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Advert about vets' bills going up by 40% - why?

8 replies

Psipsina · 19/04/2015 11:09

We no longer have a cat and have never had a dog, but this advert makes me wonder what's behind the massive apparent price rise in vet bills over the last couple of years.

It's an insurance ad and basically says, prices have risen by about 40% in the last 2 years (something like that). Can anyone shed any light? We stopped being able to afford vet bills some years ago and were lucky to have a healthy-ish cat but we rehomed her a while ago, for various reasons, this being among them (I waited till a place came up at a sanctuary and subbed her costs by a small standing order each month - then they told us she had found a proper home. I still pay the SO as it's all I can really do).

We would love another cat as our new home is more suitable but we won't, having had cats all my life including a spell fostering them for a charity - I cannot afford the potential costs if something goes wrong.

It makes me sad I suppose as there are so many needing homes and it probably puts a lot of people off. We had insurance for several years but they wouldn't pay for recurring conditions so it was cheaper to save the money and use it for that. But Heaven help us if she had got really ill.

OP posts:
ragged · 19/04/2015 11:42

More technology; they can do more for the cats so they offer it. Some folk say you're a terrible negligent owner if you wouldn't be willing to pay any price which guilts some into paying anything, others really don't mind paying huge amounts. Either way, the services are out there and the pressure is on.

Stillyummy · 19/04/2015 11:48

Better access drugs too- the new ones are more expensive. My cat has better medicle cover than me, but I insist on it. Sadly there is not a cat nhs so effectively we pay to go private and demand good survise, witch we are happy to pay for. If he had to wait the same amount of time as I do on the nhs for treatment or appointments I would find another vet! The cat is my husbands baby though!

BohemianRaptor · 19/04/2015 11:49

I think it's probably just advertising tactics. I've worked in the veterinary industry for over 20 years and I'd say on average prices have risen by around 50% over that time period. Our practice generally increases prices by around 5% annually and that's mainly to cover the increase in costs to ourselves from suppliers etc as well as wage increases in line with inflation.

Psipsina · 19/04/2015 12:25

Even so, when I was a kid (Ok - this would have been 30+ years ago) we took in our hamster for a small op and the cost was £1.32.

It would be hard to get that sorted below about £50 I imagine now?

Maybe it is because of the advent of pet insurance that prices are seen as something that will be met by insurance companies and it becomes a sort of vicious circle?

I apologise if my economics is up the creek Smile

OP posts:
tabulahrasa · 19/04/2015 12:30

Prices haven't risen that fast though...it'll be some skewed statistic to encourage insurance, surely?

I mean, a consultation at my vet costs the same as it did 2 years ago.

I believe that bills in general are rising (not that fast) but that's because there are expensive diagnostic equipment available, more treatment options and more drugs.

ragged · 19/04/2015 12:31

More like £100+ Psipsina. I had lumps off of rats for way more than that 7-8 yrs ago. £50 is the minimum if euthanised. The anaesthetic seems to be the huge cost, ime.

IdaClair · 19/04/2015 12:35

You mean anaesthetised ragged?

ragged · 19/04/2015 13:26

No, I meant put to sleep.

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