Vets Emergency cost - AIBU

[Aretheyhavingalaugh]

I had to take my cat to the Vet yesterday as he wasn't going to the toilet or eating and then started vomiting. I called them for an emergency appointment which they said would cost £102 just to be seen, obviously its extortion, but I took him. When they saw him, they said he had a blocked bladder and without immediate treatment would die, they said this is a life threatening condition. The £102 consultation consisted of a few questions and the vet feeling his abdomen, they prepared an estimate which was £1824 to do the procedure, blood tests and scans. I told them I simply could not afford it. Upon looking at the estimate, they were charging £57 to admit him to the hospital ( take him upstairs) £40 for a bandage! £323 accommodation costs to keep him until 8am this morning ( more expensive than a hotel room in Mayfair) 1 specific kidney blood test was £170, bearing in mind, a human can get a full blood test for £95 privately. I told them I could not afford it and would have to take the cat elsewhere that was cheaper. They then managed to decrease the cost from £1824 to £863, taking off the blood tests, scans, making the accommodation slightly cheaper. It was still way too expensive, but if I didn't pay it, the cat would have died. I felt like they emotionally blackmailed me. When I got the very same cat neutered, it cost £65 which included the procedure, all the accommodation costs which was staying there the whole day, medication etc so how can they get away with charging this extortionate amount and basically holding me to ransom? By the way, the £102 consultation fee is on top of the £1800 they first quoted!

YANBU to feel like they have you over a barrel at a very upsetting & vulnerable time but this is why you get pet insurance.
Google how much healthcare costs in America then you will soon realise it isn’t cheap & we are lucky to have the NHS!
Yes the prices seem very, very high & are often well padded but these companies aren’t charities they are a business.
If you want cheap/subsidised/free treatment see if you qualify to use the PDSA otherwise you pay or put your cat to sleep… which will also cost more than £65!

You need to find a different vets! Was it a Vets for Pets that your cat was treated by, by any chance?
Out best private bets here let’s you spread the cost of treatments & do their best to keep costs down but they have lots of over heads to cover & again as a business not a charity like the PDSA.
Glad your kitty is doing well.
You may need to do some food research & tweak his diet to prevent this happening again. More often than not this issue can be diet related.

When you have a pet, you have a responsibility for its care. Do you think you're clever for such a thick comment? On that basis, what bother with anything? Just kill it and get a new one? Children too?

Goodness. I was recently in hospital for 9 nights. I have clots on my lungs. Had 2 CT scans, ultrasound, 2 X rays, 6 pints of blood as I’m anaemic, IV heparin, then injection’s. I also had a gynaecology appt whilst I was there. Plus I’m having an echocardiogram in 2 months. So glad for our wonderful NHS and all those lovely people who looked after me!

This! I have an annual review, although haven’t actually had one since before lockdown. In fact, last was March 2019, but the nurse couldn’t get my blood pressure so had to go to hospital for an ECG. They still prescribed my mini pill though. Over a month later I hadn’t heard from them so made GP appt. Found out at 42 that I have an intermittent heartbeat. I’m surprised I haven’t been told to make another review appt.

Presumably that £300 includes regular obs on your cat though. Having recently spent 6 nights in ICU/HDU, and having regular round the clock obs, I’m very thankful for that care. Especially being anaemic and one of the nurses realising I was close to fainting before I realised!

Yabvu.
They have to pay numerous staff wages, meds, supplies, rent, utilities, etc. Vets have one, if not the highest rate of suicides of any profession. People accusing them of caring more about money over animals doesn't help. They can't pay wages with free surgeries. If you choose have have the luxury of a pet, you must research the costs and make sure you can pay them.

Have you seen the breakdown of the bill?
One dose of anastethic or painkiller in iv is around £150. I had no idea it was that much. Boarding overnight needs various staff of different specialities on hand 24/7.

The neuter surgery was cheaper as they are subsidised to encourage people to neuter their animals, to try and counter to explosion of unwanted pets.

You should have explored pet insurance from the start, it doesn't matter that he was young, anything could have happened, from infections, accidents, to genetic problems. It would probably only be £10 a month to start. Now you won't be able to claim for this surgery and any future claims related to this condition are also excluded.

You could explore non profit surgeries like Animal trust, or charities like pdsa or rspca who run free/reduced clinics for those on low wages or benefits. I hope you're cat feels better soon.

Re the blood tests costing a lot more than private ones.
Maybe they are outsourced, or the machines/tests involved are very expensive.

When a vet draws a cats blood, they risk getting bit, scratched, pissed and shat on. It can also take 3 staff members to do it on a difficult patient.
I assume you don't piss on the phlebotomist when they're taking your blood? 😉

*I assume you don't piss on the phlebotomist when they're taking your blood?

Haha, I try not too!

Definitely just need insurance. I sorted ours 2 weeks before i picked up our kitten. When he was a year old he was diagnosed with HCM and he goes to a specialist animal hospital now at £1000 every 6 months but our insurer pays. We just pay our £14 a month premium. Never had any trouble with animal friends.