Doctor faces inquiry after giving his cat a Cat scan at Italian hospital

Article / Archive

Doctor faces inquiry after giving his cat a Cat scan at Italian hospital
Italian radiologist, who says injured pet was ‘between life and death’, also operated on animal at Aosta facility
Angela Giuffrida / Feb 5, 2025


The injured cat fell from the roof of a six-storey building. Picture posed by a model.

An Italian doctor has been placed under investigation after giving his cat a Cat scan at a hospital in Aosta before performing a life-saving operation on the feline.

Gianluca Fanelli took the animal, called Athena, to Umberto Parini hospital in the northern Italian region, where he is a manager of the radiology unit, after she fell from a roof.

“She was between life and death,” Fanelli said. “I knew I could only save her with a quick intervention.”

Athena underwent a brief Cat scan before Fanelli performed pneumothoracic surgery on her in the unit’s angiography suite.

She survived the ordeal, but the local health authority undertook an internal inquiry into the incident and referred the case to prosecutors in Aosta, who said Fanelli could face charges of wasting public money and depriving patients of essential services.

In his defence, Fanelli said he used the hospital equipment after hours, when all the X-rays scheduled for the day had been completed and no other patients were booked in for urgent tests.

Athena, who plunged six floors from the roof of the building where the family live, was one of five stray cats Fanelli said he had “rescued from the street and saved from extreme conditions”.

“I’m sorry if all of this led to a violation of the rules,” he said, adding that he was ready to reimburse the hospital if his actions proved costly.

“Being a doctor means carrying out a mission. The driving force is precisely the life that flows in the eyes of those who entrust themselves to your care. And this life flows in every living being. If my cat had died, I would never have been able to forgive myself, especially because my children adore her.”

Fanelli is married to Nicoletta Spelgatti, a senator for the League party. “My husband saved a life. That’s it,” she said.

 

[gampboonerisms]

I mean, was it the use of that ct machine or the procedure for the pneumothorax that got him in 'trouble'?

either way, man did no wrong, cat alive yay!

 

[BradeRunna]

This kind of expensive medical care shouldn't be wasted on animals. Animals aren't on the same level as humans. If your cat is that bad off that it needs a CT scan or whatever it's probably best to just euthanize it and end its suffering. You can always get a new cat.

 

[Penis Drager 2.0]

This kind of expensive medical care shouldn't be wasted on animals. Animals aren't on the same level as humans. If your cat is that bad off that it needs a CT scan or whatever it's probably best to just euthanize it and end its suffering. You can always get a new cat.

Tell me: what resources did this man use other than his own time and labor? Adding a few cents to the hospital's electric bill?
How many patients are going to receive lower quality care because of what this man did? None. That's how many.

Allowing this to slide sets a bad precedent, I agree. But to say the man did anything wrong is absolute lunacy.

 

[Aunt Carol]

It was a CT, not MRI, huge difference.

Nobody is asking the real question: did he use contrast? How are Athena's kidneys?? Kitties are just little people in fur coats teetering on renal failure.


Anyway, make him pay a fine but give it to an animal charity and issue a public statement that Dr. Goofball has been told to knock it off, but include a picture of him with the kitty.

And let it be known to the house supe that if a human needs non-emergent interventional radiology at that hospital after hours, this doc has lost his "call me in the morning" privileges. He clearly knows how to get there at 2300; the patient can meow if it helps.

 

[Dead Lion]

This is textbook necessity.

Also the guy must be a very skilled doctor, he isn’t a surgeon or a veterinarian yet was able to save the cats life. Most doctors aren’t that flexible.

 

[Prokhor Zakharov]

Nobody is asking the real question: did he use contrast? How are Athena's kidneys?? Kitties are just little people in fur coats teetering on renal failure.


Anyway, make him pay a fine but give it to an animal charity and issue a public statement that Dr. Goofball has been told to knock it off, but include a picture of him with the kitty.

And let it be known to the house supe that if a human needs non-emergent interventional radiology at that hospital after hours, this doc has lost his "call me in the morning" privileges. He clearly knows how to get there at 2300; the patient can meow if it helps.

For a pneumo I guarantee he didn't use contrast (I know you were making the argument in good jest, but you're not wrong on your last point, cat kidneys are the first thing we need to fix with cats once we perfect genetic editing)

He must be quite skilled as a physician. He would have needed to use a what was essentially a small child/infant chest tube to stabilize the cat. That is a very difficult procedure on someone that small. But it would literally be the same procedure between a small child/infant and a cat as the structures are essentially identical.

 

[Megaton Punch]

FTR, I don't disagree that an investigation is needed. As far as the board knows, the guy could be running a full operation to being cats for free CTs. I hope they are fair on how this will solved. A life is a life.


I had to check locally. The most expensive is about $600, and the simplest one, around $60. If you do it in a public hospital, it's obviously cheaper.

You all are scammed wtf. Fuck them hard, RFKjr.

