Stupendous vets bill

Victor45 – on what are you basing your reasonable vets fees? Obviously you are aware of some vets who charge reasonable fees so why not take your pet there?

As Kev35 said vets have to train to specialist standards and have a living to make. They are (strangely like GP’s) running a business but don’t have the luxury of a guaranteed income stream (like GP’s). Therefore they charge the going rate. Someone has to pay and it is usually the owner!

My dog has burst a number of blood vessels in his right ear, leading to his ear flap becoming full of blood. Vet says it’s probably down to a knock which is not unexpected as he is a bit of a lunatic, the dog not the vet! Friday’s visit involved repeated insertions of a needle to drain the blood and repeated insertion of a fine gauge needle to inject something to try and seal the blood vessels. Was given no guarantees that it would work and was quoted there and then for the surgical intervention that may be required. 30 quid for Friday and another 130 for the surgery if needed. It seems apparent that it will be as the flap is now a blood filled cushion again.

Point is, £160 for the health of comfort of my dog is a small price to pay. No quibbles, just as long as he’s ok. I’m sure most of us would happily pay £160 to see a relative treated, so why not your pet? You have them you look after them because they always look after you. In the eight years I’ve had this dog the circumstances in my family life have changed dramatically, he’s been the constant. The one that’s made me do exercise even when the pain in my legs has been crippling. He’s the one who’s there to show me that life is unfolding as it should even though I sometimes feel it’s collapsing around my ears. You walk into the house with yet another raft of problems to face and he brings you one of his toys and curls up on your lap.

How can you put a price premium on that?

Regards,

kev35

Vet charges.

Hi.

We have excellent vets. A black moggy decided he liked my wife, so he threw himself under her car. He ended up two hind legs badly scuffed and a nasty bruise on his head. We rushed him to our vets who put him out while they attended to his wounds, made a few enquiries about him, kept him overnight. By then we’d decided to keep him if no one came forward. Total charge twenty pounds.

Ken

I wasn’t aware that cats and dogs suffered from HIV.

Having said that, in most cases, people contract HIV as a result of their lifestyle. FIV is entirely different. People can exercise choice in their lifestyle and take measures to, at the very least, reduce the risk of infection. I’ve yet to see a cat walk into a chemist and buy a condom. You’re talking about things as different as chalk and cheese. A person with HIV can still lead a relatively normal life. They can work, go out and socialise with friends, it is only in certain aspects of their life that the HIV impinges. Your cat with FIV may live a very pampered lifestyle, but it is not the life of a cat, deprived of the ability to be outdoors and pursue it’s natural instinct to mark a territory, to hunt and to be with others of its own kind. A person with HIV is not imprisoned in such a fashion, there is a difference.

Regards,

kev35

There’s some utter twaddle talked in this thread isn’t there?

Barrythemod.

Unbelievable. You have a cat with FIV. You assume it is happy because it purrs while you are there. How about all the times you aren’t? You KNOW that your cat is happy at those times? Of course you don’t. If you want an end to or a reduction in FIV then have all cats found to have the virus destroyed immediately.

What’s your view on HIV after that previous statement ?.:cool:

Not much said about dogs.
My Jack Russell, Scooby Doo, is priceless, he’s 11 years old, never been ill, only ever been to the vets for the yearly injections.
Meggy our springer, on the other hand suffers from every disease going, epilepsy, ear and skin infections, you name it, she costs us a fortune, but do we resent it, no.
We saved her from being put down by her previous owners, the scum bags, and we love her, thats the price you have to pay, we don’t regret it, we keep her alive, and it’s almost the mortgage, no regrets.
Even our 4 horses cost less than her.
One good thing, we don’t have cat poo in the garden, they both hate cats, or at least, pretend to, Scoobies bestest pal was Elsa, a good old Ginger moggy, that succombed to a thoughtless driver.
We found that certain treatments can be bought more cheaply off the internet and purchase them from there, no complaints about vet costs, you do whats best for your pals, otherwise, you would’nt have them, they don’t come cheaply, but thats the price you pay for having your dinner scrounged at night, and having to go out when you don’t want to, why do we do it?

Lance.

While you may have moderated my post on the grounds of argumentum ad hominem it would be my contention that, de facto, my comments were right and truthful and therefore nullifies your argument that I was guilty of argumentum ad hominem. Can you honestly fail to agree that much if not all of what was moderated by you was the absolute truth?

Nice to see you about again, hope you are keeping well.

Regards,

kev35

no such thing as budget vets mate its in your head vets who charge reasonable rates is the proper definition you obviously have money to burn eh. the cataract was diagnosed by a vet and they advised me to contact said consultant,iexpected a fee but not rip off time,(thats cowboy to you )
and if my dog had a life threatning condition then i would shop around for the most cost effective treatment unlike yourself who would simply pay up regardless,as i said money to burn and proud of it way to go:D 😀 😀

Though it is no concern of yours, I live on a very restricted income, have done for a long time and it seems nothing is going to change for the better.

For your information there are chains of budget vets. They carry out only routine treatments and minor procedures, anything major they refer on to veterinary hospitals.

