AIBU VET BILL £5700

[bellewilson]

Long story apologies- We own a beautiful Exotic cat she is one year old. Perfectly healthy took for one year vaccinations and she had a bad reaction temp and loss of appetite and started getting wobbly on back legs after 6 days. Obviously back and forth to local vet but when became wobbly local vet suggested she was better off being assessed in local veterinary hospital. Take her there (have insurance with £4k limit was supposed to be their top of range superior plus policy) vet hospital assessed her and said we need to admit her for tests and suspected neurological FIP (cat coronavirus) sedated her and did X-ray and scans and biopsies of fluid found in chest and abdomen and blood tests. Only had her in for 24hours and bill was £3150 took a week to finally get results as positive for FIP carrier with low probability of infection which means with her ongoing symptoms they think she has neurological FIP. So as now 7 days later our cat has got more poorly not eating or drinking having to syringe feed/drink. Re-admitted to hospital and they agree to only do minimal care to keep her comfortable whilst antivirals drugs kick in (drip and appetite stimulation) and would cost max £280 a night admitted for 3 days and everyday checked with vet the bill and costs and how much left on insurance. Collected today to be told owe £5700 so £1700 over insurance. Was expecting £600 max but £1100 more than I was told on the phone several times is a joke. Ask for bill breakdown and it’s CF at its best and laughable they can actually get away with it… from working it out the initial £3150 they have charged approx £1400 just for sedation to do the X-ray £450 and ultrasound £680 plus extra for biopsy and tests plus nursing care and £450 consultation. I made it completely clear to them we couldn’t afford a large bill and they agreed all along to do a direct claim with our insurance company and get pre authorised payments from them through a portal. Turns out didn’t do that either so if insurance doesn’t pay we have to. What can we do. I have Googled and average cost for Anastasia for a cat is £300/400 in Uk so how can they charge 4x the average cost. AIBU? Any advice please so stressed.

Exactly this. ^ I am sick to death of hearing 'oooh I hate vet bashing!' It's a public chat forum, many MANY people have had bad experiences with rip-off vets, and yes, many of them DO take the piss. Like fuck am I not going to speak out because people go 'ooooh but vet bashing!' Some of them deserve it. Deal with it. Some are fine of course, and only charge what they need to, and do care about the animals AND the owners. Some do not.

eg.. This is just ONE example on this thread, and one of many in real life.

@RiderGirl · Today 16:38

When my mum's dog was very clearly dying of a failing liver (his abdomen was swollen with ascites which was drained once but soon swelled again), the fucking vets tried to guilt trip her into doing all sorts of interventional treatments on him, which at best would have bought him a few more weeks of life.

He was an old boy, she rang me in bits not knowing what to do but I think really she was seeking reassurance that PTS was the best thing for him. Of course I said put him down while he still had a bit of dignity left. I was disgusted really that the vets would even consider suggesting further treatment for a clearly dying dog, with an owner who was struggling to pay the bills as it was.

An example (of many!) of a vet trying to make multiple 1000s out of a vulnerable woman, like with the women in the post I made earlier with a pitbull cross who is paralysed from the waist down and shits herself in the house 3-4 times a day. Vet refuses to euthanize as the dog is not in pain, and prefers to take 1000s of ££££ off the woman in scans and x-rays and treatment for the dog, that is 90% of the way through its natural life anyway.

There are far too many posts on this thread now, from far too many posters, for there to be no truth in what is being said about SOME vets. Their prices are outlandish, and they do rip people off. Letting older pets live when they have multiple things wrong with them (or something serious/life affecting,) and taking multiple 1000s of £££ off their owners; (rather than putting them to sleep,) should actually be against the law.

AGAIN, I re-iterate, not ALL vets are rip-off merchants, but it's delusional and fanciful to say there are not SOME who are. Like with NHS workers, and surgeons, doctors, nurses, opticians, dentists etc; whilst some do a lot of good, and are often valuable to society, they should not be above criticism, and they should certainly be called into question when they cross the line/do wrong/try to rip people off.

Yes vet costs are normally expensive . However the ones quoted by the OP are on another level entirely.

it was an emergency appointment!!!

Vets' bills are terribly high. I took our poorly chicken to the local veterinary practice. He pulled out his stethoscope and listened to her abdomen. He shook his head sadly and said the hen is dead.

