One of our cats was taken seriously ill over the weekend, we’re very lucky she survived. She had sudden onset diabetes which caused diabetic ketoacidosis, something which is nearly always fatal in cats apparently. Fortunately we were able to get her to ththe emergency vets and they did an amazing job of looking after her. The bill was huge but we’re very grateful for everything they did to save her life and it’s worth every single penny.
She was transferred to our regular vet on Monday morning and they allowed her home that night. She now has to have twice daily insulin injections which we’re getting the hang of giving her.
The things that have surprised me are the cost of the little things from regular vets. They didn’t give us a sharps bin so we got one from the pharmacy, the vet want us to pay £10 for them to dispose of it! I’ve since researched and found that the council will collect it from us and dispose of it for free. The syringes they gave us are 6 times the price of ordering online and 4 times the price of buying from the pharmacy! They even added on the ridiculously expensive cost of a can of cat food which they gave her while she was hospitalised there (which she didn’t eat as it was not the usual stuff she likes).
It’s not really surprising that you read so many moans about vets when you experience that sort of thing. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Vets do have a ridiculous mark on up on everything.
But at the end of the day vets are a speciality occupation and a business owners.
Unfortunately, all the running costs have to be paid for by the customer |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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My dog is diabetic, in special food, insurance (only get 60% back because of his age mind) speculation al treats, needles and insulin he costs me £200 a month, that doesnt include the 6 monthly check ups at £90 ago, I wonder why
I’m always skint, then I look at him and I’d do anything to keep him, so I suck it up, whatever you do, DO NOT buy insulin if the internet, my friend did, it was kept refrigerated and went warm as it was just left in her porch xxxxx |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"My dog is diabetic, in special food, insurance (only get 60% back because of his age mind) speculation al treats, needles and insulin he costs me £200 a month, that doesnt include the 6 monthly check ups at £90 ago, I wonder why
I’m always skint, then I look at him and I’d do anything to keep him, so I suck it up, whatever you do, DO NOT buy insulin if the internet, my friend did, it was kept refrigerated and went warm as it was just left in her porch xxxxx"
It wasn’t kept refrigerated* |
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By *cobMan
over a year ago
here |
I think part of the issue is that so many people now have pet insurance so lots of vets think people have an unlimited funding to treat issues and most of the time it is not the case, even if you have pet insurance there is so many clauses where they will try to get out of paying.
The other issue is they pick at your heart strings as we all love our pets and will pay for them to be treated.
I hope your car makes a full recovery |
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"My dog is diabetic, in special food, insurance (only get 60% back because of his age mind) speculation al treats, needles and insulin he costs me £200 a month, that doesnt include the 6 monthly check ups at £90 ago, I wonder why
I’m always skint, then I look at him and I’d do anything to keep him, so I suck it up, whatever you do, DO NOT buy insulin if the internet, my friend did, it was kept refrigerated and went warm as it was just left in her porch xxxxx"
I work for a courier company, so would never order anything online that needs to be kept in a fridge. So many retailers send things like that on slow delivery services or to be left at a property because it’s cheaper for them and then the contents are often spoiled when you get them. I spend half my day answering phone calls from people who have had this and referred them back to the retailer |
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I have the most highly bred rare dog and he was constantly at the vets. I found out that they price match things such a drugs like Metacam with the internet price but will only do it if you ask. So a bottle that would cost £70 is only £30.
Worth an ask. |
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By *issmorganWoman
over a year ago
Calderdale innit |
Aww glad she's ok
My old cat was hyperthyroid and cost me a fortune in blood tests and tablets before she died.
Thing is we pay it cos they are part of the family
I now have a kitten and got insurance for him as he's in at everything .
It's a shame they charge so much as I'm sure some people don't take their pets when they should; ( |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Aww glad she's ok
My old cat was hyperthyroid and cost me a fortune in blood tests and tablets before she died.
Thing is we pay it cos they are part of the family
I now have a kitten and got insurance for him as he's in at everything .
It's a shame they charge so much as I'm sure some people don't take their pets when they should; ("
There is someone at work, lives at home with her parents and claims to be a massive animal lover as are the rest of her family, but she admitted the other day that her cat is really unwell and needs to go the vet but they can't afford it. They have just paid £4k for their dog to have treatment so the cat is having to suffer. I really struggle to understand why people choose to have animals they can't afford.
Ginger |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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A couple of years ago I read a fantastic letter from a vet to the Cornish Guardian in which he basically said that vet bills had risen in direct relation to people taking out pet insurance, a vicious cycle had sadly developed. |
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By *iger.10Man
over a year ago
Llantrisant |
Vetinary school is longer than medical school. It's highly skilled. We know how much it can cost to use private health care, which are what animals have, hence pet insurance. If health care was private, like America, we would need insurance.
Do we all want to contribute to NHS for pets, then they could have it free at the point of delivery?
Pharmesutical companies charge huge mark ups on medication to the NHS. |
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It is worth looking at online vet pharmacies for your equipment and medicine and any that needs to be refrigerated, I would only buy of a reputable company.
My Cavalier has the inherited heart condition and if I were to buy his 2 different meds from the vet, it would cost me about £100 per month minimum. His insurance became ridiculously expensive before he was diagnosed, so cancelled. So on my vet’s advice, I pay for a private prescription and get them for half the price online - but it’s advisable to purchase from UK sites, as importing from abroad, can amount to drug trafficking, even with valid prescriptions. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Stupidly high vet bills are why our dachshund is insured for up to £12,000.
Had to rush him to the emergency vets before when he managed to sneak a bag of chocolate, that wasn’t cheap! |
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