Unaffordable Vet Treatment

DCatVet · 2023-03-15T21:21:19+00:00

We have a DCat 10, she needs a dental and possibly some teeth removed but the vet was unsure, for the dental alone we are looking at paying £500 and more for any tooth extractions. She is insured, although we’ve never claimed but dental is not covered. We realistically can’t afford this, we have had huge increases in our COL, a year ago this would have been affordable for us, I don’t know what to do, I am not going to let her suffer but I don’t know where we are going to find the money. Is it worth asking the vet for a payment plan? I’m unsure how they work.

Toddlerteaplease · 15/03/2023 22:29

Shop around. My vet quoted £3-400 for a scale and polish, I took both my cats to my parents vet who did it for £150. Could you arrange a payment plan with the vet?

Toddlerteaplease · 15/03/2023 22:30

If your normal vet. Ant do a payment plan. Others might.

Lonecatwithkitten · 16/03/2023 07:26

As someone who works in the industry it has become much harder for us to offer payment plans as the FCA have made it clear this would be a banking arrangement and vets practices are not licenced as banks.
Many practices offer care credit loans other alternatives are get a 0% credit card to pay and then pay it off over a period or other loan.
Good quality dental treatment with x-rays and charting identifying all diseased teeth can make a huge difference to cats.

PlateBilledDuckyPerson · 16/03/2023 07:37

It might be worth shopping round. I paid £270 last year for a dental including extraction.

wehavenotomatoes · 16/03/2023 07:50

Are you eligible for blue cross or pdsa?

Motnight · 16/03/2023 07:51

We paid just under £400 last year for dental work and 3 extractions for our cat.

mumoffourminimes · 16/03/2023 07:53

Lonecatwithkitten · 16/03/2023 07:26

As someone who works in the industry it has become much harder for us to offer payment plans as the FCA have made it clear this would be a banking arrangement and vets practices are not licenced as banks.
Many practices offer care credit loans other alternatives are get a 0% credit card to pay and then pay it off over a period or other loan.
Good quality dental treatment with x-rays and charting identifying all diseased teeth can make a huge difference to cats.

This

Vets are not legally allowed to give credit so payment plans are pretty non existent in the UK.

wehavenotomatoes · 16/03/2023 07:53

Also, I have no official payment plan arrangement with my vet but they're extremely relaxed about when I pay stuff. I had some massive bills in January of which only some was insured and I asked them to let me know how much my liability was so I could pay it - they still haven't got around to it so I haven't got around to paying it. That's across two vets, my regular one and a hospital. I get sent statements, and ring up and say yes but what do I actually owe you, I'll pay right now, then they say oh I'll get back to you, and still haven't. So you may find credit control is more relaxed than you expect.

Octopusmittens · 16/03/2023 08:02

Check to see if your insurer will pay for the potential removal as this would be a medical necessity.

Toomanybooks22 · 16/03/2023 08:07

Can you check if you have a PDSA hospital around? I'm not fully sure of the eligibility criteria but they may be able to help with reduced cost vet care

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 16/03/2023 08:09

Octopusmittens · 16/03/2023 08:02

Check to see if your insurer will pay for the potential removal as this would be a medical necessity.

Unfortunately most insurers still won't cover dental work even if it's for health reasons.

I'm with Tesco and they do cover it but only under very specific circumstances.

Original poster

DCatVet · 16/03/2023 09:11

Unfortunately our insurance won’t cover the dental costs, she’s also had dental treatment before which we paid straight away, it was £400 back then. I’ve phoned around and one vet quoted £750 and that didn’t include additions like x-rays, if needed, another was £550 and there was an additional charge for a drip but that was optional, so my vets are looking to be the cheapest so far.

OP posts:

Lonecatwithkitten · 16/03/2023 10:01

Your vets are also the most likely to be able to give an accurate price as they have actually looked at the teeth.
When you phone round for a dental price we automatically default to the worst case scenario as we have no idea what the teeth look like. It could be very straight forward or hours of work.

Original poster

DCatVet · 16/03/2023 10:09

Lonecatwithkitten · 16/03/2023 10:01

Your vets are also the most likely to be able to give an accurate price as they have actually looked at the teeth.
When you phone round for a dental price we automatically default to the worst case scenario as we have no idea what the teeth look like. It could be very straight forward or hours of work.

