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 ....

That is private medicine for you. I have expensive animals (ponies), so I self insure - I pay a 'premium' into my premium bonds each month so I always have £10k sitting in them for vet bills. It is far better for me that the ridiculously high insurance premiums and I have even made a bit of money from wins over the years.

I tell my vets I don't have insurance and it can and does make a difference to the costs - they are far more likely to take a conservative approach if they know you are paying yourself, which suits my ethos as well. I do have a long standing and good relationship with my vets, so we can discuss treatment options and costs to reach the best decision in each individual case. I think some vets can go overboard because they think that is what the owner would want and it is not always in the animals best interests. It is always worth asking what they would do if it was their pet.

I also have healthy pet club which is about £11 a month. My dog gets his yearly injections, nail clipping, flea and worm treatment, kennel cough, 6 month health check and 10% off vet bills.

When compared to the actual cost of human care, I don't think it's bad at all.

Also people who say 'put money away instead of having insurance'. Yeah but what if your pet gets ill only two months into saving? Or one illness blows your entire fund and you've got nothing left over for a recurrence?

If you have a pet, please get insurance. No, insurance companies don't always pay out - they're companies, not charities - but you can at least make a claim.

(Which reminds me - I should submit a claim for having my beloved cat put down last month.)

My vet had pancreatitis. She was critically ill for a week. The bill was £5000. Fortunately she's insured. Her sister then had a problem with her jaw and ran up another £6000. She then got diagnosed with heart disease and each cardiologist visit cost about £700 including drugs.
Insurance have been fantastic and paid up with no quibble. I think the running total at the minute Is £16k!
This is what it would be like for us if we didn't have the NHS. It's what things cost.

My vets first question is always 'are you insured'? This shouldn't make a difference to treatment which makes me think if you are insured they will look at more costly treatment which ends up pushing up the cost of insurance premiums

I think it’s over priced and personally think in many cases over treatment isn’t kind. It doesn’t cost anything like the amounts charged and the difference between prices at a rural vet and those that focus more on small animals in town is fairly telling.

Small animal vets are absolute shysters.

Equine vets are imo much more reasonable.

It's a bit naive just to say "You're paying for their skill, medicines etc." really. A friend had two dogs treated (and unfortunately PTS) this week. She lives in Wales, I live in the South East. My bill for the same would have been at the very least 10 times what she paid.

Yes, bigger overheads, blah (although her vet lives and practices in what is a very beautiful and very large house with huge grounds).

I do think insurance is a double edged sword, and I don't have any doubt that it has increased vet bills. Perhaps (although I'm sceptical) not on an individual treatment basis, but certainly in the aspect of throwing every single test available at dogs around here, and not always to the benefit of the animal.

I certainly couldn't afford to not insure, and all the talk of just put your premiums in your bank every month and you'll be quids would be very ill-advised round here. It would only take a very minor injury to wipe out a year's premiums.

If I lived where my friends live, I wouldn't insure and would be confident that I could always cover the bills. Around here, I will always insure with lifetime policies from reputable companies, so that I can know I can make the best choices for my dogs, whatever those may be.

the difference between prices at a rural vet and those that focus more on small animals in town

This is the crux of my post above - not half!

My cat seemed to be off her food so I took her to the vets. After a day or so she was no better so we went back. She was kept in overnight and a whole battery of tests were run. The next day I was informed that all tests were negative and there appeared to be nothing wrong with her. The total bill came to £900 and I had no insurance. The next day she started eating normally again!

Yup i agree

My horse vet comes to me, will always try and work out the cheapest way of doing anything, often advocates watch and wait with regular phone check ins.

Small animal vets! Take the cat in for injections and it's worming, flea treatments , laxatives, vitamins and special food. My dh is a mug and falls for it all.

I thought for years the money I was paying in pet insurance was a waste, and it certainly was for one of my dogs whoseonly claim to Insurance was for pet cremation when he passed at 17. My other do, on the other hand... allowed me to recover all the money I had paid in pet insurance in a couple of weeks when she got pancreatitis.

