Vet costs for litters of kittens?

reigninseattle

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Not really sure if this belongs here, but I wanted to get some input from other people who have cared for litters of kittens.
If you've read my other threads you know I took in a pregnant stray cat a while back. The 5 kittens are now just over 6 weeks old. I took them and mama cat into the vet last wednesday for an exam and their first shots. they put me in the schedule for a 1 1/2 hour appointment for all 6 cats, although the whole appointment only took about an hour. The exams consisted of getting a temperature, the vet looking in their ears and at their teeth, listening to their heart, and squeezing around their bellies. Then a technician gave everyone their shots, dewormed everyone and drew blood from Missy. I guess I didn't really think about how much it would all cost, but when I got the bill the next day I was taken aback. For some reason I guess I didn't think they would charge for a separate exam for each kitten, since it is a litter and they were all seen in the same appointment. It's going to take me a while to pay it off, and although I will be asking rehoming fees for the kittens, they will need more vaccines and to be neutered and I don't want to charge too much for kittens from a stray cat! So I guess my question is, does this sound like a typical exam (btw the vaccines and blood work were not included in the exam fee)? How much does an exam cost at your vet? Did your vet charge for separate exams for your litter of kittens?
 

pinkman

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Although I can not comment on if it's normal for each kitten/cat to be charged a separate examination fee, I can confirm that at least at my vet blood work and vaccines are separate from the examination fee. 

I recently took my kitten (now 17 weeks old), and since it was a vaccination booster/recheck exam the examination fee was 35 dollars, and the vaccinations were 40 each. I also paid for pre-op blood work which cost 129 dollars. If I remember correctly, when my kitten was 9 weeks old (that's how old he was when we rescued him) the examination fee was a bit more expensive since it was the initial examination.
 
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reigninseattle

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Yeah I don't think vaccines and bloodwork are included in exam fee at any vet, nor would I expect it to be.
Was it $40 total for vaccines or $40 for each vaccine?? Cause $40 each is ridiculous! And $129 for pre-surg bloodwork?! Dang...
I just find it weird, because if I had scheduled separate exams for each cat, it would've totalled 3 hours (pretty sure most wellness exams are 30min...) but would've cost the same amount. The vet spent about 10 min on each cat, and didn't ask many questions...
 

pinkman

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I've in NYC, so everything is a "tad" bit more expensive, LOL! And yep, it's 40 dollars per vaccine. I don't really mind because I trust the vets there and they have very good service. 

Usually the exam itself might be 20 minutes for me since my cats are healthy - so I bombard them with questions myself! Luckily they don't mind!
 
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reigninseattle

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It seems like for a stray cat and 6-week old kittens you might take a little more time, be a little more thorough, but I don't know. $50 per cat just seems like a lot for what it was...
 
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shunra

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6 weeks is too young for their first vaccination.  They should be at 9 weeks and 12 weeks.  At 6 weeks the kitten has a lot of immunity from it's mother's collustrum which interfers with the vaccine working.  They do however need worming, as does the mother, and they need worming again in 3 weeks and ideally would have been wormed at 3 weeks as well.
 
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reigninseattle

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The vaccines are approved for use in kittens as young as 6 weeks, and since I work at the vet and am around animals all the time she suggested we do vaccines at 6 weeks then again at 9 or 10 weeks. They were also dewormed at 4 weeks and will be dewormed again at 8 weeks and possibly again at 10. I'm not too worried about the cost of the vaccines because I get those at cost.
 

Willowy

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A lot of the vets around here will see entire litters for less. . .maybe one or two office fees instead of one each. But this depends on the individual vet and it's always a good idea to ask about total cost beforehand.
 

shunra

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The worming is fine, but what is the vaccine that's approved for use so young?
 

tulosai

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A lot of the vets around here will see entire litters for less. . .maybe one or two office fees instead of one each. But this depends on the individual vet and it's always a good idea to ask about total cost beforehand.
This.  I know this is 'crap' advice in a sense but I'd have established the costs beforehand.  Where I live they do charge per cat, and honestly I don't think it's unethical to do so- in fact I'm astounded that some people don't.  However long it took them, they did have to check out each kitten individually.  What you are describing in terms of the exam sounds typical of my vets through the years too- those are the same things they'd check on a healthy-seeming kitten/cat (also weight). With my two (healthy and young-ish) cats an appointment usually goes maybe 30 minutes and that is with me asking some questions and with my vet and I shooting the breeze a bit.  That is 30 minutes for 2 of them, so I don't think 10 minutes for each if you weren't asking many questions is a bad amount of time.
 
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reigninseattle

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This.  I know this is 'crap' advice in a sense but I'd have established the costs beforehand.  Where I live they do charge per cat, and honestly I don't think it's unethical to do so- in fact I'm astounded that some people don't.  However long it took them, they did have to check out each kitten individually.  What you are describing in terms of the exam sounds typical of my vets through the years too- those are the same things they'd check on a healthy-seeming kitten/cat (also weight). With my two (healthy and young-ish) cats an appointment usually goes maybe 30 minutes and that is with me asking some questions and with my vet and I shooting the breeze a bit.  That is 30 minutes for 2 of them, so I don't think 10 minutes for each if you weren't asking many questions is a bad amount of time.
Yes, I know I should've asked about the costs beforehand. I just wanted to know what other peoples' vets do. I never said it was unethical to charge per cat, they can charge whatever they want.
 
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reigninseattle

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The worming is fine, but what is the vaccine that's approved for use so young?
FVRCP
I had 2 vets' opinions on this, both said it was fine. The vet that examined the kittens reccomended it because I work there (at the vet office, I'm a kennel assistant) and am around animals all the time and because I have other animals at home.
 

shunra

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FVRCP
I had 2 vets' opinions on this, both said it was fine. The vet that examined the kittens reccomended it because I work there (at the vet office, I'm a kennel assistant) and am around animals all the time and because I have other animals at home.
Surely FVRCP is a generic term, not a particular make?  The data sheet for the Purevax version, for example, says 'from 8 weeks' with the second injection '3-4 weeks later' for a primary course:

http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Mer...vent_for_suspension_for_injection/-38591.html
 
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