AIBU refusing to pay this vet bill?

[NicoAndTheNiners]

I have an elderly, poorly cat who I took to the vet last week. Vet did a consult and said he wanted to run blood tests which I agreed to. He never said how much they were. £140 when I got to the desk which I nearly fell over at but paid. He said he would ring with the results either that evening or the next day.

I was out when he rang back and he spoke to my teenage dd. He admits he didn't clarify who he was speaking to. He told her some of the blood results and said he'd like to "do some more tests" He said he wasn't sure what was wrong and was going to speak to someone and ring back the next day.

He rang the next day to say he thinks the cat has a terminal condition, we can do more tests to confirm. I declined as when I asked how much it will be £hundreds. Cat is 15yo.

I've been back at the vet today about something not to do with the cat and they called me over and said I need to pay £48 for the extra blood tests. I asked what they're on about and they said they'd run an FIV test after the other tests. I said I hadn't agreed to this extra and wouldn't have done.

Vet came out and said he'd spoken to someone on the phone who said ok. DD said she had no idea it was another blood test, that it would cost more money. She thought when he said he wanted to do more tests that I would need to take the cat back in for these tests and that's what he was going to ring about the next day.

I haven't paid. They've said they will knock it down to £40 and give me till next month to pay. I am close to ringing them up and saying it's not happening. There is no way I would have said yes to another £48 of tests and dd had no clue he meant to charge more or that she was actually agreeing to anything.

Problem is if I fall out with them its 8 miles to the next nearest vet. So maybe I should just pay to keep the peace. But I did that 5 years ago when my dog died during a routine dental and they billed me £300 for the dead dog. Now I just feel like they're fucking useless and taking the piss.

I spent over £5000 on a rescue kitten who almost died from a heart complaint.

She perfectly healthy now, and I’d do it all again tomorrow if I had to

Why would you get surgery for eating a sock? Did it not pass through or did the vet advise a quick surgical intervention?

My dog was s prolific sock muncher as a pup and she always passed them the next day.

I think vets are very money oriented now.

I left one recently who would never advise of costs before dispensing medication or treatment- they would just add it on to the bill. I say bill but I'd never get an actual bill, just a ring up at the till and no receipt.

To the person who think pet insurance is the cure for all, it's not. I've had pets for 16 years and never took insurance. It's a minefield of exclusions and get our clauses on what you can claim for.

The veterinary industry needs better regulation with regards to transparency around charges imo.

I'd have to take an afternoon off work because I can't just take an hour off. Either full days or half days.

The dogs have always been insured. The cats used to be, think it got expensive as they got older.

Oh and ive never once been able to claim for a dog. It always either just under the excess charge or not covered (teeth). So I pay £15 a month per dog and still seem to pay £hundreds on vet bills each year!

Our old boy Harry is now 17. He’s definitely showing his age now. In my experience when animals like these become properly sick, the stress and trauma of the trips in the car, the tests and often the invasive treatment does more harm than good. I think it’s bloody cruel forcing an old sick cat to take tablets etc to ‘give them longer’. It’s not giving them longer, they haven’t got a fucking bucket list. Keeping them alive through these measures is for the owner and the family. Harry is having a lovely retirement with us, living in the countryside, with lots of sheltered corners to snooze in, and I will respect the way in which cats prefer to pass, not ramming tablets down their throat.

We’ve moved a fair bit and costs really do depend on individual vets. I’ve had one who was amazing, and fair. Repeat urine tests he would often not charge for - it’s initially doing the paper test, Or a look under microscope. Others say try this, try that and you keep having to go back for yet ANOTHER consultation fee for a 10 minute appointment. Our current vet did try to make us pay for the vaccination package we had taken up with another branch of same vets, then I quoted the small print to him. We generally buy the medication online, he charges for the prescription but the invoice says ‘consultation and healthcheck’ Despite him charging us for that already.

Never seen a poor vet.

You may never have seen a poor practice owner but you might be surprised at the wages salaried vets get.

