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also doesnt it make you think that rescues and shelters can adopt their nutered vaccinated dewormed healthy cats for like 150 but if we do it on our own it costs 500? BIG Differance eh?
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OMG IS IT JUST ME OR are vets getting more and more expensive??
- Thread starter chausiefan
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It cost me about $700 (between intial visit and surgery) when Freckles had 4 teeth extracted last year. His former owner would not take him to a vet for just that reason. She did not want to spend $$$. My vet office is good - they asked about his history before suggesting certain shots and tests because they weren't necessary in his circumstances.
Bob goes for his annual checkup tomorrow - I'll be lucky if it's under $100. He needs his distemper shot and have to do a fecal anaylsis in addition to the checkup.
Not just the cost alleviation, but the convenience of not having to drive out at 7 am and worry about kitty not making it.
That being said, I'll still get strays vetted, fixed, and rehomed. The cost is immediately offset by the satisfaction of giving them the happiness of feeling well and a warm, safe place to sleep, play, and more importantly-live.
Have anyone gone to the petsmart or petco clinics to see if they are good.
No petshops at all in this area, unfortunately.
As a vet tech I can say that yes it is rediculous how expensive vet's are, but I have also seen the other side of it too-as in what things cost. Unfortunatly, medicine and other things are more for pets and I can say honestly as the mom of 5 cats, all with their own medical problems, even WITH my discount I can easily spend over $300/month on vet bills. I have a 1yr old kitty with asthma and for his inhaler alone it costs me $115 and it only last 2-3 mos. YIKES!!!! I can only advise you to check into the care credit card for times of emergency. It works at most hospitals and almost anyone is elligible. Good luck and happy saving!!!
I had a good visit today. Skittles was seen and got x-rays and antibiotics, Baby Brat was seen and got her 9 week shot and the total was 87.00 I about died. I am not going to get the insurance
I will just use my Visa if I had to. There is nothing on it.
That is low. I have never gotten out of the vet's office that cheap. The lowest bill I can remember was $125.00 and that was for one cat.
I think because am in a really small place or town I should say. I came from Ca so this was a real surprise to me also. Usually my bills are double and some more.
Just wanted to comment on costs of small town vs. city vets. It's very simple--running a clinic in the city costs more!! I get new clients all the time who are shocked because their previous vet in a crappy small town was much cheaper. Here are some of the differences for running a clinic in a city vs. country:
1) RENT-- rent is extremely expensive in cities!! the rent for my clinic is 6000/month; whereas country vets either pay lower rent or are able to buy their building.
2) Employee wages--staff in the city expect/require higher pay than those in the country, because cost of living is much higher for us!! this includes everyone from vets to receptionists to kennel staff.
3) current equipment/drugs/education--not all country vets are bad, but all too often do I receive medical records from country vets practicing outdated medicine, ex. using 'old school' cheaper drugs, no pain meds after surgeries, improper diagnostic testing, and just simply substandard medicine. I'm not saying that all 'city vets' are perfect by any means, but the medical records from those country vets don't lie!
I could go on, but you get the picture.
Hope this helps!!
1) RENT-- rent is extremely expensive in cities!! the rent for my clinic is 6000/month; whereas country vets either pay lower rent or are able to buy their building.
2) Employee wages--staff in the city expect/require higher pay than those in the country, because cost of living is much higher for us!! this includes everyone from vets to receptionists to kennel staff.
3) current equipment/drugs/education--not all country vets are bad, but all too often do I receive medical records from country vets practicing outdated medicine, ex. using 'old school' cheaper drugs, no pain meds after surgeries, improper diagnostic testing, and just simply substandard medicine. I'm not saying that all 'city vets' are perfect by any means, but the medical records from those country vets don't lie!
I could go on, but you get the picture.
When Trout was sick, we had to pay $380 just to get bloodwork and an xray..To me, that is RIDICULOUS! Should it really be that much to stick a needle in a cat, and take a picture of her bones?
Our vet bill after 2 days on IV for her was $800!!!
I was joking with friends that at least with a human baby, we have OHIP here in Ontario..might as well just have a REAL baby at these costs!
Our vet bill after 2 days on IV for her was $800!!!
I was joking with friends that at least with a human baby, we have OHIP here in Ontario..might as well just have a REAL baby at these costs!
maybe where you are. but..honestly..from someone who has had vets in city and country. I would much prefer my babies to be seen by the country vet.Originally Posted by mellanie
Just wanted to comment on costs of small town vs. city vets. It's very simple--running a clinic in the city costs more!! I get new clients all the time who are shocked because their previous vet in a crappy small town was much cheaper. Here are some of the differences for running a clinic in a city vs. country:
1) RENT-- rent is extremely expensive in cities!! the rent for my clinic is 6000/month; whereas country vets either pay lower rent or are able to buy their building.
