Cat owner uses ChatGPT to find catastrophic error in vet's diagnosis, demanding a $300 retest and saving his cat's life: 'I don't trust doctors or vets anymore'

Author image for Blake Seidel
Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Apr 7, 2026 9:30 AM EDT

Are we really living in a world where AI is more trustworthy than the doctors in our hospitals?

There is such a thing as too much information. When WebMD came out, it made everyone believe that the five minutes of research about their symptoms was about the same as 8+ years of medical school. A small cough could mean that you had some purrfectly obscure diagnosis that only you could find. Don't get us wrong, sources of information like WebMD are very useful, but should always be verified with a doctor who actually did go to medical school.

Now, with the increasing popularity of AI, the same thing could happen. A treasure trove of information without proper context can lead to wildly different outcomes, but it can also catch the rare human errors that slip through the cracks. For example, just a few weeks ago, a man cured his doggo's terminal cancer by making a vaccine with the help of ChatGPT and other generative AI. You have to admit that that's pretty incredible.

One of the unfurtunate parts of being human is making mistakes, and those mistakes have consequences. One cat owner got a life-ending diagnosis for his fluffy feline, and was advised to let her pass as soon as possible, but something about the results just didn't make sense to him. So, he plugged in the results to ChatGPT, and that's when he discovered that the vet might be wrong. He went back in and demanded a new test, which ended up saving his cat's life. Seems that not everything around AI is terrible.

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    Close-up of a Calico Kitten Looking Up

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    A few months ago now, my cat (who has chronic kidney disease) had bloodwork done. The vet did her blood panel and apparently her Red Blood Cell (RBC) level was at 2.8%.
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    They told me this was "incompatible with life" and that she was essentially a "walking ghost" only staying upright because her medication was masking the pain.
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    They heavily pressured me to euthanize her as soon as possible. I am not a doctor.
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  • No pet pawrents wants to hear those words. They are the heaviest words you can experience. It means the end of everything, but also, hopefully, the end of suffering. But that's what was so strange about the cat, she wasn't suffering, and yet, her results said that she could pass any day.

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    I didn't know what a 2.8% RBC meant, I just trusted the vet. I spent the next three days in a living hell.
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    I took multiple days off work, unable to function. I stopped her subcu fluids and other medications at home because I wanted her to enjoy her last few moments and it was always hard and traumatizing for her.
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    My family came over for emotional support, and to say goodbye to her. Even with the diagnosis my cat was acting normal.
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    'I thought that maybe I was just coping and in denial, but I had to double check'
    via AleksandarGeorgiev

    Vets Checking Cat's Ear Health

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    She was jumping on the couch, meowing for treats, and grooming herself. I called the vet at least 3 times explaining her activity, and they still insisted on euthanasia.
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    They told us that she could suffer a catastrophic organ failure at any second. We actually scheduled euthanasia twice.
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    We ran late because we were so distraught, and they closed before we got there. We then scheduled an at home euthanasia but then they actually cancelled on us because they read the 2.8% report and said she was "too fragile" to do at home and insisted on a hospital euthanasia.
    via Rynide
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    With her acting so normal, I started feeding her lab values into ChatGPT. I asked, "What would a cat with 2.8% RBC look like?" It told me that at 2.8%, a cat would be comatose, gasping for air, and unable to lift its head.
    via Rynide
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    Ask anything 1621 ChatGPT v What can I help with? chatgpt.com B G
    via Tim Witzdam from Pexels

    Smartphone Displaying AI Chat Interface

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    It told me that if my cat was jumping on the couch, the 2.8% was likely a lab error.
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  • When you get even the slightest bit of hope to save someone you love, you don't look away. You grasp at every straw in reach, and we would have done exactly the same thing if we were them. We're glad they followed their instincts, as it saved their fur baby's life!

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    I thought that maybe I was just coping and in denial, but I had to double check.
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    I went back to the vet and insisted on a retest (mind you these are not cheap, approx $300 USD).
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    I told them I was ready to euthanize afterward if the numbers were real, but I needed to know.
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    Turns out her RBC wasn't 2.8%. It's 22.8%. The first report was a catastrophic error. Because of that mistake, I stopped her fluids for three days, which caused her kidney creatinine to spike from a 4 to an 8.
    via Rynide
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    I almost killed her by following the vet's advice to stop treatment. I am traumatized. My cat thankfully has recovered from the spike we caused all the way back down to a 4.
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    If I hadn't used chatgpt to explain her condition compared with her actions, I would have just taken their word at face value and euthanized her.
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    3 years ago I believe the outcome would have been very different. I don't trust doctors or vets anymore.
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    Going forward I'm going to plug every dire condition and diagnosis into chatgpt to fully understand it for myself.
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    There are so many resources out there that chatgpt or other LLMs can access that I wouldn't be able to find on my own.
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    It truly is a life changing treasure trove of information that can prevent situations like this.
    via Rynide

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chatGPT artificial intelligence Cats animals demanding saved vet doctors
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