*I spent over £5000 on a rescue kitten who almost died from a heart complaint.

She perfectly healthy now, and I’d do it all again tomorrow if I had to* 

I assuming that you wouldn't put this above e being able to feed your children? Some people don't have £5k and put food on the table.

£50 to someone else could be the same as £5000 to you, some people have more money some people had less. So are you saying unless you've got infinite funds you aren't a good pet owner?

Why would you get surgery for eating a sock? Did it not pass through or did the vet advise a quick surgical intervention?

My dog was s prolific sock muncher as a pup and she always passed them the next day.

My dog ate a rag about the size of a sock and it got stuck in his intestines whilst still partially blocking his stomach. He was in agony and we were bloody lucky to still have him as the vets managed to surgically remove it before his intestines started to die. You are clearly lucky or have a bigger dog who can pass them through but don't become complacent as one time it might just get trapped.

As for insurance, lots of people simply don't read the T&Cs or just opt for the cheapest with low cover. Ours have paid out thousands without complaint.

This is my bill today. I declined the scan and X ray (£200+) as she would be sedated and she's 17. She's responded to meds' so carrying on with that and if she goes downhill again, then I'll take her for scans to look for a potential tumour but she won't be undergoing an op at her age. She's back next week for bloods which I declined today because if she goes downhill in next 7 days she'll end up having bloods any way so not paying twice. She's home and eating and 100% better than Monday. Thankfully she hasn't cost me that much over 17yrs so worth it on this occasion.

I’m glad you are changing vets.

Please don’t get any more rabbits.

My dog was s prolific sock muncher as a pup and she always passed them the next day.

Then I would say you're just bloody lucky @CallMeRachel.

Dogs can die from swallowed socks that have become stuck in the intestines.

She is a wee dog and the sock was stuck in her gut causing vomiting and dehydration, the only way was the operation. I have paid £100’s for dogs but my insurance has always covered serious complaints, my vet handles the claims. OP check with the new vet as ours does an evening surgery and a Saturday morning to cover the Mon-Fri 9-5ers

I agree it’s unfair. My daughter would have been the same and wouldn’t have realised there would be an extra cost unless stated. I would contest and maybe agree to pay half?

Thanks MN for removing my photo (and personal info 😊). Here it is without too much other info!

I have to say seriously all animals are worth the same. They all have beating hearts and feel pain. I seriously wouldn’t give a shit if it was one of my mice, rats, rabbits or my cat they would get the same level of care. I suggest you do not buy an animal if you can’t care for it how it deserves.
No wonder animals are neglected. “Oh, don’t worry about it I will get a new one”. Your not talking about an object for fucksake.

So what about people? All this is agreed by NICE and lots of stuff isn't funded that you could pay for for a dog.

Care of animals is about them having a good life and nor suffering and as long as people meet that then there is nothing to be disgusted about.

FWIW I was once quote 5k to take a back tooth of a horse out by a vet (the only sign it was an issue was bad breath, no issue eating or distress ridden). 3 months later the bloody thing fell out on its own. I was hardly sorry I told them to take a hike on that one.

In terms of insurance its age limited and there are exclusions but some of the treatments offered are frankly nuts.

And it's true that not all vets earn a lot, the people who own the practices however are a different kettle of fish.

From a contractual point of view, the vet is in the wrong and you should not pay. The contract of service is between you, as the owner of the cat, and the vet. When the practice spoke to your daughter, they should have asked you to phone them to agree (or not) the extra tests.
I challenged a substantial vet bill ( horse-related) as the vet kept giving my horse very pricey anti-inflamatories whilst doing a nerve block when I specifically asked him not too. The knocked the cost of these (eye-popping) off the bill.
I may get flamed for this, but I think there is a degree of “up-selling” in veterinary medicine.

