10/22/2026
Fred continues endear himself to the staff here at HWVH and has been a welcome reminder of why what we do matters 💙
Fred's unexpected arrival gives us an opportunity to use his newfound stardom to raise awareness and provide transparency around the cost of veterinary care using his real-world example. (Fred has also graciously agreed to help us talk about common respiratory infections, the unique consequences of cats not eating, and the importance of keeping your microchip registration up-to-date!)
Fred arrived to us as an emergency add-on meaning that his case was deemed critical enough that euthanasia might have been necessary. Because trauma cases can quickly decompensate, many things must happen at once and multiple team members are needed to care for a critical arrival. Fred was triaged (his heart rate, temperature, gum color, breathing rate and effort, and blood pressure assessed), blood work drawn and run in-house (giving us important information about infectious disease status, whether a blood transfusion might be necessary, or if certain organs were failing), and a bedside ultrasound performed looking for fluid in either his chest or his belly (a poor prognostic indicator in an emergency patient). Once Fred was deemed to be stable, we could move on to investigating other ailments. The cost for Fred's emergency admit care was $744 (and at referral or full-service emergency hospital, it can easily be as high as $1,000 to $2,000).
Fred was significantly dehydrated, malnourished, and suffering from a severe upper respiratory infection. Because we were unsure of whether his emaciated state was due to underlying cancer, we performed x-rays of his chest and abdomen. Once these were clear, we submitted a respiratory PCR panel (to better determine what infectious organisms might be plaguing him and direct treatment) along with a more comprehensive lab work panel (to evaluate his heart and thyroid). He was started on supportive care (daily subcutaneous fluids and an appetite stimulant), erythromycin eye ointment to address conjunctivitis, doxycycline (which required compounding due to Fred's small size), and oral potassium supplementation. He also had a more detailed ultrasound scan performed with a specialist to determine if there might be a separate underlying cause to his persistent poor appetite. The cost for this portion of Fred's care was $1,786.
Because Fred was so weak and would not reliably eat on his own, he would have required in-patient care regardless of whether he had stayed with us or not. Since an owner could not be located and Fred's respiratory infection would have made him a risk to other cats in a busy shelter environment, we elected to hospitalize Fred at the clinic. Our incredible staff cared for him throughout the day with Tristan (our practice manager) and Dr. St. Pierre (our practice owner) taking on weekend treatment responsibilities. While we could absorb the cost of in-patient care for Fred as a clinic, the average cost of his nursing care (which for Fred would have been considered "level one" or "stable inpatient care") and daily treatments for 5 days (until he was reliably eating on his own and could have been "discharged") would conservatively been around $1,000 to $2,000.
That puts Fred's total tab with us over the past week at somewhere between $3,500 and $4,500. And that's without the need for more invasive interventions such as surgery, intravenous catheter placement, or a feeding tube. If you ask any member of our team, they'll tell you that Fred is worth every penny!
We know veterinary care, especially for unexpected emergencies, specialty consults, and chronic conditions, can quickly become costly and that this can incite fear, frustration, and heartbreak. There are ways to defray and manage these costs including pet insurance, Care Credit and other installment payment plans, and knowing whether you may qualify for low-cost services such as those provided by MSPCA-Angell. Communicate with your veterinary team early and often (having a plan in place for unexpected costs before your pet ever comes home with you is the best strategy!) Importantly, while we hope you never find yourselves in Fred's "paws", we are here to help you navigate these moments in your pets' lives with compassion and clarity 🐾💙
