Topic: Vet treated and rehomed a cat then asked us for money (Read 9180 times)

Liz · « **Reply #35 on:** February 16, 2009, 13:43:52 PM »

Have to say our vets have been wonderful with our ferals as and when we catch the outside crew - I get neutering vouchers from our old CP to cover them and the post takes a couple of days - we also ID Chip and inject them at our cost just in case they move on

I leave the vets without paying and Robin goes in and pays the bill

As I am currently unemployed I do use the neutering vouchers but have had a couple of nice large bills thanks to the ferals having other health issues - all now cured fortunately!

Sonnie · « **Reply #34 on:** February 16, 2009, 13:37:48 PM »

Quote from: Ela on February 16, 2009, 13:24:56 PM

Quote
What would i do if (god forbid) one of my babies fell ill,

As I say if only there were more people like you, I deal with over 50 vets and know that people tend to go from one vet to another leaving a trail of debt behind. eventually they run out of vets to go to and then try to start again or register under a different name.

Hi Ela,
I think thats disgusting! what every happened to being "a responsible pet owner."

Ela · « **Reply #33 on:** February 16, 2009, 13:24:56 PM »

Quote

What would i do if (god forbid) one of my babies fell ill,

As I say if only there were more people like you, I deal with over 50 vets and know that people tend to go from one vet to another leaving a trail of debt behind. eventually they run out of vets to go to and then try to start again or register under a different name.

Sonnie · « **Reply #32 on:** February 16, 2009, 09:37:40 AM »

Quote from: Ela on February 16, 2009, 08:11:43 AM

Quote
Me thinks we need more vets like this!

Me thinks it is the other way round, there should be more people like you who do pay off their bill, then vets would be more willing to trust. I know vets are owed tens of thousands and I our branch of CP is not far behind.

I could never EVER leave a balance, especially with a vet! What would i do if (god forbid) one of my babies fell ill, and the vet refused to treat because i owed them money, I could never forgive myself!
i would rather leave the landlord or the leccy board waiting for their money!!!!

Mark · « **Reply #31 on:** February 16, 2009, 08:44:24 AM »

Quote from: Canterbury_cats (Sharon) on February 16, 2009, 08:05:28 AM

One case i do remember (sure Mark will as well) is Thomas the FIV that was reported to us by another not local vets to us as was due to be pts, then got moved to one or our vets who kept him for a few days before we were able to get him to hq where he was eventually rehomed...No one charged us for anything in that case...

How could I forget changing carriers in the back of my car

- and he was recently neutered

- he was lovely though

Ela · « **Reply #30 on:** February 16, 2009, 08:11:43 AM »

Quote

Me thinks we need more vets like this!

Me thinks it is the other way round, there should be more people like you who do pay off their bill, then vets would be more willing to trust. I know vets are owed tens of thousands and I our branch of CP is not far behind.

Canterbury_cats (Sharon) · « **Reply #29 on:** February 16, 2009, 08:05:28 AM »

Julies right... We are a newish branch and in the past (a long time ago) we did get small donations out.. and i know that CP branches that are well off (not this way i may add) do occassionaly give out small amounts as long as another rescue is paying some or indeed the owner pays something.. But in our care it started up a minefield.. and now our blanket policy is we dont.. The cat gets signed over to us and we can then control what vet is used and what is done... This has happened in a few cases a cat reported to us by one vet, gets signed over to us and we transfer to one of our own vets (Jesiri being an example)... The particular vet the Mark got a call about treated Suki the cat with broken pelvis that was due to be pts due to owner unwilling to pay for her treatment.. she was signed over and although the vets had done some of the work and fixed her pelvis and a few other things, as soon as we were able she was tranferred for further checkups to our own, and we managed to get them to chip her FOC for us as well...!! However we did end up paying 200 quid i think for the pins but the total bill for the huge op (and she had to have 2 opps) was more then 1000 but they only charged us for the metal pins.. We agreed on this and she is now happily living with a young family in Faversham. Anyone who read our last NL would of seen photos of her.

We do have a really good operation at our vets... but occassionally we do get to here about one or two others that we dont use that are equally good... Its not so much what they do for the public more what lengths they go to help strays .. and some dont!! or some have strong relationships with rspca and dont bother ringing another rescue when in some circumstances we would hopefuly try to help with rehoming. One case i do remember (sure Mark will as well) is Thomas the FIV that was reported to us by another not local vets to us as was due to be pts, then got moved to one or our vets who kept him for a few days before we were able to get him to hq where he was eventually rehomed...No one charged us for anything in that case...

Sonnie · « **Reply #28 on:** February 16, 2009, 06:13:27 AM »

I think the problem with vets like this is that they think a lot of "££££££££££" and not enough "save a life, and

the cost"

I owed our vet £250.00 for Felix's treatment when he was rushed in, and Lizzy (the vet) was fab about us leaving a balance, i returned a week later and paid her in full, and she was cool about it. Me thinks we need more vets like this!

