vet did a lot and 400 isn't too bad.
antimony yes i took my dog to blairstown and the over night stay and the work done on her was 300 for the stay antibotics sedating surgery.. etc
Yes, catlady, we paid for the surgery... I'd be lying if I said we didn't think long and hard about having him put down, but he was very young (maybe just over a year) at the time and so full of life that we just couldn't bring ourselves to do it.
He hasn't gotten blocked again but he has had numerous infections and often has difficulty going and judging from the sounds that come out of him from time to time, quite a bit of discomfort as well. But overall he's healthy and happy and has a pretty good life I would say. He's enjoying his role as big brother to Peanut; she keeps him on his toes, lol.
hahahahaha ianimal.. maybe it has something to do with long haired orange guys! here's my baby.. soon to be 9 years old! I've been giving him the special canned food for urinary health because I don't want to make that tough decision! So far so good...
Antimony - not sure if they have anyone overnight, i didn't really question that. Yes, they charged for an overnight stay, i believe it was $40 (I have look at the breakdown again). The cat came back in pretty much the same shape I sent him in, so at this point we are not sure what the next course of action is, however, he had to be re-admitted for another night, blood work done to find out the extent of kidney damage ($125), they suggested x-rays (I declined but would be another $100), he had to be re-catheritized + more fluids because he blocked again (another $100 or so). I'm about $1000 down with out any clear answers and probably a dead cat in a few days. Awesome.
My cat is 17 years old so my financial threshold for medical expenses for him is pretty low. Fortunately he has been in good health his whole life and is still pretty spry. But if I get a big estimate for some health issue with him... well, I'll miss him.
I have been going to Dr Rosen for years. He is nothing if not fair, caring, and honest. It sounds like he saved your cats life for $400
Honey I am so very sorry to hear this. Just a suggestion that may not hurt and you may find it helpful possibly: Get copies of the records for these visits and just call up Family Pet Hospital and see if perhaps maybe they can give you a second opinion. You can just go in and have them look at the paperwork. I really have the utmost trust and faith in my vet after what happened with Daisy. I took whatever Newton gave me and brought it to her for a review. I feel so bad your pet is ill. It's very sad. The # is 973-448-0444.
On a side note - I simply do not understand why they would charge you for an overnight stay if the cat was basically sitting there alone kenneled overnight. Doesn't sound like she was hooked up to anything that warranted that expense - especially if there wasn't an inhouse 24hr tech. That's a fluff charge IMO.
Honey - I am so sorry to read that your cat is sick. I wanted to say that I agree with antimony 100%. Please don't put all your eggs into one basket. You may be able to find exactly what's going on and how to correct your cats sickness by making a simple inquiry with another vet. It certainly could not hurt anything at this point but may just solve the matter. Best of luck to you and your cat.
No rip off. Paid more for similar problem. We got many more years with our little guy and would have paid even more to save him.
youngnfresh Honey, it's possible he might need the P.U. surgery because it sounds like you're going through exactly what we did.
Not every vet will or is capable of performing the surgery and after we moved, the vet at Harmony Animal Hospital didn't even want to treat him, so we've had to take him back to Hackettstown Animal Hospital on a couple of occasions.
Dr. Kochacar (sp.?) did the surgery on Rascal and saved his life... but like I said before, it wasn't cheap.
Honey, I used to work at a vet in Flanders and this was the same protocol and pretty much the same price range. Unfortunately, it's very pricey, but necessary. Blockage is very fatal in cats.
x rays would show how many stones there are. I had that happen to one of my cats years ago and yes they can die if not treated. Yes Newton is very high, but sometimes you have no choice, been there in the middle of a snow storm with my other dog, she made it to be 18 yrs, old and I miss her a lot. Those 18 yrs. were thanks to great treatment at Tranquility Veterinary Clinic, where I have a running charge account, last visit with new adopted dog $800 + and more to come. Make that 2 votes for Dr. Hewitt, I think she's the best. That's why I have one dog and one Kitty (that still has her long, needed to be cut toenails. She will be going before long.
If you don't like the vet, go to someone else. It's important to you and your pet.
I hope your kitty gets better, don't let it go or he may just block up again.
DJ I took my precious Buddy to Newton one Sunday. He had a blockage and after monitoring him for 2 days ($2400) they called and said he needed surgery. The estimate was close to $6K. I couldn't afford that, called Dr. Cojocar and he told me to let Buddy go. So I had to give them permission over the phone to put him to sleep and I couldn't even be there. I posted it on HL and got wonderful support. I still can't think about it without getting choked up, because my Buddy was the most excellent cat.
cbel I am so sorry cbel : ( It sounds like you love your Buddy very, very much - and dont doubt that your little kitty didn't know that. Buddy is happy and now pain free, loving you even more for giving the him (or her?) the respect they deserved. The hurt is only felt by the living.
Thanks, wishiwererich!. So many of us on HL have lost beloved pets and it's nice to have this site to share our grief.
BTW: I love your name!
cbel, I think you need a new pussycat to help fill the void made my Buddy. I know you babysit Jasper, but maybe a full time Kitty is what you need.
Bessie: I'm thinking about fostering....after my surgery. We'll see, but for now, Jasper fills the bill.
Fostering would be nice. I knew that was done with dogs (Jerseymom), but didn't realize you could do it with cats too!
Hi Everyone. Thanks for all your suggestions and support. It sounds like Dr. Rosen followed protocol and was a bit under on the charges. Still expensive, but still less then what most of you said you paid for similar circumstances. The cat (Mr. Mini Mini) is home and doing much much better. He is acting normal, peeing & eating. At this point it is a waiting game. We will have to make a difficult decision if he blocks again. Ianimal, I will be in exactly the same situation as you if it does happen. Do we spend $1500 to $2000 on a 10 year old cat, or call it quits???? Its is very difficult to have to make that decision. I have to reread this thread to see where I should go for this surgery for a good price (since Dr. Rosen does not do them), if we decide to go down that route. Thanks again everyone!!!!
By the way, i just want to say that I respect Dr. Rosen at this point. He has been fair and honest to me and always told me the cost of things before he did anything. He did mention that he has a tech that is with the animals during the night, so I feel better about the overnight charge. He also called me on his private cell phone during labor day weekend to see how the cat was.
Interesting story about a homeless man who lost his dog - http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2010/09/homeless_man_who_lives_under_b.html.
Glad your kitty is doing better Honey. Our cat is 15 years old and has kidney problems and Dr. Rosen has been very understanding it trying to take the most reasonable course of action with her. He has also called me on off hours to see how my cat was doing after he treated her. I'm glad you feel better about the charges and action he took, always a bad feeling when you think you might have been ripped off.
Commenting is no longer available.
