£12.50 Charge For Perscription From Vet

lowis

i think Simon meant that losing a much-loved pet has the same affect on a person as losing a child would. i know that nursing my cat through cancer and then losing her affected me massively - i am not a 'mad cat lady' either, i just loved my girl deeply and when she had to go it was one of the hardest and saddest times of my life, and i still choke up when i think of her and she has been gone for nearly 6 months now.

not all people will agree with what simon has stated - or even understand such a sentiment, but people are all different, some vets don't even understand the impact of pet loss on a family! i do understand, and I suspect others here do too.

missbargain

I see, we might have misunderstood what Simon was trying to say. I completely agree with your post.

Before I adopted a cat, I could not understand other people's attachment and sentiments toward their pets. Now that I have him, I can totally understand. Lowis, your story is truly heartbreaking, those creatures really know how to get completely and utterly under our skin. I don't know what it is about cats, but every person I know who has cats, myself included, is mad about them and treat them and consider them like their children.

Here, to make you all smile (and recognize yourself, perhaps), please have a look at this link:


http://www.joke-archives.com/cats/doesyourcatownyou.html

And some instructions for the cats of the house:

http://tribes.tribe.net/cat_clan/thread/1ced6573-8efb-4a16-ad49-ad2a5a8a6a36

lowis

i have answered 'yes' far too many times in that quiz in your link it's funny, thanks for posting it!

missbargain

Me, too, LOL. Gotta go to bed, Zebs is already snoring

MrsE_2

Do you select your friends based on how well your cats like them? No, but everyone liked Ted anyway.
Does your desire to collect cats intensify during times of stress? Ted didn't like cats:rolleyes:
Do you buy more than 50 pounds of cat litter a month? He went near a certain bush in the garden.
Do you think it's cute when your cat swings on your drapes or licks your butter? No
Do you admit to non-cat owners how many cats you really have? N/A
Do you sleep in the same position all night because it annoys your cats when you move? No, Ted would have just moved too & fallen back to sleep.
Do you kiss your cat on the whiskers? I kissed him on the head & nose
Do you feed your cat tidbits from the table with your fork? yogurt on a spoon?
Does your cat sleep on your head? Sometimes, in bed.
Do you like it?
Do you have more than four opened but rejected cans of cat food in the refrigerator? He ONLY ate Royal Canin Persian, when I bought a variety of it he wouldn't eat, I just binned it.
Do you watch bad TV because the cat is sleeping on the remote? No, he would sleep through me removing the remote.
Will you stand at the open door indefinitely in the freezing rain while your cat sniffs the door, deciding whether to go out or come in? Yes:rolleyes:
Would you rather spend a night at home with your cat than go out on a bad date? Married
Do you put off making the bed until the cat gets up? No, but I'm a bit of a neat freak
Do you scoop out the litter box after each use? Do you wait at the box with the scoop in your hand? N/A
Does your cat sit at the table (or ON the table) when you eat? On a chair sometimes.
Did you buy a video tape of fish swimming in an aquarium to entertain your cat? No, he never watched TV
Do you give your cat presents and a stocking at Christmas? Yes Do you spend more for your cat than you do for your spouse? No
Do the Christmas cards you send out feature your cat sitting on Santa's lap? Does your cat sign the card? I had some personal ones done & Ted (along with the rest of us) featured on the card.
Does your cat eat out of cut crystal stemware because you both watched the same commercial on television? Yes:o He wouldn't drink from a cat bowl, only he kept nicking from glasses, so I got him a nice glass bowl & gave him chilled filtered water.
Do you microwave your cat's food? Prepare it from scratch? N/A
Do you climb out of bed over the headboard or footboard, so you won't disturb the sleeping cat? No
When you are preparing to leave for the day, do you seek out each cat and inform them of your anticipated return time? Of Course!:o
Do you sleep with no pillow under your head, because the cat wants to sleep on it? No
Do you stand at the computer because the cat is sleeping on the chair? lol no I would have made him move to the sofa
Do you you make sure there's plenty of kitty litter in the house, even though you may run out of toilet paper? N/A
At the store, do you pick out the catfood before you pick out anything for yourself? Stuff he ate, I couldn't even buy in the supermarket.
Do you go to sleep sitting up in bed because you were reading and the cat is curled up on your lap asleep? No
Does it always take you longer than expected to read a magazine, because the cat keeps curling up on it while you're reading? Yes
Do you frequently leave your dresser drawer open when you leave for the day, because the cat jumped into one of them and is asleep in one of the drawers? No, I'm too tidy:o
Is the only comb you can find in the bathroom a flea comb? No again I'm too tidy:o
Do you cook a special turkey for your cat on holidays? N/A
Does your cat "insist" on a fancy Sunday breakfast consisting of an omelette made from eggs, milk, and salmon, halibut, or trout? N/A
Do you have pictures of your cat in your wallet? Do you bring them out when your friends share pictures of their children? (Pollsters claim that 40 percent of cat owners carry their pet's pictures in their wallets, by the way.) I (&DH) have not only got a stash of pics on the phone, we have 2 videos as well:D
When people call to talk to you on the phone, do you insist that they say a few words to your cat as well? No, but if I rang home, DH would put the phone to his ear so I could say hello.
Do you accept dates only with those who have a cat? If so, do you eventually double-date with the cats to see how they get along? N/A
When someone new comes to your house, do you introduce your cat, by name, to them? Yes, how else would I have?
Do you keep old, empty pizza boxes on the counter instead of throwing them away, because the cat likes to sleep in it? No, he liked my new bed.

