Do you think Vet's bill is rip off?

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Opal

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Yes, I think so!
I believe the Vet charged us too much money for taking care of our animals.

I don't take my pets to the Vet for their annual injections, as I take them every second year.

I support to have dogs fixed as it helps to settle down their aggressive personalities and become a home-pet, and perhaps live longer as I was told.

Tell us about your Vet's bills
 
Well I support stray pets to Vet for the sure either they are sick or not.

I brought kitty "Lucky" Kim to Vet few hours for the check after found her in the forest.

1st Examination & vaccines to protect her illness, tablet for her flu cost me €35, then 2 weeks later again for examination & other vaccines to protect worms cost me other €30 then 1 month later other examination & vaccines to protect rabies cost €40.

The Vet's "shock" face impression when I told her that Sussi is still alive which Sussi haven't been vaccines for over 11 YEARS after her information to us over between outdoor & indoor cats when they should get vaccines etc. They destory Sussi's record & thought Sussi is dead. :dizzy: She's surprised that Sussi is still alive because she's 18 years old. She said that she would love to see Sussi some day because she knows Sussi since she was kitten.

Outdoor cats need to have vaccines every year.
Indoor cats need to have vaccines every 2 year.

We do is ***nodded*** Vet's information. We would not bring Kim for next vaccines until she will have an operation to protect to have kitten this December. This is our decision either we want to bring our pet to Vet or not. It's up to us, not Vet. The Vet only offer their opinion.

The Vet told me that it will cost me €70 to have an operation to stop to have babies. I remember it was cost me DM 90 (€45) to operate Sussi in 1986.

Ripp off? I don't know.


Anyway, the 9 years old cat of my co-worker is died natural at few weeks ago. She's heartbreak & told me that she take care of her cat well & visit to Vet every 2 year for vaccines. :cool:
 
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My kitty lived almost 20 years. He did not get annual vacinations because he was our only cat, and stayed in the house.

If I had another indoor kitty, I would not get annual shots for him. If I had more than one cat, or if the cat was exposed to the outdoors, or had to stay at pet boarding, or we travelled with kitty, then I would get shots for the cats.

After our kitty became elderly and had liver problems, we quit doing the monthly flea medicine also. As long as he stayed indoors and didn't have fleas, it was not necessary to stress his liver with extra medicines. Our vet agreed. Our vet said that good nutrition was more important than medicines for elderly cats.

Vacinations are more important for dogs because they are exposed to more germs outdoors, and they stick their noses into every nasty spot.

Our vet was very sweet. The vet staff sent us a personal note and condolence card after our kitty died. They were very understanding and never pressured our decisions.
 
Hmm... don't they have insurance for pets? That might help reduce the cost of those things.
 
VamPyroX said:
Hmm... don't they have insurance for pets? That might help reduce the cost of those things.
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Yes, there is but I don't know if the premium cost is worth the coverage.

In the case of my kitty, he had a pre-existing condition (pre-diabetic) so he would not have been eligible for insurance.
 
Last time I had a Dog was ummm....5 yrs ago or so... And yes the vet was way off my budget, I couldn't believe one visit was close to 60.00 its like what the heck! I do not know if all vet are the same prices or not haven't been anywhere else beside that one vet.


So yes I think they are a rip off to us.
 
Yeah me too, I also believe that the vet charged us too much money...I think that is another reason why some people unable to afford having a pet or taken the pet to the vet because of the cost of each shots or etc....

I have taken all my cats to the vet for every shots but since I brought another kitten, I haven't able to take him to get his shots yet but I will , it just that I know the vet bill will be a bit over hundred dollars or so since they do charge for office visit too and I know he's missing a couple of shots since hes 7 months old ..... :(

Edit:::.... Oh one more thing, I notice that there are soooo many dogs and cats out there who are waiting for a home, I think that there is a reason why there are so many of them and some people just simply can not afford taken their pet to the vet...I wonder if there will be a big change in that so all animals can be placed in a home instead of being putted to sleep.....Maybe having our vet reduce the prices on shots and etc....
 