Pinkbear (Julie) · « **Reply #27 on:** February 15, 2009, 23:46:18 PM »

I think the problem is that our branch is fairly new - around 5-6 years I think.

In the early days before the committee had much experience, they were approached for help to pay other people's bills if the circumstances were dire. Due to lack of experience, or any real knowledge of how bad things are in the big wide world, they did make a few grants to help pay for urgent treatment. Within a few weeks they were swamped with similar requests and this policy changed rapidly. We no longer pay for other people's pets.

Problem is people - vets and the public - have got long memories and try it on all the time...

The generosity or meanness of vets varies dramatically. I've seen and heard stories from both ends of the scale. One of the more disturbing and depressing ones came from HQ. During an audit of one particular and very busy branch, it was found one of their regular vets had been 'massaging' invoices and one spay had cost them over £400.

Stuart · « **Reply #26 on:** February 15, 2009, 22:48:41 PM »

could be greed

??
or maybe the practice is having financial problems before they are asking charity's to give them money

??

Mark · « **Reply #25 on:** February 15, 2009, 17:58:03 PM »

I passed this one on to welfare who sent them a refusal by email. I am surprised a vet doesn't realise the score - just show that this one is in it for the money before anything else.

blackcat · « **Reply #24 on:** February 15, 2009, 17:52:02 PM »

Can I suggest you write a polite letter to the vet and thank him for his care and concern for the cat. You can then go on to explain the purpose of your organisation, the services you provide, the limitations on your resources and suggest that if he wishes to provide emergency treatment for an animal in the future you will welcome him contacting you for assistance - before the fact - and may, in some circumstances be in a position to assist.

As others have said - if he wanted payment for the services, the person who adopted the cat should have provided that payment, if indeed anyone other than the vet paid for it - he acted on his own recognisance and is therefore liable for the costs. The cat is probably rehomed to a close family friend and he feels uncomfortable raising the issue with them ...

Jasmine · « **Reply #23 on:** February 15, 2009, 17:42:18 PM »

Surely the people who he was rehomed to should have paid if the vets want reimbursing?

Money must be tight... I took an RTA to the vets a few years ago in Colchester and offered to give them carte blanche with my credit card, but they refused, said I'd done enough, and would treat him free of charge.

Ela · « **Reply #22 on:** February 15, 2009, 16:56:26 PM »

Quote

I appreciate that not getting paid must be frustrating, but that's appalling behaviour from someone who is supposed to be a professional. Not to mention someone who is supposed to care about animals; surely they must know that a prolonged stay will have had adverse affects on the cats mental state? They sound awful.

I know a number of vets who say they will keep a pet until the owner comes up with the cash. To be honest I can see where they are coming from, they like us are owed thousands. It is surprising when a vet says they will keep the pet how quickly owners come up with the fee.

Sam (Fussy_Furball) · « **Reply #21 on:** February 15, 2009, 12:52:20 PM »

Quote from: Rosella moggy on February 15, 2009, 08:38:50 AM

Quote from: Mark on February 14, 2009, 23:29:24 PM
Quote from: Sam (Fussy_Furball) on February 14, 2009, 23:03:41 PM
are more than happy to offer them a free advert and a small write up in your newsletter

Isn't this like reinforcing the (misguided) idea that we are responsible for all cats in the area? - I don't think there is any reason to give them a free ad when we have our own vets who give us a great service and good prices who don't get ads. This isn't one of our regular vets although they do some spay/neuter

TBH I thought Sam was being sarcastic i.e. the write up was going to mention that the vet concerned had contacted your charity to reimburse vet costs

I was sort of being sarcastic .... as I thought the vets would probably run a mile at the offer for fear of hundreds of other people turning up with poorly kitties expecting "free or cheap" treatment

2d · « **Reply #20 on:** February 15, 2009, 12:48:22 PM »

Quote

They are also the same vet who held someone's cat to ransom for about 2 months until they came up with the money.

Good lord, and I thought that the vet we used prior to our current ones were bad.

Forget what I said about the box being a good idea - they don't deserve a proportion of even a worming tablet...

JackSpratt · « **Reply #19 on:** February 15, 2009, 11:03:13 AM »

Quote from: Mark on February 15, 2009, 10:50:15 AM

They are also the same vet who held someone's cat to ransom for about 2 months until they came up with the money.

I appreciate that not getting paid must be frustrating, but that's appalling behaviour from someone who is supposed to be a professional. Not to mention someone who is supposed to care about animals; surely they must know that a prolonged stay will have had adverse affects on the cats mental state? They sound awful.

Mark · « **Reply #18 on:** February 15, 2009, 10:50:15 AM »

Quote from: Teresa Pawcats on February 15, 2009, 09:33:36 AM

As this cat has already received treatment and been rehomed I would decline to make a contribution, think people are too quick to use up valuable funds. It would have been courteous of the vet to ask before he gave treatment, I know my vet would have asked first and then we would have helped.

