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!

@Aretheyhavingalaugh your posts suggest you’re a bit thick though so I suspect you won’t even be able to acknowledge your own logic

Not true, if it was was profit, I'd of sold them, but I kept every single cat. Also researched how much space they need and they we have ame space. I don't know why you are trying to accuse me of causing the situation with the cat when the thread was about the cost of the procedure

Ample space

I don’t understand why your one year old doesn’t have insurance, if you can’t afford treatment?

This post is beyond frustrating. Most posters don't agree because they either know from personal experience or have read and understood the many posters who have explained so clearly why costs are high for veterinary treatment. Tell you what if you're so determined to believe you have been ripped off, why don't you go to uni, become a vet and a millionaire.

In all honesty, I just hadn't got round to insuring them and with them being young, I didn't think we'd be hit with problems at such a young age.

“As soon as I said I was unwilling to pay an additional £200, they could get him out of there fast enough! It's all about money. I spoke with them yesterday regarding the cost with the agreement that what they quoted would be the final amount and I could get him sometime today but to be called at 7:50 with the expectation to collect him at 8:30 seems to be taking the piss don't you think?”

no, not at all. Of course it’s all about money. It’s a business, not a charity (such as the PDSA).

if your cat is taking up a place for the day it’s not available to another few paying customer. Do you not understand that?

Yes it is frustrating because I don't expect free treatment and I understand that are skilled and they have overheads, I understand all of this. I expect a reasonable price. If I was initially told £500, I'd of paid no questions asked, but thousands.

@Aretheyhavingalaugh

what information have you used to decide that it should cost £500?

for you - that is the value of your cat to you. That is different to the cost of the medical treatment.

@Aretheyhavingalaugh ok so you haven't read any of the posts explaining the costs. I could repost them all but can't be bothered. You have plucked some magical figure out of the air that you believe is reasonable.. £500. Not £750? Not £400? Not £625? Can I ask for a breakdown of the £500 bill as you see it?

I haven't read the full thread yet but that kind of cost for ooo consultation and treatment is reasonable imo

I have had this issue with my cat twice and he is only 2.5 ish yrs old.
Both times it was around £1, 300 he had to be kept in with a catheter in place and several blood test.

I posted on here on litter tray 'I have just taken my cat to the vets ' or something similar.

OP, you are absolutely nuts. You haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about. Also, "I'd of" makes no grammatical sense at all.

There's a limit to everything. How about if it cost £20,000, would you still deem it acceptable? It's like house prices, if a 2 bedroom flat cost 2 million or energy bills were 30k a year. It's all realative

relative

@Aretheyhavingalaugh well I've reached the limit of my patience with this bloody post. The costs have been explained over and over but you won't listen and have now plucked the magical figure of £20k out of thin air. Maybe you should have paid £50 or whatever it is and had the animal put to sleep! I'm out.

I was using £500 as an example. I have read the posts explaining the costs but it doesn't make them right or fair.

But it wasn’t £20,000 in your case was it? What an odd comment

my dog has mitral valve disease and they can now do an operation on dogs that they can do on people. It costs about £20,000 actually. Which is an entirely reasonable price given everything required for it. So yes - in that case £20000 is perfectly acceptable to me as the price they charge.

Again OP - your argument is that it is not “fair” to charge it.

your argument is that you don’t value your cats life particularly highly.

at least be honest with yourself.

Honestly I think anyone who gets a pet and doesn't insure them from day 1 is foolish. Even young pets get ill or have accidents and the last thing you want is to give time for pre-existing conditions to develop

There's clearly nothing I or anyone else can say that will educate you. I've just re read your initial post and within a few lines you state you took your cat in for an emergency appointment, costing £102, which is clearly extortion. No it ISN'T. You are paying for the expertise of the vet who you are seeing at short notice who can work out what is wrong with your pet who can't tell them what their symptoms are. My friend is American and tells me a trip to the doctor costs around $300 over there. That's a routine appointment with no treatment, no prescription, no anything. But we don't have that here which perhaps partly explains your attitude. Maybe do some further reading or as I've already suggested, become a vet yourself. I'm really out now and hiding this post before I throw my phone out the window.

If you don't think saving your cats life is worth less than £2000 euthanasia is cheaper. Poor cat stuck with you.

So you don’t think it’s right or fair for a business to charge for professional services for a luxury item that you chose to breed yourself?

who do you think should be responsible for providing for the cost of healthcare to animals that you chose to breed?

should the vets subsidise their services to accommodate your lifestyle choices?

what do you do for work @Aretheyhavingalaugh ? And would you do it for free/discount to accommodate the cost of a luxury item someone else had chosen to get?

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

JFC. I think this comment tells us all we need to know.

@Aretheyhavingalaugh I suggest you go and do 2 weeks work experience in your local vets. See what happens up that £57 flight of stairs and then come back and see if your opinion is still the same.

The veterinary industry has one of the highest rates of suicide and attitudes like yours are a significant contributor.

My DCAT has had two lots of sedation for his mouth in two weeks total cost £600.

Ugh. No.2 says all that's needed to know about you.