~Chameleon~

Do you select your friends based on how well your cats like them? If someone didn't like my cats they wouldn't get invited round again
Does your desire to collect cats intensify during times of stress? It has been known to, but I've not collected any new cats for a few years now.
Do you buy more than 50 pounds of cat litter a month? Probably not as I use a long-lasting one.
Do you think it's cute when your cat swings on your drapes or licks your butter? They don't do things like that any more.
Do you sleep in the same position all night because it annoys your cats when you move? Yes
Do you kiss your cat on the whiskers? And nose and head.
Do you feed your cat tidbits from the table with your fork? Only time they ask for tidbits at table is when I have fish n chips, spare ribs or chicken, otherwise no feeding at mealtimes.
Does your cat sleep on your head? Not on, but right next to it, yes.
Do you like it? Don't mind unless they make me sneeze then they get shooed off.
Do you have more than four opened but rejected cans of cat food in the refrigerator? No, they eat Royal Canin and Hills and only ever have wet food as treats.
Will you stand at the open door indefinitely in the freezing rain while your cat sniffs the door, deciding whether to go out or come in? Yes :rolleyes:
Do you put off making the bed until the cat gets up? Yup!
Do you scoop out the litter box after each use? Yup!
Does your cat sit at the table (or ON the table) when you eat? Never! But they will sit by my feet waiting for tidbits of fish, chicken, spare ribs.
Did you buy a video tape of fish swimming in an aquarium to entertain your cat? No
Do you give your cat presents and a stocking at Christmas? Yes
Do you climb out of bed over the headboard or footboard, so you won't disturb the sleeping cat? Yes
When you are preparing to leave for the day, do you seek out each cat and inform them of your anticipated return time? Yup!
Do you sleep with no pillow under your head, because the cat wants to sleep on it? No
Do you stand at the computer because the cat is sleeping on the chair? Yes
Do you you make sure there's plenty of kitty litter in the house, even though you may run out of toilet paper? Yes :rotfl:
Do you go to sleep sitting up in bed because you were reading and the cat is curled up on your lap asleep? Have been known to
Does it always take you longer than expected to read a magazine, because the cat keeps curling up on it while you're reading? Yes
When someone new comes to your house, do you introduce your cat, by name, to them? Yes

missbargain

Hehe, really interesting replies :T !
I didn't believe that anyone's cat drank out of the crystal glasses (OK, maybe Elton John's), but there you go, I was wrong :rotfl:

I kiss my cat on the lips as well, I don't think he likes it too much, though.

