Vet fees

[catsallaround]

Don't you hate when you don't have something on hand then see it SO much cheaper

My vets an angel. Office exam is 55 I think but if I bring in a few it goes down and shes very fair about a few minute check being next to nothing. Sometimes to crowded to go then I will use my local vet-many drs and about same price.

Both are very good about not pushing extras and being honest in a if this is my cat I would run xyz and not the most expensive tests either.

Have gotten many afternoon same day appts and treated just as wonderfully as appointments made in advance. Alot of things around here are a bit disapointing(stores having very old items for sale/bad stock...) but I did luck out to have found so many wonderful vets and also animal rescuers.

 

[luvmyparker]

Originally Posted by darlili

Also, I think it's important to compare apples to apples - is your vet's office a clinic or a hospital? Are there staff assigned to stay overnight to monitor patients? How is the access to specialty treatment? What are the hours (my vets' practice is open seven days a week - Sunday only ten to noon, but still...some practices are open only five days a week). Are they good at getting urgent cases in quickly? How available are they for phone or other consultation? Do the vets and techs keep up with all continuing professional education programs? All that sort of thing.

To a point, the more services available, well, they have to be paid for somehow. I'd rather pay a bit more for a check up and know if my two are stuck there overnight, staff is at hand.

Good point. My vet is just a TINY clinic out in the sticks. Getting through on the phone is very hard. However, they will return phone calls if you do need to ask questions.
She will stay overnight if she has animals that are critically ill. Or she at least has someone who will stay. She will even stay open later if you call at closing time with an emergency. So there are some downsides, but when you're in a financial pinch, she will do anything she can for you and at some of the lowest prices I've seen from any vet...and she will go out of her way to help an animal in need. Some of her long time customers even have her personal number and can call her any time day or night and she will go to the office.
She is a very, very odd person. Seems sort of out in left field, but she has an amazing way with cats and they all seem to instantly trust her. I've never questioned leaving Parker there for a few days.

 

[raincloud]

For a shots and all checkup, my bill was about 500$ (160$ish x3), plus $100 for boarding for a day (which was about 30$ x3 and from 7 am to 8 pm, the same day). I live in Hawaii, though. My spay bill was crazyyyy. Hawaii requires you to get a spay/neuter certificate, which runs from like 40$ to spay a female cat to 150$ for a dog. That's on top of a 300$ vet bill! (If you're moving to Hawaii, or thinking about taking a pet to visit with you, PM ME!!! I can help you figure out the paperwork. Its weird.)

(My mom's dog had a 100$ vet bill to receive a health certificate. The vet listened to his heart and that was it. He turned out to be sick when my aunt got him home with her. I've been going to this vet for years but this was the first time this happened! Note: Different vet from above)

 

[thoenix]

The vet we've just moved to, we're in love with and she happens to be the cheapest vet in the downtown of Toronto--we called EVERYONE we could find the number for and she also happens to be just around the corner from our home. She's a clinic, not an animal hospital, but she's the nicest ever.

Exam fee is 58.50 (compare 65 as the next lowest) and she waives the exam fee for vaccinations, which are 75 dollars all included except Feline Leukemia, which is an additional 30 dollars because so few people actually want it here that she does it only if you ask. To do boosters is 60, exam fee waived. Everywhere else we called was charging 30-60 for the vaccines after a 65-95 dollar exam fee. With four medications (topical dewormer, flagyl, tyrosin tartrate, a probiotic, enough for two kitties) our total fee came to 226.43 after taxes. She was going to suggest a prescription diet for them, but when I said I fed grain-free, she said I was already doing better than any of her prescription foods and to keep up the good work. Her techs talked to us about everything and worked with us to make everything as cheap as possible. She also doesn't charge for a follow-up appointment after a full course of medication.

A feline leukemia test is going to cost us 105, down the road and her spays are around 300 each. Sad as it is, we probably won't be able to afford to do a spay through her because there IS a cheap spay/neuter clinic a few times a year that does it for 100 and the vets that do it are, by all accounts, very, very, very good with the animals.

 

[mnjulz]

In Minnesota I just paid $53.00 for a physical exam/office visit
$35.50 for a ear cytology - (check for infection or mites)
$31.50 for fecal exam (check for parasites)

 

[jen]

I only use low cost clinics for spaying and neutering and also rabies vaccines. I do not vaccinate my cats every year so I don't have to take them in much. Every 3 for the rabies shot. It's like $15 to come in and $5-10 for the vaccine. Unless I find a walk in rabies clinic and have it done for $5.

The low cost neutering is $30-50 depending on sex of the cat.

I make up for it in their food which is $30 for a small bag! eesh!

 

[cosabella]

I don't remember ever walking out of a vet visit for anything less than $100.

I've lived in San Francisco and Orange County and vet bill is so high.

About 2 months ago, I took the neighborhood stray/abandoned cat to the vet for a wound care. It was a skin abrasion but I didn't want to risk an infection. I had the obligation to take it to the vet because I caused the wound while removing matted fur.

The bill for the visit was about $116:

Hospitalization Services (IM/SQ Injection Antibiotic) - $32.50
Orbaz (30mg/ML) - $39
Wound Care (cleanse/medicate) - $15
Environmental Hazard Fee & Office Examination - $30

They told me that if I wanted to do blood work, it would be an additional $140. Honestly I didn't think it would be so expensive.

 

[denice]

I will probably continue to use the vet that is taking care of one of my cats that is sick for all vet care. They are on the other side of town in a wealthy area and a cats only clinic so their fees are higher but they are very good.

New patient exam $77
Existing patient exam 58
New kitten exam 51
existing patient medical
exam 65
re-eval of existing prob 23-40
behavior counseling 77-158
vaccines other than leukemia 16
leukemia vaccine 21
leukemia/FIV screening 54
deworm 15 each
fecal screening 23

My sick cat just stayed there several days and had a lot of diagnostics done and it came to a little over $1800. That always runs into a lot of money but I feel that she knew what she was doing and would be willing to work with someone to keep costs down as much as possible. Fortunately my financial situation has brightened considerably recently and this has been an ongoing problem with him and I wanted to get everything that should be done.

 

[Winchester]

Last time we had kids in for visits, our vet charged $38 for an office visit, regardless of how many cats we brought in at the same time. We took 3 cats, so it was $12.66 per cat. No one needed shots or anything, so we got off cheap that time. The only shots we allow is the rabies vaccine. That's it. Other than Mollipop's normal kitten shots. Now that she's had those, the only shot she'll continue to receive is her rabies shot....it's PA law.

I think, but don't remember, Mollipop's spay was around $300+. We opted to have the laser surgery for her spay.....which we wouldn't do again as it actually took a longer period of time for her stitches to remain...a little over two weeks versus 10 days or so for a regular spay. And she had to wear the collar....she wasn't happy about that, poor baby. We gave her pain meds, too, but I don't really know that they did a lot for her.