Hyperthyroid Diagnosis

[fionasmom]

And has aged since his online photo was taken.

I wondered about that, but now back to the important part...your cat. I am glad that you were given some clarification about the handling of the pee pads and your own personal safety on the way home. It is not completely shocking about the cat food selection and as long as they feed what you know is right for your girl it is probably okay. Was it enough of an expense to ask for a refund?

Is the procedure complete now?

 

[cocoanlace]

Was it enough of an expense to ask for a refund? Is the procedure complete now?

Kay's food allowance was not on the estimate so I doubt there will be a refund. No biggie. Just annoyed me. If you are not going to provide food or access to the icam, don't tell potential clients you will. It just makes you look sneaky.
Yes, Sharon called to say the injection was done this morning and as expected Kay did fine. Injection was in back leg. They will phone tomorrow to inform me about her release date. Thanks for asking.

 

[fionasmom]

Keep us posted!

 

[cocoanlace]

6/15 Update: Nobody called re: Kay's release date so I reached out to them Friday afternoon. Kay will be driven to the Los Angeles office from Tustin tomorrow, Sunday. My pickup appt time is 10:00 a.m. even though I pleaded for a better time due to traffic, Father's Day brunch and church activities. Fell on deaf ears. They are relentlessly inflexible. In fact, when I balked at facing another 1.5 hour drive, the receptionist curtly suggested I could drive to Tustin to pick her up as an option (adding an hour to my drive.) I caved and accepted the release time, knowing I have no power here. Meanwhile another HT cat, Uncle Frank, was admitted the same day Kay was. His owner posted the AVMI I131 treatment estimate online so she could ask friends for donations. The owner wrote that Frank's tumor was larger requiring a longer stay so he will not be released until NEXT Wednesday. How did she learn that? Dr. Broome would not discuss the scan results with me. Maybe I asked the wrong way. Also, Uncle Frank's estimate is $2816. Mine was $3300 (and I was not given a copy of it). My actual bill should be lower because Kay's stay is shorter and the estimate (they said) was based on 7 days.

 

[neely]

I'm sorry about your experience and the additional cost between Kay and Uncle Frank. Fortunately my cat's I-131 procedure was very different both the cost, communication with radiologist and staff. I could not have been happier. But going forward I hope Kay does well once she's home and you get the scan results soon. Please keep updated on how Kay is doing.

 

[fionasmom]

I am just spitballing here, so none of this may mean anything.

I wonder if Uncle Frank was in a more serious state than Kay which is why the information was given to the owners. And...I wonder if they balked at the cost and said that they could not move forward without financial assistance and for that they needed to be able to show proof to potential donors.

As to the price difference, I can't offer a guess. Ask for an explanation and check every itemized charge to make sure that it was actually done. Since you had to bring your own food, you might start there.

When my GSD had his amputation at another specialty clinic in Los Angeles, they were very specific about when he would go home. I did not want to bring him home at that exact moment as we had to be out of the house for a few hours that day and he would be alone, but they stuck to their schedule and said that they did not allow for extended stays for non medical reasons. Aside from that, they were very good and I have used them with my cats.

 

[cocoanlace]

they needed to be able to show proof to potential donors.

Yes, this occurred to me. That they asked for the bill to post on their FB.
As for the 3 days of unopened cat food, I asked if they brought it back and the response was: "Nothing is brought back. Just the cat." So I dropped the subject. I printed the receipt just now. It shows the charges I would expect. And there were radiographs taken, fluids administered, along with Gabapentin for "situational irritation." It included a pdf of the scan and remarks about findings and radio-iodine dose.
After revisiting their initial 2 emails of last week, they mentioned sending daily evening emails with "medical sheets" as updates on her care. I never got them. Checked spam. So I just emailed and said I want to see them.
Kay is doing fine. Eating. Drinking. No vomiting. No poop yet. She hisses at me. Is guarded. Don't blame her. I just moved her new condo over to the patio slider so she can view squirrels eating walnuts and birds landing for the crumbs. She always likes that. She is not crying at night so that is good. Tried to attach scan so you could see her glowing "tumor." Pdf file not allowed.

 

[FeebysOwner]

PDF files are allowed. Just use the 'Attach Files' option in the bottom left corner of your post.

 

[cocoanlace]

PDF files are allowed. Just use the 'Attach Files' option in the bottom left corner of your post.

I did. The message said file type not allowed or permitted, something like that. Trying a png screenshot.

 

[fionasmom]

Very glad to hear that Kay is doing well. As for the hospital, ask for anything that you want copies of or any information that you need. I hate to play the money card all the time, but in the case of expensive care I always want everything that was promised. You may want those anecdotal daily notes if you ever need to refer to them as well.

That is a very interesting looking scan. Please let us know how Kay does. Options for treating hyperthyroid cats are often brought up here and it is a big help to others who are looking for advice.

 

[cocoanlace]

I'm sorry about your experience and the additional cost between Kay and Uncle Frank.

For transparency and to help others that may require this treatment in the future, the final cost was $2689 (the lowball amount quoted on the phone June 5 was very close to that; the highball amount I was shown at admission June 12 was $3300.) The final invoice lists the scintigraphy scan ($400&200), 4 days x$100 each for hospitalization, 2.5 of the I131 "drug" ($1295), the $150 admission consult with Dr. Broome, 2 radiographs ($210), Gabapentin and 100ml fluids both given once (minimal costs).