To think I’m being ripped off by the vets

[Fcukthisshit]

My cat is having a general anaesthetic today and was originally having 1 tooth out but is now having 2 teeth out.

I’ve been told that the cost is edging up towards £400 plus I’ve signed to say that I’m happy to pay an extra £35 for IV fluids whilst under anaesthetic.

Could anyone in the know tell me whether this price is reasonable and also if IV fluids are required, surely this should be included and not optional?? I don’t have a huge amount of faith in the vets after today and I’m considering changing but not sure if IABU or not?

It’s a national chain if that makes any difference.

we would have paid similar
our vet helped by allowing us to join the group practice membership scheme on the day, which offered a fix fee dental as part of the benefits - do ask if yours offers anything similar.

we get heavily itemised bills (units of vet time, units of nurse time, blood tests, cost of anaesthetic, equipment etc), which has really helped me understand how everything adds up, and trust that we're not being ripped off.

Sounds right. I think with the NHS we lose sight of how much treatment costs.
I paid nearly £70 the other day for my equine vet to come out and give my horse an injection

Hi all,

Thanks for the responses. I should have said, we are not London - we are based in north midlands.

Seems the cost isn’t too unusual. I think I’ll still change vets though as a PP said you need a certain level of trust and due to other circumstances with this practice I’m not 100% comfortable with their processes.

I think the iv is to protect the kidneys. I hope your cat recovers quickly.

Sounds like Vets4Pets to me. I really dislike the way they use add one to ramp up the price. Last year we had a male kitten neutered, called to check cost and sounded reasonable and locally they have a good reputation. By the time we went in and left him the bill had doubled to include the 'gold standard' of anaesthesia and extra IV fluids, however as you never want your pet to suffer you pay up. I would have preferred they said this is the cost straight off rather than emotionally blackmail you once there.

The variation in prices will be because some vets will offer cut price routine things like vaccs, microchip, flea treatments, as a way of getting clients in the door.. but then will need to cover the costs of that by charging higher prices for less routine things.

Some vets charge a fairly high consult price and for the routine things, but then don't have to make up for that so their less routine things don't seem so expensive.

Whichever way you do it, private health care for animals IS expensive, and small animal vets with well equipped surgical facilities have very high overheads to cover.

plus I’ve signed to say that I’m happy to pay an extra £35 for IV fluids whilst under anaesthetic

Vets4Pets by any chance? I hate how they do this. Nobody wants their pet to be more uncomfortable than they have to be so they pay out or you sound like a dick. I wish they'd just charge the full price

I'd recommend lifelong pet insurance. Pays for itself over time.

It sounds about right to me. I have pet insurance (lifetime per condition) but I am really glad that I paid the extra. I have never claimed in the last 10 years of cat owning but recently one of my cats had a gastric infection and the vet bill was over £2000!!!!

I am encouraging my children to become vets.....

Should have added, that I did claim this time.

It’s certainly cheaper than my vets.

@Laiste You have to remember it covers rent, insurance, wages for vets, nurses, receptionists, NI payments, equipment, staff training, utilities, 20% vat and drug costs.

Vet bills in this country compared to rest of Europe are very high as insurance is widespread and the insurance companies and the vets have an interest in keeping bills high - insurance then looks good value and they both make a good mark up

If you tell your vet you are "off" insurance you may get a completely different approach.

My 18 month old, neutered, boy recently had an overnight stay as he couldn't wee. Turned out he had bladder stones. He had a GA, a full bladder flush, catheter and after care. The vet also supplied meds for him to come home with and specialist food. This cost approx. £250.

Not sure if that helps you with price comparisons?

Last year I used the PDSA (think they're 25% cheaper) and it cost £300 for my cat to have a lot of teeth out (cant remember the exact amount.)

You are paying for a full GA, the vets time, the nurses time, the dental equipment, x-ray's, pain relief, likely local anaesthetic blocks to ensure minal pain, possibly sutures as well if needed and a full scale and polish afterwards.

Dental work is time consuming and hard. Removing teeth of a very fragile jaw isn't only going to take 5 mins. You have to pay for the time of the vet as well as all of the costs of maintaining an animal under ga for that length of time.

For the comments relating to why horses are cheaper. Full horse GAs are pricey too for good reason and you're unlikely to see a massive difference between vaccination costs etc if you include visit fees. Sometimes things are cheaper for field work as there are less overheads of a practice. If comparing dental fees remember that your dog or cat has to be under full ga whereas horses is normally light standing sedation. Remember you need to compare like with like.

And Zonkin - it's an enjoyable and rewarding career but if you think that 2k went straight into your vets pocket you need to do some more research!

Just paid £600 for ddog 10 teeth out!!
Ds offered to use pliers!!
*joking obviously...

I recently paid 900 for my small cat to have surgery under G. Anaesthetic.

Bit pricey. It does seem to vary wildly.

My elderly 35kg dog cost £400 with two teeth out.

This fee sounds about normal from vets. I have always been astounded at Vets fees, but they are well qualified animal doctors,and animal lovers.They do amazing work for our pets, jobs that we cannot ever do ourselves,for our pets.

My dog had a dental in France it was €86. A consultation however is similar at €35.

Blimey, hearing about these fees is making my eyes water! I'm in Ireland and a couple of years ago paid €85 for my elderly cat to have a dental during which he had two teeth extracted.

Why is it so expensive? Can anyone break it down for me?

Premed drugs , often very expensive and after which your pet will, or should , be monitored by a qualified nurse
Induction agent, maintenance anaesthetic agent, iv equipment etc
Very expensive dental equipment
Nerve blocks
Anaesthetic monitoring by a qualified nurse using various expensive monitoring equipment
Vets time and expertise
Post op monitoring and checkups

Dentals are one of the most common and time consuming surgeries performed in small animal practice because most people don't look after their pet's teeth also the most hated op amongst veterinary staff, believe me no-one books in dentals for the fun of it.

A single tooth can have 3 roots which basically means 3 extractions, one tooth can take over 30 minutes to remove.

If your vet is cheap they're probably not using decent equipment or qualified nursing staff

Oh and the fluids will help maintain your pet's blood pressure which usually drops during anaesthesia.

Basically a dental from premed to finish can take upto 2-3 hours of staff's time and reduces the overall number of procedures that can be performed that day

Posted at the same time as Frenchw1fe. Interesting, pretty much the same cost in France as in Ireland. Our consultations are €35 too.