£563 vet bill estimation for an x-Ray?

[catandgirlmum]

I have already posted this several hours ago on the litter tray page but no response so trying on here to see if anyone has been through similar or might know what my cat has done to his toe!

Hi,
I'm hoping there will be someone who has been through similar or is a vet on here who can give me an opinion on what is wrong with my cats toe?
I noticed on Saturday his toe was swollen, red and seemed to be hurting him so I gave him some metacam I have left over from his sisters spaying op and waited over the weekend to see if it went down. He was still eating, playing and cheerful (he's only 6 months old)
Anyway swelling hasn't gone down but redness has. The toe is floppy and easily manipulated and doesn't seem to be causing him any pain at all now. He lay there happily purring as I was poking it earlier.
Took him to vets today and they have suspected broken toe and want to x-Ray. They have just sent me an email with estimation cost and I can't believe my eyes!!!! Will also attach this! I'm thinking I need another opinion before going ahead with this? Any ideas?

Sounds about right - my dog had something similar in 2010 - she was holding her paw off the ground/limping, yelping when I touched her toe etc etc. Vet gave an x-ray - nothing broken, bandaged it. My bill was £400 - when I got the breakdown they had charged £40 for the bandage! We realised she had twisted the nail/toe somehow whilst digging for rabbits so when it happened the next time, I got some VetWrap from Wilko, wrapped it up and saved myself £395.

RVN here. It seems strange that they are charging for hospitalisation (for a day procedure). I have never worked in a clinic that does that.

But everything else seems normal price.
Don't forget this is an estimate - the final bill might actually be cheaper!

That seems a lot.
Our cat recently had blood tests, scan, overnight stay, afternoon stay, vitamin b injection, several saline drips, various other injections etc… so was very ill and eventually was put to sleep. ( so put to sleep and cremation cost added). When we went back a week later to pay it was only around €250. For everything

I had previously spoken to vet about insurance here and they said it’s very rare pets are insured. As veterinary care isn’t anywhere near as high as uk

Just had other cat annual booster vaccine, worm tablet and flea vaccine - €28. Have never been charged for consultation either

But cats get a GA to be neutered and it costs way less than that for the whole op and GA?

Neutering is generally done as a "loss-leader" as they want as many people to neuter their pets as possible.

It's not comparable to "normal" surgery in that respect.

That sounds about right for where I work I’m afraid. There are costs you don’t see and things take time. For example; the vet will check him before he has a premed to make sure his heart sounds okay on the day, the nurses will calculate the dosages and these will be checked by another nurse, the premed will be given and this will take time to set in depending on what they give and the route it’s given.
A nurse will them monitor him incase he has any type of reaction. This could be a dedicated nurse for 20 minutes. They’ll shave his leg and place a catheter, this will likely be 1 nurse to hold and one to place the catheter.
A vet will induce him, this is done slowly as the drug is given ‘to effect’. A nurse will be present monitoring him constantly at this point. A bit of local will be squirted to the back of his throat before an ETA tube is placed. Lube will be put in his eyes to keep them nice and moist.

The nurse will continue monitoring him on gas as the X-ray machine is set up. The views they needed are taken and images reviewed and then he will be woken up. A nurse will monitor his recovery.

He will be fed, the vet will have to write detailed notes, contact you to book in a 15 minute discharge appointment and also bill the procedure for you.

So there are lots of points where multiple members of staff are required and it’s certainly not a 10 minute job

The average vet graduates with £75k of student loans debt, plus almost certainly an overdraft now days. A degree qualified RVN leaves with £45k of student debt.
My surgery's energy bill was £5K in 2020-21 it is £30K a year.
A new digital X-ray system costs £35K, multi parameter machine for monitoring the pet whilst anaesthetised is £2.5K and an anaesthetic machine another £2k. All the consumables, drugs, providing a kennel, cleaning it and the rest of the surgery. Providing a computerised record system, a phone system to call you, reception staff to answer the phone, greet you, manage emails etc.

continuing professional development for the vets and nurses which is a compulsory requirement.

@Lonecatwithkitten - survey that’s the same with many professions though? It’s not just vets who have high energy pulls and student loans and equipment.
A fancy coffee shop might spend £8k on a coffee machine, and £5k energy bill, but they can still only charge £5 a coffee.
Vets abroad also have the same qualifications and costs presumably (Western Europe, not Mongolia)

An X-ray for my dog was £900 .

Update on my cats toe thank god I listened to my gut and didn't fork out £569 because it's all back to normal and completely healed now all on its own!

Hello ,Please can you tell me where you got your blood tests done as my vet wants £1300-£1600 to do test and I cant afford it

7month old westie dog x-ray on back leg £550. Absolutely disgusting price, government should step in and stop these money hungry vets (Bastards)