New Vet, New Prices

So I took Grimalkin to the vet the other day for a check-up, and a look at his ear infection. I wasn't too happy with my previous vet, so I just looked up some reviews online and found another one thats still pretty close to our house.
This place seems a lot cleaner (and isn't run out of an old house lol), the people more friendly, and there's no giant wall of Hills greeting you. xD

They said his coat is great, I shouldn't worry about his hair regrowth, it may just take a while, he has bacteria/yeast combo infections in both ears, and he doesn't have any internal parasites.

Now, for the things they did, do you think $145.75 is a good price??
Took temperature
Intestinal Parasite XM/Fecal Float
Checked teeth
Examined skin on neck as well as back
Felt up his bladder
Examined and then flushed out both ears
Tested ear junk under microscope
Prescribed Baytril Otic

I would've paid around $50 for that here, but again remember I'm in a rural area. $10 for fecal float, $25 for exam, $15 for baytril otic. Everything else is covered under the exam category.

Okay, but what about Cytology - Ear/Skin (aka examining the ear gunk for bacteria/yeast)
and Ear Cleaning (Bilateral) (aka flushing ears with medicated fluid)?

Originally Posted by Minka

Okay, but what about Cytology - Ear/Skin (aka examining the ear gunk for bacteria/yeast)
and Ear Cleaning (Bilateral) (aka flushing ears with medicated fluid)?

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They wouldn't charge me for either of those.

I find it hard to believe that a vet wouldnt charge for cytology - taking an ear swab and looking at the gunk under a microscope.

I would guess that what the op paid was what would be charged at the clinic where I work in Canadian dollars, which is fairly close antways.$73 for exam, maybe $35-40 for ear swab (cytology), $30 for ear meds, and $33 for fecal flotation, and $10-12 for ear cleaner. So we're more expensive! I could be wrong about the price for cytology though. The temperature, checking bladder, teeth, eyes, (should be checking spine, joints, lymph .odes, pulse quality, respiration rate, mucous membrane, CRT- prob check this when they check teeth-pressing on gums and letting go) are all part of the exam plus the consultation.

Canadian taxes are quite high, so almost everything is overpriced in Canada though in my experience, from TVs to cars to computers (except online meds). Vets also seem to adjust their prices depending on the area they are servicing, if you check prices in hoity-toity areas of Dallas compared to say Pearland.

Originally Posted by SweetPea24

I find it hard to believe that a vet wouldnt charge for cytology - taking an ear swab and looking at the gunk under a microscope.

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I've had it done - I'm a very good client with 15+ cats, three dogs, and foster pets - they often do things & don't charge me for them.

IMHO Nat's prices (White cat lover) can't be taken into consideration I have seen it over and over again.... Sometimes I wonder if I should fly Bugsy upthere - she has an amazing deal with her vet - her Dental prices are i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e!!

To the OP, Compared to what I pay here in Dallas, I think you paid a fair price

Well, my daughter just took her cat to the vet for his annual booster shots and checkup. She also had him microchipped, even though he is an indoor cat. You just never know if he would slip out the door some day....

We are in southern Illinois, on the other side of the river from St. Louis. The vet here charged her $135.50 for the exam, which included looking him over visually, looking at his teeth, ears and eyes (and trying to sell us to bring him in for a tooth scaling for an additional $185! Not! He only has a couple places of plaque. It doesn't cost that much for a human to get their teeth cleaned!), and checked a hot spot by his tail where he was digging on a regular basis.

We already know he was worm-free and flea-free. We wanted him to check the hot spot, because we could not find a reason. The vet decided he might have had a former bite that got infected (we do have another cat, and they don't often get along). Funny how we never saw a scab, felt a bump or anything else. I groom him at least every other day, and never felt a thing. He did, however flip and try to bite his tail area when the brush would go back there. He put him on a course of antibiotics to clear up the said infection.

We did not do a fecal smear, which was another $25. We felt since they wanted us to bring in the latest feces in a bag, anything living would have died anyway, and he is regularly wormed. He tested clear last year, and nothing has changed that way.

So, it seemed a little pricey to me, but every area is different. At least our latest vet was much nicer, and our cat was not traumatized from the shots like he was with the vet last year (a lady, who apparently was pretty rough with him). He was not even sore at the microchip site, even though they did not even numb him. They just had him held down and put it in! Poor baby!

- Rabies vaccination booster - $26 (plus $10 additional charge to register it with the state)
- FVRCP - $23.50
- Feline Leukemia booster - $26.50
- Antibiotic (Clavamox liquid) - $22.50
- Microchip $35.00
- Needle disposal fee $2.00

I haven't been myself - this is something my daughter and hubby do, so can't comment on the overall office or anything, but they said it is pretty clean.

