It looks like you've gotten some good replies so far but I wanted to chime in.
I have called over my state and the prices vary by hundreds of dollars. If you're willing to drive a little bit, you can usually get a great deal. I suggest you call around to a number of places within a radius that you are comfortable traveling. For me, I am willing to drive up to an hour, but it's different for everyone. I did find one place in a larger city that did low cost clinics. They would do rabies/distempur shots for $12 each and did not charge an exam fee... the only drawback was that they didn't
do an exam so if there was something else wrong w/ your kitty they wouldn't catch it. They also offered low cost spay/neuter. I think I paid $40 for my male cat to be neutered and then a few years later paid $80 each to spay some female feral cats. I did the low cost shots every year for Giraffe until he broke his leg at 2 years old...
He was an outside cat at the time, but when he came limping with his leg mangled, I could not help but feel incredibly sorry for him. I took him to the cat hospital and they charged me $75 for the "emergency visit" (even though most vet places can get you in same day for their standard fee which in my experience is between 25 and 50 dollars) and then said it would cost between 800-1200 to amputate his leg (they could not save it). At the time, that was a very steep cost for me, so I took my kitty home and called around the next morning. I found that if I called in the more metropolitan areas, they wanted around $1000 or more but when I called in the more rural places, they were more reasonable. I found a vet that would do EVERYTHING (pre-surgery blood work, IV, anesthesia, rabies and distemper updates, surgery, pain meds, antibiotics, overnight stay, and aftercare) for $450. This was the first place they let me actually talk to the doctor that would be doing the surgery. He was VERY knowledgeable and explained EVERYTHING they would do. I was still sort of hesitant at first since the price was considerably lower but this was really my only choice. My BF (who I was living with in his home) told me I should just leave him outside to die
so I had to pay for it myself which at the time was all I could afford. Needless to say, Giraffe is now an inside only cat and is doing EXTREMELY well. And, until very recently they were his primary veterinarian and they are WONDERFUL! They are always so caring and their prices are very reasonable. I did have to drive about 45 minutes to get there, but that was a small price to pay for their wonderful service and fair pricing.
Now, I have a different vet that is closer. I loved the old vet, but driving the cats to for so long can be very stressful for me and them, and they almost always poop in the carrier from being nervous
. The new place charges about $45 for rabies and distemper shots and no extra exam fee... they consider that included. Standard fecal testing was about $20 and complete blood workup (including t4) was about $150. This is slightly more expensive than the old place, but the shorter drive is worth it for me.
Anyway, I know this is long, so sorry for that. The moral of the story: Call around and use your gut instinct when choosing a vet.
