What do you think of the Vets?

DebiT

I only ask because my personal experience of them over the years hasn't been great, and reading many stories on this and other forums it seems that I am not the only one.

I dont think I have ever had a proper diagnosis from a vet regarding my cat/s. They never seem to know what the problem is. They try no end of different treatments and then we are expected to pay for their trial and error.

Considering how expensive they are, I think their diagnosis should be more accurate.

What the you think forum members? Have you found the same, or is your veterinary expeince been more positive?

Frank_Force

I think of them in the same way as I think of petrol - far too expensive but necessary.

Fridaycat

My vetinary experience is much more positive - though my cats would disagree as they hate going .

I have made many trips to the vet over the years and they are normally quite efficient at diagnosing what's wrong and getting it sorted. I've only had one problem where one of my cats had an eye infection and it seemed to take forever to sort out.

My vet is very reasonably priced in relative terms. I have compared what I pay to what friends and family in other parts of the country pay and it is much lower. For example, a couple of years ago, my Friday cat came home one Sunday evening with an obviously broken leg. Called the vet's emergency line, rushed her off there immediately, they kept her in overnight, gave her painkillers, and operated on her the next morning - x-rays, plastering the leg etc. That all cost me £120. OK, so it's a lot of dosh, but I know some people who have paid that for the emergency appointment only :eek:

gettingready

How often does one get a diagnosis from their GP?

before being given paracetamol , asked to wait, see if it helps (paracetaml is the wonder drug for everything in UK), then prescribed prozac and told "you must be depressed" then if all fails and if you are still alive - referred to a specialist who may or may not diagnose you properly.

And we, humand can talk/describe the symptoms - pets can not do that. I guess they are much harder to diagnose.

HappyMJ

£120 you are lucky... My cat cost £450 on the first appointment and so far 2 check ups at £19 each.

Fridaycat

HappyMJ wrote: »

£120 you are lucky... My cat cost £450 on the first appointment and so far 2 check ups at £19 each.

Ouch! My vet charges I think £10 for a check-up, but quite often waivers it if it is just a quick looky over. I know I am lucky to have such a good vet

gettingready

My one charges over 30 per visit each and every time - that is just a consultation fee - any meds etc on top of course.

Fridaycat

gettingready wrote: »

My one charges over 30 per visit each and every time - that is just a consultation fee - any meds etc on top of course.

I am feeling luckier by the minute :eek:

trudij

gettingready wrote: »

My one charges over 30 per visit each and every time - that is just a consultation fee - any meds etc on top of course.

Mine too. I blame the NHS for a lot of this "its so expensive" type comment that is so often bandied about (see it a lot on various forums) - if people had to pay for their own treatment, they would understand more about how much things actually cost and maybe (though probably not !!) be more understanding about the bills.

(and thats not me having a go at the NHS - I think its wonderful and rightly the envy of the world! but if you look at the costs of things in countries where you have to have insurance, it soon becomes apparent why things cost.)

Having said that - even allowing for the bulk buying and storage problems that mean that vets cant offer the same deals for drugs as a lot of pharmacies and online places - some of the other things could be more reasonable

pinkwitch_2

£27 consultation fee at mine.

bagginslover

I'm currently up to £4000 between 2 different vets, with no diagnosis for my dog, but I don't begrudge them a penny. Both my normal vet, and the referral Center he is now with have been wonderful at keeping the costs as low as possible, even doing some things for free! He has been ill for nearly a month now, getting steadily worse. I have a back ground in biology, and so can interpret most of his test results so I know they aren't taking us for a ride-he really is a mystery case.