The cost of taking a small animal to the vet doesn't add up

newforest

newforest

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Mar 15, 2008
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It's been on the news recently about the cost that some practices are charging for treatment and medicines.
Looking at it, it's almost costing you more for a dog or cat than getting the vet for the horse.
Actually it IS more than what it costs for the horse.
I know they are running a business, but long gone are the days where calling the vet for the horse is more expensive, it's actually less.

The average vet cost for the cob was £150, a dog or cat is almost £300
Average to spay a cat is £135,
A dog £200, a horse £300, makes sense.
Horse xray £300, dog xray £900.
Her insurance is less for the year than my friends dog.

Your thoughts.
 
I saw some social media headlines but didnt read the articles. I believe there was some media release on one of the morning programmes too. Ive had an email from my horse vet this week saying rather than post on social media they invite you to discuss the matter privately with them.
Nothing from the large animal vets or the pet vet.

It will be interesting to see what i get charged in the next few weeks. The dog is due his vaccinations, hes also old enough now to be castrated.

I also need some more cat and dog wormer but you cant get it without them seeing the animal. They insisted they saw the dog, a free consultation check before they would issue any. I wonder now if since the new rules came in, i think it was in january, whether it will be a chargeable check.
 
We are on the vet worming programme with egg count. Hopefully they only see us once for teeth and tet.
I have to say I think the latest cat microchip is a farce, if your poor pet is knocked down, the local council don't have to check for one.
I also know two cats chipped and new vet 'couldn't find it' and they were redone costing consultation and chip.
 
My ferral is chipped but it wasnt done by me. It was never registered by who ever got it done. Shes been with me 5 years now. When she went in to the vets for the day last year for cystitis i asked the vets to make a note of the number so i could register her microchip. It was even noted on the paperwork i signed to read for a chip. They had the cat the whole day and never got it. It was only after i left and checked my paperwork i realised it wasnt on there. I rang them the next day, to be told they forgot. Shes not been back to the vets since. So i still havent been able to register the cat. Im told the vets can tell by the beginning digits who the microchip company was as you have to register it with that company. It aint no good having a chip if it aint registered and the vets dont give you it.
 
I posted last year about the exorbitant cost of prescription drugs obtained through a vet. One month of Metacam through vet = 6 months of Metacam bought online.

And yet vets are, as far as I can tell, really quite poorly paid.

Of course vet practices are capital heavy and require large premises, but it seems to me that someone somewhere is making a good old wedge.
 
I was thinking of getting chunkys equipalizone online as everyone says is cheaper. But when i asked the vets about a prescription they said it was something like £27 for the prescription. I couldnt see i would be saving anything.
 
There are lots of different variables in the costs you are talking about. For example the X-rays, were both animals under anesthesia? What part did they have x-rayed, was it the same? If the horse was on the road then it's a completely different type of X-ray machine used. The average vet cost, what is that actually covering, what is average?
 
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chunky monkey said:
My ferral is chipped but it wasnt done by me. It was never registered by who ever got it done. Shes been with me 5 years now. When she went in to the vets for the day last year for cystitis i asked the vets to make a note of the number so i could register her microchip. It was even noted on the paperwork i signed to read for a chip. They had the cat the whole day and never got it. It was only after i left and checked my paperwork i realised it wasnt on there. I rang them the next day, to be told they forgot. Shes not been back to the vets since. So i still havent been able to register the cat. Im told the vets can tell by the beginning digits who the microchip company was as you have to register it with that company. It aint no good having a chip if it aint registered and the vets dont give you it.
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Not ideal that the vet staff forgot but you might be able to find someone local to you who you can borrow one off, or you can get one on Amazon for £45 and then return it. Once you have the number visit the petlog website and type it in. It'll tell you where it's registered and you can go from there getting it sorted and registered to you.
 
I know there are lots of variables it's just an example that getting a vet out to your horse is likely to still be less than your dog or cat.

It shouldn't cost more depending on what part of the animal is xrayed, even if you use a different machine. To me as a lay person an xray is an xray.

