So I gave the owner or the managers plenty of time to return my calls in which they have obviously chosen not to. Maybe this will get their attention. If not, at least the word will be out about their business practices.

First off, a little background on myself. I am not a bar hopper and am far from a regular drinker. I have frequented the Cat's Paw for the last few years since moving here, but usually have a beer or two and lunch since it's right up the road from where I work. They have great food and drinks for a reasonable price.

Friday night, myself, my husband and a couple friends decided to go out for a few drinks after the Hunting and Fishing Expo at the Fairgrounds. Since we were planning on sticking around for a couple hours, we decided to run a tab. My husband drank the $1.75 beer specials, my friends drank bottled beer and her husband also had a couple double rum and cokes. Myself, I drank 2 double rum and cokes and switched over to singles and had 4 of them.  When it was close for us to leave, I asked the waitress if she could let us know where our tab was sitting at. She brought me back a $120 tab. On this tab was 6 double rum and cokes at $8.50, 6 single rum and cokes at $4.50, 8 bottled beers at $3-something and 10 pints of their beer special, plus some food I ordered. So here are my points, which I pointed out to the manager (who I had to wait on because he was playing poker-NOT DEALING, PLAYING)-

No way, no how did my husband drink 10 pints when we ordered all our drinks at the same time.
$8.50 for a watered down double rum and coke? At the Cat's Paw?
We were there for 2 hours and racked up a $120 tab?

Now don't get me wrong, I am not a cheapskate and I am a very reasonable person, but this was not what our tab should have been at. We all had 6 drinks...a piece. No more, no less.

The manager agreed that the tab seemed a bit excessive and said he would remove 4 of the beer specials and 4 of the double rum and cokes-which I thought was reasonable. I also asked him why in the heck their doubles were so expensive. He told me that their doubles are actually triples. In which I said "so you pour more alcohol than people ask for?" No answer on that, but he said "we've got the cheapest drinks in Bozeman." Are you kidding me? I could drink at the airport for cheaper.

When the waitress returned with our new tab, there was only 10 bucks taken off. At this point, I decided not to argue, so I paid and left.

The next morning, I called to speak to Tom (the owner) or a manager. The waitress whom I spoke to wouldn't pass me to a manager. She was rude, unreasonable and patronizing. She kept calling me honey, she told me that I shouldn't drink if I don't know what I am paying for and that I should find another bar. I explained to her that I wasn't going to argue with her about my tab and that I'd appreciate a phone call from a manager or Tom. I left my number and was hung up on. This was Saturday morning. They have had plenty of time to return my call and have chosen not to...so guess what? It's now my duty as a citizen of this town to let people know NOT to run a bar tab at the Cat's Paw. They will screw you, they will treat you like crap, attempt to get you drunk to take advantage of you and they don't care about the good people that frequent their establishment.

As a business owner myself, I can't believe the treatment I have received there. It's a bar, I get it...but they messed up and should fix it.

EDITED TO ADD AN UPDATE:

This morning, the Bar Manager called me to clear things up. They admitted fault both with the excessive drinks (not the price, but the amount) and apologized profusely for the snotty waitress whom I talked to Saturday morning (I am under the impression they have had issues with her attitude before). They offered myself and my husband lunch and drinks in which I will take them up on their offer.

Thanks Ron. You have restored my faith in good customer service.

BUT, I will NEVER run a tab there again :-)