To be shocked at how high vet bills are

[Cherrybloss22]

So obviously I’m paying them as id do anything for my cat.... but approx £1000 for 2 days treatment for pancreatitis She had to stay in overnight and have Sedation for blood tests etc
Didn’t get her insured as I thought that insurance doesn’t always pay out Anyway if it’s the cat, I’ll always find a way to manage Guess it’s a lesson to get insurance when you get a pet ....

I’m the same Dcat having X-ray today will be £250
If surgery needed looking at 1500 ish - I can’t bear to have him PTS so will have to take out a loan

You're paying for their skill, medicines etc.

I'm glad you've wised up to having insurance. Our dog is 11, we've paid thousands in insurance premiums and never made a claim but I know should we need to claim, we can.

You don't necessarily have to have pet insurance, but if you don't get insurance you need to "self-insure" - put aside money in preparation for vet bills.

There are insurance companies with a good reputation for paying out, PetPlan for example. They have always paid instantly when I’ve claimed, including a £9k bill when our dog was hospitalised for a week with hepatitis, and they don’t try to recuperate the cost by raising your premiums either.

We've always insured our cat, he has a heart condition and when first diagnosed would've cost us nearly £4000 for cat scans (I know) , cardiologist, op etc. If you've got a pet you need to insure it. Not sure why you think insurance wouldn't pay out for a cat, just check what's covered by the policy before you sign up, you can get them for £2 a month but obviously the cover is less than a more comprehensive policy is is about £13 a month now but that includes pre-existing conditions

Yes, get insurance and your insured pet will stay healthy enough to always remain under the payout threshold (or, insurers will find a wriggle-out in the small print). Don’t insure and you’ll get expensive illnesses for sure. That seems to have been the way for my pets.
My DH (dear horse) was covered for a stitches to a cut leg, insurers paid out the grand total of thirty euros excess. Less than a year later he got a very expensive ligament injury that was not covered as it was same leg. Cost me thousands.
Decided not to insure DDog who then got cancer. Again very expensive not to mention heartbreaking. Next DDog is insured to the hilt and has remained hale and hearty ❤️. QED

Medical treatment is incredibly costly. In the UK the NHS insulates is from that reality. Pet insurance is like any insurance - with a reputable company it will pay out for a medial Condition.

I work as a vet and all of my pets are insured because I know how expensive treatment is and contrary to popular belief the cost isn’t due to our overinflated salaries but the actual costs of drug, equipment and overheads which we also have to cover for our own pets.

I think they seem high because we get medical treatment for free in the UK. If you saw some of the bills for US medical care vet bills would not seem so bad

NCI have a good reputation, we had excellent service with direct line too, they will also pay the vet directly

“So obviously I’m paying them as I’d do anything for my cat “

And there you have it. I’m afraid they know this op..

It only seems so expensive because in this country (UK) we have no idea how much medical costs actually are. If we were used to paying our medical costs the vet would be reasonable by comparison.

Our cat has had two lots of treatment for kidney failure costing well over £1k each and our insurance has paid out with no qualms both times.

You are paying for vet time, nurse time, medication, overnight care, test results, etc. BUT I work at an independent vets and we do seem to be cheaper than all the chains that are around now.

It did occur to me that because the nhs is ‘ free’ that we don’t realise how much it would cost if any of us were overnight in hospital Bit of an eye opener . I took the risk not insuring her, but didn’t realise quite how high they would be!

Vet prices were never like this before everyone got insurance vets know they can charge what they like now

Bananarama - yes it’s a chain . I think I should have gone to independent vets....

I found that pet insurance wasn't worth it in the long run when DCat turned 8. She's on long term medication now, which we buy bulk over the internet having purchased the prescription from the vet.

I don't think you need insurance if you have a pet, but you definitely do need the means to be able to pay for any treatment in the future.

We always had insurance for our dog, now eleven, his renewal came up in Jan and I decided to cancel it as we have never claimed on insurance in that time. Low and behold he got ill earlier this month and was diagnosed with cushings disease, £130 a month for the rest of his life for blood tests and tablets. Not including the initial tests he had to have done at the start of the month. Ragging with myself

Yes I agree with Veterinari, most people in the UK have no idea about the cost of treatments and drugs etc because the NHS shields us from the truth.

I’ve known people complaining about the cost of prescriptions and whilst some of them may be cheaper than the standard charge many are way higher.

As a pp said, we are paying for the vets skill and expertise.

Hope your cat continues to improve. 😺

agree with others, they aren't that expensive, but the NHS means we don't have a true appreciation for medical costs. They have huge overheads to cover, reception staff, nurses, vets, premises, the cost of the machines they use, the medical supplies...

Personally I don't insure but I put away the cost of insuring my three every month and have done for 8 years which means I would be very unlikely to have bills I couldn't cover. I could well still be in that position but fortunately for me I could afford to pay the extra from other savings. If I didn't have that safety net I would insure. You also need to think about the early days of self insuring i.e. what happens if the £3000 bill comes two months in when you've saved £50...

Liverpool Victoria and Tesco have both paid out for me, with an excess of around £75. One cat needed expensive eye op (£2000), other cat is presently having treatment for lymphoma (another £2000 or so!). I pay £50 per month for them both (it went up when they were 10 I think). But it’s worth it not to have to worry. To be honest I can’t imagine the insurance company is making much out of me with those two expenses!

I had a dog that had diabetes, i forked out 1000s for him wish i had insurance then. Sadly he died years ago.

I have another dog, when he was a pup he fell off a wall luckly he didnt hurt himself too badly. I got insurance the next day, im glad i did as a year later he had to have an op to remove what was a benign tumor on his leg. I paid the vets fees and the insurance paid out.

Always better to get pet insurance as you never know.

I use to kid myself that ‘self insuring’ was okay. When I would put that £15 a month or whatever aside. It wouldn’t cover a thing! I’ve now insured our cats as of this month.

Count yourself lucky lol my friends cat had the exact same thing, ultrasound and bloods for pancreatitis. Was in a few more nights than yours mind you. Bill was £3500!!!

That's why I pay for life long vet care through pet plan. It is costly but over a pets lifetime it is worth it.

My cat had to have £1600 of dental treatment, I only paid the excess of £80.