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!

I can see that, no matter how many people with real insight as to how much veterinary treatment actually costs reply, you’ve decided it’s extortionate, that you’re being ripped off, and the millionaire veterinary staff are rubbing their hands together in glee as they throw another bunch of tenners onto the fire to keep their staff room cosy.

@Aretheyhavingalaugh
I had the same thing they wanted to hospitalise the cat and charge nearly two grand
Then offered a cheaper alternative

My cat had a blocked bladder and the total cost was £2.5k, so yes your quote does seem reasonable. But I also had insurance so didn’t need to worry. To make you aware they can get reoccurring blockages, which won’t be covered if you decide to get insurance as it would count as a pre existing condition.

The procedure was to empty the bladder and flush it so not an operation, a procedure which happened to be life saving

My mums dog has just had a £6k cancer op which I paid and now she has just found out her other dog has a cancer lump to take off £2300 . Her dogs aren't insured so expensive . If you don't have the money to pay you need insurance or as someone else said don't have a pet .

£300 to stay overnight in a cage? I haven't ever stayed in a hotel room for £300 a night! Is that not evidence of overcharging? But with the very same cat being spayed, the procedure and accommodation cost was a £65 set fee. Please explain the difference

The difference is that it was my choice to get the cat spayed so they have to charge a reasonable price but when it's life threatening they can extort and charge you whatever they want because you are going to pay it rather than let your cat die. I am not cold hearted but I can see when they are taking advantage of a situation

When you stay in a hotel room you don't receive regular monitoring (temperature, respiration rate, heart rate, pain level assessments), you don't receive medication, you don't have someone monitoring your food/fluid input and output. You might have room service and cleaning I guess.

Neutering is massively subsidised (and carried out at significant financial loss for the practice) as its in everyone's interests for there not to be uncontrolled breeding amongst the local cat populations.

Your responses suggest that you have little understanding of the procedure your cat actually had done.

A spay is a day case isn't it?

If your pet is sick enough to be in overnight you will have vets, nurses and interns doing regular checks like temp, blood pressure, general wellbeing and giving medications. They'll all be on a enhanced night shift rate. They're not just left alone in a cage.

Insurance is the way to go, I know I can't afford pet treatment so insurance has paid out for us every time.

So now you are comparing a hotel room with a medical setting?

One has minimum wage workers, the other has (at least one) someone doing an intensive 5 year university degree which is one more than a human GP. They are also expected to be surgeons, unlike our GPs. Then add on the pay for a vet nurse, probably two, who has also gone though intensive medical training.

Both require heating, lighting, laundry, a cleaner. But a vet practice also requires infection control, aprons, gloves etc.

I'm out. You really have lost the plot now you have that as you reasoning.

That sounds reasonable to me. In the last year our (older) cat has cost 4k in vet bills which we could claim back. Insurance is really worth it, ours pay out with no issues. It's a shame insurance isn't made a legal requirement of pet ownership, but it couldn't be policed.

Believe me op it's not a tiny procedure. It's a life saving, drop everything else, cancel routine appointments, procedure, which takes 3 staff members and can be quite difficult.

Thanks to all the replies. I really am not questioning the vets experience or knowledge and I am grateful for what they have done for my cat. It's a no brainer that insurance is the way to go. My cat had kittens and in the meantime I also had my 2nd child so getting them insured was way down on my priority list, to be done at some point. Anyhow after the last few days, all cats are now insured, obviously the cat with the bladder problem won't be covered for future problems but will be covered for everything else. I just feel like they've taken advantage and overcharged. I don't expect free treatment but I expect it to be reasonable. Most of you tend to think the price was reasonable but I'll have to agree to differ.

Why is this?

@Aretheyhavingalaugh Do you have any idea how much it costs to provide 24 hour medical care? You’re paying for the building, lighting, heating, equipment and professionally trained staff to be on call 24/7.

What do you think that should cost?

Do you reckon if you lived in the USA and went to a private ER for a blocked bladder you’d be admitted assessed, sedated, IV-dripped, catheterised, medicated and nursed overnight for less that 2k?

No you’d be looking at 10s of thousands.

UK veterinary care is cheap, but it’s up to pet owners to manage their own finances and ensure that they can provide medical care for their pets.

you chose not to insure your pet or to do any research in realistic costs if veterinary care. That’s your responsibility as a pet owner.

Ok so you can’t afford care for one cat but decided to breed?

sounds like a great choice

The reason pet owners in the UK are horrified by vet bills is because they don’t pay for human healthcare. I’m one of the cheaper specialities in healthcare but the locum hourly rate for me is £150 Mon-fri 9-5. Our vets charge £180 call out. There was a long article in a broadsheet newspaper a few years ago- If every vet worked for free your bill would only go down by 20%.
keeping pets is expensive.

This isn't an unusual charge for a blocked bladder. Our cat had the same this year but unfortunately he died from it. We were insured though.

YABU to have not taken out insurance on your cat. Lots of mentions of £57 to take a cat up the stairs, but that's not how it works, a proportion of that cost is utilities, wages, medical supplies etc. Its not as simple as splitting the cost for each action/procedure. My cat is insured with Pet Plan also, and they have always paid out, and have actually encouraged me to proceed with claims, even those of low cost. Insurance is part of the responsibility in owning a pet IMHO. If you don't want to take out a policy, then you should self insure by putting money away in case something happens. If your pet develops a life long condition, such as diabetes, or epilepsy, are you prepared for the ongoing cost? Pet insurance ensures these costs are covered for you.

Maybe they were trying to help you out?
People have no idea what healthcare costs in The UK. Vets are in short supply and have high overheads.
They love animals but are also running a business that needs to be profitable

You were very lucky nothing went wrong when your cat had kittens, that could have cost you an awful lot

My original cat has insurance, I just hadn't got round to sorting it out for the other cats which obviously was an oversight. All my cats have been spayed etc. The timing for this was just terrible and apparently its rare for this to happen in a cat so young and there's no apparent reason apart from stress?!?

I'm sorry to hear that. 😔

He will not be covered for unblocking or cystitis in the future until he has been three years clear at least (some say two)

I paid a £200 out of hours fee for my cat with cystitis no he would not be covered by insurance as he has had cystitis before the two hundred was before any treatment btw

We had to switch to a wet food diet and when he doesn't drink enough I literally syringe water into him to keep him going

Jeez Louise! Poor thing, he hasn't had a good time!