I implored him to do more tests. Sometimes hen's get cold-shock in the wind and will lay horizontal in a temporary state of torpor. He left the room and 10 mins later came in with a large Labrador. It sniffed all round my chicken, eventually gave up and left the room after shaking its head at the vet. Then he went out and brought a cat in. He lifted it onto the table and it also sniffed all round the hen before miaowing softly and shaking its head. The vet turned to us and said "I can now guarantee your hen is 100% dead".

We paid the small fee for her to be cremated and then at the reception desk his colleague presented us with a bill for £475. We were astonished. I said why such a large fee? The vet said it was £75 for the initial consultation, but an additional £150 for the Cat Scan and £250 for the Lab Report.

Oooof. Colic?

This. The cardiologist who looked after my cat (which above was £6700 every single year for like 15 years!) was highly skilled. He spent the entire 24 hours with my car and did his best. I never felt like he took advantage and he loved the animals

friend of mine was a highly skilled equine get. He made £14,000 a year. I thought vets were on over £70k and how wrong I was. . That’s it….that was like 7 years training and things

hes now a multi millionaire (started his own practice) but he started and stayed very poorly paid for years.

I can’t help regarding vets charges, but it does make you realise how lucky we are to have treatments on the NHS.
I hope it’s sorted for you soon.

This is more than I earn and I have worked as a vet for 20 years.
To comment on a couple of other posts - if they costs are putting you off having pets, unfortunately that is not a bad thing. A worse (and more common) situation is getting a pet without researching costs and ending up having to let it suffer.
Secondly to those who are suggesting they would have to give up their pet if charged these costs- who do you think should take them on and pay for them? The charities are completely swamped with under researched people who have bought animals and then changed their minds.
The overwhelming majority of vets have no control over the prices they charge and are not incentivised to charge them. I know in my practice due to the recent cost of everything increasing I cringe internally every time I have to tell people. That doesn’t mean they are not necessary costs to cover all the things other vets have mentioned earlier. Earlier today I had a conversation at work where we discussed how worried we were about the costs and how many animals/owners would be unable to access treatment. As well as the knock on effect on insurance costs and therefore even more under insured animals. This is not our responsibility but it can feel like it and add to the stress of the job.
A few have made a point about follow up checks - these are my least favourite consults to charge as if treatment has gone to plan there is very little to do. However a consult slot has been booked and no more money can be made by us in that time so somebody has to pay for it. Plus of course treatment does not always go to plan and we have no crystal ball.
For those who think we are wrong to offer highly advanced expensive treatment to older animals - there is always a choice. What would the client who would pay any money to give their much loved animal another few months of life think if we didn’t give them every available option?
Finally, there is a huge staffing crisis for the veterinary industry. We do not have to do unnecessary procedures to fill our days. Most of us are very overworked and adding more procedures just adds to the ongoing stress. None of us chose this career thinking we would be doing insane hours under huge stress for relatively low pay, and on top of this receive constant complaints about cost. Many are suffering from burnout and leaving which increases the pressure on the rest. The NHS does us no favours re cost awareness, but I also wonder how many humans can book an appointment on the same day, followed by X-rays the next and surgery within the week, often in the same local building (and collect their prescription on the way out).
I have so much more to say but it is a frustrating conversation - on the face of it the costs are huge, but there is nobody to blame for this. To suggest vets are in it for the money is insane. There are many easier ways to make money that involve more sleeping at night and way less stress. The majority of us do it for the love of animals and having to leave an animal suffering due to unaffordable costs can have a huge impact on our mental health.

Yup displaced colon because greedy wannabe a Labrador fat cob stuffed his face on autumn grass....They basically unzipped him, took his guts out, pin pricked them so he deflated like a balloon and then put him back together again. Amazing really. Luckily he's built like a tank so has bounced back almost like nothing happened.
Also for extra fun he has what they call a 'dramatic pain response' I.e. goes fucking demented at slightest thing ouchy......at least when my normal sweet cuddly lambkin suddenly tries to rip my face off and pin me to the wall I know it's time to speed dial the vet.... He's very special......my husband loves him......🤣🤣🤣

Can you try a charity vets like pdsa?

