Not happy with vet costs these days.

con1888

I don't think they are that bad tbh, certain things I think are way too high for example when my dog hurt itself on a bank holiday and we called vet it was £140 before even seeing anyone, this was upfront to be paid. It wasn't anything serious (cut paw) so we went a day later but had it been someting worse that is a lot of money and that's without even thinking about the cost of an operation/procedure. We do have insurance but there is excess also to cover...

hotcookie101

the_devil_made_me_do_it wrote: »

Just a quick response.

Re: my cat & diabetes: I did a great deal of research on the subject. I visited a number of forums & dedicated websites before I approached the vet with my findings. They were not happy with me carrying out blood sugar tests & were not willing to even listen to my reasons why. Nor were they willing to accept that cats can & do go into remission. Instead they continued to take my money and prescribing the same dose, even tho' the dose needed to be altered to suit.

As for caninsulin: it isn't the only licensed medication, many UK members of the feline diabetes forums & dedicated websites had said their cats had been prescribed PZI (for example) which is better suited to cats. Some had to argue with the vets in order to get this medication and many succeeded.

hotcookie..I am not going to apologise for my comments re: vets getting paid by huge companies to encourage them to use their drugs. I also believe that many vets sell Royal Canin foods in their surgeries for the same reason. Obviously, I wouldn't expect you to confirm this. However, Doctors are exactly the same.

Insuvet PZI is no longer available (good 3-4 years I think). The only licensed insulin at present in UK is caninsulin. So it has to be the first choice for prescribing to diabetic cats.
I'm sorry your vets weren't up to speed with your cat's diabetes. But if you weren't happy why didn't you get a second opinion?

We get paid NOTHING by drug companies or food companies to sell their food. Again, I find that a very offensive comment. Companies give discounts for bulk purchases, but we are nowhere near the level of internet pharmacies on purchasing power etc, so we don't get those levels of discounts, and the ones we do get are used to reduce the cost to the client.
I do know in human medicine that there can be benefits to prescribers from drug companies, but we don't see that in vet (or certainly not where I work) We PAY for the drugs we prescribe, so we try to get the best deals, so we can sell them at the lowest cost to the client. We certainly do NOT get paid to buy them-that is the most absurd thing I have ever heard.
Am bowing out now, as am just getting more annoyed by that attitude, and you obviously will continue to believe what you believe, despite the facts.

Shoshannah

the_devil_made_me_do_it wrote: »

hotcookie..I am not going to apologise for my comments re: vets getting paid by huge companies to encourage them to use their drugs. I also believe that many vets sell Royal Canin foods in their surgeries for the same reason. Obviously, I wouldn't expect you to confirm this. However, Doctors are exactly the same.

So it's true then, just because you say it is?

I would love to know who these companies are. Name some for me, please.

Shoshannah

kara7758 wrote: »

My gripe on vets costs result from being told that dental treatment for my cat ( he was ill, prescribed antibiotics for urine infection and conjunctivitis and then told he needed dental work, old cat) would be £409 plus the £148 already paid for meds and blood work and I simply did not have that amount of money.

I ended up shopping around (thanks to good advice from forum members). I have found a vet a mere 5 miles from me that will do the same work for £180, over half the price.

Worth checking the details of this - when you say it is the same treatment, is everything the same within the two estimates?

Do they both include intravenous fluids, dental X-rays, post-operative medications and check-ups? Just make sure before you start so these things don't suddenly get added on to the cheaper estimate later.

My cat is having dental work done this week. It won't be cheap - I'm expecting a bill of £400-500 to include bloods, full mouth X-rays, IV fluids, medications etc.