Woman takes gravely injured cat to Florida vet. They refuse to touch him unless she pays $700 upfront. It costs him his life: ‘My heart is broken’

A woman says she took her cat, who was on death's door, to a Florida veterinary office in the hopes they'd save him. But instead of providing life-saving care, she says staff members pushed a $700 bill on her upfront.

Jas (@justjasthingsss) posted a video that received more than 203,000 views. In it, she calls out West Gate Animal Clinic, a veterinary practice located in Lehigh Acres, Florida.

‘There Was No Urgency'

The content creator says that her cat was hit by a car and needed emergency care. In a rush, she says she looked up the first veterinary clinic she could find in an unfamiliar area, which was West Gate Animal Clinic. Despite the urgency of the situation, she says staff members barely addressed the issue.

“When the doctor comes in, he does nothing to help my cat,” she says. “There's no urgency. There's nothing to help my cat.”

She says the veterinarian did a quick examination of her pet, which included a rectal thermometer check. According to her, the veterinarian “barely touched” her cat before insisting on a $700 payment for the care he would need before being transferred to an emergency room.

‘Why Am I Paying $700?'

Jas says she immediately asked the veterinarian why he'd bill her $700 prior to any treatment. She says that, at that point, she had been given no impression that they wanted to help.

“I promise you on everything I love, I understand business, and if at any point I had seen this man caring for an animal, I would have given him my last penny for this cat,” she says. “If at any point I saw this man rushing, doing whatever he can to save my animal, I would have said, … ‘Here's all my money.' But this man had done nothing at this point.”

She says she argued with the veterinarian about the bill for another 10 minutes. Then she says he told her about another cost.

“He said, ‘Well, you owe me then $200 for just walking in.' I said, ‘Sir, you have done nothing. Why am I paying anything?'”

She says she begrudgingly handled the bill and then drove to a nearby veterinary clinic in a desperate attempt to save her cat's life.

She says the next clinic she visited immediately put her cat on oxygen, no questions asked. According to her, the clinic called an ER and requested a discount for her without a prior discussion of payment.

The ER Visit

Jas says she went to the emergency clinic, and veterinarians there worked to save her pet.

“Within five minutes of us being there … he had an X-ray, an IV, fluids, pain medication, everything he needed to start surviving,” she says.

But it was too late.

“His body was already shutting down because of the damage,” she says. “We had to make the decision to euthanize, and it was the hardest decision I've ever had to make.”

Jas says that the time she spent at West Gate Animal Clinic directly impacted her cat's chances of survival.

“You're a veterinarian. You're supposed to love animals,” she says, referring to the vet at the first clinic. “And what did you do? You sat there and chose a check over giving a [expletive] about an animal.”

Toward the end of her video, she acknowledges that “business is business,” but she says that the clinic's actions were “shameful.”

‘The Same Thing Happened to Me!'

In the comments section, multiple viewers said that the $700 bill was ridiculous. They recommended Jas dispute the charge with her bank.

“Dispute that charge!! Call your bank and tell them what happened,” one viewer said. “I know you were in such a rush to get your cat help ASAP so you probably don't wanna fight too much about paying that $200, but I'm sure you can dispute that with your bank!!”

Can a Veterinarian Really Request Payment Upfront?

Simply put, yes. A veterinarian can request substantial payment upfront, although payment is usually requested after initial diagnostics.

Whether that's ethical, however, is another question entirely. Most standard principles of veterinary medical ethics agree that a patient's (animal's) well-being should come before other factors, but veterinarians aren't necessarily barred from requesting payment.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) says that veterinarians have an ethical responsibility to “alleviate suffering, promote health, and act in the best interests” of patients.

AVMA also clarifies that, “Once the veterinarian and client have established a [veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR)] and the veterinarian has begun patient care for an illness or injury, the veterinarian shall not neglect their patient and must continue to provide professional services related to that illness or injury within the previously agreed limits.”

In this circumstance, the veterinarian technically conferred regarding needs for patient care (payment). It seems the veterinarian also hadn't agreed on a plan for care.

It's still up for debate whether West Gate Animal Clinic's actions fall in line with the AMVA's principles, however. Many veterinary clinics, for instance, offer pet owners options to pay half of their bill upfront and the rest later.

Subplot News reached out to Jas via TikTok direct message. We will update this story if she responds. West Gate Animal Clinic declined to comment.

@justjasthingsss

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