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^Angel^ said:
I have taken all my cats to the vet for every shots but since I brought another kitten, I haven't able to take him to get his shots yet but I will , it just that I know the vet bill will be a bit over hundred dollars or so since they do charge for office visit too and I know he's missing a couple of shots since hes 7 months old ..... :(

Edit:::.... Oh one more thing, I notice that there are soooo many dogs and cats out there who are waiting for a home, I think that there is a reason why there are so many of them and some people just simply can not afford taken their pet to the vet...I wonder if there will be a big change in that so all animals can be placed in a home instead of being putted to sleep.....Maybe having our vet reduce the prices on shots and etc....
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office visit charge :jaw: :crazy: I´m disagree to this "office visit" charge!

I understand now why the people can´t acheive to own pets.

I pay only examination & medical.
 
Cheri said:
Last time I had a Dog was ummm....5 yrs ago or so... And yes the vet was way off my budget, I couldn't believe one visit was close to 60.00 its like what the heck! I do not know if all vet are the same prices or not haven't been anywhere else beside that one vet.


So yes I think they are a rip off to us.
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How many vet have you in your area? If yes, then you can compare the prices.

I only have one Vet in my area.

I´m agree that Vet cost is not cheap but what should we do because we want to save our pet´s life or cure their healthy.
 
VamPyroX said:
Hmm... don't they have insurance for pets? That might help reduce the cost of those things.
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No!

As far as I know that pet owner insured expensive pets voluntarily BUT accord German law they MUST insured only dogs because of bite, attack people, road accident etc. It´s nothing do with shots, medicial to cover Vet´s charge etc.

The insurance covered the cost of car damaged by road accident, human injured or killed by dogs bite/attack.

The insurance only cover everything when they get the 100% proof. It´s not easy to claim from the insurance when my dogs hurt people. They make sure why I let dogs go outside/how eg etc uurrhhh.

German law is too stress for me that´s why we decide to not own any dogs which we love to have husky dog as our pet dog. Never mind! We are happy to have 2 darling cats. :)
 
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Oh yes, I remember:

One of my co-worker Sina from other Division own 2 cats. One of her cats returned to her doorstep after 3 days missing with left leg & tail injured. She was hitted by car. Still alive.

Sina called Vet at private (private call for emergency only). That same Vet, my cats received treatment examined her cat & did gave Sina twice think before do something.

Vet gave her 2 choice to think about.

Have to amputate her left leg & tail but it´s only 50% chance to stay alive. It cost €500.

OR

put her sleep.

Sina & her hubby love cat too much & want her to be alive & agree to have an operation & take the risk.

Her cat died 2 days after an operation. €500.-- gone!


Well, I don´t think the Vet rip you off with those cost because they did give you the chance to think twice before do something.
The Vet offer their opinion to you. It´s up to you if you want your pet stay alive or not.
The Vet would offer you the price if you ask first before cure the animal.

I did asked my Vet how much it cost if I let Kim to have an operate this December. She offered me the price is €70.

I´m agree that Vet´s charge is not cheap but I has to deal with her before start to treat my cats.
 
Reba said:
In the United States, that is liability coverage that is included in a homeowner insurance policy.
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I didn't quite understand that part, can you explain it a bit more clearly?....Since I do have homeowner insurance, it said nothing about pets bite....*confused*
 
Reba said:
In the United States, that is liability coverage that is included in a homeowner insurance policy.

There are companies that actually insure a pet's medical costs. Here are some examples:

http://www.petshealthgroup.com/

http://www.petcareinsurance.com/us/index.asp?ID=GAW15

http://www.petshealthplan.com/
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Interesting link, thank you for give me one. I´ll search mine & add here soon.
I´m agree that there´re some good advantage to insure the pets in your country BUT I think $8.50 per month is waste of money to insure.

