Is my vet taking the piss ? TW

[sharplettuce]

I got a new kitten, now both my cats have worms. I treated them both but called the vet the next day because I'm worried about the little one, as she's been kind of exhausted and slow to move around since I brought her home. The receptionist said I should bring them both in, in case they need a stronger treatment. It's £100 just for a double consultation, and I don't know what treatment will cost on top of that. I'm tempted to just keep them home, treat again in 2 weeks and make sure the little one is getting lots of good food to get her strength up. What do you think

I did underdose, rather than over

I give up! And people wonder why rescues give people such a hard time when trying to adopt. This is why!

The OP got a kitten from some dodgy seller and now refuses to take the sick kitten to the vet as she doesn't want to pay the emergency fees. Instead she's on mumsnet asking for validation in her views that the vet is trying to rip her off (not that the cat is possibly seriously unwell) and chucking out her wardrobe.

If you're really worried, OP, then you should go to an OOH vets.

Do not take advice off random people off the internet - best case scenario is it may work, worst case is your kitten dies as PP said because you've mixed medication.

Tbh lethargy in a kitten that young and distended stomach, I would go straight to the OOH vet and ring them in the car on the war. But I don't take chances when animals are sick - things can go very wrong very quickly.

£50 is completely normal for a consultation. Your kitten needs to be seen and treated properly.

It doesn't bloody matter.

You have a lethargic kitten who had never seen a vet. You even don't know it's age as you've never met the queen or seen the kitten in its own environment, but you'd rather give it medication from a supermarket than take it to see a vet then you go on to say you don't even take your adult cat to the vets to be treated properly.

The mind boggles.

I have heard really bad stories about Johnson's treatments. You need to get the kitten to the vet ASAP.

Haven’t read the full thread so not sure if anyone has said already. But the law recently changed so that we must see each pet every 12 months and explicitly authorised the exact flea/worming product and how often it can be given. This is why the receptionist has suggested seeing both the cat and the kitten, so that the cat can be treated also to prevent the kitten being reinfected.

Vet fees are expensive, it’s really difficult. We get a huge amount of abuse. I make my practice £215 an hour in consults but I only get paid £16.50 myself for that time which I’m obviously grateful for but it’s not going into my pocket as many people think.

Whilst I wish I could agree with you, I honestly do think people out there are that bonkers 🤦‍♀️

What bemuses me is people waxing lyrical about how extortionate vets are, as if this is a new phenomenon and they seem genuinely surprised. It doesn’t matter if you think they are worth the money or not, surely, SURELY people know they cost money before embarking on pet ownership. That is just common sense, no?

Thank you for your reply. Do you think it's safe for the kittens to be treated again within 3 days of the first dose, as the receptionist said ?

you need to be speaking to your own vets about this. But it sounds like the kitten needs to be seen. Just ring them

You need to take your kitten in to be seen!

Don’t give it a random dose of a random wormer from the shops - you could kill it. A receptionist giving you advice like that is on incredibly dodgy ground.

The point is that you are not a vet so you don’t know what is best. The kitten seems to be unwell. Be a responsible, caring owner and go to the vet.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻

It will depend on the treatments that they stock, what they have given and route of administration. Most wormers have been tested to x5 or x10 times their dose and have very wide margins of safety but that will all be considered during your consultation.

Also as this is preventative treatment the insurance likely wouldn’t have covered it anyway. Loads of puppies/ kittens come with worms and I mark that in my notes. I am still able to offer them 4 weeks free insurance after their visit. I’d see if your vet offers this, it gives you time to shop around.

For cost I would be expecting £100 for the consultation and probably £15-£50 per cat depending on whether a 1 month or 3 month treatment is given. So likely around a maximum of £200/£250 all in.

I would book for one kitten but take both in just incase. My vet would see both for the same price when they were kittens.

@sharplettuce the kitten may itself be unwell due to other reasons - i'll never forget as a child ,our family getting a new kitten that subsequently passed a virus onto my much loved older cat - they both died. I would only ever get a kitten from a reputable rescue - who knows what conditions this poor kitten was born into, the fact that he dropped it off a your house after an online ad says a lot :(

Thank you, that's all really helpful info

The issue is one is a kitten and one is an adult.

When we got our kitten she had fleas and as a result tapeworm. We took her to the vet in pets at home. They did an annual plan for kittens that included a health check, vaccines, fleas and worm treatment, reduced price microchip and neutering etc. It might be worth asking if your vets offer something similar as we didn't have to pay anything extra for her to be seen and treated.

Oh no that's awful, sorry to hear that

Just take the poor little mite to the vet FFS. You're being negligent in not doing so. If you're not prepared to pay a vet for the CORRECT and SAFE medication then you shouldn't have pets😡

Maybe see if PDSA or RSPCA could help? Maybe a long shot.Private medical care for people is expensive ,and no different for pets! I think people underestimate fees .Pet Insurance doesnt cover all eventualities either . As a friend said theres no NHS for pets!

Only a vet who's seen the kitten can answer this. It could be this particular kitten has an underlying condition alongside parasites which needs attention more urgently before worming is given. At the bare minimum you should take the ill kitten to the vets asap. Ideally both would go for a new patient health check with the vets soon after getting them even if they appear well.

OP try Medivet - they have a branch near me (and all over UK i think) that is open 24 hours including Sundays. It will put your mind at rest and they may let you pay the bill in installments.