The ownership of any animal carries a burden of responsibility and a duty to care for that animal. There is nothing else to be done.

Regards,

kev35

Edited by Grey Area (Moderator) to remove ad hominem.

Oh dear, is it just me noticing this or are you TOTALLY naive?

1. Cowboys preying on feelings. Yes? So if ever you were ever in the unfortunate position of finding your dog requiring life saving bowel surgery you would still consider vets to be cowboys? Or perhaps you would just get a library book and have a go yourself?

2. Cataract. Who told you it was definitely a cataract? Or have you just let this cataract mature after being diagnosed by yourself with no input from a vet? When the word SPECIALIST was mentioned did it not enter your head that there would be an extremely hefty consultation fee?

I’ve taken my dog to a so called budget vets. He will NEVER go there again. If you can’t insure your dog, I have been unable to insure mine due to a pre existing injury, then why not join a treatment scheme which gives six monthly health checks, annual injections and a years supply of frontline and worming treatments.

Regards,

kev35

no such thing as budget vets mate its in your head vets who charge reasonable rates is the proper definition you obviously have money to burn eh. the cataract was diagnosed by a vet and they advised me to contact said consultant,iexpected a fee but not rip off time,(thats cowboy to you )
and if my dog had a life threatning condition then i would shop around for the most cost effective treatment unlike yourself who would simply pay up regardless,as i said money to burn and proud of it way to go:D 😀 😀

Cats messing in your garden.

Collect said cat poo and post carefully through owners front door. Do this on a daily basis and I am sure that the owners will find a way of convincing their cat to desist from crapping in your garden. Either that or offer the owners a catalogue showing the price of cat litter and litter trays and instructions on how they are to be used.

Knowing my luck, the neighbours would just post it back again…

1) Collect cat poo.

2) Wait until dark.

3) Throw cat poo over fence.

Funny you should say that, I have been doing that for a while now! every night there is three piles of s!**e to pick up.

I did it the other day and the neighbours washing was out and it ended up in a pillow case! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

Revenge at last!!:diablo:

At least the OWNERS can pick it up now!:D

forget the pc these people are cowboys just preying on peoples feelings and doing very well ,our pooch has a cataract on his left eye,so i ask around and am informed there is a vet who specializes in this field,so i contact said chap “oh yes bring him in and ill have a look at him” so we agree a date/time,i ring back to confirm and ask what ill need to bring along ie dogs medical record etc,”no sir “says the receptionist “just £125 consultation fee”!!!! (we hadnt been told about this little item ) i then consulted another vet who informed me that vets wont operate on an animal with one cataract as their other eye compensates for the injured one so its not done.HA so we would have paid out£125 for advice id had free from another vets thats how these so called professionals make their pile nice one

Oh dear, is it just me noticing this or are you TOTALLY naive?

1. Cowboys preying on feelings. Yes? So if ever you were ever in the unfortunate position of finding your dog requiring life saving bowel surgery you would still consider vets to be cowboys? Or perhaps you would just get a library book and have a go yourself?

2. Cataract. Who told you it was definitely a cataract? Or have you just let this cataract mature after being diagnosed by yourself with no input from a vet? When the word SPECIALIST was mentioned did it not enter your head that there would be an extremely hefty consultation fee?

I’ve taken my dog to a so called budget vets. He will NEVER go there again. If you can’t insure your dog, I have been unable to insure mine due to a pre existing injury, then why not join a treatment scheme which gives six monthly health checks, annual injections and a years supply of frontline and worming treatments.

Regards,

kev35

Quote deleted. There is no need to quote the entire post directly above – Moggy

Forget the pc these people are cowboys just preying on peoples feelings and doing very well ,our pooch has a cataract on his left eye,so i ask around and am informed there is a vet who specializes in this field,so i contact said chap “oh yes bring him in and ill have a look at him” so we agree a date/time,i ring back to confirm and ask what ill need to bring along ie dogs medical record etc,”no sir “says the receptionist “just £125 consultation fee”!!!! (we hadnt been told about this little item ) i then consulted another vet who informed me that vets wont operate on an animal with one cataract as their other eye compensates for the injured one so its not done.HA so we would have paid out£125 for advice id had free from another vets thats how these so called professionals make their pile nice one

There’s some utter twaddle talked in this thread isn’t there?

Barrythemod.

Unbelievable. You have a cat with FIV. You assume it is happy because it purrs while you are there. How about all the times you aren’t? You KNOW that your cat is happy at those times? Of course you don’t. If you want an end to or a reduction in FIV then have all cats found to have the virus destroyed immediately. As for house cats, what the hell is the point? Deliberately cooping up an animal that is, as Moggy says, at least semi wild is cruel in the extreme. The only reason these expensive cats are kept as house cats is to protect the owners investment. Some see the animal as a companion or friend while far too many see them as a source of future income through breeding. If you want a cat/dog/whatever, then why not rescue one of the hundreds of thousands of animals abandoned every year?

Vet’s Bills.