I often get the "it must cost a lot to keep a horse, especially the vet bills" So I started asking these people if they had a dog or cat and what the costs were. It turns out that these people are paying a lot more for vet care than I am.

I don't know if the cost is anything to do with the relationship between a horse vet and the owner? My vet was fine with putting up bute when I asked last year. I dealt with the vet that came out initially and I said if they wanted to visit to check her over that's fine. They didn't.
 
MrA said:
Not ideal that the vet staff forgot but you might be able to find someone local to you who you can borrow one off, or you can get one on Amazon for £45 and then return it. Once you have the number visit the petlog website and type it in. It'll tell you where it's registered and you can go from there getting it sorted and registered to you.
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Thanks. I think theyll insist on seeing the cat when i ask for more wormer/flea prevention. So im going to make a point of getting the chip number when im there.
There is a lady that goes round and scans lost and dead cats that are on the side of the road. If i get any issues with the vets i will approach her.

I do think this microchip has its uses and im not against it. But when i got Quin i discovered his previous owner hadnt actually registered it. They got him chipped. At point of sale when we talked about transfer of ownership they gave me a card with his chip number but they also implied he was registered.
 
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For me in this area, my horse vet bills are always more expensive, taking into account of what is being done. For example yes my cat could go in for a dental and cost £1600 and Ale could have a dental visit for £250 but they are completely different procedures, meds, time etc. Your area might be different and that's interesting!
 
newforest said:
I also know two cats chipped and new vet 'couldn't find it' and they were redone costing consultation and chip.
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Did the cats just go to the vets to have their microchips checked then, the owner wasn't expecting to pay a consult fee?
 
MrA said:
Did the cats just go to the vets to have their microchips checked then, the owner wasn't expecting to pay a consult fee?
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They were chipped when spayed as that's the law.
So when they went for health check they didn't expect to be charged again for anther chip.

Eta, for some reason I managed to quote someone else.
 
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Removed my comment as realised I'm taking the thread way off topic

So back to the costings, what can be done to improve things does everyone think?
 
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I think to improve things they need to be listing services offered and prices of services.

As I said I can't fault my horse vet, they do have the monopoly on the area as they bought others out.

I can't get my head around why a cat would cost £1600 for dental work and a horse £300.
Perhaps animals are knocked out, when in fact they could be sedated like a horse would be?
 
For me the obvious answer is to get good insurance. Also if you ask for a number of things to be done on a visit, such as a microchip being read or inserted, then check it's been done before you leave and keep invoices so if you then go back and they say the animal isn't chipped you have paperwork to show they've charged you to do it. If you think you need a vet then see one sooner rather than later, it often works out cheaper in the long run.

With horses I'm very clear what I will or won't have done. I'm not paying for tests to confirm a diagnosis if the treatment will be the same for option A or option B, but I will if it will make a big difference to treatment and management. I'd be the same with small animals.
 
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This is just a random price list I pulled up for equine dentals, but I know cats and dogs at my work have xrays, 6-10 teeth removed and a full general anaesthetic for less than this would tally up to.

Screenshot_20240317-203642.png
 
I definitely think there should be a cap on the price of written prescriptions and meds should be made more affordable, I'm just not sure how.

What about more of a focus on preventative health treatments and lifestyles too. Pets might not need that dental with correct dental care and diet. (Yes I do appreciate lots of people get unlucky and I'm not blaming those owners) but to go out and get a dog that's prone to skin conditions, or feed them until they are obese etc and then complain about how much the vet charges to treat them is very frustrating.

It's a sore spot for me I'm afraid as a student veterinary nurse, as I get complained at all the time for the prices. I earn very little for the work I do and then I pay my own vet bills with what I have and I can't complain to anyone as those bills pay my wages 🤣
 
This is going to come across as harsh, but if people cannot afford to look after a pet then they shouldn't get one. Don't blame vets for costs, they need to make a living and are expected to be on hand pretty much 24/7 by some people and perform near miracles.
 
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