Should the Vet have noted ectopic fetuses when my cat was spayed?

Hi, I acquired a cat (Jackie), a retired Siberian queen from a reputable breeder in December last year. The breeder mentioned she was spayed around October last year and showed the documents saying she was spayed. I purchased PetPlan insurance on the same day I acquired her. Jackie has had no issues until a couple of weeks ago when she had a minor eye issue. I took her to the Vet clinic, the same Vet clinic which spayed her, and the Vet did a quick check-up and noticed an unusual lump in her abdomen. He asked me to bring her back in for a full scan the day after. Turns out, the lump were two mummified fetuses. The Vet and I were very surprised, as she was spayed, and Jackie had an operation to remove them the day after. The Vet mentioned he has never seen anything like it before, and had to research it online. I claimed on my insurance and paid my excess, however PetPlan have now rejected the claim saying: "We are unable to assist with the cost of any treatment in connection with breeding, pregnancy or giving birth." I did check the fine print of my policy after, and it does say this. However I simply don't have the money to pay for the operation and costs (~ £2200), and it would cause me significant financial distress. I asked my Vet if they could appeal but they say they have no grounds. I just feel the whole situation just seems very unfair, I felt like the Vet should've noticed the mass when Jackie was spayed, and I didn't expect a spayed cat to have this problem, and I felt like I did everything right by getting insurance as well. It just seems like a very bad series of unfortunate events. Should it have been something the Vet noticed when Jackie was spayed last year?

Apologies for the lack of spacing, I don't know why the post removed them when it got published.

Hello - what a frustrating story.  The short answer is no;  I would not guarentee that a vet would find an ectopic pregnancy during the course of a normal spey operation.  Speys are carried out through very small holes; the horn is located (if you look at a picture, cat uteruses have small bodies and very long horns ending at the ovary; the fetuses usually form within the horn).  Having found the horn, it is followed to the ovary and tied off, then followed in the other direction to where it joins the other horn, and the other horn is then also followed to the ovary and tied off and then the cervix.  If all of this looked normal, I certainly wouldn't think 'I'll just search the rest of the abdomen to make sure there isn't an unexpected fetus hiding somewhere outside the womb.'  Ectopic pregnancies are extremely rare.  A full search for one would involve a longer wound - probably abdominal - which would increase the cost and trauma of every spey, to very little advantage because so few ectopic pregnancies would be found.  I suppose the question then becomes, why were the lumps felt recently but not at the time of the spey. I don't think it unlikely that the fetuses changed in that time - perhaps an inflammatory reaction came up around them, making them more easily palpable, or possibly fluid.  It seems likely that the person who did the histology on the sample might confirm whether or not they feel that the size of the fetus might have changed, making them more palpable recently. The whole situation sounds most horribly unfair.  It might be possible that the insurance company may help you out of goodwill, because I agree that you did everything right.  However, they might not be obligated to do this.  There is an agency that investigate insurance companies  standards- and as the company's current system seems to tend to miss rare cases like yours, you might let them know.  However, but this does read to be an open and shut case.  I am so sorry that it happened to you.

PS I feel that it is most definitely worth appealling; the insurance company should be aware of this situation because it does seem so unfair.