To think vets charge too much **title edited by MNHQ on OP's request**

[Looobyloo]

I took my 10 yr old cat to the vets earlier for a check up as she has seemed a little lethargic. Vet examines her and says she has a little arthritis in her hip and needs these tablets, one a day. I ask how much, she says £9 a tablet! Everyday for the next, however long she lives. £63 a week!

She gives me a free sample and says if they work she'll give me a prescription So I can get them online. I checked online, 49p a tablet.

We don't have insurance as we've never been able to get her to the vets for injections etc as she's very stroppy (she attacked the vet today)

I know people say don't have an animal if you can't afford and we do have a private cat fund where we put £60 a month into. But even then £63 a week! I'd be torn if it was life and death as much as I hate to admit to it.

Are vets just taking the piss nowadays?

For those who think it's a rip off or daylight robbery, there's a simple solution - don't have pets.

Vets fees are expensive, because there is no NHS for pets. So thank your lucky stars you live in a country which has universal healthcare which is free at the point of service and heavily subsidised medicines and prescriptions.

Definately look into insurance too, my cat only costs £10 a month. If he gets run over or something it will cover the bill so it gives you peace of mind. It may not cover this ailment your cat has but would be there if anything else crops up in the future.

i took my 10 year old cat to the vets earlier as she has seemed a little lethargic

I’m so sorry but first world problems or what!? Aren’t cats just lethargic by nature?

'Yay, vets have pretty much the highest suicide rate of any profession in the country so on World Suicide Prevention Day let's have a thread with people calling them bastards just for doing their jobs! How wonderful.'

what a load of bollocks!

YABU.

Vets aren't in it for the money. If they were they would have chosen another profession. Vets have the highest rate of suicide of any profession. The training, the hours, the emotional toll they go through every day. And then clients complain that you're only after their money when you are actually trying to help them.

Vets and veterinary nurses are leaving the profession in droves, and we wonder why??

And don't get a pet if you're not willing to insure it.

That's all.

@whitejasmine That was the first thing I said to the vet but she's normally really playful and goes out a lot but hasn't been as much. Then again she's getting on a bit now.

We were charged £70 for a 10 min consultation with one of our guinea pigs, not including meds. Because they're "exotic" apparently - i can understand if people need different training for exotics but there were a couple of basic things anyone who knows about guinea pigs would know which she didn't. So I've no idea what specialist knowledge we were forking out for!!

Vets do NOT have the highest suicide rates of any profession! Get a grip!

Maybe my old boy is just a lazy arse!

Our cat hadn't eaten or drank anything for over 48hrs. She stayed overnight at the vets and they give her fluids, antibiotics and did blood tests which came to over £600! They're confident the insurance will pay out, but it's so expensive once the cat gets older. We pay over £40 a month now with Aviva as she's 16. Only claimed twice i wish we'd done a monthly cat fund instead!

shesgrownhorns

It's 4-5 times the national average.

Pretty sure vets bills have gone up because MORE people have insurance. Insurance companies pay the “ going rate” so it makes sense the going rate is as high as possible.
Like cars. You have to know people in the trade otherwise car scrapes and dents are extortionate as insurance pays.

My cats aren't insured so if they get something expensive I'll be saying goodbye. Though I've been to the vets for the male cats loads when he kept scrapping with the locals. It wasn't too pricey a consultation, jab and medicine for a week around £55

My friend is a member of BEVA, and makes no bones about the fact that the recent equine flu was a fantastic moneyspinner. Vets were coming onto yards and pretty much indiscriminately jabbing everything, even if it wasn't a client.

And I'm speaking as someone who loves vets!

I’m a vet. Took my dogs abroad this summer and wanted to get them anti parasite collars - I could buy them from an online pharmacy for less than our wholesaler charges the practice. We literally could not buy them for the price they are sold at online. To the PP who said most vets work in agriculture - that hasn’t been true for decades. Most vets work with pets these days, maybe 12% on farms. 40% of new vets leave the profession within a few years because they find it so hard. I have been qualified for 30 years and still love the job, but I don’t work full time, and now I am old and gnarled the clients have more respect for me than they used to, so it’s much less stressful for me than for a young full time vet.

