Anyone familiar with Covenia and dosing?

I took one of my cats to a vet that the rescue I work with recommended (I'm new to the area and don't have a new vet yet).  He had a UTI and was blocked.

Because he is still somewhat feral, he had to be sedated to be worked on and they said they had trouble getting him unblocked.

Because he is difficult, almost impossible to handle, they gave him Covenia.

This whole thing cost me quite a bit, but looking through the receipt I noticed they gave him 2 Covenia shots.

Is this normal?

One was for a quantity of 0.54 (nothing else noted) for $61.00

The second was for a quantity of 0.13 and was $50.00

Since the 2nd amount was so small, would anyone know why they would not give him one shot instead of 2?

Yet they charged me close to the same thing for the 2nd shot.

I wasn't very impressed with this vet, but would lik,e to get answers before I complain, in case I'm wrong.

They also insisted on giving and charging me for Phenoxybenzamine 2.5 in capsule form.  I asked them if I could open the capsules and put it in some tuna juice for him.  They said I shouldn't because he might not get the whole dose.

Duh.  They gave him Covenia because he cannot be handled then gave me capsules to give him that I shouldn't put in food?

They knew there was no way for me to give it to him, yet insisted I buy it from them.  That, to me, is padding the bill.

This whole thing cost me $537.00.  I don't mind paying for care he needs, but I do have issues when I think I'm being messed with.

I don't understand the two shots, but want to know as many facts as I can before I talk to them.

Any opinions?

Thanks!

Hello, sorry you had this problem with your boy.

Covenia dosage is based on the weight of a cat. 3.6mg per lb and mg/ml may differ depending on manufacturer, not sure, but perhaps they could not get his full dose into 1 shot?

Phenoxybenzamine is given to relax the muscle of the urinary sphincter, and because he had a rough time being unblocked, is probably very inflamed. I'm not sure if it comes in any other form that would be easier to give him, but I don't see a problem with giving it in his food, or perhaps wrapped in a piece of meat.

Most importantly he needs a lot of water to keep his bladder flushed. Canned food with some water added will go a long way to make sure he gets enough.

This page http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth gives a lot of information on managing this condition.

Hope this helps and keep us posted.