vet charge

So I took my boys in to the vet this morning for their annual check up and Wiggies got a senior blood panel done. $460 later... oh well, I knew it would be expensive. The thing that annoyed me was that we were talking about Fortiflora and adding it to Wigg's wet food to get him to eat more wet and balance his gut flora. So they way she said it was "if you like, I'll give you some Fortiflora to try, and if you like it you can come in and buy some from us". So I thought she was giving me some free samples. Nope turns out they charged me for it. Gee thanks!
I think my vet is really expensive. That's almost $500 for an annual check-up, rabies & Fel shots for two cats and a blood test for one cat. Those kind of prices can really put people off taking their pets to the vet!
How much would you expect to pay for an annual?

One third of that in NC. That would be for check up and blood work to check values and thyroid.

Very overpriced. I'd be finding another vet; that's a rip off! I'd recommend looking up reviews/ratings in your area, and calling references to find a nice, reputable vet that does quality work without charging an arm and a leg for routine things.

(In a side note, I've also, I've used Fortiflora in the past when Mykelti was a puppy and had some digestive issues. It works well (used for a few weeks to get her situated, then took her off of it), but vets offices tend to overcharge for it. There are some good, reputable websites online you can order it off of if you prefer to try that. )

I just took our three in for annual exams last week which included Sparkle getting rabies and feline leukemia immunizations, and Lily got one for upper respiratory. Three exams and three shots it was $360 (includes expensive tax). A blood panel is $150+.

I would ask about the food - that sure sounded like a sample, maybe someone messed up by charging you for it.

Ouch!  I know we are in different countries but that sounds crazy!!  I forget the price of the senior blood panel (haven't done one yet...I just asked) and I remember thinking that was expensive; but the normal visit with vaccines is somewhere between $50 and $80 per cat.  I didn't even pay that much when Noodles got sick a few months ago and had to have meds and an x-ray and all that.  

I think I love my vet's office even more now.  (I graduated high school with the vet that saw Noodles when she was sick.)

One thing I'm thankful for is the reasonable prices vets charge here in Israel. I don't pay anything for just bringing a cat in for a checkup, almost always. Which is a great relief, because I don't have to think twice about taking them in even if it's something relatively minor. Vaccinations cost around $40. Blood panel  around $60. For spaying feral females that I trap, they only charge me $150, which I think is reasonable, given they're not a charity. They fix males for half that price.

By the way, this is a great topic for a thread and I could even work it into an article if we get enough information. Maybe if those replying could state certain things like: location (country/state), whether they live in a rural or urban area, price of a checkup, of routine vaccinations, and of a blood panel. These could be good benchmarks, I think?

I think it would be very interesting to see a comparison between states/countries for various services.

I do feel our vet is expensive, but SwampWitch seems to be paying the same on the other side of the country. Looks like Canada is an expensive country to keep a cat in.

That's a very good idea. lf we had local comparisons for a specific list of tests/treatments, that would be very helpful.

Unfortunately, l think l'm the only person here on TCS living in this area 

For Rhys's first vet visit after coming to me, he got a first exam, his 2nd FVRCP shot, and a Milbemax dewormer tablet. "All" of that cost me $161.14

The breakdown shows: FVRCP and exam - $133.50, Milbemax 4mg - $9.10, HST (Ontario tax @ 13%) $18.54.

That was in a suburb of the city of Ottawa (right around the corner from my house) at a new (to me) vet, to which l obviously did not return!!

For Rhys's second vet visit, l took him back to my regular vet, which is a half-hour drive south of the city.

He got his 3rd FVRCP shot, and another first exam since this was their first time seeing him. No dewormer. This visit cost me $85.99

The breakdown was: vaccine $18.60, kitten exam $57.50, HST $9.89

Third visit, again drove to regular vet for a rabies shot, and l brought in a stool sample. Total cost $57.32

Breakdown: Rabies vaccine $18.60, ova and parasite test $32.13, HST $6.59.

Andrya said:

That's a very good idea. lf we had local comparisons for a specific list of tests/treatments, that would be very helpful.

Unfortunately, l think l'm the only person here on TCS living in this area 

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Hi Andrya, I'm around TO, so not that far from you.

Average cost for me for an exam for 2 cats, plus vaccinations and a stool sample is around $135...I agree that Canadian prices do seem higher than some places in the US.

Andrya, where in Ontario are you? There are a lot of TCS members in the London/Toronto area. :dk:

I don't have numbers for vaccinations, because we don't vaccinate. They got rabies until I knew better, and any new rescues do get rabies and distemper (with the 3-week follow-up) and that's it. I won't subject my cats' immune systems to that anymore, and if it were required by law, I'd be titre testing.

I live in rural New Jersey.

