Sorry to ask but can anyone explain why it costs so much to have veterinary treatment?

[DeirdreDoo]

I hope this doesn't offend - I am aware there may be vets who post on here and am hoping they won't mind putting it into context for me, as I am a bit perplexed, and don't want to jump to conclusions.

We have two rabbits and have had them for several years. Nothing's really gone wrong until yesterday when I had to take in my boy rabbit for a few stitches to a wound. It was fairly straightforward and he needed sedation, and we picked him up after about 6 hours though he hadn't eaten (they kept him there an extra 3 hours so that they could make sure he did - but told me to pick him up anyway in the end - he has now started eating so that's not a concern)

We have some precautionary antibiotics (£12) and the rest cost £83.

When they were neutered several years ago it was £35 per male rabbit.

I can't understand why a few stitches with sedation is now the best part of a hundred pounds?

Is this to do with inflation?


The vets are lovely and faultless in their care and I would never raise this issue in person. I don't see them as charging so much because they are out to make a profit - I'm sure it is minimal - so why is it that they have to charge so much compared to a few years ago?

Thanks of anyone got this far.

[SunshineAndShadows]

So what's your solution Oy? That vets should pay the costs that owners can't afford?

Not exactly a sustainable business model is it?

This thread is a great example of the misunderstandings that people have relating to the 'hidden' costs vets pay. Councils do not dispose of your euthanised pets for free, private healthcare services are incredibly expensive to staff and run and what owners may perceive as the cheaper option often has potentially significant side effects.

At the end of the day pet ownership is a responsibility and a luxury. I work as a vet but my own pets are all insured because even working in the industry things aren't 'cheap' and I know how much specialist referral services cost

[LaurieFairyCake]

They may not dispose of euthanised pets for free, they do take away dead animals for free. And you can dispose of them in the black bin here in my council as that's the advice given when you find a dead animal (domestic or otherwise).

I know this because I had to remove a dead fox from the street and they told me to put it in the black bin.

I think the vet should have told me there would be a large cost associated with disposal of my dead dog and given me the option of taking him home to put in the bin.

It didn't occur to me as I was upset. It did occur to me later when I called round other vets who were much cheaper to euthanise and I've no idea why my vets charged me so much.

The other vets only wanted £45 to euthanise (and I assume dispose of).

[SunshineAndShadows]

laurie the dead wildlife the council tells you that you can put in you bin has not been euthanised with pentobarbital, a dangerous and restricted drug.

Euthanised carcasses have to be incinerated as medical waste or buried on private land (though restrictions apply depending on species and water courses) at licensed facilities to prevent environmental contamination or secondary deaths of scavenging wildlife.

So what you 'know' is inaccurate.

It's highly likely that the second vets you called quoted you only for euthanasia excluding controlled disposal, which as you can see forms the majority of the cost you pay (unless you also discussed the various cremation options?)

[DeirdreDoo]

There is definitely a shift towards pet ownership being a luxury. That was kind of my original point I suppose.

Yet there is what appears to be a HUGE dissonance in that people still regard owning a pet, especially a common or garden mog or hound as a normal thing, a way of life, a given.

Certainly there isn't an expectation, or an understanding, when you take on a rescued cat or dog that you are in fact getting yourself a 'luxury' - people are NEEDED to take on these animals, and I think more would do so if they weren't terrified by the potentially enormous bills for their healthcare.

But many people don't think this way - it's only very recently that I do, having fostered rescue cats for a couple of years, a long time ago - before I used to think 'I'll manage somehow' but now - realistically, with three children to care for? There's no way I can take the risk.

It makes me really sad. Taking on a rescue cat shouldn't be a luxury situation, it should be a humanitarian one, with moderate associated costs of feeding, flea treatment (which is a bunch of money in itself) and so on - but thousands of pounds to treat an illness in an animal that may not even be insurable is something most people I know couldn't cope with. And so the cat would then go back to the rescue centre or probably, be PTS.

Using the services of the PDSA is not simple, I had to do it years ago and it required sending off various forms and payments in the post and renewing it every three months. That and the sneering at the vets, as I wasn't paying for the treatment, was enough to put most people off I'd imagine.

I don't know if that's changed now. I don't want to have to rely on a charity for my animal's treatment, I just want it to be affordable to someone on a low to average income.

