Had to take Gypsy, my KC spaniel to the vets today. She has an ear infection, athletes foot, back pain and possible heart problems. £68 later, we were sent home with antibiotic drops, anti inflammatories and anti fungal shampoo. The vet wants to wait for a while before she has an ultrasound to check her heart, as the breathlessness could be because she has so much pain on steps and stairs.
At least he clipped her dew claws for nothing, as it is supposed to be £10. She wont let me anywhere near them, but is putty in the vets hands ::)
I wish I had known how much a vet earns when I was making my life choices!! I think I have left it a bit late now :(
cj :)
If it makes you feel any better, your vet bill sound reasonable to me...still not cheap...My vet..my dog vet would not even sneeze for that money... ::)
Year ago my dog was suddenly really thirsty and hungry..and I mean really...
Vet suspected diabetes..so we took some blood..he didn't find any problems..so we took more blood because he suspected something else... 3 blood tests and sample of urine, which is a story of it own, he still didn't find nothing wrong..
Thas was nearly £400..ouch...Brandy's thirst and hunger returned normal!!!
Some time later I found empty bag of dog treats ::)....
I dread the vet vist.You know you will be charged through the nose.
But they are worth it ;D
I do have to say that if it would be up to me..I would rather see the vet than my GP!...Vets are good...after all...
At least you get to see the vet the day you ring in. With our GP, you are either dead or better by the time you get an appointment.
cj :)
Try £657.00 vet bill for pyometria in a pregnant dog :(
Always pay it cos they are family !
:o :-X
Painful for you AND the dog!
cj
What a difference in the price of tablets. Elsa has Carprodyl (pain killers) daily. Vets price. £8.31 for 14 tabs. Petmeds £4.12 for 20. Got name from internet. By law your vet has to give you a prescription FOC. Obviously they will carry out the first consultation and can insist on another consultation between 3 and 6 months. That is good for the animal as they can tell if the dog is still OK on the tablets. Still a flipping lot cheaper.
I have just sent off an insurance claim as I have spent more than my £80 excess.
Ah yes Lorna, the dreaded excess! Ours is up to £65 at the mo. As there were 3 seperate conditions that the medication was for, we are nowhere near being able to claim yet >:(
Does your vet get a bit touchy if you dont get the medication from him?
cj :)
Suzy, my daft cocker spaniel, has an eye condition called dry eye. Self explanatory really! Anyway the ointment my vet prescribes is a tiny tube smaller and narrower than my pinkie which retails at£38. Experimentally I got the £3 eyedrops from the pet shop and found that they work every bit as well. So bye bye vet bill.
I actually think that vets have become quite mercenary over the years. There always seems to be something extra to be added on.
Sophie (Suzy's Mum) was in great pain a few years ago. Took her to the vet who reckoned she had a slipped disk in her spine and booked her in for Xray. under general anaesthetic of course. Said her teeth could do with scaling so added that on too. Well it appears that one of her disks is slightly thinner than the others, but that wasn't actually the problem. Some £450 later it turned out she had an ingrown toenail!
(which they clearly hadn't trimmed properly 2 months before at her annual check up.)
No Caroline I must admit I haven't had any glum faces regarding a repeat prescription. I just ring Jane the receptionist and ask for a repeat of 120 tablets (2 months supply). Last time the vet put a note asking to see Elsa. As she was due for her yearly injection and they always carry out a thorough examination I got away with no consultation fee just the injection cost. Incidentally the cost that I mentioned from Petmeds even includes postage. I email them, fax the prescription pay by Debit Card and they arrive next day.
I heard an interesting comment from Elsa's groomer when I told her about the limping
(she used to be a Poodle breeder) she said that apart from arthritis KC can suffer with a slight spine distortion, I mentioned this to the vet (expected him to poo hoo the idea) but he said yes the groomer is quite right!!
QuoteKC can suffer with a slight spine distortion
I think that gypsy has full intentions of getting everything she is entitled to as a KC ::) Please keep your voice down if ever you post about other things she could get . I wouldnt want her to hear ::) ;D
cj :)
You are lucky you do not live in Surrey. Its £40 to £60 to walk through the door, and they will not even prescribe routine things without seeing the animal.
Trouble is we dont earn high wages like most here, just agricultural, with a house I admit, but no guarantee what happens n retirement, oh and no pension for us peasants :'( ::) >:( :(
But we do live in a fantastic area, the Mole Valley ;D
;D ;D @ Caroline
ipt8 Is that just for consultation or does it include medication? My vet charges £17 plus vat for 1st consultation. As mentioned they have to by law give prescriptions for tablets etc but if it is an ongoing thing they can insist on examining the animal every 3/6months.
At ours we have a triage nurse, it costs £10 to see her. If she thinks the animal needs to be seen by the vet its £38..................before medication.
We are looking for somewhere else >:(
MY cat went to see eye specialist £80.00 for initial consultation final bill after eye op .............a wapping £2 k
still she's worth it (see picture she's the on at the bottom) :o
try the bills to see a specialist avian vet that hurts, my parrot is insured though
Ouch! Was she insured, lolabelle?
Debster, is parrot insurance expensive? I would imagine it is if the specialist avian vets are that expensive!
Does anyone insure their rehomed battery hens? Is that expensive, as they are not well to start with when you get them.
cj :)
parrot insurance is about eleven pounds a month but well worth it
Not as bad as I had expected, and like you say, well worth it.
My sister has a labradoodle. When she first had her, she took her to the vets and found she had vaginitis. Later that week, she insured her, but they refused to insure the vaginitis, as it was a pre existing condition. It recurrs every now and then, and costs her a fortune!
i wouldnt be without insurance, as Gypsy is such a sickly dog. She may need to go on permanent anti inflamatories because of a back condition, so I am hoping pet plan will cover those.
cj :)
No not insured and two years later had to have another eye graft and yet again £2k, two years onand she has had another op on the other eye she had contact lens bandage fitted and prompty lost it within a week ...god love em ::)
That's one expensive kitty! ;D
cj :)
yeap she sure is but shes a lovely character, if you ger the cage out to take to the vet she jumps straight in , has even been with one of the others as a chaperone!! :D
Yeh
That bugs me too, dog gets a growth on his back leg on the knee joint, vet does a biopsy, finds it's benign removes said lump. Charges £400+ for the pleasure.
Insurance company now have excluded all lumps, cysts and growths as they say the dog has a history of them.
I phoned them up and asked if that would exclude any cancerous growths in 5 yrs time even if he was totally free between now and then and this lump was obviously nothing to do with cancer.
Bet you can't guess their money grabbing response.!!! Once excluded always excluded!!
Mick B
mickb,
that's annoying!
What company are you with?
cj :)
Hello
I used to use petplan when i first got "Gini" untill she had some tummy trouble and the next policy came out it exluded everything to do the tummy and internal organs pointless really i rang up and complain but got noway fast..... >:( >:( >:(.
I am dreading tommorrow (Fri) i have to take Gini to the vets as she is weeing a lot the vet reckons she's got cystitis I asked the vets want is the rough cost she said from £60 to £200 depending on what the the vet does..... :o :o >:(....... Needs must.
Cheers
Brogusblue
I am with E&L but seriously contemplating a change, they are quite difficult to deal with and very slow payers
But they are quite cheap
I suppose you get what you pay for
Mick B
The insurance company will not insure against what they see as a probability
We had an excellent vet up until a couple of months ago. She left for pastures new.......apparently she didn't make enough money for the company! Our old girl was there everyday for nearly 2 weeks over christmas, gradually going every 2 days, 4 days 1 week etc until we got her down to monthly, she had all kinds wrong with her - pancreatitis, onset of kidney failure, liver disease, colitis, cystitis symptoms, conjunctivitis, allergy(longterm) flared up and she was given 48 hours to 5 days to survive. On new years eve we woke up to find she couldnt move her legs without screaming in pain and we thought she would have to be put to sleep. Our vet couldn't believe that our girl was still fighting to be with us as even water was vomited back up. We spent 11 nights sleeping in the living room and she was given 100 mls water every hour and was offered fresh chicken breast for 8 meals a day. She was unable to have any meds unless absolutely necessary as her liver couldnt cope with the drugs but the vet still convinced that she wouldnt survive, gave us a syringe of very strong painkiller that we had to give her if things got bad. It has taken 5 months to get our old lady down to 3 meals a day and her last blood tests came back normal. The amount of time and effort our vet put in and the support she gave us was outstanding,we were often given the name and dosage of human equivalent drugs or alternatives like barley water for the cystitis, so that we could go to the chemist/supermarket to buy them and she would willingly write us prescriptions to take elsewhere. Although she has now left, she stays in touch to get updates on how our girl is doing. Our dog showed her gratitude for all the care when she was last seen in April by knocking the vet over and causing her to tear a ligament in her knee. The vets final day at the surgwery was actually spent in A&E having her knee fixed. We never once felt that we were being taken for ride costwise with this vet and she would also explain all the options from the cheapest to the most expensive giving us her veiw on what she thought would work best even if this was the cheapest option.
As for pet insurance, our experience with our old GSD (no longer with us) put me off. He was cryptorchid and we were told that his testicle needed to be removed as it would go cancerous if left, we contacted the insurance to sort out payment and was told that we would not be able to claim as it was a preventative treatment and a castration which they didnt insure, however should the dogs condition become cancerous they would pay for chemotherapy treatment then.
Think I need to stop waffling now.
It's lovely to find a vet you can trust. After all, they are a bit like the family doctor ;D
cj :)
Quote from: carolinej on May 24, 2008, 09:02:05
It's lovely to find a vet you can trust. After all, they are a bit like the family doctor ;D
cj :)
Can only agree with you there :)
How about £95 for fixing a guniea pigs broken leg?? The piggie only cost a tenner!!!! Not mine, but belongs to my nephew.
We have 3, one on antinflammatories and antibiotics for a chest infection!! that was not to bad, only £23.....
:o :o :o
If I had my time again......
cj :)
My stray/rescue cat has been told accused of being the father to five kittens. Do I have to pay for their education until University level. I am sure it is not him as he is 15 and a very clean male, but do admit one of the kittens looked a bit like him. He is sitting on my lap, purring, as he loves the computer, probably the only time I sit down. My other cat went to the vet and cost me £80, apparently they are not allowed to give tablets without seeing the cat. He is on long time medication and the pills are £60 a month. In the old days cats didn't get better treatment than adults on the NHS. My vet was more symathetic about my frozen shoulder than the doctor when I took the cat to the vet and had difficulty carrying the box with the cat in it. I had just been to the doctor and the vet was more concerned about me in great pain than the cat.
I will pay the vets bills whilst I still can but as I do not work and have two cats, both over 15 years old, I cannot afford the vets fees but it would break my heart to part with them or see them suffer, but they may be old but are still purring and waiting for their chicken dinner tonight.
Borlotti,
Lorna's away on hol this week but I'm sure she'll be checking in to this thread at the w/end when she's back....I know that she has to see the vet about Elsa's script every 3 months or sommat, but buys her tabs online - an enormous saving - sure she'll tell you more either here or PM her...
Have you tried the RSPCA/PDSA? If you're a penshner or on benefits/limited income, they will treat.
Borlotti
By law your vet has to write you a prescription for the meds that they prescribe and you can then take it away and buy the meds elsewhere should you wish to do so. The vet is not allowed to then arrange 'extra' appointments in any attempt to recoup the lost money of you purchasing your meds elsewhere however, certain medications (steriods and such for example) need to be reviewed every 3 to 6 month to ensure the correct dosage etc and the vet is well within their rights to refuse to write a prescription without seeing your pet first to ensure that the condition does not require a different med or dosage. Your vet should have information regarding the ordering of prescriptions displayed within the practice and the practice staff should be able to answer any of your questions regarding this.
Our old dog regularly has a steriod cream prescribed and we just pick up a written prescription from our vet and then buy the cream from the internet at half the cost. We have not needed to see the vet since april for this as it is an ongoing condition of which they are aware of although I expect that after the next prescription we will have to see them for a check up just to make sure that the dosage/condition is the same especially as the cream is steriod based.
I hope this helps.
Borlotti, this is what Lorna wrote about her dog's meds...I found it on page 1 of this thread ::)
What a difference in the price of tablets. Elsa has Carprodyl (pain killers) daily. Vets price. £8.31 for 14 tabs. Petmeds £4.12 for 20. Got name from internet. By law your vet has to give you a prescription FOC. Obviously they will carry out the first consultation and can insist on another consultation between 3 and 6 months. That is good for the animal as they can tell if the dog is still OK on the tablets. Still a flipping lot cheaper.
Thanks for that. The cat is on thyroid tablets and the vet suggests regular blood tests. I didn't realise it was against the law to give tablets without seeing the cat at intervals as he has been on them for two years now. He has had two or three blood tests and now has two tablets a day. He is too old for an operation. I am just wondering what on earth I would want to pay for thyroid tablets for if not for the cat, I do not fancy taking them myself but perhaps they are a strong drug. He has just been to the vet and had his claws clipped but forgot to ask for a prescription but got a months supply of tablets. I will have a look on the internet. I found a chemist that sold the Frontline for fleas and I think that can be bought on the internet although I normally get that from the vet. Had the annual flea injection for both cats but they forgot to tell me that they also need the Frontline. I have no complaints about the treatment the animals get but when one had his teeth out that was £100 as he had to stay overnight. Anyone taking on a pet should realise that they can be expensive especially as they get old. Also the injections when kittens are expensive. My first cat lived for 21 years and only had the injection as a kitten and then never had to go the vet, or perhaps in those days animals were not treated so well.
Hi Borlotti, Banshee is quite right with his post. Buying on the Internet is so much cheaper. I also buy Elsa's Frontline on the Internet. The firm that I buy from
Petmeds.co.uk are excellent. My first prescription got lost in the post so I now fax through prescriptions. The tablets have always arrived next day after faxing the prescription.
just been to the vets with maisie, good news is her teeth are ok, as is the leg..
cost 98.00 ..ear infection, frontline, wormer, kennel cough stuff and starter injections 'cos the bloke who had her before hasn't had her boostered for 3 years, just done for kennel cough, vet can't understand as he put her in kennels regularly,
I think the owner must've just looked at the date and not known what she had had..
anyway, got to go back in 2 weeks for another booster and we're getting her chipped :)
Manic I think getting your pet chipped is brilliant, we had Elsa done when she was a puppy. How about looking on Internet next time you need Frontline??
will do,lorna, I looked last night, do you need a prescription ?
some of the sites don't seem to ask for one ?
You don't need a prescription for Frontline Spot On, but you do for Frontline Spray and Frontline Combo.
Frontline Spot On can be sold by pharmacists and 'suitably qualified people' (generally places like saddlers, agricultural stores etc. where people have taken the relevant exams).
Hope that helps!
thanks, oakmore, welcome to the site
it's just ordinary frontline so, next time I need it, I'll get it on line ;D
Welcome oakmore2 ;D
Took Gypsy for a walk today and she seems to have sore paws. She doesnt want to walk and she is slow and uncomfortable.
If she is still the same it will be off to the vets again. She is due a booster in 3 weeks, so I may book her injection and that way I wont have to pay for a consultation.
The vet always does a thorough check at booster time. I think it is for 2 reasons.
1 To make sure the dog is treated for any problems.
2 To look for any excuse to give treatment or medication ::)
Ah well, I'll thumb a lift to the vets in a securicor truck. That way the fees will be well guarded till I hand them over ;D
cj :)
Manic Just got home from my Wed evening visit to a friend. I use Frontline spot on and Oakmore is right you don't need a prescription.
Oh dear Caroline.Gypsy in the wars again, hope it is nothing serious. Elsa's Arthritis is much better, hardly any limping. I have cut her down to 1 tablet a day and may see how she is if I stop them.