2) Employee wages--staff in the city expect/require higher pay than those in the country, because cost of living is much higher for us!! this includes everyone from vets to receptionists to kennel staff.
3) current equipment/drugs/education--not all country vets are bad, but all too often do I receive medical records from country vets practicing outdated medicine, ex. using 'old school' cheaper drugs, no pain meds after surgeries, improper diagnostic testing, and just simply substandard medicine. I'm not saying that all 'city vets' are perfect by any means, but the medical records from those country vets don't lie!
I could go on, but you get the picture.Hope this helps!!
I went to banfield for a while, spent $200 a month on their insurance plans. Make sure you interview the staff, like you would anywhere else.
And hope the "office manager" knows something about critters.
Overall I liked the banfield I went to. But some of their corproate policys eventually peeved me off. so we stopped going. found a lovely kitty clinic for the mews, and went back to my old vet for the dogs
I think vet fees are shocking. I've been looking into routine teeth cleaning and what I'm finding is that it could cost THREE TIMES what it would cost for ME to have MY teeth cleaned!!
(Of course, they don't have to anesthetize me, but still......)
(Of course, they don't have to anesthetize me, but still......)
Point taken about the difference in expenses, but I don't really appreciate the attitude this wording implies. Perhaps this poster isn't aware that the population flow these days is FROM the city TO the country, because they want the quality of life at a lesser expense that a rural environment can provide.
Where a person lives has very little to do with their competence level in their field. There are "old school" vets in the city, too.
Iused to work at a petsmart and they are WAY more expensive than going to a local vet. I have a vet in the area where I live that the first time I went to was expensive because of all the shots and exam fee and so on. But that was just the first time, now they wave the exam fee every time so I just have to pay for eye drops or whatever I might need. SO I think I have found one that is less expensive. I think that the vets that are in big cities are way more xpensive than those in rural areas like on the outskirts of bigs cites.
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I must have a great vet, or live in a state where things aren't that expensive. Getting my cat Sam, (who was a stray before I had him) all his shots and neutured plus micropchiped all in the same visit cost me $94 bucks.
So I would look around at different vets and maybe just call and ask them their prices. Vets are businesses too and may boost their prices to keep the place open if not enough business is going their way....
I get the feeling sometimes that vets might be great with animals, but not good businessmen. This comment illustrates the exact opposite of what a good businessman would do if the business wasn't thriving. Raising prices is a sure-fire way to make the business fail. I wonder how many vets understand that business is competitive. If a business is struggling you want to attract more business. The two best ways to do that are to provide superior service and to charge competitive prices. Raising prices might temporarily increase cash flow, but customers are going to go elsewhere where they perceive a better value. A customer lost is usually gone forever.
What brought on this thought was a conversation that I had with my vet about why her fee for a certain lab test was almost double what another vet in town charges for the same test, and 50% higher than the "usual and customary" amount the insurance company allows. I could see that her viewpoint was how much she need to charge to have coming in what she thought she needed, rather than the viewpoint of being competitive in order to get more business.
Believe me I do call around before I take my guys in. But they are all pretty much the same. They wanted all said and done for both my guys to be neutered, and there booster shots. About 250, and one place even wanted 300. I went with the help from the shelter people, and got it all done for around 130. I now have to bring them in for their year old shots. Do you think it is really worth it? They are not allowed outside. Also in our state they insist that you have to have rabies shots done every year. When the shot is really made for a 3-year stint. They got them last year; I am not going to get them this year. I did want to say, some vets will let you pay a vet INS thing. That is about 150 here, and then you can bring your animal in for all the regular check ups and shots for that year. Now that doesn't include any emergency type of care. Like x-rays and so forth. But then with that you can pay I think it is like 50 dollars more to cover blood test and x-rays. The problem with this is it cost that per animal. It can break the bank if you don't save up for it. When I lived in MN, I had my Chi taken care of, for 85 dollars a year. Now that was cool.
Francine
Francine
I haven't asked my vet about it but I have read that there is different type of rabies vaccine that is only good for a year. That one is supposed to be safer as far as sarcoma than the one that is supposed to be good for three years. If your vet is using that one you would actually be better off than with the one for three years. I am assuming that for the other shots you are talking about the routine yearly shots rather than the one year boosters. I think once every three years is safe unless you are in an area with a particularly high incidence of one of the diseases. Everything that I have read says a full compliment of one year boosters after the kitten shots are necessary.
