Hello!
I know this is a long post, I'm sorry but believe me this is the short version.
During a routine exam to establish at a new vet clinic I just mentioned that one of my cats has dandruff. The vet said they have a very safe, very gentle mousse that would help moisturize his skin. Since it was sold to me as extremely gentle I accepted. No other instructions were given to me other than "massage it in, let it dry, brush it out"
Turns out I was given Duoxos3 PYO, which is only formulated for use in dogs because it contains 3% chlorhexidine.
I didn't know this was bad, so of course I put it on my cat as instructed and let him go about his merry way and I went to bed, he then vomited 10+ times overnight. I called the vet clinic the moment they opened and it was treated very non-emergent. I was told by another vet that I should have been given better instructions and that he doesn't typically prescribe it due to the risk of cats ingesting it and having GI issues.
I'll spare all of the details but my cat ended up going to the clinic 2 times, to the emergency room 2 times, got an ultrasound, went to another clinic two times. Had blood work done multiple times, x-rays, and was on a cocktail of medication.
After two weeks of supportive care he has finally started to eat again but he started eating literally 2 days before he would have needed a feeding tube.
After looking it up, chlorhexidine causes oral ulcers in cats and humans at just 2% and this mousse was 3%. The manufacturer themselves say to not use on cats because of the risk of mouth irritation if ingested.
The second emergency vet saw lesions in his throat, he also had gastritis that possibly turned into ileus due to the severity of his illness.
The craziest thing about all this is that they have a CAT SAFE version of this mousse, same brand, that they sell at this vet clinic displayed up front. I never saw this, as I paid in the exam room and was escorted out a back door. My cat had no infections or illness, literally no reason to give me the mousse with chlorhexidine in it.
My cat's vet bills have cost us around $4,000 give or take and it's my belief that they should pay for his medical expenses since their negligence caused this whole thing. Either the doctor is prescribing medication that is not safe for cats and leaving out important instructions, like put a cone on them, don't let them lick it (the other mousse can be ingested without issue according to the manufacturer) OR she intended to give me the cat one and her support staff grabbed the wrong one and they have no procedures to make sure this doesn't happen. Either way, my cat suffered greatly and it has hit is hard emotionally and financially.
My question is, what is my first step? Do I talk to the manager and tell them I expect them to pay me for these bills? Or do I jump directly to a demand letter? How would I even go about a demand letter for this? If I went into detail everything that my cat had done to him and why, it would be a novel. I assume I should make it short and to the point.
If they force me to take it to court, can I sue them for more than what I initially demand? I'm asking only for his medical expenses, but if they won't settle outside of court then I would like to also demand lost wages, gas and milage, and other supplies we bought for his illness like food and a camera to monitor him for food intake and vomiting.
Location: Oregon
Thank you so much if you made it this far, I appreciate any help