Originally Posted by KatyKat

Well, my daughter just took her cat to the vet for his annual booster shots and checkup. She also had him microchipped, even though he is an indoor cat. You just never know if he would slip out the door some day....

- Feline Leukemia booster - $26.50

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He is an indoor cat and your vet gives him Feline Leukemia Vaccine? For next time, just so you know, not only this is unnecessary, but this vaccine is one that has the worst side effects, and one with the highest incidence of fibrosarcoma, a lethal form of cancer. My cats actually came with a contract that I could never give them this vaccine....

A comment on the dental cleaning cost - humans usually aren't sedated when they're having their teeth cleaned (although I'm sure some wish they could be), and does that $185 include bloodwork? Although, you could wait til February which is dental cleaning month - every vet I've heard of in northern Illinois offers discounts that month.

My vet's office visit is $48 for a dog/cat regular wellness check or whatever. Emergency is a bit more and I think a new puppy/kitten may be a little less.

Vaccines run in the $20 range depending on exactly what they are but it works out to be around that.

Fecal exam when we have that done is about $22

When I've had to have ear cytology done on the dog the $25 range sounds right

Heart worm test for the dog every year is $47

When we have a dental cleaning done for the cats it's about $215? no extractions no rads, the dog is a bit more, blood work is about $!00 if it has to be done.

Originally Posted by Carolina

IMHO Nat's prices (White cat lover) can't be taken into consideration

I have seen it over and over again.... Sometimes I wonder if I should fly Bugsy upthere

- she has an amazing deal with her vet - her Dental prices are i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e!!

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I cannot complain - I couldn't afford this many cats if I didn't have a very good priced vet!

Originally Posted by KittyMom4

When we have a dental cleaning done for the cats it's about $215? no extractions no rads, the dog is a bit more, blood work is about $!00 if it has to be done.

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For comparison - I paid $250 for a past dental. That includes a senior blood panel, 30(?) mins surgery time, teeth cleaning, 6 extractions, 14 days antibiotics, & pain meds. When I priced the same in a larger city (again, I live in a VERY rural area), it was about $500+.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

I cannot complain - I couldn't afford this many cats if I didn't have a very good priced vet!
I know Nat... That's AWESOME

For comparison - I paid $250 for a past dental. That includes a senior blood panel, 30(?) mins surgery time, teeth cleaning, 6 extractions, 14 days antibiotics, & pain meds. When I priced the same in a larger city (again, I live in a VERY rural area), it was about $500+.

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That's insane - in a good way - for me that same thing would be close to $900 - $1000 for sure....... all those extractions! whew!

Originally Posted by Carolina

That's insane - in a good way - for me that same thing would be close to $900 - $1000 for sure....... all those extractions! whew!

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No kidding! The blood panel alone would have been an extra $150 or so and I would guess the extractions to be about $30 each - plus any radiography needed - I'm sure there would be some. Plus that kind of a dental procedure would be longer than my usual clean and polish which is quick - so the anesthesia fee goes up! And pain meds to come home on b/c of the extractions (can't forget that LOL) another $30 there. Easy $900 -$1000 for me

That's one reason I have everyone's teeth done so often as basic maintenance. Does anyone else do that? I have my dog and cat's teeth cleaned about every 3 years so they stay nice and healthy to avoid problems. 1 in 3 cats has gingivitis! It can lead to heart trouble among other serious disease starting in cats as young as 2! Something to think on.

Just to have the cats "checked" over runs about $70.00. If they need meds or bloodwork, the tally just keeps going up. I recently had the dog to the vet and for all of her shots, heartworm check, bloodwork and nails trimmed..it was $267.00.

My annual wellness visit for my cats is $98 - this is a visit, fecal, rabies (because they were due) or the 4 way booster (because due) but each one of my cats only needed one shot.

Once they hit the age to get the 4 way boosted after the kitten series I don't continue, the only thing the continue to get is rabies and my vet is fine with it since they are not exposed to any other cats.

My dog's wellness visit was $247!! That was a visit, hear twormtest and 6mo meds, fecal, rabies -and something else but I don't know what! It's crazy.

Thanks everybody for your replies. I have to say I feel much better about the prices now

P.S. - White-cat-lover, do you think it's possible your prices are so low because you have 15+ cats that you take there? I know some vets do multiple pet discounts.

Exams are the only thing my vet offers multiple pet discounts on....and only then if you bring more than one (there is a rate for 2+ or 3+). I pay what everyone else does for things like dentals, blood work, etc.

Then again even though I get good prices, I also don't have many options for a vet....so should I want to get a 2nd opinion I have to travel quite a distance for one. The nearest ultrasound place is a 1 hour drive (one way).