A basic exam went up from $45 to $52
A follow-up exam is $38

Oh - a spay went up from $120 to $135.
Doesn't include the follow-up pain meds: $26

Neutering: went up from $80 to $90.

Daily cost of hospitalization, incl IV fluids if necessary: $47
Charge for Ringers Lactate: $18

Rabies vaccination (the 3 year): $24
Rabies vaccination (Muriel PureVax): $34
Distemper: $24 (each, so if first year, a 2nd one is administered 3 weeks later)

FIV/FeLV ELISA test: $32

Comprehensive (Sr. Panel) Bloodwork $139
Hematocrit only: $14

Complete urinalysis: $24
Fecal: $14

X-ray $98, $80 for additional views
If tranquilizer required: $35 plus $15 for the tranq reversal

Ultrasound: ranges from $210 to $325 depending on what and who's doing it (cardiologist visit is different than when done by staff).
Abdominal ultrasound: $235

Blood pressure: $20 plus the $38 follow-up exam

Basic anesthetic dental: $225; $50 per extraction


Convenia (antibiotic) injection: $24
Ivermectin injection (treat ferals for lung worm): $14

Are Canadian dollars vs American dollars equal / equivalent or do they need to be converted?

LDG said:

Andrya, where in Ontario are you? There are a lot of TCS members in the London/Toronto area.

 

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l'm in a west end suburb of Ottawa, about 400km from Toronto. 

Catapault said:

Are Canadian dollars vs American dollars equal / equivalent or do they need to be converted?

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lt used to be an old joke here in Canada that our dollars were worthless. So if we were talking about the cost of something here, say for $200, the joke was that it was the equivalent of about $10US.

Right now we're pretty much at even par.

Oh wow - so you're closer to Montreal than Toronto!

I just started going to a new vet because my previous vet's office would charge me $48 for an office visit and never really did much

of an examination on my cats.  I think for an office visit charge they should weigh my cat, check his temperature, palpate them,

listen to their heart and respiration.  They weren't doing much of anything and they even got the weight wrong on one visit.

I do all my own vaccines.  My indoor cats get vaccinated with the viral vaccine every 3 years.  My outdoor cats get the viral, leukemia and rabies every year.  I have found an organization in my area that will spay/neuter, test, vaccinate, deworm, deflea and microchip all for $115

I take my cats to a cats only clinic in Columbus OH.  These are their charges for routine care:

    New patient                            $77

    New kitten exam                       51

    Existing patient exam               58

    Existing patient medical            68

    Reevaluation of existing problem 23-40

    Behavior counseling                  77-158

    Vaccines other than leukemia    16 each

    Leukemia vaccine                      21

    Feline leukemia/FIV screening    54

    Deworm                                    15 each

    Fecal exam                               23

Patches gets a liver panel done every six months and it's $60.   They will also throw in some freebies with a high dollar health problem.  When Patches was so sick she did a second ultrasound and needle biopsy for free.  I have not had a cat euthanized since I have started going there but I know that they routinely do that for free with an ill cat that they have been caring for.  This clinic is a little more than the average for this area but I think they are worth the extra money.

Rhys is at the vet right now.

l asked how much it will be for his neuter and microchip, and was told it's $266.

Do you guys have health insurance for your animals? Mine covers check ups, dental, and most blood work, and a few specific tests that I can't recall offhand. It's a monthly expense but pretty cheap overall.

l don't have any pet health insurance.

Neuter $149.50

Sustained release Buprenorphine $17.93

Microchip implant $67.50

HST $30.43

Total $265.47

Office-visit,which-includes-exam,which-they-should-look-in-their-eyes,ears,check-teeth,feel-around-the-neck,listen-to-the-heart-and-lungs,palipate-the-whole-body,run-the-flea-comb-thru-their-fur,if-they-are-sick,take-their-temp,ask-if-there-are-any-health-issues-or-concerns,then-examine-that-part-of-the-body.Ballpark-$40-$45

CBC-and-Wellness-Blood-Panel-$45

X-Ray,norm-is-taken-from-the-side-$85,if-there-is-a-specific-issue,and-another-one-needs-to-be-taken-from-the-top,some-will-charge-again,some-will-charge-1/2,I-wasn't-charged,mine-was-an-ER-issue.

Rabies-$27

FeLV-$17

Spay-$150

Neuter-forget-now,will-have-to-look-it-up

Its-never-a-good-idea-to-get-2-shots-at-the-same-time.If-kitty-has-a-reaction,you-won't-know,to-which-one-,and-now-kitty-has-to-be-pre-treated,for-every-shot.It-happened-to-me,you-don't-ever-want-to-go-thru-that,kitty-having-a-violent-reaction.I-now-do-one-shot-at-a-time.

You-want-to-look-for-an-AHAA-vet.