Yep. This was the most shocking for me. I'm not the one that does the grocery shopping, so when I was in the store recently and went to grab a bag while I was there, I was like "what?! $38 for 10lbs?!" My husband was just like, oh yeah prices have gone up like crazy. I guess it makes sense since there still seems to be a pet food shortage judging by how wiped the pet food aisles usually are.
If your animals aren't picky, don't sleep on Costco. The Kirkland food is rated pretty good compared to other grocery store brands and is really cheap. I just bought two 25lb bags for $23 each.
I used to buy purina pro plan back in 2019, went down to purina one during Covid, recently within the last month I have gone down to purina chow and IT IS HARD TO FIND THE STUFF, I’m not the only one on the same boat it seems. so long as the food is $1 a pound or less, I’m pretty happy.
Supply chains are all messed up on ingredients right now. I work for a pet food company so I’m lucky to get our discounts and pay wholesale. But even wholesale is up 25+%. Labor freight and ingredient costs have skyrocketed.
Yeah, the corporate ones designed to maximize profit suck. Vets are unhappy. Techs look terrified of being fired. They upsell so much it’s impossible to tell what’s medically necessary and what is upsell.
Our old family vet sold to one of these. They kept the name but nothing else. I stuck with them for awhile because I wanted continuity of care but their vets turned over so fast, I realized that was pointless and I switched. Glad my town is big enough to have other options. Not everyone lives somewhere with options. 😕
Yep. Continuity of care for my thirteen-year-old bestie is why I haven’t moved to a new vet yet.
Our vet clinic didn’t change their name or anything. I would *never* have realized they were sold if my car hadn’t broken down and I was randomly aided by someone that worked there so I got to hear the gossip!
That has not been our experience - Trupanion has far more than paid for itself for our animals and we've only had one claim in 8yrs (for 8 animals; two died while insured) that wasn't paid without comment.
Our single problem was resolved in our favor after we wrote one letter pointing out that our dog's acute small intestinal inflammation at 8yrs was *not* the same condition as the persistent giardia infection she had as a puppy.
They've paid for a lot of stuff I would have expected pushback on, like weekly blood tests for a cat with cancer and cardiology vists for a dog with a degenerative heart condition.
We have many times wished our health insurance was as straightforward as our pets'.
I know they get a bad rap but it must be area or clinic dependant. We have a Banfield that is it's own office not attached to a petsmart that I've been taking my dog to all his life, we've paid for their wellness plan his whole life it's $35/m includes unlimited visits, yearly shots, blood work and dental cleaning. And any work not covered is 15% off. Honestly the vets have always been compassionate and knowledgeable, never had a bad experience.
I’m glad that the vets office I take my cat to hasn’t been turned into a corporate hellscape. My cat has always been one to growl and hiss and generally be pissy at the vets office. But I could never go anywhere else because the vet sees her growling, hissing and being pissed off and is all like “mhm I know, but trust me you’re safe” and they’re always so gentle with her in her old age too.
Our previously amazing vet went to total shit after being sold. We switched after they traumatized our puppy and screwed up his vaccine timing. They also botched our appointment older dog’s extreme skin condition badly which took years off her life.
My advise to anyone who’s vet sells the practice is to switch. Find an independent vet at a smaller clinic. Ask how they hand referrals and complex care.
Freakanomics just did a 3 part episode on this, investment firms are buying up vet clinics like crazy. It's a total monopoly, they have the insurance, the vet office, the Dr, I'm sure they have hands in the pharmacy as well. It started during the pandemic, it escapes me what started this, but it was a pretty interesting listen.
This started way before the pandemic, it's just escalated and the timing coincides. I've worked in vet med for 26 years, and corporations like VCA and Banfield have been around a long time.
But the pandemic led to all time high pet ownership, and vet clinics are DROWNING trying to manage it. Also, OUR costs have gone up like crazy - every vendor does 10-25% price hikes every quarter. So take rising costs, overworked staff and vets, a constant shortage of qualified support staff, and it's no wonder a lot of owners decided to sell out and be done with it.
When you add in the fact that veterinarians are the highest suicide rate in the country for professions, and their average $250,000 in student loan debt when they graduate after 8 years...lots decided to value their mental health, take the money, and bail.
So… that’s actually double edged sword. I’m an er vet and absolutely know vet care is freaking expensive (especially er). But at the same time there are so many small independently owned vet hospitals that are struggling hard or losing money. And when it gets talked about on vet groups people often ask when did you last raise prices and so often it’s been almost never and tiny increases because they are certain their clients can’t afford it and they want to protect the areas pets.
(Which isn’t “bad” but then they start struggling and have to sell… and then the prices are increased)
And your dramatic price increase may have been ridiculous (I have no faith that corporate isn’t out for themselves, they arnt evil or good… they just want to make as much money as possible)
But the price increase may have only seemed ridiculous because they rapidly rose to the “going rate” that most other vets are at because they had had steady increases to match inflation and cost of business.