CT scans aren't expensive in America. Usually free with insurance. Probably $1000ish without insurance depending on where you live. Much cheaper in rural areas, down to a few hundred bucks out of pocket.

Shitholes like NYC and LA drive the national average way up, but they don't count because I don't care about them. But even there a CT is nowhere near five figures.

Much of the cost of a scan comes from paychecks, not graft. The technologist gets paid, the radiologist gets paid, and your doctor gets paid to interpret the findings. And they all get paid quite well. It's the one part of the medical industry that isn't a ripoff.

 

[Corpun]

I gave two cans of pecans to my toucans when I took them to get cat scans

Dogs can’t use MRI machines, but cats scan

You can have toucans as pets? Thought they were one of those banned exotic animals. Also how come dogs aren't able to use MRI machines? genuinely curious.

 

[Kim]

You can have toucans as pets? Thought they were one of those banned exotic animals. Also how come dogs aren't able to use MRI machines? genuinely curious.

His comment was entirely word play and not serious, but toucans are legal as pets in many, many countries.

 

[allthewaydowntotheballbag]

I don't care if it cost billions. An innocent life is invaluable.

 

[gampboonerisms]

This kind of expensive medical care shouldn't be wasted on animals. Animals aren't on the same level as humans. If your cat is that bad off that it needs a CT scan or whatever it's probably best to just euthanize it and end its suffering. You can always get a new cat.

shut up
the cat is alive because of this man
by the time you die, your kids will hate you and you'll be rotting in a nursing home paid for by the state and you'll be discovered 2 weeks too late. If you die outside at least an animal like a cat or dog could scavenge your face for food. But you'll probaby be such a piece of shit by then, even vultures wont eat your organs.

 

[BikeLock]

to be fair each time you boot up a MRI it costs thousands of dollars the fact this doc thought he could just sneak in and no one would notice is silly.

Thousands of dollars of energy, or billable hours?

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

His comment was entirely word play and not serious, but toucans are legal as pets in many, many countries.

Saw a video of someone grooming their elderly toucan recently. Poor toucan was too old to do it themselves, so the owner had to do it. Had no idea those beaks took so much effort to clean.

 

[Jump]

Thousands of dollars of energy, or billable hours?

Read the rest of the thread. It wasn't a MRI.
It was a CT scan. CT scans are just 3D X-ray.
MRI's cost big bucks because they use lots of helium to keep their superconductors cool. The cost with CT scans is not running the machine, its the people dealing with you during the scan and the doctor interpreting the results.

Back when I was a little kid the big panic was people putting razor blades or needles in holloween candy. Local hospitals would X-ray kids candy.

Now they are using CT scanning and ai for automated food QC.

 

[Positron]

Nobody is asking the real question: did he use contrast?

If it was trauma assessment, contrast should not be needed.

If I were the doctor I would do what he did, and face whatever disciplinary action they deal out. If the punishment is too outrageous I'll involve the politicos and the press.

 

[Marvin]

He must be quite skilled as a physician. He would have needed to use a what was essentially a small child/infant chest tube to stabilize the cat. That is a very difficult procedure on someone that small. But it would literally be the same procedure between a small child/infant and a cat as the structures are essentially identical.

Frankly it'd be neat if he could claim it as practice on his licensing transcript. However that works. I know doctors have to regularly do additional training / continuing education.

 

[Big moth tiddies]

This kind of expensive medical care shouldn't be wasted on animals. Animals aren't on the same level as humans. If your cat is that bad off that it needs a CT scan or whatever it's probably best to just euthanize it and end its suffering. You can always get a new cat.

Are you an Indian, a nigger, or a chink?
I only ask because you lack the ability to read that the guy offered to pay for the use of the machine, and you clearly have no feelings for animals which is a white person trait.

 

[Jump]

 

[Kim]

View attachment 6953048View attachment 6953049View attachment 6953050


View attachment 6953070

The first three are forbidden burritos. DO NOT EAT or else!

 

[BradeRunna]

Tell me: what resources did this man use other than his own time and labor? Adding a few cents to the hospital's electric bill?
How many patients are going to receive lower quality care because of what this man did? None. That's how many.

Allowing this to slide sets a bad precedent, I agree. But to say the man did anything wrong is absolute lunacy.

These machines costs like nearly a million dollars. The medical centers that order them often do scans for no real reason just to pay for them. It was a big story a while back.

They are very expensive. This puts unnecessary wear and tear on the machine without any payment for that usage.

shut up
the cat is alive because of this man
by the time you die, your kids will hate you and you'll be rotting in a nursing home paid for by the state and you'll be discovered 2 weeks too late. If you die outside at least an animal like a cat or dog could scavenge your face for food. But you'll probaby be such a piece of shit by then, even vultures wont eat your organs.

Are you an Indian, a nigger, or a chink?
I only ask because you lack the ability to read that the guy offered to pay for the use of the machine, and you clearly have no feelings for animals which is a white person trait.

You are both prime examples of what is wrong with the Western world. Too much overly emotional faggotry.