No the vet can't do that.

You need to see the bill.

rune

Paying the vet is her problem as it's her cat and I don't believe a vet would refuse to remove the wire from the jaw either. You've explained the situation to her regarding lack of funds and it sounds to me that she's just trying to apply pressure. I'd also tell Dottie's previous owner that I expect her to pay half the bill as it was her negligence in not closing the gate that allowed the incident to happen.
I can understand she's not best chuffed with you, I wouldn't be either but you can't get blood out of a stone so what can she do.

Ok, calmed down a bit!

Just called the owner back and she has said that the vet will NOT give the cat any more treatment without the full payment (£900 minus the £40 they have been let off/awarded). They are on benefits, so have no way of paying and the owner said she rang another vet for advice and he said that the cat would have to be put to sleep if they didn't have the means to pay.

Another thing, I'm a bit confused about...She mentioned dog wardens had been told or something and then that the vets hadn't believed that the cat had been attacked by dogs, but the injuries were more like that of a car accident!

I'm a bit dubious about all this.....BUT the cat's owner has asked if I will meet tomorrow morning to go into the vets with her, to see if they will accept the installment payments from me. So, I'm going to meet her there in the morning and then will hear and see it all for myself!

Right, first of all the responsibility for the immediate treatment for her cat lies with the owner; end of.

If they are on benefits, then they will have told the vet this as this is the first thing that is asked.

The vet has made a decision to treat the cat (not that he has much choice) and how he goes about being recompensed for this is up to him.

To refuse to take the wire out of the jaw would be in contravention of the RCVS guidelines and the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 I believe?

How the owner then goes about getting money a) for payment and b) from you is an entirely separate matter.

Remember, NEVER act on hearsay, gossip or threat.

ALWAYS act on facts and evidence.

i would be definetly asking the vets outright if this was likely the dogs attacking - did the cat have any puncture wounds?? I just find it strange that they weren't attacking it when fund just had it cornered as far as i can tell... why would they not have continued their "attack" once started?
perhaps as someone else suggested the cat got hit by a car or ran into something and the dogs merely found her ?

It all sounds a bit odd to me.

If I were you, I would not go to the vets and would not pay any money as you are then accepting liability.

You do not have the means to pay, so leave it at that.

Wot SB said and to be fair the injury could have been caused by the cat being slammed into something solid and there may be no puncture wounds.
The owner sounds like she's making up as she goes along, to me.

I would think the vets could possibly do that. If the owner of the cat has not paid any part of the bill and are saying someone else is responsible for the bill then the vet is stuck in the middle. If there is no sign of anyone paying the bill the vets in theory only have to provide emergency treatment which can mean euthanasia if funds are not availible for treatment. Now i am not saying this is right or even if this is what this vets is getting at but looking at it from their point of view they have an animal with an extensive bill which prior to this incident was not registered with them so has no idea if the client is a client who will pay a bill or not. Currently they have an injured animal where clearly the owner hasn't paid the bill as she is expecting the poster to pay the bill and the poster can't pay the bill so they are now stuck in the middle. If the bill is really £800 and the OP is saying she can pay it off at £10a month then it would take the vets nearly 8 years to be paid in full. Now it may sound mercenary but i work at a vets and we used to go out of our way to help people and make payment plans and they were never stuck to so i would imagine if it were my vets then yes we would be expecting some form of payment before we were to carry out an operation. I also see it from both sides- the OP feels badly and is offering to pay but at such an amount that either the vets has to wait years for payment or the owner of the cat hads to pay the bill and wait years for full payment. We do not know their financial situation, they may struggle to find the money to pay the bill. I feel badly for everyone involved but i also feel badly for the vet who is stuck right in the middle. By all means demand to see a bill but i could see how out of hours emergency treatment and x-rays could come to such an amount. Plus the animals has now been hospitalised for 3 days. I would think the best course of action would be to contact the owner. Ask her to give permission for the vets looking after the cat to discuss costings and treatment with the OP and then the OP to contact the vet to ask them to tell hers costings and estimates for further treatment that is needed. I still don't see a solution to the problem because i would presume if the cat owner had the means to pay the bill they would have done so when the vets asked for payment before any further treatment was carried out. If they cannot pay then i can't really see how things can be sorted out easily. As is said i feel for both parties here, obviously it was an accident and the OP is devastated but the cats owner is possibly quite equally devastated with an animal that was injured potentially on its own property. It is a horrible situation for everyone but i also feel for the vets who have admitted an animal as an emergency that was previously not registered with them, they have recived no payment and it sounds like the animal needs furhter treatment and they are now stuck in the middle waiting for someone to pay a fairly extensive bill. This was all written before tha last reply which said owners are on benefits and can't pay so it would seem like the vets are going to be massively out of pocket. I would say at that point the definately could refuse to remove wire from jaw which would mean a further GA and further cost to the practice which they have no way or re couping. I expect they would want them to return to their original vets or go to either a PDSA vet or RSPCA vet if they are on the correct benefits. In respect to the vet knowing the owner is on benefits- they may not. When people arrive at our practice with their injured pets they are quite often distraught and even though you give an estimate and ask them do they have the means to pay a lot of people will say yes just to get their animal treated and worry about the fact they have no means of paying when we are ready to discharge the animal back to them. As is said devastating to all concerned but i am not surprised that the vets has started to get awkward.

And this post demonstrates why insurance is so vital................................

If the vet thought the treatment was likely to be £800-£900 he should have checked the owner had the means to pay before commencing treatment, whether that be insurance or credit card or whatever. My vet wouldn't undertake such expensive treatment without discussing it with me first and he knows I have deep pockets, he's raided them often enough. He's already undertaken the treatment and now the cat has survived he'd rather leave the wire in (which I simply do not believe) or pts a cat that is on the road to recovery. That makes no sense to me.