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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:
emsyj · 01/02/2011 17:55

Vets are not 'bandits', what an outrageous (and ignorant) thing to say.

It is very very expensive to run a veterinary surgery. Lizcat has tried to explain this, but you clearly don't want to hear it. Vets study long and hard to do the job and it reaps MUCH less financial reward than jobs requiring equivalent training. Of course they do it for love of animals! Otherwise they would be fat cat lawyers (like me!) - vet science is exceptionally competitive for university entry, only the cream get in.

I am angry on behalf of all vets at your attitude.

YABVVU

Original poster
wishuponastar30 · 01/02/2011 17:56

They bloody well are.

OP posts:
taintedpaint · 01/02/2011 17:56

It is absolute extortion in some cases. My vets are very expensive for what they provide, but they are also very good so I won't change. I do wish they wouldn't take the piss sometimes though.

Hope you cat comes through her op okay. :)

taintedpaint · 01/02/2011 17:56

You cat?! Your cat! Blush

emsyj · 01/02/2011 17:58

You are stupid. Fact.

OhForBoonessSake · 01/02/2011 17:58

see the thing is, pets area luxury item. no-one has teh right to own a pet and whe you do take on a pet youalso tke on teh commitment to pay for that pet to be healthy. some people are lucky that tehir pets dont egt sick ever, some people are in teh vets twice a year for accidents and illnesses. if havinga pet is that important to you, you find out what it is going to cost you and you assess whether or not you will be happy to pay out for it's care. if you dont do that and then get stung witha bill, you really only have yourself to blame. no-one made you get the pet and it isn't hard to find out before you get one how much insurance will be. if you dont do you're homework, i dont think you have any right to complain when something quite predictable happens and you are charged for the care it requires.

Original poster
wishuponastar30 · 01/02/2011 17:58

If you say so.

OP posts:
ThePosieParker · 01/02/2011 17:59

Hang on people, have a little sympathy. OP has a cat, she loves her cat and possibly can't really afford to fix it which is really sad.

Next you'll be telling all those African women to stop having kids.

taintedpaint · 01/02/2011 17:59

Don't be a tit emsyj. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, not just you.

Original poster
wishuponastar30 · 01/02/2011 17:59

Having a tail sliced in two is predictable is it?

OP posts:
DaisySteiner · 01/02/2011 18:00

Presumably you think doctors, solicitors and dentists are bandits too???

DorisVinyard · 01/02/2011 18:00

Our vets are fantastic and worth every penny. In my experience it's the lab costs which usually bump up the charges. People really should factor vet fees/cattery/kennelling into the equation before committing to owning a pet. I have two cats and a dog and it's expensive.

Original poster
wishuponastar30 · 01/02/2011 18:00

Thanks theposieparker

OP posts:
OhForBoonessSake · 01/02/2011 18:00

what african women?

kepler10b · 01/02/2011 18:01

if you can't afford it you shouldn't have a pet. or get insurance. i don't think the amounts you quoted are that high. some solicitors charge 350 quid for an hour of their time. it's expertise and resources that are costly and time consuming to acquire.

OhForBoonessSake · 01/02/2011 18:01

having accidents with an animal that doesn't go on a lead is quite predictable yes.

GetOrfMoiLand · 01/02/2011 18:01

YABU.

Vets are professionals, they charge accordingly.

It is not fair to equate them with plumbers - they have been to university for 6 years or so, so you need to equate them with doctors and architects. I imagine (private) doctors and architects who run their own practices would charge similarly to vets.

That is nature of having pets nowadays. Just thank god that it is only pets you have to worry about. Think about the Irish who live over the seas who have to pay to visit a GP.

OldMumsy · 01/02/2011 18:03

Do you have any idea how long a vet has to train for? It's part of the deal if you choose to have pets TBH.

Virgowoo · 01/02/2011 18:03

Our local PDSA Animal Hospital gives private out of hours emergency cover for all our local vets so you can take your pet to them for the same fees as your vet. Find out if you have anything similar in your area.

If you can't get your cat into a carrier in an emergency, you need to practice until you can and the cat gets used to it. What would happen if your cat was injured and your vet stopped making house calls? Not all vets will.

I think if you want a home service, out of hours and your vet is willing to do it, I wouldn't be complaining about a £100 call out fee. Private medical care is expensive for humans and animals alike, another reason to feel blessed with the NHS. It's a fact of life that animals, kids etc WILL get sick at other times than 9-5 Monday to Friday and you need to be prepared for it. You aren't obliged to keep an animal and if you choose to, you need to be aware that there are costs involved in looking after it properly, including unexpected medical care.

Sorry if thats a bit blunt, but nobody works for nothing and a lot of people seem to think that vets are a public service.

Needanewname · 01/02/2011 18:03

OP I get you're upset and have alot less money now but are you really that naive?

Do you think the vet should do it for free? What do you feel is a reasonable fee? Did you read the whole of Liz's post or jus the bit you wanted to?

Original poster
wishuponastar30 · 01/02/2011 18:03

I would have said the opposite.

Everyone assumes to get insurance for a dog given the numbers of genetic issues, rta, general scrapes dogs tend to get into.

everybody told me it was pointless getting insurance for a cat.
I know of nobody whose cat has needed surgery except mine.
My other cat didn't cost anything and neither did the ones before it.

OP posts:
carabos · 01/02/2011 18:04

it may seem a lot, but this is what medical treatment would cost if we didn't have the NHS. In other words, that's what it really costs, even accepting the need to make a profit.

OhForBoonessSake · 01/02/2011 18:05

"everybody told me it was pointless getting insurance for a cat. "

well then your issue is with 'everybody' and yourself for listening to people who wouldn't actually have to foot the bill.

the vet never told you they wouldn't charge a fortune did they?

emsyj · 01/02/2011 18:05

Of course everyone can have a opinion - but if you don't know the costs of running a veterinary practice then you cannot possibly be in a position to comment on how reasonable their charges are. It is stupid to refuse to take in any new information. The OP is not willing to take on board any information that might assist her in understanding why vets charge what they do. THAT is stupid.

GetOrfMoiLand · 01/02/2011 18:05

No I think it is probably more important to get insurance for a cat.

I got insurance for my two because they are flighty fools and run out in front of cars.