Yes, they appear to be often exorbitant, but if you are placing a premium on the life of your companion then perhaps you should consider whether or not you should own one. We also have to consider that we haven’t spent years training to be a vet. At least with people you have a chance of finding a familial medical history. Try asking your cat whether his family has a history of stroke, diabetes, seizures etc., I don’t think you’ll actually get anywhere.

Cats messing in your garden.

Collect said cat poo and post carefully through owners front door. Do this on a daily basis and I am sure that the owners will find a way of convincing their cat to desist from crapping in your garden. Either that or offer the owners a catalogue showing the price of cat litter and litter trays and instructions on how they are to be used.

Propstrike.

“In the cold light of day we are asking is this bill fair or reasonable? especially as the cost was not agreed before being undertaken. What is a fair price for two cat surgery sessions ( under general anasthetic) and an x-ray??”

Did your cat wear an identity disc or tag of any kind? Was the cat microchipped? If so, then I suspect you would be within your rights to question the bill on the grounds that the surgery did not contact you to tell you they had your cat and were going to operate on it. If not, then the vets undertook the surgery never knowing whether or not an owner would come forward. Seeing as you have claimed ownership of the cat it seems only right that they are charging you for the care carried out.

Regards,

kev35

Pray it never happens – but if it did I’d follow the advice of our vet.

His views on ‘house’ cats are well known 🙂

Moggy

To own a wild creature, and however highly bred you can never remove that wildness from them, then to keep it confined for life in the sterile atmosphere of a house? No way.

100% agree.But consider this…Mr Warwick,whilst protecting his own territory,confronts an intruder,who happens to be FIV.Blood and saliva are exchanged,which usually happens in cat fights.Ohh Ohh,he’s now FIV.Are you still gonna let him roam,maybe infecting other cats,or give him the Good Night juice,or provide a safe,entertaining,exiting,adventurous life indoors until FIV really kicks in,and then say “Good Night”.
Ain’t nothing wrong with a cat living indoors,as long as it’s happy (Purrs,puddings,head nudges etc.)

Would you let a £800 cat roam freely these days.

I have two answers to this question.

The first is ‘yes’ – but to be fair I live in a middle sized village in Norfolk. I might have my doubts in town. My work colleague breeds and sells Birmans and they are all allowed to roam – even as kittens.

But, that having been said, if I wasn’t happy with letting this exotic cat loose in my area I would not buy it in the first place. To own a wild creature, and however highly bred you can never remove that wildness from them, then to keep it confined for life in the sterile atmosphere of a house? No way.

Moggy

Over here confining a cat, a free spirited, semi-wild animal in a house is seen by most normal people as incredibly cruel.

Not so.Many breeders of “exotic” cats demand them being house-cats.Would you let a £800 cat roam freely these days.I have never seen a Persian, Siamese,etc on the streets in my area.More likely some Chav would be on his toes with it stuffed in his/her hood.Plus,we’re always hearing of the ordinary moggy disappearing into thin air,maybe ending up in a dog fight pen.Now and again the Sunday papers run such stories.
As a responsible owner of a cat that has FIV,he has to be kept indoors,as not to infect other cats,as he was by another.
Have you guys,who let them roam,had your cat checked for FIV recently?

Here’s what happened.

Moggy is lost for a number of days, and one of the lines of enquiry is to phone vet, and see if they have heard anything. Yes, they do have a tabby in the surgery , brought in at the week end.

We go down to check, hurrah it is Mog, but has been operated on and has a wired up jaw, after an encounter with a car. the car driver brought her to vets (thanks) but left no details.

Vet explains all the attention she has received, and produces a bill for…£800!!
We paid an installment of £200 on the spot, with an agreement to pay off balance.

In the cold light of day we are asking is this bill fair or reasonable? especially as the cost was not agreed before being undertaken. What is a fair price for two cat surgery sessions ( under general anasthetic) and an x-ray??

These people are cowboys who charge exorbitant fees to vulnerable pet owners who love their animals its time the government stepped in and controlled these parasites who all make good livings just look at the cars they drive and the extremley expensive ambulances they have on standby usually mercedes, we have to shop around every year to finsd a reasonably priced booster jab and look out for the consultation fees nice work if you can get it and they do

Some places are so strict that they require leashes for cats.
http://www.hcnonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13166214&BRD=1574&PAG=461&dept_id=532215&rfi=6

Aaaaaaagh!

Linda Ward, a Cochran’s Crossing neighbor, regularly traps neighborhood cats that wander into her yard.

Ward has trapped the Kelley cats twice and said she takes all the felines she catches to Montgomery County Animal Control.

“What (commissioner court) has done is not that big of a deal,” Ward said. “I don’t see how you can love your cat and let them out like that.”

For the past nine months, Ward has documented cats – specifically the Kelley’s – running free in the neighborhood. Ward gave animal control officers a 29-page log of neighborhood cats including pictures and documented times animals were in roadways or on sidewalks.

“It gets really irritating having to hit the brake and slow down so you don’t hit one of those cats in the road,” Ward said. “If a cat is in the front yard and no one is watching it then the animal isn’t going to stay in their yard.”

I asked somebody who might know their opinion of the above

Mr Warwick was not impressed

Moggy