[CointreauVersial]

We had our dwarf hamster put down earlier in the year. No treatment (it had gone beyond that stage), and no disposal of the body (shoebox burial) and they charged an astonishing £85.

I was so stunned I just paid the bill and left, but once I got home I thought "this can't be right", and phoned to question the charge. To their credit, they did refund £15, but still I thought that was VERY expensive for euthanasia of a creature the size of a small plum.

[LaurieFairyCake]

I did say in the first line that they took dead animals away for free and not euthanised ones

Apparently I could also have buried him for free at home and released pentobarbital into the ground

[Lonecatwithkitten]

The problem is Deidre that the provision is very expensive to provide the healthcare that pet owners expected. This time last year I purchased a new X-ray developer at a cost of £15K. I recently had a revaluation of the equipment in my practice which is an ordinary GP vets I have over £200K tied up in equipment and then another £40K tied up in drug stock. My drug bill for a small practice was £350K last year, I have 17 staff to pay. The total costs of running my small practice is just under £1million. I am the low cost practice in the area, I help clients with payment plans when possible and I provide my own out of hours service as reasonable cost (consult at just under £100).

[SunshineAndShadows]

And I think most vets would agree with you Dierdre it would certainly make our lives much easier. However I think part of the shift has been that people expect much more for their pets now but don't want to pay for it.

40 years ago my parents and other relatives of that generation would have PTS'd a dog rather than pay for surgery - dogs were there to be useful. Rabbits were food not pets, and spending money on mice (vermin) would be unthinkable.

However modern vets need to be skilled in treating many more species with a greater variety of technologies and medications and the inevitable complexity of the system adds costs.

I think the emotional attachment we have and the access to newer medical technologies makes making those decisions much harder.

[SunshineAndShadows]

Laurie I also said that you could bury your pet for free depending on the species (horses are tricky)
The risk of water course contamination or scavenging is minimal if a pet is buried)

[LaurieFairyCake]

Yes, owning pets is very unfortunately a luxury now.

I took on 2 rescue cats 8 years ago when they were too old/had existing conditions to get insurance. Over their long and happy lives they cost over £4000 pounds of treatment.

One (my last pet) is still alive after the vet said 11 months ago he had 5% kidney function left and there was no treatment but I should bring him in monthly for a blood panel to 'check his levels' at a cost of £145.

For no reason because there is no treatment.

I won't ever rescue any animals or get further pets as now it is too expensive for treatment. By the time my dog died insurance was £96 a month, and the excess was £120.

[LaurieFairyCake]

horses are tricky



Proper laughed out loud at the thought of burying a horse in my back garden

[OytheBumbler]

I don't know what the answer is Sunshine. Would it be possible to have a vet nurse surgery for minor injuries/treatments?

It sometimes seems like the only option presented is the most expensive. I understand this is the best option for the animal but if you just can't afford it then the animal has to be pts as the only affordable option, or else not taken to the vets in the first place for fear of the cost.

I too would like to give older animals a home but I couldn't take the risk of them needing treatment.

[SunshineAndShadows]

Is your pet on medication Laurie? For many kidney meds the data sheet recommends regular monitoring of kidney parameters. If vets don't follow through with this recommendation and the animal experiences side effects they could be sued for negligence.

Or we could just be money- grabbing and heartless. Take your pick

[SunshineAndShadows]

Vet nurses can only practice under the supervision of a vet they cannot make diagnoses or prescribe treatments so no that's not an answer.

I think we have a lot of work to do on educating the general public on what responsible pet ownership actually is

[LaurieFairyCake]

No, no medication. He said he'd be dead in a couple of weeks with those levels

[SunshineAndShadows]

It's also worth saying that many rescue charities offer foster schemes for older pets where the pet goes into a home but the charity covers medical costs. Without these schemes many older animals would not be rehomed

[LaurieFairyCake]

I definitely don't think you're money grabbing or heartless ( you're funny though ) but I have had some very crap veterinary experiences over the years. There are some really dodgy vets out there ( just like there are bad apples in any profession)

The problem with 'dodgy' vets is that the general public can feel very guilted into unnecessary treatment. At a time when they feel very vulnerable.

