Help with vet fees for my cat?

Darkling_angel · 18 February 2009 at 1:25PM

Hi all,

We recently adopted a cat that had been abandoned from a local cattery, and took him to the vets for a check up. We discovered that some of his teeth are rotten and need to be pulled out. They have quoted us £250, but it may be more if more teeth need to be pulled.

This is a big cost that we were not expecting. I am on what would be classed as a low income, but PDSA can't help us with vet fees, as we are not on benefits, and I'm running out of places to look for help paying the bill. The vet suggested not leaving it more than 3 weeks before getting them fixed, but we just don't have the money and I'm worried our cat will get worse if we don't do something soon.

Does anyone have any suggestions? We're really desperate.

Thanks, Naomi (and Derek the Cat!)
-x-

SnowyOwl_2 · 18 February 2009 at 1:31PM

I think your best bet is to phone round lots of vets and ask how much they charge for a dental, and if that includes pulling of teeth. Vets fees can vary widely.

Otherwise you perhaps could look through the articles on this website to see if you can track down a 0% credit card or a v.low rate loan and then spread the cost if you can't find a vet who will let you pay in installments.

lowis · 18 February 2009 at 1:32PM

call the cattery you adopted the cat from and advise them of the situation, they may be able to help, or have avet that they may have an arrangement with re: reduced fees.

also, ask your vet if you can pay in instalments.

also - please insure your cat. it is too late for teeth coverage now, or anything else that is mentioned on his vet records. it costs from about £8 a month for cat insurance - it is well worth it (I recently had a bill for £800 for a heart scan and tooth extraction), I also claimed £12,000 for cancer treatments over an 18 month period for another cat. make sure the insurance is 'for life' - petplan, axa, M&S, greenbee, halifax, animal friends are all true for life cover.

foreign_correspondent · 18 February 2009 at 1:34PM

the options are -

1) borrow the money - friends, family, credit card, overdraft etc

2) ask the vet if you could pay in installments (s/he may or may not agree - it is a favour really if they do!)

3) Give the cat up to a local shelter - as well as this cost the cat may well incur more expensive vet bills in the future, so you need to be realistic about whether you can really take on a cat at the moment.

I assume you do not have pet insurance?

Darkling_angel · 18 February 2009 at 2:00PM

We do have pet insurance, but as we have only just adopted him, it is still in the period where it is too early to make a claim.

I have just contacted the vet and they won't let me spread the cost as we are new to them. I will contact some vets now that are near to us and see what the costs are like. We don't have a car, so can't travel too far out of Cardiff.

I have emailed Tailwaggers Club Trust as they help with fees, but have had no response yet, and can't find a number for them. I also rang BlueCross but no-one answered so I left a message.

If you guys have any more ideas, I'd be so grateful!

-x-

spookylukey · 18 February 2009 at 2:09PM

lowis wrote: »

call the cattery you adopted the cat from and advise them of the situation, they may be able to help, or have avet that they may have an arrangement with re: reduced fees.

Have you contacted the cattery that you adopted him from as Lowis suggested? If it were a rescue cattery it would be very unusual to re-home a cat that needed vet treatment without first making you aware. They may well have the work done at their cost if this was the case.

Alternatively, if it was more of a private arrangement with a boarding cattery you can bet they will have an account with the vets at a reduced rate. You could ask them to have the work done under their account.

Hope you manage to sort something out, good on you for taking insurance out too - it really is as essential as food and water in my opinion.

Derek is a classy name for a cat BTW

lowis · 18 February 2009 at 2:53PM

it sounds like you have had the cat less than two weeks - is this correct?

if so then the cattery really should pay for this treatment - or atleast help with the cost! they should not have put a cat out for adoption if it had health issues - especially as any new owner would obviously then take the cat to their own vet for a check-up, and anything found would then be excluded from the insurance policy if it is discovered in the first two weeks of the policy - which is exactly what has happened to you.

please call the cattery and ask them how they are prepared to help you.

jha · 18 February 2009 at 3:10PM

I am in cardiff too - The cats are supposed to be checked before they are re-homed so you should at least call them and tell them that the cat is ill.

Anyway i dont want to mention any names on here but if you pm me i can give you the details of my vet (in cardiff) who might allow you to pay in installments - he wont see a cat suffer anyway. I am sure he would only do dental work up to a certain ammount of cash too! He is a blimming good vet too.

j-bean60 · 18 February 2009 at 3:28PM

Hi
I work at a vets and can fully understand why your vet won't accept payment in instalments (no offence intended, this is purely from a business point of view).
I deal with several requests every week from people who are unable to pay the full cost of treatment at the time, and each one is dealt with on its own merits. We have had loads of clients (some of whom have been with us for years) who promise the earth and then stop making payments once their animal is better, so we never recover the full amount due.

Having said that, have you tried the RSPCA - two numbers to try are:
National Helpline - 0300 1234 999
Financial Assistance - 0300 1238 902

(you may need to leave a mesage on the second number as it's not manned 24/7 - they'll get back to you.)

Hope you get it sorted as the cat will be in pain if its teeth are not treated.
Good luck.

socks_uk · 18 February 2009 at 5:05PM

We took in a male black cat from the local animal rescue and he has bad allergy problems. We were told that any vets bills would be paid for and they have been, including removing all his rotton teeth!

He tends to be worse over winter because he stays in a lot rather than going out in the fresh air and so we have to wash down the walls where he's sneezed his snot! But he's lovely and happy! You should see how thick his vets file is... I think he's been there quite a few times since being at the rescue place.

I've heard (maybe wrongly) that you can still use the Blue Cross even if you are not on benefits. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

jackiegibbo · 18 February 2009 at 5:21PM

what about the PDSA?,they help peoples pets whose owners find costs difficult to manage

Help with vet fees for my cat?

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