Gosh, there must be a lot of vegans on MN.
All this 'part of the family, I'd pay any price, they have a heart that beats, you have a duty of care' - you do realise that we live in a culture where we mistreat animals throughout their whole lives, then kill them and eat them, yes?
I hope that you put at least some percent of your vet bill funds into animal welfare activism. It makes no sense to have this attitude about even the smallest pets, even where they are likely not to survive a surgery, and then sit down to a lamb roast on a Sunday.
And OP even paid for the rabbit!

I must admit I am a huge animal lover so I do not mean to offend but I have a few questions-

1- Why do you keep going to this vets, they sound money grabbing at worst and incompetent at best. You had several animals and KEEP going there? Is it the only choice?

2- Why do you not have insurance or a bank account/pot of money put aside for animal care and needs? Animals need care and it costs, money should be there for it.

3- Following from 2: Why do you keep getting pets when you can’t afford medical care and do not get insurance for them? This cat presumably has been in your life 15years and you do not see £200 as worth it to find out what’s wrong?

I agree the vet should have gained permission from you and was wrong to take your DD word. I also think you need to look at wether you should get more pets, as if you cannot afford these adhoc bills or insurance and are getting animals put to sleep due to the cost concerns maybe you are not in a suitable position to keep having pets.

Again I am biased, my animals are my family we have insurance and provision in place for vet care but we also cannot have children so I admit my love for them is perhaps higher than the average Mumsnetter. But I also believe anyone who has a pet should expect at some point a vet bill may come through and should have provisions as you would for any household emergency.

If do get more animals please at the very least change vets!

@cordeliavorkosigan couldn't agree more its baffling.

We have had something similar with our much loved 15 1/2 yr old rescued Westie. His insurance costs zoomed sky high when he was about ?9 so we stopped the insurance and (in theory) put the money aside for vet bills. This year he has so far run up bills of nearly £1,000 for various things. A couple of visits ago the nice young vet took a sample from an abscess on his leg saying she wanted to test for cancer, but it was difficult to get a good sample, that the test results were often not clear and she may need to do it again (£140 a pop). The results did not detect cancer. I sent my husband in for the follow up appointment and he was under strict instructions to refuse any further such tests. Its not that we don't love the dog very very much, but what would they do if it was cancer? Radiotherapy on a very old dog? Under questioning they had already told us they wouldn't operate as he's too old for an anaesthetic.

And then two months later, another different young vet took a different blood sample when husband was in charge of darling dog. Husband had no idea what this was for, and was not warned of the expense. I picked up on this, and he went back the next day and had a row with them about it.

Being totally cynical, are they under pressure to sell things? Like hairdressers to sell products, and banks used to be to sell services?

You should be more responsible and have your cat insured

We belong to a very large vet practice, separate waiting rooms for dogs, another for cats and small animals etc, own X-Ray and similar equipment. There are lots of vets there and some are more treatment happy than others.

This year I took my 18yr old cat in for annual MOT and they discovered a heart murmur. Also had some bad teeth (had a full dental several years ago, nothing since). Noted he had lost weight and told how to count his breathing rate. Gave us the option of heart echo and dental work, go away and think, here are the prices.

Decided same day to book him in, and if he needed an anaesthetic for echo to do teeth whilst under. They managed to do the Echo without anaesthetic and decided not safe for anaesthetic so wrapped him up and attacked the tartar successfully. Took bloods, dodgy liver/kidney function but nothing too bad.

Not long after he just stopped eating and drinking, lost loads of weight so took him in. They said no point in bloods as too old for any aggressive treatment and to treat palliatively. Also offered to PTS if we wanted. They gave him a massive injection of antibiotics and another of steroids. Within 48 hours he was back to his old self, I was so happy.

Dreading the next time he goes downhill but I trust the vets, who have always been practical with all our animals.

You should be more responsible and have your cat insured

That wouldn't make any difference as to the vet being unreasonable to not ask the actual owner of the cat for permission to run more tests

I'd use them still for boosters and register with another vet for treatments. You can have more than one vet.

Veterinarians are very mercenary these days and run a lot of useless tests on dying animals. I agree with the OP.