And yes, I have slept in such uncomfortable angle so not to squash him (because he sometimes leans against my legs at night) that I would wake up with the most terrible back pain next morning.
Sometimes he sleeps on my husbands arm, and even when my husband turns the other way, he leaves his arm where it was so not to disturb the cat, very awkward and uncomfortable position!

And funny, I would jump over and squash my sleeping husband no problem if I wanted to get out of the bad in a hurry . But I would never do that to a cat, THEY mustn't be disturbed!

~Chameleon~

missbargain wrote: »

Hehe, really interesting replies :T !
I didn't believe that anyone's cat drank out of the crystal glasses (OK, maybe Elton John's), but there you go, I was wrong :rotfl:

Must have missed that one! Yes, one of my cats will only ever drink water from a glass, although she's not that fussy to demand that it's a lead crystal one

orlao

LOL at the questions and answers.....I found them all perfectly reasonable questions....as if any self respecting person owned by a cat would dare to refuse them anything they wanted!:o

I've just had a very ahem "interesting" conversation with the receptionist ( who is also the practice owners wife!) at the my now ex vets. Met her when we pulled into a friends yard for a coffee as we were getting drowned while out riding and had a chat about prescription charges. Their script fee has now risen to £10....I was informed in September it would be £3.95, then in October when I collected a prescription there was a note saying it would be £4.95.....and today she informs me that they will only issue 1 months worth of meds per script and the animal must be seen every 3 months....this for routine long term meds including flea control (I use advocate which is POM). This was told to me in the smuggest way possible IYSWIM....ok maybe I wasn't in the sweetest of moods;) ( I loathe riding in the rain but as my pony was acting as a traffic buffer for a friends horse who isn't great on the road, if I hadn't gone she wouldn't have been able to ride out at all) but I asked her if she and her husband were planning early retirement? Because if they carry on as they are now, treating their clients this way they might find that they don't have a business anymore.......I don't think that she was happy with me:D but !!!!!! is that they way to run a business????

When I got back to the yard I was still spitting feathers and as we all had another cup of coffee we were talking about this....of about 15 people there at least 10 of them use the same vets and there was only 1 lady who said she would continue to.....the general consensus was that they were pricing themselves at a Harrods level but only providing a Tesco service!

What really really annoyed me was that she admitted that if you bought the products from them was that you would only have to bring the pet in every 6 months or annually in the case of flea control products!
Is that legal or within the RCVS/Defra guidelines???I mean treating clients differently depending on whether they buy meds from a practice or buy elsewhere!
Does anyone know or can they point me in the direction of info that might clarify the rules in these situations?

simontheiceman

orlao wrote: »

What really really annoyed me was that she admitted that if you bought the products from them was that you would only have to bring the pet in every 6 months or annually in the case of flea control products!
Is that legal or within the RCVS/Defra guidelines???I mean treating clients differently depending on whether they buy meds from a practice or buy elsewhere!
Does anyone know or can they point me in the direction of info that might clarify the rules in these situations?

The RCVS GTPC states:

A veterinary surgeon must not discriminate between clients who are supplied with a prescription and those who are not in relation to fees charged for other goods or services.

The latter part of that sentence is critical to this latest change to the rules.

I would say that what you describe clearly breaches this. Complain to the RCVS - I would. At the very least a rattling of the cage from the governing body will make them think about how they operate. I can only see that they will get a phone call so well worth a phone call to:

Professional conduct department:
020 722 22001

BTW ref prof conduct dept at RCVS.

They are really helpful and very approachable by the public - you cannot be anonymous though - I had to "shop" an alcoholic I worked for (he was very dangerous), I never regretted it for one second as he would have killed someone whilst driving.