My husband and I have a male cat who is gravely ill... We called around to low cost vet clinics, as my husband has been laid off recently, and is the only source of income for our household. We have ... Read More
My husband and I have a male cat who is gravely ill... We called around to low cost vet clinics, as my husband has been laid off recently, and is the only source of income for our household. We have 5 children together. When I called Helping Hands, the receptionist informed us an office visit would cost us $43.00. I explained our cat's symptoms to her, and asked approximately how much she thought a visit and diagnosis would cost us... She said, "No more than $75-$100". So my husband and I decided to make an appointment for our cat, since we really wanted a diagnosis of his condition (even though we had a gut feeling it is something fatal). We went in for our appointment and filled out paperwork, which sat in front of the receptionist for almost 10 minutes before she did anything with it. We ended up waiting in their lobby for 20-25min, when they had called US earlier that morning and asked us to move our appointment time UP! The entire time we were waiting in the lobby, our cat was crying, distressed in it's carrying cage, and surrounded by multiple dogs... it was very sad. We were eventually taken back to a room, and finally met the Vet. She was nice and sympathetic, but CLEARLY misinformed. I told her about a kitten I had, who had contracted FIP and eventually died... I also told her that I was 9 months pregnant at the time, to which the Vet said, "Oh my God, pregnant women should NOT be around that!" Now I've had cats my entire life, and I had specifically asked the Vet who cared for my sick kitten if FIP was dangerous for me as a pregnant woman, and the Vet assured me FIP was dangerous to me in no way. It is Toxoplasmosis that is very dangerous for pregnant women!!!!! I did research when I got home from Helping Hands, to see if maybe there was some evidence of FIP being dangerous to pregnant women, and there is NOTHING out there suggesting that! So clearly this Vet is poorly trained... After we met with the Vet, we were told they were going to prepare an estimate for the cost to x-ray and diagnose our cat. We waited several minutes, and the Vet tech came back in with a prepared statement (similar to a car salesman, when they bring you in their written offer on a car, after speaking with their manager). She informed us it would be $258.00 just to diagnose our cat!!!!!!! They wanted $55.00 for the office visit, which I did not understand how that price jumped up $12.00 from the original price I was quoted by the receptionist, they wanted $160.00 for X-RAYS, and $40.00 to sedate our cat! I couldn't believe it! I had spoken about our financial situation to both the receptionist and the Vet tech, and they bring us in a quote like that??? We were so insulted, and felt we had been lied to ... as well as taken advantage of... so we decided to just go ahead and leave. $55.00 later, (which I had to pay with 2 separate credit cards just to afford it), we were told by a Vet who thinks FIP is dangerous for pregnant women, that our cat possibly has cancer, FeLV, or FIV (which he was tested for both as a kitten, with negative results)... Honestly, I have little faith in her diagnosis. And now we sit with our dying kitty, wondering what is killing him, wondering if it's something contagious to our other cat, but really having no answers. PLEASE spend your money at a more professional, "economy conscious", caring clinic!!!!!!!! Read Less