Vets bill, have we been ripped off?

[6demandingchildren]

On Tuesday our cat has got a gash in her leg, we could see that although it wasn't nasty it did need stitching due to the shape of the would, we got a same day appointment (this was not the emergency vet) they gave her an injection of antibiotics and a pain killer and bandaged her leg and told us to return at 9am for it to be stitched.
We took her and at 11:30am we had a phone call to say everything went well and too collect her around 13:30.
The bill was £649 !!
I paid it and asked for a breakdown
The anesthetic alone was £178, but the same practice put our labrador to sleep and they said it was an overdose of anesthetic and that was £113.
Surely she didn't have that amount let alone more.
The dog was PTS in December so not that long ago.
Have I been ripped off?

vet fees in the uk are much much higher than elsewhere in the eu

I think this is due to the prevalence of insurance - the high fees make the insurance necessary and the insurance allows the vets to charge more - basically what they can get away with - i appreciate that they are a business and it is hard to shop around when there is an emergency.

Thank you everyone for your input.
The cat has already managed to break her lampshade thing, and escape the house!!!!!
She refused to use a litter tray, but she has left the stitches alone thankfully.

How's your cat doing now?

I don't get this. Surely you are insuring against the (for instance) horrific injuries from a RTA - requiring intricate surgery that your pet could survive into a long life from? Admittedly rare, but these procedures can cost 10s of thousands and I don't believe insurance payments will cost that over a lifetime.

Actually, plenty of people insure for lifetime illnesses rather than one off accidents. My cats are indoor only, but they are insured in case they develop something like heart or kidney problems, epilepsy, diabetes etc. Decent lifetime insurance cover would have saved my friend twice what the premiums would have cost her every month over quite a few years, which really adds up. There's a poster on The Litter Tray here who has indoor Persians, has cost her insurance company many thousands in illness rather than injury bills.

She is back to being herself, she spooned DH in bed as normal last night, she has a check up today so as long as they have no concerns we will be going to the new vets that we are registering with.
We have lots of pets and insurance for them all would be over £350 a month, only 1 is insured due to the breed and known health issues, all our pets are rescues apart from the rats!! DH can't say no to a pet in need.
But we won't be getting any more pets as the youngest children are growing up now and we want to go away more often.

we save more in the long run by not having it (insurance)

And logic dictates that this goes for most people - insurance companies wouldn't operate at a loss, or even at break even, so it stands to reason that most customers pay into insurance more than they get out, otherwise how could insurance companies operate profitably?

We start every vet conversation with 'do you have insurance?' we say 'no'

I think it's cheaper without insurance.

My cat actually went under general anesthetic last week, it was around £125 (I'm in Ireland though) That seems like alot.

My cat had a general anesthetic, two teeth pulled and groomed and the total was around £360

It's a bit of a gamble not having pet insurance but most people would be better off not insuring and putting what they would have paid into a savings account. Good idea to have 3rd party insurance though, which doesn't cost much and is free for Dogs Trust members
My dogs are 10 and 8 years old and I stopped insuring them seven years ago. I get annual insurance quotes and put the "premiums" into a separate account. It's now over £7000.

Dogs have had the usual minor illnesses and accidents but most have been below the threshold for insurance payout so would have had to pay those anyway.

I think they often over treat animals when you have insurance.

@UserErrorMessage

I think they often over treat animals when you have insurance.

I agree - and it is not always in the best interests of the animal.

Those who are insured tend to not shop around for the best price when their pet needs treatment. The element of competition, which helps to keep prices down, is removed.

I also think vets "have" to "overtreat" conditions with some insurance policies because of time limits on treatment (1 year from start of condition) meaning that wait and see might well preclude later treatment. It is better for pets than horses as lifetime policies do exist...

It does seem a bit high

Our cat had to have a gash in his neck stitched under sedation just before Christmas and it was about £350

He had been fighting, and went on to develop an abscess so had to go back - they only charged for a further course of antibiotics not the consultation time

Not too long ago a horse of ours fell through a barbed wire fence and ended up with a very nasty wound on one leg. Vet attended, used sedation and stitched it up. Vet was there a good few hours.

Follow up attendance a few days later.

All under £400.

I’m always massively surprised by how much cheaper our equine vet is compared to the pet one

Biggest bill for one of the horses was £450, and that included a Boxing Day emergency call out charge as well.

Our equine vet sees our dog now, but they won’t do the cats.

Our cat had an injury that involved a punctured lung and a big hole in her side requiring general anaesthetic, a chest drain and 2 nights in animal hospital. Cost £425 in total. This was around 4 years ago though, so maybe costs have increased a lot??

It does sound expensive OP, but what choice do you have but to pay up?

@TheNavigator I know - my dog got an x ray (with heavy sedation), nothing showed up - they suggested an MRI - I said what will you do if you find something and they said nothing - so what was the point. I've just refused surgery again - and when I chatted to the vet they agreed that was probably the right decision as the surgery had a poor success rate. I think I need to find another Vet - they used to be so good.

We are at the vets now, I have to wait outside, but I'm now in 2 minds about changing the practice as they came out and asked if I minded waiting as they were putting a dog to sleep and even though you are bit allowed into the surgery they let the dogs parents in to be there for his or hers final breaths.
Omg I sobbed for them,

We had this exact same thing done with our cat a few years ago and I’m sure it was under £300 in total. That seems very steep!!

My cats in as I speak having his bladder unblocked, estimated cost is £500. It is a more expensive practice, but they have excellent facilities and equipment and staff seem happy and I'd rather pay for a caring professional who doesn't have to scrimp or take shortcuts. They always ask if I'm insured and give options and estimates to suit.