Great Feed, House and Keep Your Pets Hunt

anna_p_2

When my rabbit's claws need clipping, I take him to the vet's surgery but instead of having the vet clip them (thereby incurring a consultation fee) the veterinary nurse clips them for free.

Leonie

Kelinik wrote: »

Please note I said small animals, not cats!

Do vets do different fees for small animals? I thought it was their time they charged for + medication or whatever else was needed.

Sorry Kelinik - I suppose I was classing cats as small animals (as opposed to dogs or horses I guess!):o . I used to keep gerbils and guinea pigs when my children were small, but don't remember ever having to take them to the vet. I should have realised that was what you meant.

I think I must be on a mission with this insurance thing - it's just that 3 of mine and 3 of my mum & dads cats all died over about a 2 year period, and the bills were unbelievable - and so was the grief.

it's taken me a year to get up the nerve to have a new cat, and I just want to do things better this time.

Kelinik

Yes consultation fees are less for small pets (have looked at the price list in the waiting room) but the bills can certainly stack up - I actually won't add up my reciepts from last year as I don't want to know lol!

Unfortunately very few insurance companies offer policies for anything smaller than a rabbit and those that do work out very expensive, especially as an average basic consultation won't even meet the excess!! :rolleyes:

So yes for rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, guineas, degus and other small pets I would def go with my suggestion above.

missheatherwilson

I have a rescued pug and I got her off tinned food and mixer straightaway, which was costing £25 a month. My vet recommended Purina Pro Plan for small breed dogs which she LOVES but I foolishly paid £13 for one 3kg bag

A few weeks ago Pets at Home started stocking it at £10.49 and they have got it 3 for 2, so I have paid £21 for 3 months' worth of feed! Plus she is so much healthier, sprightly and her breath stinks a LOT less than when she was on the tinned stuff!!!

If you can't get your usual pet food from Pets at Home, it's a good idea to speak to them, as if people suggest things for them to stock they are more likely to do so. As a nationwide brand, they can offer better prices than your vet!

I also agree with everyone saying recycle your teddies for dogs- Lulu won't touch a shop bought toy, only my old ones! And also my guinea pigs LOVE toilet roll tubes- I get my friends to save theirs too as they get through them really quickly

churchmouse_3

There is an old saying that, " prevention is cheaper than cure " and i don't buy much dog food as mine turns his nose up at any tinned meat , so being omnivores i give my dog a portion of what we have for dinner {Not potato as they can't break down the starch}. He enjoys all the benefits of vegetables, herbs and spices, especially garlic as it keeps the ticks away ,along with the meat or fish. In fact before manufactured dog food was invented that is what they were fed, scraps from the table!
I also clean his teeth each week, clip his claws ,clean his ears when neccessary, result ... no vet fees... he was well trained as a puppy so no accidents with vehicles etc..... so no insurance fees....... In fact apart from his initial vaccinations for the first 3 years he has never been to a vet. He is now 11 years old going on 4 and hardly costs me anything.....

bargainaddict

our 11yr old cat whisky has been losing a considerable amount of weight over the last year. She has had all the blood tests done at the vet and they are all clear se we are all at a loss to know whats causing it. She suggested giving her a premioum dry food such as Hill which they stocked. as the price was so high I wanted to look around and got some JWBL from Pets at home. She is sort of eating it but not over impressed, any suggestions where I can get it cheaper that £10.50 for 2kg or where I can get high quality food for her. She is quite happy in herself, just very underweight and we feel really helpless with what to do, so hoping really good food will help. She has tinned tuna every couple of days as well.

Also, on a previous post someone said bakers was bad dog food. Our tibetan spaniel is the fussiest dog ever and loves this. Any recommendations on good alternatives and also can anyone tell me why its bad for him? Thanks in advance x

bluedog

bargainaddict wrote: »

Also, on a previous post someone said bakers was bad dog food. Our tibetan spaniel is the fussiest dog ever and loves this. Any recommendations on good alternatives and also can anyone tell me why its bad for him? Thanks in advance x

The one thing I know about Bakers is that it's full of colourants and additives just like any pet food that has brightly coloured bits in it. My springer spaniel was fed on this before we rescued him so I continued with it. He was manically hyper so after looking for help with his behaviour, it was suggested to look at his diet. He was "hooked" on it and turned his nose up at alot of other varieties I offered him. Through this site I was able to get free samples (freebies threads was very helpful with this!) and over a good period of time, we settled for Autarky and he does very well on it. We noticed a very distict difference in his behaviour and he was alot calmer (he's still - ummmm - busy ... just not manic with it anymore . )

It took months rather than weeks to resolve because, as I'm sure you know,
new foods have to be introduced gradually and then gave each food time to see how he managed on it. I found Stan Rawlinson's Dog listener site very helpful and was given alot of advice on the forum there.


http://www.doglistener.co.uk/

Hopefully someone will be along soon who knows more than me about it.

boston_uk

LucyLoo2 wrote: »

What some off you are feeding your dogs is slightly worrying!

A super premium food may seem expensive, but when you look at the facts it really isn't!

My 5 month old puppy is fed on Eukanuba Puppy food £42 for a 15k bag (On offer at Pets at Home for £36.99 right now) bearing in mind as it's so nutritious you need to feed less, it lasts me 3 months! Which works out at £3.50 a week! Not really expensive is it?

Agreed - super premium foods do work out cheaper than even cheapo tins - and with massively less vets bills - BUT Hills, Euk and many others and their parent companies do intrusive testing on animals. Horrific. Vets and Hills - did you know that some vets make nearly 100% profit on what they sell to unsuspecting customers? Go for something where you can get good advice from too - like when to swap your dog to another lifestage product as feeding puppy for too long in larger breeds can seriously damage them! The pet supermarkets generally have no clue about canine nutrition in any depth. Try contacting the companies and judge their replies for yourself!

If you go to the BUAV site you can see which pet food companies do such testing and what they do - and you can find BRITISH companies that don't test and do great sensibly priced super premium foods which don't have colourings, soya, BHA and BHT ( nasty chemical anitoxidants) or taste enhancers ( great for getting the dog addicted to it) etc etc .

http://www.buav.org/campaigns/petfood/companies.html

http://www.buav.org/campaigns/petfood/alternatives.html

Leopardlady

We have just become the proud owners of a 2 year old Tonkinese boy! He is great. I had insured him with direct line, although as within the first week i have just cancelled and changed to M&S thanks for the guidance, much better policy and cheaper!!! Hopefully wont need it but glad we have it.

I have been told to feed my cat dry food with the occasional tim of pilchards not wet food as it is all full of artificial fillers. Ardiex is currently on Royal Canin as this is what he was on before, he is looking great and the vet seemed to think it was the right food.

This is my first cat so any advice gratefully received.

Thanks

momisa

Two of my cats are considered Geriatric by my vet who allows a free health check once a year. They do not charge a consultation fee for this but if treatment was advised then I'd ask for a prescription

I make the appointment 6 months after their boosters so they have thorough health checks twice a year.