X-ray for cat £600

[goudacheese]

I was quoted this today by my vet and decided against it. My cat is elderly with a slight limp which I think must be Arthritis. I've opted for pain relief as shocked at the cost which does include sedation. Is this price standard?

I'd ballpark £500 so I don't think this unreasonable, especially if she's elderly and needs pre op bloods. It's not the NHS - each practice needs it's own x-ray machine and trained professionals to read the results. And you can get it done the next day, not 18 months down the line. It costs money.

I don’t know whether it’s normal or not, but I believe that the entire veterinary sector is currently under investigation by the CMA for ripping off customers with astronomical price hikes. Someone’s making a lot of money, and it’s not the vets themselves.

Bullshit. It doesn’t cost that much money. Last time I had a dental X-ray and checkup at my private dentist, it didn’t cost £100, let alone £500. Granted, I wasn’t sedated, but still, this is a massive con and people need to stop defending it. Even vets have spoken out and said that customers are being ripped off by the cooperations, which push them to extract as much money as possible from the customer. It’s the animals that usually suffer as a result.

Vets don't have the same usage on x-ray machines as dentists do. So the cost per use is higher. Their patients have to be sedated as a minimum, or fully anaesthetised. Oxygen alone is hugely expensive.

No comparison with human dental xrays which have no need for sedation or general anaesthetic and are so much more simple to do .
But i work in a vets and i think that is to much for an xray too, my suggestion would be to ask for a printed estimate then call round other vets for their prices, you need your vets estimate first otherwise they won't be able to give such an accurate price comparison.
I wouldn't rule out an xray in the future just in case there is something sinister going on , you will soon find out if the pain relief makes a difference though which will help you decide.

I’d ring around. My cat had a lump last year and vet wanted a £1000 minimum for investigations.
Got a recommendation and went to a wonderful vet who explained it wasn’t worth it, he was too old either way and we needed to make him comfortable. He didn’t last too much longer but I am grateful, the first vet was clearly just on the make.

Man I'm going to get out the old strapping we had for babies and toddlers and start doing a feline clinic after hours in my cottage hospital 😂

Our cat was his by a car and needed an x ray at the emergency (weekend, out of hours) animal trauma hospital - £1,249 😭😭

Also, I was charged £40 for the pain relief, 4 weeks worth. I checked online and they're 20 quid so vets are on the make here too.

They do have to make a profit somewhere, they’re a business and need to pay staff, building insurance, contents insurance, energy bills, cleaners, their own professional insurance, business tax, council tax, VAT, etc.

A good vet alone is c. £60K a year. That money doesn’t appear out of nowhere.