Example:

$8.50 x 12 = $102 to insurance plus 10% discount Vet´s charge. That´s too much.

I rather put $8.50 in my saving book every month than insure pets for that reduce cost of Vet´s charge. How often we visit Vet a year?

I don´t insure my 2 cats because I think it´s waste of money.

For dogs is a different accord German law as what I said at my earlier post. I´ll add my link when I find.

Thank you again for add your interesting link. :P
 
^Angel^ said:
I didn't quite understand that part, can you explain it a bit more clearly?....Since I do have homeowner insurance, it said nothing about pets bite....*confused*
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I second that, that´s why I just said at my last post that it´s waste of money. It look like that insurance want only your money.
 
^Angel^ said:
I didn't quite understand that part, can you explain it a bit more clearly?....Since I do have homeowner insurance, it said nothing about pets bite....*confused*
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I am not an insurance expert, and each policy is different. But most homeowner policies have liability coverage. That means, if someone is hurt on your property, insurance pays the medical expenses for the injured person. This covers such things as a kid falling off a swing and breaking an arm, or a neighbor tripping on the stairs and breaking a leg, or dog bites. Sometimes the liability coverage is limited, or has exclusions. That means, certain kinds of accidents are not covered. Each policy and company is different, so it depends on what you have. Some exclusions (things not covered) are bites by pit bull dogs; drowning in pools that don't have adequate fences and protection; reckless conduct, such as jumping off the roof for fun; etc. The only way to know for sure what your policy covers is to ask your agent. The way some policies are written, it is very confusing to follow.

The part to check is "liability" coverage.

Good luck!
 
Liebling:-))) said:
I rather put $8.50 in my saving book every month than insure pets for that reduce cost of Vet´s charge. How often we visit Vet a year?
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I agree. It is better to just keep some money in savings, ready for emergencies. I never had medical insurance for my cats or dogs.

Our local animal shelter offers free or reduced fee spaying and neutering for animals that are adopted from the shelter.

Vet expenses are high, but it does cost a lot to educate and train a vet. Their equipment is expensive to set up. They do have high expenses that need to pay, too.

It is always a good idea to check each vet bill too. They can make mistakes and charge too much for meds or services.

Some people live in small towns and don't have a choice which vet to use, but people who have a choice should shop around and compare prices. Our vet was honest and said, "If you can find the same prescription meds and foods at a cheaper place, you should buy it there." Sometimes the vet had ideas for ways to use home-made methods instead of buying expensive stuff.

Yes, pets are expensive to take care of, but sometimes it depends on our priorities. If we truly cannot afford to take care of a pet, maybe it is better not to have one, or maybe get a smaller, simpler pet. Or sometimes make a financial sacrifice of something else so that we can afford a pet. Maybe one less movie per month, or make a homemade pizza each week instead of take out, or keep the old TV one more year, or take a shorter vacation.

Life is full of choices.
 
Yeah, I know all about ' liability coverage ' on homeowner insurance but still I do not see anything about pets, but I will look more into this....

Thank you Reba for being kind enough to answer my question! :)
 
I forgot to mention. Every year the local dog club holds a cheap rabies vacination clinic for all dogs. Usually it is at a park. You get in a long line with your dogs, and get cheap shots for the dogs. It is the same shot as the expensive one but it is cheap because there is no office visit cost. It's kind of fun too, because you can see so many different dogs.

My only warning is, if you have an unfriendly dog, one that hates other dogs, DON'T GO!

Some groups hold "dog washes" to raise money for the shelters. Yes, I know you can wash your own dogs for free, but they usually include the flea dip soaking too, and that is much easier to let them do it, especially for big dogs.
 
^Angel^ said:
Yeah, I know all about ' liability coverage ' on homeowner insurance but still I do not see anything about pets, but I will look more into this....

Thank you Reba for being kind enough to answer my question! :)
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No problem. I just wish I had the answer for you exactly but insurance details are whoa, over my head! :D
 
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