While obviously overcharging and overtreating does sometimes happen, it is very unlikely that the vet you see has much say in what they charge, in these days of corporate practices. More likely they’re just trying to work out what’s wrong with the animal, which isn’t always easy, dealing with the owner thinking they’re a robbing bastard, and still being shouted at by the practice manager for not charging more. It is a tough job. One minute you’re euthanising an old lady’s much loved cat and the next you’re having to deal with a complaint or an excited family with a new puppy. Animals die even when you do your best and get better even when you make mistakes. And every vet makes mistakes, because we’re human. Having to balance money and responsibility and all that emotion, coupled with owners who may understandably have completely mistaken ideas about how things work, means that some people really find the job too hard. Veterinary suicide is a massive issue, and for every suicide there are many more people who burn out and leave the profession. Vet nurses have woeful salaries and vets earn much less than most people think. It’s not easy money.

Some are robbing bastards and cruel, keeping a pet alive long after it is time for them to go just to make more money. I can't trust my local vet to do the right thing with my pets, but have found a visiting vet who is good.

Those doubting the suicide rates of vets need to get a grip. If you don't work in the industry you couldn't possibly understand how physically and emotionally draining it is.

And yes vets do need specialist training for exotics. That's why there is specific exotic vets, because they've had specialist training. Its all well and good going on about basic knowledge in guinea pigs, but if you're not trained in exotics and don't keep guinea pigs as pets, you won't necessarily have that basic knowledge!

moredogsthansense

Couldn't agree more. I've been a Veterinary nurse for almost 20 years, and have never worked with a vet who was 'in it for the money'. All the vets I have worked with have been kind, hardworking and with a true love for animals.

Corporate veterinary practices in particular can be very greedy, and have a habit of 'pushing' products onto clients that the patient could quite well do without. Think creams, supplements, analgesics, etc.

@moredogstahnsense I apologise for my title it wasn't very nice and I'm seeing the other side now.
The vets at my practice have always been very nice When my cat was really poorly they more or less said to me it's best to put him to sleep but I was so upset they tried there best and did everything they could.

For shesgrownhorns or anyone else doubting the suicide thing, here’s a very good article. Not enough vets for the data to appear in standard tables these days, but suicide rate about 4x national average, as others have said.

www.vice.com/en_uk/article/xyk4xd/why-is-the-suicide-rate-among-vets-so-high

Might I suggest that those who do not believe that veterinary medicine can be extremely lucrative consult companies house to look at the profits of a variety of practices. The corporates are doing very nicely indeed.

It depends on the vet.

My dog got hit by a car.

Emergency appointment. They kept her in for obs. Put her on a drip.

She stayed in 5 hours.

The cost? £49.

They also treated 3 of my rats. I took them in. They charged me for the meds but charged me just 1 consult fee. And it was £8 as they are small animals.

Then I needed to go back TWICE and because eit was a reoccurring issue there was no consult fees.

I love them. They are amazing.

"Also, 6 posts in, and someone mentions Brexit, and how much worse off we will all be (supposedly!) Fucking hell. Any excuse to mention Brexit on a thread that has got FUCK ALL to do with Brexit*

Given that a substantial proportion of vets in the UK are from EU countries, if we cannot guarantee their right to remain, then we will be even shorter on vets than we already are. Many vet practices rely on EU vets to be able to function. Without them, yes, they probably will charge more. They will be even more overworked, under more pressure. So, Brexit is relevant.

And this link is for @shegrowshorns and other doubters:
www.bva.co.uk/Professional-development/Vets-TV/Veterinary-View/Mental-health-and-wellbeing-in-the-veterinary-profession/

At one time, as a vet, I was on a team of 6. 5 of us were on antidepressants to handle the stress. Not all of us are still alive. None of us are still in practice. So, fuck you to those who think suicide in the veterinary profession is bollocks and that we should get a grip.

Nchere it is so true that it depends. My sister in rural Shropshire pays roughly half of what we pay for the same treatment in Cheshire. This is for horses, who we joke are subject to E.A.T. (Equine added Tax)