For some treatments you practically have to take out a second mortgage. All mine are with Petplan. Its defo not the cheapest, but they pay the vet direct so you dont have to pay out then claim back. Its horses for courses as with all insurance. A few years back my lovely young cat got sick and while I had paid out about £250 in premiums over the few years of his life, the vet bill was over £4000 (he sadly died). Other times you are really paying for peace of mind. Worth it in my view

We've always had ddog insured (and thank God!) Turns out she had cataracts but to find that out she had several tests, an MRI scan which cost £900! And in the end an operation which cost over £4500 and this was within a year of having her. We get charged 150 each time she goes for a consultation and the medication is around 70 itself. If you look at their billing they literally charge you for each piece of equipment, the pair of gloves used, the needles etc. So it quickly mounts up. I'll be honest I had no idea how expensive it could be to keep a pet before I had ddog!

people need to check all costs before deciding to get a pet.
many sadly don't seem to do that.

(Sorry, bandwagon time LOL)

My biggest worry with this whole subject is those owners who (insured or not) think their vets are God and agree to every last treatment offered.

I took a 13.5 year old dog in for a general check-up a couple of years ago. The vet told me she had some muscle weakness and wanted to send her for an MRI.

No shit, Sherlock - a 13.5 year old dog has some muscle degradation (although still happily walking a few miles a day). What did they think they were going to be able to fix if they found it at that age, I wonder?

Now, I have no issue saying no, I won't be doing that. (I am sure I probably have some 'awkward mare' marker on my customer file ...) Unfortunately, a lot of owners think their vets are always operating in the animal's interests and will agree to everything, whether they are insured or not. It really is not always the case, sadly.

Unfortunately round here, most vets are the same - and all are operating with the dreaded VetsNow as their out of hours cover too, with the only exception being just that bit too far away for comfort in emergencies.

We do have a shear-off independent vets recently opened up locally, and I will give that a go I think, although (touch wood) thankfully I don't go very often so haven't signed up yet.

If you look at their billing they literally charge you for each piece of equipment, the pair of gloves used, the needles etc. So it quickly mounts up.

same for human private healthcare.

You're paying for incredibly intelligent people who got into tens and tens of thoughts of pounds of debt learning how to treat your pets in surgeries with state of the art equipment that costs so much these days that hardly any vets can set up or buy their own practice these days.

Insurance or self insurance all the way.

I addition to having no idea of the actual cost of medical expenses because of the NHS, we also have a skewed vision of what's achievable.

For the older of us, when our childhood pets were ill their were limited options.Vet clinics didn't have access to the equipment and procedures they do now. I'm 50, and remember a lot more pets were PTS rather than be on lifelong medication or have heart conditions diagnosed.

Now we can do far more for animals (and people !) but of course that means expensive equipment and complex procedures which all need to be paid for.

Insurance for life through a reputable company is always worth it for the piece of mind if nothing else. We've had cats we never claim for and cats who would have bankrupt us.

Tell me about it. After paying out £3000 for one of my cats some years ago and he died anyway I always have insurance now.
My current cat is 16 and the insurance company has paid out approx £6 plus for her various health problems. As she is 16 I have to pay £100 excess per condition and 10% of the costs. She's just had thyroid irradiation costing £2148 which I could never have afforded without insurance.

6k not £6

It is difficult to judge costs and it may seem expensive, but as others have said that is because we are so lucky to be protected from health costs through the NHS.

On a quick google, the cost of routine childbirth in the USA is apparently around $3,600 and the average cost for a stay for pancreatitis is $9,727.

After paying out thousands for veterinary treatment and then my beloved dog died anyway I've since then always taken out pet insurance. I have exotic pet insurance too and that's more expensive than the highest cover I can get for my horse but that'll be because it's specialist veterinary care and I use a specialist vet for them. I've paid a hell of a lot of money for insurance but if 3 of my pets are poorly at the same time I couldn't afford to treat them all at once so insurance is well worth it.

Vets are very highly skilled with many years of training, the drugs they use can also be expensive - so of course you should expect to pay a lot for good quality care.

When our dog was young she broke her leg & required surgery, the vet's bill was over £3k. Luckily our insurance covered it.