<prompt> Human: My 6 month old kitten has gotten sick over the past few weeks, and I took him to an emergency veterinary hospital when he took a turn for the worse a few mornings ago. After the first round of x-rays they said he had a possible intestinal obstruction; they couldnt find any specific foreign bodies on the x-rays, but the radiographs were suggestive of an obstruction pattern. After keeping him for a day on fluidsnausea medicationantacid and an enema, they did another round of x-rays and this time they did identify a foreign body. Since he still hadnt passed it after a day on fluids they proceeded with surgery.After the surgery, I get an interesting phone call from the surgeon. Apparently they opened him up and couldnt find the foreign body. They searched through the excrement from the surgery and still couldnt find it. However they did eventually find it... in his cage! My kitten had pooped it out RIGHT before surgery. Turns out it was one of my roommates foam ear plugs she uses to sleep at night.Now, Im super grateful to this vet hospital and everyone there was great. Since this place is an emergency hospital and not a regular vet, I knew the bill would be expensive. I had to make two large deposits during this ordeal 1800 initial intake and 8000 for the surgery 9800 total!! to cover any possible charges and I would get refunded the rest in the end. Thankfully I was only charged about 4200 so Im going to get a good amount back.But there are many things that bother me in this situation. There were a good couple hours between the second round of x-rays and the surgery prep, and I feel like someone shouldve seen or at least checked to see if he pooped when they pulled him out of the cage for surgery. If they had taken the time to look surgery wouldve been avoided. I understand the charges for diagnosticsmedshospital stay time, but because they missed this I now paid for surgery AND another extra day at the hospital diagnosticsmeds associated with it. Not to mention theres always a risk of infection from surgery, or what if surgery went badly and my kitten died on the table? And dont forget the work that goes into post-op care--four different medications every 8 hours, feeding a special diet, keeping a cone on and keeping his sutures clean for the next two weeks. This was just a big oversight on their part and now Im spending more time and money dealing with the aftermath.I asked about the possibility for a discountrefund for the surgery when I went to pick my kitten up, and they said Id have to talk to their manager when shes back in the office. I was planning on calling Monday because it doesnt hurt to ask, right? I feel a little bad because they were very professional, Im relieved Im getting most of my money back, and Im glad my kitty is okay.Am I justified in asking for a refunddiscount on surgery? If so, how do I go about it? Im a recent college grad with no money so this completely drained my bank account. All my friends and coworkers are astounded, and some even think I should get all my money back. My parents are pretty angry and my mom is one step away from threatening legal action. If this had happened to a human Im pretty sure the doctor would be SCREWED.---TLDR; Cat had surgery to remove obstruction from his intestines after he had already pooped it out and the vet failed to notice. Am I justified in asking for a refunddiscount for the surgery on my final vet bill?  <response>: Well you approved the surgery. You were free to get a second opinion. Your only recourse is to not go back. You can also give bad reviews. As far as leverage to negotiate, you have none and they already have all your money. 