Personally I think you’re being a little deluded with the cost of vets bills. They’re always high and tests, scans etc are always a lot. We treated our cat last year for dry/ocular FIP. Our vets didn’t put any mark up on the medication and charged minimal costs for administering injections (£12). The final cost was £14500. He is insured for 10,000 and we burned through that initial 10,000 in 6 weeks. I think a lot of people fail to see the cost of things in real terms, scans etc because we have the nhs so don’t pay for things for ourselves so don’t see the real cost. Overnight stays are always expensive and sometimes I think people just fail to do their research on how much things actually are and think that the bare minimum of insurance will cover things. Also most vets have a clause that says if the insurance doesn’t pay out in 60 days you’re liable for the cost yourself

We cured our boy last year from this horrendous illness

They should have got work pre-authorised and advised you of the limit or potential overspend. Most vets have agreement to get re-imbursed direct they should have given you a form to complete and contacted insurers for authorisation. I would tell them to claim direct and just pay the excess. It does sound excessive though. My dog was kept overnight on drip for 3 nights last year and had X-ray, medication and various sample tests. Total bill was £1500 the insurers paid bill direct except the £99 excess. I’d push back on that bill.

Animal friends top insurance is 18000 a year….

Vet bills have always been quite costly, have just paid out over £3000 for my cat luckily apart from £800 was covered by insurance. Medical care does cost but equity firms buying up very practices is adding to this https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9642305/amp/Calls-inquiry-equity-vultures-snap-vets-amid-rising-bills-welfare-fears.html

… and for a moment there, I was considering getting a pet!

I moved from animal friends as they were rubbish, as soon as you claim they then tell you you can’t claim for the same thing or anything they can loosely relate to the condition again.

A learning for people to choose your insurance provider carefully. Research exactly what your cover includes and pay for the maximum coverage. Mine covers 20K a year. Hope your cat is OK.

That's shocking although i do know someone who recently started a fundraising page for her cat who needed £6k of treatment 🫣

Just wanted to add that many areas have a vet shortage, due to Brexit I'm told. This won't help reduce vet costs/fees.

My vet won’t accept insurance claims through animal friends. There’s a sign in reception, doesn’t say why…. presuming they fail to pay out. I used Tesco insurance, they paid out no fuss.

Exactly this. Utter pure greed at some practices, I spent thousands on what was suspected to be an ear infection on one animal, 5 weeks later he was worse than ever and on so many drugs his life was miserable. I took him back only to be informed he would need a scan but he had be referred and they would get back to me with a cost. I nearly fell through the floor the cheapest was £4500! ohh and if it was neurological they informed me there was very little they could do!
I saw red, my poor lad had been through enough and drugged up to his eyeballs. What was the point in putting him through a useless scan?
I stopped all the drugs, nursed him myself gently cleaning his poor ears.
Patrick is now living his best life, he’s happy, loved and not of his face on Tramadol.
There are good vets out there, but sorry there are masses of money grabbing upselling vultures who feed off distressed and heartbroken owners who blindly hand over thousands of pounds for unnecessary procedures.
There is absolutely no defence for these piss taking charges.
For anyone who doubts this just check how much you pay for metacam at your vets, and then how much it is online?
Even with me paying £18.00 for the prescription from the vet I’m still saving over 75%!!

Im fuming for you OP, your going through worry and stress and the vet like most of them charges you an arm and a leg and then refer you out because they don’t have the facilities or the skill set! Heartless, cruel and indefensible, sending love to you and your fur face.

"If the pet dies within 3 years of the treatment the vet recommends, they should be made to pay every penny back to the customer."

I think this is my favourite comment on the thread. It reminds me of a client I had once whose dog had a lump (possible mast cell tumour IIRC). I started going through the options with approximate costs for each and she really was not happy. The last bullet she fired on the way out was "Huh!! Surgery!! You ripoff merchants insisted on charging a fortune for an operation on my last dog and she died soon after anyway!"

When she was gone, I looked up the last dog's record. She was a really quite sick pyometra, got fluids, emergency spay and kept in overnight, did well in the end (cost about £700) and lived happily till she got lymphoma 18 months later and was euthanased.

It's a bit unfair of me to cite that one from about 10 years ago when the vast majority of the clients are lovely and also realistic, but it did make me chuckle.

All the other vets on the thread have said pretty much everything I'd want to say.

I'd query the Atipam though, that sounds like a mistake and if it was getting priced up amongst the expensive procedures it could have been missed.

Vet fees are expensive, as are nhs fees except you don’t see them, so are you are familiar with what medical care actually costs. You should have gone with a pet plan £12K per year policy. £4K gets you practically nothing if your pet needs a major surgery or an involved medical work up and hospital stay. You need to take it on the chin, it’s part of the cost of owning a pet. Put it on a credit card and pay it back over a period of time. I do really hope your cat is ok. There is a treatment now for FIP but it’s around £500 for 3 weeks worth of medication. Good luck and hope she pulls through