[OllyBJolly]

I agree that we find vet bills high because human medical care is free at point of use in the UK and we're unaware of real costs. However, I do know that some vets can go overboard on expensive treatment and tests that aren't always necessary.

My dog is no longer insured and bills have gone way down for the same operations and procedures (biopsies, X-rays etc). I baulk a bit about the £60 quid a month for Metacam when I can get it cheaper at the other practice in town or online for much less, but the vets do look after him well and know his foibles now.

[DeirdreDoo]

I can completely see how vets have got stuck in between the customer and the cost of equipment/licensing regs/drug costs etc.

I think we maybe need to look further down the line at the drug companies and how they are orchestrating all this? Maybe? I'm not an economist, but it does strike me as odd that you can't use generic meds.

I also understand that so much more can be done now for pets, but the thing is, many people don't want extreme treatments for their pet - and can't afford it anyway - my parents' cat had a thyroid condition and they were offered a radioactive chamber or something bizarre like that, it was almost funny, the thought of a glow in the dark cat that no one was allowed to touch and they declined and kept her on varying levels of drug till she sadly died. The guilt they suffered at all this was enormous - having the option to give her pretty much human level treatments, yet not wanting to do so - should they pay up whatever the cost?

It's an awful situation to be in. I was greeted with utmost care and sympathy during the summer when my rabbit needed to be PTS (the other one) and I wasn't in the least upset - I am quite pragmatic - he was a rabbit, he was no longer living a pain free life, the treatment had a poor prognosis, and I couldn't give him daily specialised care. So I was fine about it. I got the feeling they expected me to be gutted, but I wasn't

When you have had a lot of chickens and as we know they have a fragile grip on this mortal coil, and shuffle off it at the drop of a hat and often there's nothing you can do anyway - or you have to dispatch - or sit there digging maggots out of a tumour, or whatever, covered in purple spray - it feels more like farming really.

If the animal is free and happy, so am I. But I don't get attached. If they are suffering, unable to eat or hold their head up unassisted or they have a lot of pain, I don't see my job as prolonging their existence at all costs to avoid the loss of a companion for myself.

So maybe some people are sentimental and well off, and will do anything, maybe others are guilt ridden and will do some of it, and others like me are slightly nervously unsentimental about it all (in case I am wrong not to care so much?) and just want an honest answer.

[SunshineAndShadows]

Yes I suspect that's true Laurie I've definitely worked with some that I've had concerns about.

In those situations the best recourse is to raise it with the vet practice and if no joy, then the RCVS our licensing body who deal with issues of malpractice.

[OytheBumbler]

I'm not trying to get at the vets either but what do you mean about responsible pet ownership? An animal could live for nearly 20yrs and people's circumstances could change in that time. Or the insurance company may not pay out for a recurring condition. In my case the insurance company put the premiums up year on year until we could no longer afford it.

Is responsible pet ownership keeping £10000 per pet in case they need vet treatment? I don't think many charities/rescues pay for medical costs - they can't afford it either.

[OytheBumbler]

To make it clear, I'm not saying the vets shouldn't make a profit. I'm just wondering if there's any way a two-tier system could work? Maybe a community animal health centre that just provides primary care, like a human casualty centre.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

There as much if not more research into veterinary drugs as there to human drugs. It costs in the region of £5 million to bring a new veterinary drug to market with the development and licensing costs.
A large number of the companies fund a huge amount ongoing research and the standard is publish regardless of results (not so in human market).
The biggest thing is that in the last 20 years there has been a massive growth in knowledge and specialism within the veterinary sector. The investigation and treatment of cushiness disease was almost exclusively performed in vet schools now it is an every day thing in ordinary practice.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

There as much if not more research into veterinary drugs as there to human drugs. It costs in the region of £5 million to bring a new veterinary drug to market with the development and licensing costs.
A large number of the companies fund a huge amount ongoing research and the standard is publish regardless of results (not so in human market).
The biggest thing is that in the last 20 years there has been a massive growth in knowledge and specialism within the veterinary sector. The investigation and treatment of cushiness disease was almost exclusively performed in vet schools now it is an every day thing in ordinary practice.

[OneMoreCasualty]

I bow to the vets on the thread saying neutering is a loss leader - but presumably it's also easier to schedule so that you do several I a row/fit in between more complex ops?