‘The most expensive cat’: Owners spot cat’s neck doing something weird while sleeping, what vets find costs them a fortune

Paul Lovatt and his partner Marie Ruffell recently paid around £21,000 to save their cat Kobi’s life. Lovatt now calls Kobi “the most expensive cat in Bournemouth” after the cat had one of the most difficult heart surgeries ever done at a specialist animal hospital.

According to BBC, the problem started in early 2025 during a regular vet visit. Lovatt had already noticed something was wrong with Kobi. He saw two strange signs: “When he played he would pant heavily and then when he was asleep his neck would pulse.”

The pulsing neck worried the local vet, who sent Kobi to Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists in Ringwood, Hampshire. This high-tech hospital only handles complex cases for cats and dogs.

Kobi’s heart condition required one of the most challenging surgeries ever performed at the facility

Specialists found that Kobi had extra arteries feeding blood back to his heart by mistake. This made his heart work much harder and pushed him into early heart failure. Ruffell explained how serious it was, saying, “Without the operation he would have died for certain.”

The surgery took hours and was designed to block the unnecessary blood flow routes. Tobi Wagner, the head of cardiology at the center, led the operation. He said he loves the challenge and believes cases like Kobi’s show how advanced modern veterinary surgery has become.

The £21,000 total includes transport, separate vet bills, and other costs. The surgery itself cost £12,500. Luckily, insurance and grants covered much of the bill because Kobi’s case was so rare. This kind of financial burden reflects rising veterinary costs nationwide, which are forcing difficult decisions for many pet owners. Lovatt said he and Ruffell never hesitated to go ahead with the surgery, calling Kobi “one of their babies.” Ruffell was very thankful, saying, “What Tobi’s done for Kobi… I can’t thank him enough.”

The facility treats pets with the same care as human hospitals. Cardiology clinician Vicki Greet said the hospital is built almost exactly like a human hospital, just sized for animals. “People don’t often realise that the hospital is set up like this,” she said. The center doubled its size to 30,000 square feet two years ago, making it one of the largest referral centers in the UK.

Wagner expressed concern that more owners are skipping treatment because of money worries. “It has changed a lot,” he said. He added that many animals are “put to sleep rather than treated and this is probably somehow financially driven. It’s a sad thing.” Many pet owners struggle with understanding proper pet care decisions, especially when facing expensive medical choices. Wagner noted, “We definitely feel very responsible to do the very best because we know they’re very precious to the owner.”