This is the same vet that about 5 months ago, called Sharon as another RTA was brought in with a broken pelvis. They had contacted the RSPCA who offered £50 towards treatment

- Sharon had the cat signed over to us. As I remember it, they said what they had done was "Free" but Sharon had to pay them for the metalwork.

They are also the same vet who held someone's cat to ransom for about 2 months until they came up with the money.

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #17 on:** February 15, 2009, 10:43:51 AM »

If they were happy to do the treatment and rehome, they shouldnt expect any help with the cost, as the decision was made without speaking to you, and they aren't even your usual vet!!

Teresa Pawcats · « **Reply #16 on:** February 15, 2009, 09:33:36 AM »

As this cat has already received treatment and been rehomed I would decline to make a contribution, think people are too quick to use up valuable funds. It would have been courteous of the vet to ask before he gave treatment, I know my vet would have asked first and then we would have helped.

Ela · « **Reply #15 on:** February 15, 2009, 08:51:30 AM »

To be honest if anyone only had a proportion often there would not be enough to pay for a worm tablet.

blackcat · « **Reply #14 on:** February 15, 2009, 08:42:44 AM »

Quote from: Ela on February 15, 2009, 07:58:41 AM

The trouble is if there is a collection box the vets may expect help with many situations.

Not if you have a clearly stated agreement with them regarding the proportion of the collection that may at any given instance be allocated to their costs. Mind you, it would need a good lock on it ... Any funds allocated to them would, clearly, need to be properly accounted for by them.

Rosella moggy · « **Reply #13 on:** February 15, 2009, 08:38:50 AM »

Quote from: Mark on February 14, 2009, 23:29:24 PM

Quote from: Sam (Fussy_Furball) on February 14, 2009, 23:03:41 PM
are more than happy to offer them a free advert and a small write up in your newsletter

Isn't this like reinforcing the (misguided) idea that we are responsible for all cats in the area? - I don't think there is any reason to give them a free ad when we have our own vets who give us a great service and good prices who don't get ads. This isn't one of our regular vets although they do some spay/neuter

TBH I thought Sam was being sarcastic i.e. the write up was going to mention that the vet concerned had contacted your charity to reimburse vet costs

Ela · « **Reply #12 on:** February 15, 2009, 07:58:41 AM »

The trouble is if there is a collection box the vets may expect help with many situations.

2d · « **Reply #11 on:** February 15, 2009, 01:19:39 AM »

My thoughts aren't repeatable, but that collection box idea ain't a bad one...

Sam (Fussy_Furball) · « **Reply #10 on:** February 14, 2009, 23:40:02 PM »

Ummm fair point Mark.

Mark · « **Reply #9 on:** February 14, 2009, 23:29:24 PM »

Quote from: Sam (Fussy_Furball) on February 14, 2009, 23:03:41 PM

are more than happy to offer them a free advert and a small write up in your newsletter

Isn't this like reinforcing the (misguided) idea that we are responsible for all cats in the area? - I don't think there is any reason to give them a free ad when we have our own vets who give us a great service and good prices who don't get ads. This isn't one of our regular vets although they do some spay/neuter

Stuart · « **Reply #8 on:** February 14, 2009, 23:11:35 PM »

I did like the " a collection box on their counter, we will give them some donation from it " tho

Sam (Fussy_Furball) · « **Reply #7 on:** February 14, 2009, 23:03:41 PM »

I would tell them that you are extremely grateful for their kind and generous assistance with this poorly kitty and although you are unable to offer any financial assistance due to a severe shortage of donations to the charity during this difficult time you are more than happy to offer them a free advert and a small write up in your newsletter

JackSpratt · « **Reply #6 on:** February 14, 2009, 20:53:48 PM »

Wow, they just keep on giving at that surgery don't they?

Bonkers Mad!!! · « **Reply #5 on:** February 14, 2009, 20:53:04 PM »

Quote from: Mark on February 14, 2009, 20:50:50 PM

Julie came up with the best option - to tell them that if they will allow a collection box on their counter, we will give them some a donation from it

that's an excellent plan

Mark · « **Reply #4 on:** February 14, 2009, 20:50:50 PM »

Julie came up with the best option - to tell them that if they will allow a collection box on their counter, we will give them some a donation from it

Millys Mum · « **Reply #3 on:** February 14, 2009, 20:40:35 PM »

Tell them the rspca will help

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #2 on:** February 14, 2009, 20:33:20 PM »

Mark · « **Reply #1 on:** February 14, 2009, 20:31:59 PM »

A vet that shall remain namless left a message on our line last week saying someone had dumped an RTA cat on them who was seriously injured. They said they had done all the treatment and also rehomed the cat but wondered if we would like to make a contribution towards veterinary costs

Any comments or opinions welcomed.

Author Topic: Vet treated and rehomed a cat then asked us for money (Read 9180 times)