The £500 in my post is what was quoted by my vets, any extra would cover tooth extraction, although the vet said the teeth look relatively healthy, he’ll be able to have a proper look once she’s under GA. So £500 is the lowest i’ll pay.

OP posts:

Gingerkittykat · 16/03/2023 10:24

Do you have any vet hospitals near you?

I had an extraction done for £130 from a practice who train students. The work is done under the supervision of senior vets and I've always been happy with them.

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 16/03/2023 10:38

I am not going to let her suffer but I don’t know where we are going to find the money

Is she actually suffering at the moment? If you haven't already, it might be worth checking that with the vet, as not all dental problems that cats have are painful. And they seem to be able to manage to eat with not many teeth.

If she is not suffering at the moment, that might take the pressure off and give you some time to save up - basically a payment plan in reverse.

Eightiesgirl · 16/03/2023 10:46

I had a similar problem with our darling dog. I ended up getting a loan to pay for his treatment. He passed away last year but I'll still be paying the loan off for the next 3 years. I would have done anything for him, sold everything to keep him alive and this is why I can never get another pet, as I just couldn't afford the unexpected vets bills either financially or emotionally.

Sarvanga38 · 16/03/2023 11:00

the vet said the teeth look relatively healthy

It's not clear from your posts, but is the vet recommending dental treatment because your cat actually has a dental issue, or because she has some tartar and staining?

If it's the former then obviously you need to find a way to get the treatment done, and if you can't do that then unfortunately you may have to look at releasing her to a rescue, tragic as that may be.

If it's the latter, then she won't be the only cat wandering about with some tartar build up. Buy some raw chicken wings and see if she'll chew on those, you'll probably find a good improvement over time.

Original poster

DCatVet · 16/03/2023 11:03

Eightiesgirl · 16/03/2023 10:46

I had a similar problem with our darling dog. I ended up getting a loan to pay for his treatment. He passed away last year but I'll still be paying the loan off for the next 3 years. I would have done anything for him, sold everything to keep him alive and this is why I can never get another pet, as I just couldn't afford the unexpected vets bills either financially or emotionally.

We have our Dcat insured so any large unexpected bills will be covered but sadly dental is not covered. I don’t have anything worth selling but I’m going to apply for a credit card.

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow She does have a fair amount of plaque build up on her back teeth and it’s causing her gums to become a bit red, so it was advisable, I also don’t want her to be in pain because she’s not able to tell me her teeth hurt. The vet has also advised me to move to a complete dry food diet as wet food is a contributor to dental problems which makes sense as my friends cat is 12 and never needed a dental and still has good teeth. Our Dcat has dry and wet but I think moving her to only dry might be better for her.

OP posts:

Original poster

DCatVet · 16/03/2023 11:11

Sarvanga38 · 16/03/2023 11:00

the vet said the teeth look relatively healthy

It's not clear from your posts, but is the vet recommending dental treatment because your cat actually has a dental issue, or because she has some tartar and staining?

If it's the former then obviously you need to find a way to get the treatment done, and if you can't do that then unfortunately you may have to look at releasing her to a rescue, tragic as that may be.

If it's the latter, then she won't be the only cat wandering about with some tartar build up. Buy some raw chicken wings and see if she'll chew on those, you'll probably find a good improvement over time.

I appreciate your reply but I would never give my cat up to a rescue and that is not an option for me, I will get a credit card and pay for it that way, I would have preferred a payment plan with the vets but having read responses it seems they don’t do this. She was a stray and we’ve looked after her for many years and rescues are already over-flowing with cats whose owners can no longer afford or want them. I didn’t realise you could give raw chicken wings, is that with the bone removed?

OP posts:

Sarvanga38 · 16/03/2023 11:31

I appreciate your reply but I would never give my cat up to a rescue and that is not an option for me, I will get a credit card and pay for it that way

Excellent, that covers my if you can't do that then unfortunately you may have to look at releasing her to a rescue, tragic as that may be

I didn’t realise you could give raw chicken wings, is that with the bone removed?

No, the bone is what will clean the teeth. If she will eat them, just let her crunch through them, as a cat would do with wild prey.