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!

How much did you end up paying? We've ended up paying 1K with everything

Unblocking a bladder can be an extremely difficult, time consuming and fiddly procedure, not to mention the ultrasound/X-rays, bloods, microscopy of urinary sediment, Iv fluids, urine culture and urinary catheter management that should happen during gold standard care. Often owners drop their animal in a 15 minute appointment and don't see the hours of skilled time their animal receives once they've gone... day and night. not to mention the cost of drugs and equipment. A slippery Sam urinary catheter costs about £35 for example, digital X-ray £10,000 to replace. The bandage cost may have related to repeatedly unwrapping, checking and rebandaging the iv he had in, not just the little bit he went home with.

Neutering is generally a loss leader (priced lower than actual material cost) as this is something clients compare prices on and bind clients to the practice in the long term

'I wouldn't advise insurance - they'll always find a way to wiggle out of paying out and you'll have wasted your money paying premiums.'
This comment is very misleading - i work at a vets ,insurance companies refusing to pay does not happen often , the vast majority pay out fairly quickly.
Also op , are you aware that this condition would be very likely excluded ,plus any problem connected to the condition if /when you take out a policy.
Your comment -' a tiny procedure ' just shows how unaware you are of what your cats treatment consisted of ,castration does not compare to a blocked bladder.
It is unfair how our profession continually has to defend itself to people who clearly have no idea of the work and costs involved .
I certainly do not consider everyone the same ,most pet owners are responsible and aware.

Thank you, I might have to try the tip about the syringe in the mouth if I don't see him drink enough water.

Yes, I understand what you are saying but surely a physical operation would be much more expensive and time consuming than a non surgical procedure? Or am I wrong?

100% this.

Op, you comments are extremely naive.

So they dramatically undercharge for a neutering procedure but then massively over charge for everything else? How does that make sense?

It's so frustrating to hear you repeatedly trotting out the same phrases about being ripped off by the vet when various posters have clearly explained why costs are so high for veterinary surgery. You haven't moved on from your initial position at all despite having the costs laid out by people who clearly know how it works. My dog has pet insurance and it costs me £8.55 per month. Maybe you should have done the same.

I work in Pharmacy and some of the routine meds we order on a daily basis cost upwards of £1000. We are in Scotland so the customers get them free.

So £1000 basically wasted? I'm sorry, that must have been so frustrating but thankfully your cat recovered

A PP mentioned about OP not having insurance but deciding to breed. Pet insurance wouldn’t generally cover pregnancy or associated complications anyway as most policies are sickness/injury only Some don’t cover the cost of euthanasia or cremation either so you need to read the small print before agreeing.

Some of it is nonsense though. My vet charges £25 for a consultation. If it's out of hours you get diverted to another practice where it's £250 for the consultation. Often the vets from my practice pick up extra shifts at the out of hours practice. While I hope they are getting paid extra for the unsociable hours, they're the same professionals applying the same time and skill so you'd think double or maybe triple would cover it.
Then maybe add a bit if the out of hours is renting space from a third practice (although equally you might say they're saving money by not having their own space).
I can't figure out why it's ten times as much as a daytime appointment. I also don't understand why bandages, hospitalisation, cannulas etc as SO much more out of hours as well.
My old equine vet used to charge the same for consultation, materials, tests etc no matter the time of day or day of the week and had a different call out charge (she came to you) depending on how far away you were, if it was prebooked'zone day' when they did a lot in the area like for vaccinations and routine things, and more expensive call outs at night and weekends. That seems like a fairer system to me.

Except vets have to abide by the prescribing laws set by the veterinary medicines directorate which require prescription only medications to be administered only to animals under veterinary care.

so your idea of ‘unreasonable’ is actually ‘legally compliant’

I think as most people have pet insurance, again it's my oversight for not getting it previously, they think the cost is justified. So if your dog needed an operation, you wouldn't care if the operation cost 1K or 5K because its not you paying it. BUT I'm saying that they shouldn't be overcharging, it doesn't seem regulated. I am not criticising the work that the vets do, they do life saving treatments

Because otherwise we’d be overrun with folk like you who breed because they don’t want to pay the actual cost of neutering.

it’s the heartless, money grabbing vets way of trying to encourage responsible pet ownership in a population of people who get animals willy nilly with no thought to providing for their actual medical care

But its the overheads of running the surgery. The equipment, the staff, the expertise.

Yes accusing them of ripping you off, emotionally blackmailing you and not caring for your cat. …

definitely no criticism there for saving your cat’s life!

Exactly, I took him to my usual vet at 2pm in the afternoon, not out of hours, not at another location.

@Aretheyhavingalaugh no it's not the having of pet insurance that makes the costs justified. Please refer back to any of the numerous posts which set out why operations/treatment/overnight care is high. But you won't. You're still repeating that you're being 'overcharged.' I don't think you are, whether I have pet insurance or not. You are paying not only for the numerous costs of running the business ( and yes it is a business with staff and wages and running costs) but the expertise of the person who studied to be a vet for at least 5 years running up god knows how much in student debt. You keep talking about this minor procedure like it's re hemming a pair of trousers! I really wish you'd read some of these other posts properly where people have explained what's involved.

I think this comment is very undeserved

1. original cat has had pet insurance from Day 1
2. We decided to let her have kittens with the intention of turning it into a business but once they were born felt we couldn't part with them so got ALL cats neutered.
3. We work, we own our home, we recieve no benefits from the government.
4. An oversight and timing with my pregnancy etc lead to this situation arising

But not during scheduled appointment times. Hence an urgent appointment charge - that’s quite common. If nothing else it’s off putting to the time wasters who just fancy an appointment at their convenience whilst the practice is trying to juggle surgeries/visits/paperwork.

you are perfectly free to move to another veterinary practice if you don’t like it. But don’t blame the vets who saved your cat’s life for adhering to charging practices that they will not have set.

My old boy cat had a blocked bladder and my out of hours vet (New Years Eve 9 years ago) saved his life. Cost a pretty penny - admittedly about half what you were quoted but it was almost a decade ago - and I had to pay more for the aftercare at my regular vets. It was not a small procedure at all but was an emergency and done that night, despite it being a 'holiday'. I relied on the vets expertise to steer me as to what was needed and what was best practice and despite the cost, I never felt ripped off as that cat was a beloved member of our family (DD would've been crushed!)

Vets are a really undervalued member of the medical profession and don't deserve the reputation they have of being rip-off merchants or scammers.

I will be forever grateful and my lovely boy went on to live for many more years on specialist urinary food. I'd Google 'urinary S/O' food, OP, as that can help prevent crystals starting to reform and was a large part of why my cats issues didn't return. Glad to hear they're now all insured as hopefully you'll never have to weigh up cost over treatment again.

Strokes to your cat - I bet he feels an awful lot better!

No a deliberate choice to breed animals for profit led to this situation.

and now you’re dealing with what is very likely stress induced cystitis due to keeping multiple cats in a confined space. well done.

How is that the same thing? The amount for medication for the cat was £263 and just because they are the prescriber, it doesn't justify other costs that seem inflated