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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be absolutely fuming

111 replies

wishuponastar30 · 01/02/2011 17:21

At the amount of money vets charge?!

My beautiful cat has a horrific tail injury that needs amputation tomorrow :(

It happened on Sunday and because vets don't work sunday this falls in 'emergency'.

£100 to come out WITH NO TREATMENT
Where the hell are they driving from?!
New York?!! Angry

The operation will cost £200 plus £68 for pain relief and antiobiotic.

Plus £13 for the vet to collect her from home as we can't wrestle her into a carrier.

I am so cross about this!

The fees are extornate.
There must be an awful lot of people who simply can't pay the ludicrous fees they charge?!

OP posts:
ThePosieParker · 01/02/2011 17:23

Yes, people like me which is why we don't have any pets.

What about some cats charities, can they help?

CocoPopsAddict · 01/02/2011 17:24

Two words for you - pet insurance. Get it - as the bills can get a lot higher than those you have described.

Lizcat · 01/02/2011 17:24

How much does a plumber cost on a Sunday?

onehotmomma · 01/02/2011 17:25

Same as posie. Would love a dog or cat but unfortunately cannot afford one :(

Original poster
wishuponastar30 · 01/02/2011 17:27

Pet insurance would be even more expensive wouldn't it?

Its what... £13 or so a month?
My cat is 9 years old and the insurance companies are very clever to avoid paying out for an awful lot of conditions.

OP posts:
BeerTricksPotter · 01/02/2011 17:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ConnorTraceptive · 01/02/2011 17:27

Yup £40 to have a turd tested last week

Original poster
wishuponastar30 · 01/02/2011 17:29

Cat charities... I don't think so as i'm not an OAP or seriously, seriously broke to the ropes.

But i am majorly pissed off at what to seems to me, like an awful lot more money than it should be.

OP posts:
Eglu · 01/02/2011 17:29

It is just a slight indication of how much medical treatment for people would cost if we had no NHS.

You can't complain about a charge for collecting your cat, it is not really the vets fault that you can't get the cat in the basket.

Call out fee is standard for weekend. You are interupting the vets day off. They should be compensated for it.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 01/02/2011 17:30

Yes, vet bills can be excruciating. We looked at pet insurance when our dogs were younger but there are so many exclusions and now are dogs are older (12 and 15), we'd be very unlikely to get insurance anyway.

Hope your cat is doing well now after her op.

chippy47 · 01/02/2011 17:30

Do people not factor in the potential costs when making the decision to get a pet?
6 years to qualify(huge student debt) ,expensive start up costs if you have your own practice and a significant payroll.
What do you expect?

strandedpolarbear · 01/02/2011 17:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

OhForBoonessSake · 01/02/2011 17:31

you dont have to have insurance, but i do think you should, if you have a pet, be saving money away every month because pets do have accidents and they do cost money to treat. and teh benefit of saving away in an account is that at the end of the year, you stil have X amount of money there and can build on it whereas when you pay insurance and dont claim, you dont get the money back.

DanJARMouse · 01/02/2011 17:31

Pet insurance.

I would rather pay the £12 a month we are paying now, and pay the maximum of £50 excess should my dog need any awfully priced treatments that would mean we couldnt afford him.

Also check out PDSA as they can help with treatment costs.

Original poster
wishuponastar30 · 01/02/2011 17:31

Are you a vet Eglu? Hmm

Call out fees are about £40 for most other things.

Why a hundred for an animal?
More to the point, if these are 'emergency' what if there is an actual life or death situation like a rta?

Are vets actually animal lovers or money hungry pigs in it purely for profit?

OP posts:
Megatron · 01/02/2011 17:31

Pet insurance def the way to go. Ours was about £11 a month a couple of years ago and when our cat was run over the bill would have been around £1500 after her ops.

Geistesabwesenheit · 01/02/2011 17:33

Pet insurance for a cat would be about £8 -9 per month. My dog's insured with Argos and it's £11 a month, never had any problems with them paying out so far.

:( for your poor cat OP, and you havign to pay all this.

Original poster
wishuponastar30 · 01/02/2011 17:34

But the fees are themselves are too high!

Pet insurance could help (although i didn't think i'd need it for a cat. The other one never cost me a penny.)
But the fees surely shouldn't be so high in the first place?!

OP posts:
goodtimesarecoming · 01/02/2011 17:35

If you actually work out prices of drugs, vets time, nurses time and all the other factors, then vets bill are not expensive at all.
If you actually itemised everything we get for free on the NHS, I bet you'd be shocked.
Surely everyone knows medical problems with animals cost money?
Why get a pet if you can't afford it?

BuntyPenfold · 01/02/2011 17:36

Can you get a quote anywhere else?

A vet in Lincs quoted £4000 for my Mum's dogs op.

A vet in the West Country who is a family friend was shocked and said her practice would charge £2000.

So it was worth the drive.

Might be worth looking around.

zukiecat · 01/02/2011 17:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
wishuponastar30 · 01/02/2011 17:37

Why get a pet if you can't afford it?

I didn't think a cat would cost me much in vets bills like a dog would.

My other cat never cost me a penny :(

OP posts:
ragged · 01/02/2011 17:41

It is sometimes hard to see how they can justify it... 26 quid per patient for a 10 minute consult, so if I took 2 of my rats in, and was out the door within 15 minutes, "that's 50 quid please" Shock

And they don't offer pet insurance for most critters, either :(. So it's very tempting to never get ailments treated on many types of animals, regardless of their welfare needs (although I also think that medical intervention is often a waste of time, as well as bad value for money, with small animals at least). I know of a professional breeder (various mammals) who never calls the vet for ANYTHING except emCS on the cats, anything else she treats at home or just culls the animal.

Lizcat · 01/02/2011 17:42

Well I am a vet. So to do a call out to your house on a Sunday I have to provide myself with a car and put fuel in it. It has to be a car to get every where in every weather. I have to be there on a Sunday and I have to have enough staff to allow for the working time directive on 48 hour weeks and rest periods. I have to provide a telephone system that makes sure you get a vet at no extra cost to you.
I have to provide a building with heat, light and all the equipment to perform the surgery - a sterilser alone is over £5000 and a single pack of suture material is over £8.
Yes I animals I understand that not everyone can pay up front and run installments, but I have to pay for everything, pay my staff and eat too.
You would not get a plumber out on a Sunday for that.

Original poster
wishuponastar30 · 01/02/2011 17:42

EXACTLY my point raggged.

OP posts: