how much does your vet charge?

I paid $300 for the vet to treat my cat's abscess this time (including
sedation, cutting the wound open to clean it out, antibiotics injection,
and oral antibiotics to give her at home). We tried to keep her inside,
but she managed to get out and get botten by a neaighborhood tomcat.
(My cat is a spayed female.) The last time she got out, a few weeks ago,
I had to pay $400, when she had to have x-rays (her wound looked
so bad that they suspected a break, but there was none), and stay
overnight.

$700 for two abscesses seems truly excessive to me, especially
since, due to a longterm illness, I haven't earned more than $700 in
the last two months. (My husband does work, but doesn't earn
enough money to support the family by himself, so we've been living
partially on my savings).

Do all vets charge this much to treat a cat's abscess? I wonder if I
should try to find another vet whose charges are more reasonable.
I told this one to be sure to choose the less expensive treatment,
if there were any choices, and explained my situation. They were
very sympathetic, but didn't find any way to charge any less.

We *must* keep this cat inside from now on. We simply can't afford to
pay for her to get fixed up every times she gets beaten up. She's so
good at sneaking out underfoot, though. We are having to shut her in
the kitchen or bathroom or laundry room to prevent her from slipping
out when we leave. She is crying constantly to go out. Opening a
screened window so she can sit in it helps somewhat, but she still has
an intense wish to go out. We always tried to make her an indoor cat,
ever since bringing her home from the SPCA when she was 8 weeks old,
but she is a very stubborn animal and knows exactly what she wants.
Some cats have no desire to go outside, if they've never been allowed
out, but this cat knew from the very beginning that she wanted out.

Paula (please don't reply to my posting address - the account no longer
exists - for personal replies please send to "diagnosis3 (at) hotmail.com" .
Thanks.)

"Paula" wrote

We *must* keep this cat inside from now on. We simply can't afford to pay
for her to get fixed up every times she gets beaten up.

It is a shame you had to spend $700 to decide this, but whatever works.

"Paula" wrote

We *must* keep this cat inside from now on. We simply can't afford to pay
for her to get fixed up every times she gets beaten up.

It is a shame you had to spend $700 to decide this, but whatever works.

"Paula" wrote:
I paid $300 for the vet to treat my cat's abscess this time. snip

(My cat is a spayed female.) The last time she got out, a few weeks ago,
I had to pay $400, when she had to have x-rays (her wound looked
so bad that they suspected a break, but there was none), and stay
overnight.

$700 for two abscesses seems truly excessive to me, especially
since, due to a longterm illness, I haven't earned more than $700 in
the last two months. (My husband does work, but doesn't earn
enough money to support the family by himself, so we've been living
partially on my savings).

Do all vets charge this much to treat a cat's abscess? I wonder if I
should try to find another vet whose charges are more reasonable.
I told this one to be sure to choose the less expensive treatment,
if there were any choices, and explained my situation. They were
very sympathetic, but didn't find any way to charge any less. snip

I know mine charges too much. We paid over $1000 to have our 10 year old
dog put to sleep (kidney failure) a few weeks ago. Friend paid $500 for her
dog's euthanasia at another vet across town on the very same day! We both
have the same cedar box for their ashes too. Years ago my sister had a vet
who didn't charge for the final days if your pet was a patient of his.
Helped the whole process go easier but now it is as bad (costly) as a human
burial.

I did hear of one story where a cat had a bullet in it. Vet wanted $700 to
do the surgery. Owner said to "Put it down." Vet came down to $40 and got
the bullet out. So yes, greed does come into the picture too imho. Worse
was a co-worker who sold a family car to pay for her 6 month old dog's back
surgery ($4000). Dog died two weeks later from complications.

My vet uses a "people lab" for all the blood work so the costs are in line
with the prices I pay for my own blood work; however, sometimes it's more
(?!!?). Still, it is obscene what they charge as most owners do not have
nor can they afford pet insurance and most of the insurance companies won't
cover last years conditions (i.e. pre-existing conditions on a yearly
basis). Friend has max'ed out her charge card ($3500) on vet bills alone
for her two cats and dog.

Right now we're petless and pondering whether we want to get another. Cost
for the dog alone was over $1000 a year (food, vet(!), ear, grooming, flea
meds, treats, tags, etc.). We checked into getting a dog at a rescue
mission but they wanted $1500 as it needed some "minor surgery" to be
adopted.

Having second thoughts now.....

Mack

"Paula" wrote:
I paid $300 for the vet to treat my cat's abscess this time. snip

(My cat is a spayed female.) The last time she got out, a few weeks ago,
I had to pay $400, when she had to have x-rays (her wound looked
so bad that they suspected a break, but there was none), and stay
overnight.

$700 for two abscesses seems truly excessive to me, especially
since, due to a longterm illness, I haven't earned more than $700 in
the last two months. (My husband does work, but doesn't earn
enough money to support the family by himself, so we've been living
partially on my savings).

Do all vets charge this much to treat a cat's abscess? I wonder if I
should try to find another vet whose charges are more reasonable.
I told this one to be sure to choose the less expensive treatment,
if there were any choices, and explained my situation. They were
very sympathetic, but didn't find any way to charge any less. snip

I know mine charges too much. We paid over $1000 to have our 10 year old
dog put to sleep (kidney failure) a few weeks ago. Friend paid $500 for her
dog's euthanasia at another vet across town on the very same day! We both
have the same cedar box for their ashes too. Years ago my sister had a vet
who didn't charge for the final days if your pet was a patient of his.
Helped the whole process go easier but now it is as bad (costly) as a human
burial.

I did hear of one story where a cat had a bullet in it. Vet wanted $700 to
do the surgery. Owner said to "Put it down." Vet came down to $40 and got
the bullet out. So yes, greed does come into the picture too imho. Worse
was a co-worker who sold a family car to pay for her 6 month old dog's back
surgery ($4000). Dog died two weeks later from complications.

My vet uses a "people lab" for all the blood work so the costs are in line
with the prices I pay for my own blood work; however, sometimes it's more
(?!!?). Still, it is obscene what they charge as most owners do not have
nor can they afford pet insurance and most of the insurance companies won't
cover last years conditions (i.e. pre-existing conditions on a yearly
basis). Friend has max'ed out her charge card ($3500) on vet bills alone
for her two cats and dog.

Right now we're petless and pondering whether we want to get another. Cost
for the dog alone was over $1000 a year (food, vet(!), ear, grooming, flea
meds, treats, tags, etc.). We checked into getting a dog at a rescue
mission but they wanted $1500 as it needed some "minor surgery" to be
adopted.

Having second thoughts now.....

Mack

"Paula" wrote in message
om...
I paid $300 for the vet to treat my cat's abscess this time (including
sedation, cutting the wound open to clean it out, antibiotics injection,
and oral antibiotics to give her at home). We tried to keep her inside,
but she managed to get out and get botten by a neaighborhood tomcat.
(My cat is a spayed female.) The last time she got out, a few weeks ago,
I had to pay $400, when she had to have x-rays (her wound looked
so bad that they suspected a break, but there was none), and stay
overnight.


Wow, I have had 2 instances of abscesses with my cats. The first one was
about 10 years ago, the vet just dabbed some anaethetic on it then took a
scalpel and slit it open, squeezed the pus out and put some ointment on. His
advice was to leave it at that and let it heal by itself. It did so with no
problems at all. I think I paid about £30 ($50?)

A couple of weeks ago the other cat got one after a scrap but I didn't
realise until he'd burst it by himself and saw the wet patch. I gave it a
squeeze and flushed it with some warm salt water then dabbed some
anti-septic cream on it. It has now nearly healed completely.

Why your vet needed x-rays, sedation and anti-biotics I don't know - sounds
to me like your vet is scamming you.
--

I.P.Freely

"Paula" wrote in message
om...
I paid $300 for the vet to treat my cat's abscess this time (including
sedation, cutting the wound open to clean it out, antibiotics injection,
and oral antibiotics to give her at home). We tried to keep her inside,
but she managed to get out and get botten by a neaighborhood tomcat.
(My cat is a spayed female.) The last time she got out, a few weeks ago,
I had to pay $400, when she had to have x-rays (her wound looked
so bad that they suspected a break, but there was none), and stay
overnight.


Wow, I have had 2 instances of abscesses with my cats. The first one was
about 10 years ago, the vet just dabbed some anaethetic on it then took a
scalpel and slit it open, squeezed the pus out and put some ointment on. His
advice was to leave it at that and let it heal by itself. It did so with no
problems at all. I think I paid about £30 ($50?)

A couple of weeks ago the other cat got one after a scrap but I didn't
realise until he'd burst it by himself and saw the wet patch. I gave it a
squeeze and flushed it with some warm salt water then dabbed some
anti-septic cream on it. It has now nearly healed completely.

Why your vet needed x-rays, sedation and anti-biotics I don't know - sounds
to me like your vet is scamming you.
--

I.P.Freely

On 29 Oct 2004 07:40:51 -0700, (Paula) wrote:

I paid $300 for the vet to treat my cat's abscess this time (including
sedation, cutting the wound open to clean it out, antibiotics injection,
and oral antibiotics to give her at home). We tried to keep her inside,
but she managed to get out and get botten by a neaighborhood tomcat.
(My cat is a spayed female.) The last time she got out, a few weeks ago,
I had to pay $400, when she had to have x-rays (her wound looked
so bad that they suspected a break, but there was none), and stay
overnight.

$700 for two abscesses seems truly excessive to me, especially
since, due to a longterm illness, I haven't earned more than $700 in
the last two months. (My husband does work, but doesn't earn
enough money to support the family by himself, so we've been living
partially on my savings).

Do all vets charge this much to treat a cat's abscess? I wonder if I
should try to find another vet whose charges are more reasonable.
I told this one to be sure to choose the less expensive treatment,
if there were any choices, and explained my situation. They were
very sympathetic, but didn't find any way to charge any less.

We *must* keep this cat inside from now on. We simply can't afford to
pay for her to get fixed up every times she gets beaten up. She's so
good at sneaking out underfoot, though. We are having to shut her in
the kitchen or bathroom or laundry room to prevent her from slipping
out when we leave. She is crying constantly to go out. Opening a
screened window so she can sit in it helps somewhat, but she still has
an intense wish to go out. We always tried to make her an indoor cat,
ever since bringing her home from the SPCA when she was 8 weeks old,
but she is a very stubborn animal and knows exactly what she wants.
Some cats have no desire to go outside, if they've never been allowed
out, but this cat knew from the very beginning that she wanted out.

Paula (please don't reply to my posting address - the account no longer
exists - for personal replies please send to "diagnosis3 (at) hotmail.com" .
Thanks.)

I know it sounds high, but actually, it is about what I would expect
to pay.

Em
Be careful what you wish for....

On 29 Oct 2004 07:40:51 -0700, (Paula) wrote:

I paid $300 for the vet to treat my cat's abscess this time (including
sedation, cutting the wound open to clean it out, antibiotics injection,
and oral antibiotics to give her at home). We tried to keep her inside,
but she managed to get out and get botten by a neaighborhood tomcat.
(My cat is a spayed female.) The last time she got out, a few weeks ago,
I had to pay $400, when she had to have x-rays (her wound looked
so bad that they suspected a break, but there was none), and stay
overnight.

$700 for two abscesses seems truly excessive to me, especially
since, due to a longterm illness, I haven't earned more than $700 in
the last two months. (My husband does work, but doesn't earn
enough money to support the family by himself, so we've been living
partially on my savings).

Do all vets charge this much to treat a cat's abscess? I wonder if I
should try to find another vet whose charges are more reasonable.
I told this one to be sure to choose the less expensive treatment,
if there were any choices, and explained my situation. They were
very sympathetic, but didn't find any way to charge any less.

We *must* keep this cat inside from now on. We simply can't afford to
pay for her to get fixed up every times she gets beaten up. She's so
good at sneaking out underfoot, though. We are having to shut her in
the kitchen or bathroom or laundry room to prevent her from slipping
out when we leave. She is crying constantly to go out. Opening a
screened window so she can sit in it helps somewhat, but she still has
an intense wish to go out. We always tried to make her an indoor cat,
ever since bringing her home from the SPCA when she was 8 weeks old,
but she is a very stubborn animal and knows exactly what she wants.
Some cats have no desire to go outside, if they've never been allowed
out, but this cat knew from the very beginning that she wanted out.

Paula (please don't reply to my posting address - the account no longer
exists - for personal replies please send to "diagnosis3 (at) hotmail.com" .
Thanks.)

I know it sounds high, but actually, it is about what I would expect
to pay.

Em
Be careful what you wish for....

Paula wrote:
I paid $300 for the vet to treat my cat's abscess this time (including
sedation, cutting the wound open to clean it out, antibiotics injection,
and oral antibiotics to give her at home).

My vet (Georgetown TX) charged me about $285 (plus $50 outside lab
free for tissue analysis), for surgery for a grossly overgrown thyroid,
plus teeth cleaning with 2 extractions about 2 months ago.

The other cat's teeth cleaning, with 2 extractions, combined with the
first cat's follow-up bloodwork on the same day, cost $180.

Her office seems to have some kind of packaged veterinary billing and
itemizing computer program, from which she starts making deductions
until she thinks the price is fair. According to the itemized bills
she took a total of $189 off items in the thyroid/dental operation,
and $87 off items in the other cat's dental.

--
jamie )

"There's a seeker born every minute."