Florida woman rushed her dying cat to a vet. He allegedly wrote up a $700 bill and insisted payment before treatment: ‘You need to retire’
It was too late.
Jas (@justjasthingsss) from Florida was in an unfamiliar area when her pet cat was struck by a car. Desperate to save her cat, she alleged that Westgate Animal Clinic in Lehigh Acres handled her case without urgency.
“Westgate Animal Clinic, I will forever and a day make sure that nobody ever walks into your clinic,” Jas told TikTok. The content creator said that after her cat got hit, he was paralyzed and bleeding from the waist down. She Googled the nearest vet clinic to bring her cat to and found Westgate Animal Clinic.
Jas said she walked into the office and asked for help, alerting the staff that her cat was dying. She alleged that even as she frantically asked for help, the front desk only asked for her pet’s name. They allegedly did not get up from their seats to help. Although they didn’t turn her away from the office, unlike this man who had a rude brush with receptionists at his medical appointment, Jas was frustrated by the lack of urgency. She expected them to alert the vet about her situation. After giving the receptionists her information, Jas said she waited another five to ten minutes. After that, the vet came into the room.
“When the doctor comes in, he does nothing to help my cat. There’s no urgency, there’s no nothing,” Jas argued. She alleged that the doctor stuck a thermometer in her cat, then told her the cat needed lifesaving measures.
The vet footed the bill before treatment
But before more could be done, Jas claimed that the vet said, “Let me go write up a bill.” The vet allegedly returned to the room with a $700 bill. Jas claimed that she was being charged so that her cat could be brought to the emergency room and stabilized in the meantime.
“Shouldn’t I just go to the ER then?” Jas asked. But then, the vet allegedly insisted that the $700 was necessary for her cat to receive treatment. Although the vet allegedly acknowledged that the cat needed treatment, he still insisted on payment upfront. She continued, “You haven’t done nothing. Why am I paying $700?”
“I promise you on everything I love, I understand business. And if at any point, I would have saw this man caring for an animal, I would have gave him my last penny for this cat,” Jas said. However, Jas claimed her cat didn’t even receive X-rays or any urgent care. In the end, she argued with the vet and told him that she wouldn’t pay $700 because they did nothing to help her cat. She didn’t want to be charged for something she didn’t receive.
As she left, Jas alleged the vet told her she owed him $200 just for walking into the clinic. She ended up paying the $200, claiming the front desk clerk also told her to settle the fee.
Another clinic tried saving her cat
“I have my four children with me, crying, because their best friend’s about to die,” Jas recalled. She allegedly rushed out of Westgate Animal Clinic with her cat. Then, she said she went to Lighthouse Pet Clinic, just down the road. When she asked for help with her cat, Jas said the staffers grabbed her pet and immediately told the doctor.
“Within seconds, the doctor was with him at the back, and they had everyone around them working on my cat, because that is what a true person that loves animals do,” Jas said. In contrast to her other experience, Jas said the staff at Lighthouse Pet Clinic told her they would bring her cat to the ER and do everything they could to save him. Jas added that they reassured her, telling her not to worry about the bill, and that they would call the ER to ask for a discount.
“When I walked into the ER, they were waiting for us,” Jas said. When her cat got into the ER, Jas said he was given an X-Ray, IV fluids, and pain medication. But despite the team’s best efforts, Jas said it was too late, and her cat’s body was already shutting down.
“It makes me enraged to know that maybe, just maybe, if that man would’ve just cared a little bit, my cat would be with us,” she said. Jas, still enraged by the situation, added, “You sat there and chose a check over giving a f*** about an animal. You need to retire.”
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