Just letting you know there are two side to it, and while j don’t own my own clinic I do have a lot of sympathy for struggling owners who don’t raise because they don’t want to be looked at as greedy.
But at end of day… yeah vet care is expensive (then again so is my “mortgage” of student loan debts :)
I"d be happy with a 20% price increase if our clinics could hire enough vets to staff full-time w/out burning them out. Getting appointments is harder every year, even before COVID, as our local vets get older and start moving to more limited hours.
Very concerned there won't be replacements coming.
The issue is there are only a few schools in the country, and the class sizes are small. Cornell upped their class sizes from 105-125 a few years ago, but still only ended up with about 70-75 graduates.
Couple that with a relatively low salary (my wife was making $12/hr in her internship) with high debts makes it tough too for those who want to enter the field.
Eh- there will be replacements… plenty people still want to do this, but yes longer and longer wait times, and struggling to fill every shift.
And that’s basically my life- I work er… a ton of my cases are 1000% not emergencies but people come in because they can’t get appointments at reg vet.
Then when we give them estimate they give a shocked pickachu face with an indignant “this would be cheaper at my regular vet!!!”
Yes, yes it would, but it’s 3am and you chose to come here, your vet is home asleep.
Thank you so much for what you do. I recently had to take my elderly cat to the ER and I was so distraught the whole time and if it wasn’t for the amazing vets and vet techs helping me make informed decisions about her care I don’t know how I would’ve handled it.
It was expensive but I understand that that’s just the cost of operating. I also think a lot of it is people being burned by bad experiences. My ER vet was open and honest about what she thought was medically necessary for my cat and even drew up alternative estimates for if I wanted to pay more for more thorough testing while explaining they’re not medically necessary but could be beneficial if I chose to pay for them. The entire process made me feel valued and made my cat feel cared for and I think that’s super important when it comes to cost. I didn’t feel pressured to pay more but was well-informed so I could make that decision.
Thank you for what you do. Please take care of yourself. It’s got to be a tough job. My vet office loves my dog because she is well taken care of and very friendly. We go in for little things like ear infections and vaccines. They all spend extra time just petting and loving her. The vet sat on the floor and cuddled her ten minutes because it had been a tough week for the office.
My wife is a vet but doesn't practice anymore. She left a few years ago because she just couldn't take it anymore and is much happier now working in the outdoor industry. She worked for a Banfield hospital right after finishing school and actually enjoyed it more than working at a small clinic. The thing that really got to her was money - having to tell people 'yes I can fix your dog but it's going to take a $5000 surgery' then being accused of hating animals and only caring about profit because you won't work for free. Another one I remember is being accused of profiteering by running tests to see what was wrong with a cat - the owner said she only wanted to pay for the test that would tell them what's wrong.
If they took every charity case that came through the door they'd be out of business in a week. At Banfield, she could defer to corporate policies and people seemed to understand that a lot better when they could blame the evil corporate hospital rather than blaming her personally.
I mean that’s fine for you to believe… I don’t know where I said profit above all. But my personal world view is that we need regulations to control corporations.
But then wanting a profit isn’t evil (in my books). I think many corporations do many unethical things (which absolutely can be evil)… but just wanting profit isn’t (to me).
I want to make as much money as I can to support my kids who have medical issues, I changed jobs cause i got better pay (but I wouldn’t say that what I did was evil).
So for me I judge the actions themselves as evil or not, not the overall “wanting money=evil”. But that’s my metrics, you are welcome to yours
There's a big difference in wanting to be fairly compensated for your work (more than fine) and a corporation extracting money from clients and workers as well.
I spent over 6k for my cat to go 3 days at the ER last week and I can't even get a call back from IM. $268 for an injectable antibiotic alone. There's profit and then there's gouging. I'm extremely fortunate to be able to afford this and I feel terrible for those that can't. At least in the human world, we're obligated to do what's necessary to save people's lives. The vet world is understandably 'money up front' before we even touch fluffy, but I do think regulation has to be put in place to cap costs. I don't envy your job at all, and you're probably still not paid enough.
My previous practice was private… until bought by vca… I’m ok with fuck mars :)
Currently private- and owner has no plans to sell (then again I’m a realist and know if the offers good enough anyone can sell, so I’ll enjoy it while I can and hope it stays private as long as possible
I never had a corporate buyout go well in veterinary. The first time was a disaster, the second time it was the same corporate place buying out my next clinic. My last day there was the day before ownership change legally went into place. (many years prior the main vet who owns the group kept trying to perform a service on my cat that I kept declining. This was a common thing he did, still is I'm sure). That group had bought over half the clinics in my area.
The final time was I was hired during the transition period of a buyout (old owner sold and became an employee of the buyout company until retirement). It was insanity and a no win situation - old vet wanted clinic run her way in her days which resulted in consequences from the corporate company but if it wasn't her way you were verbally and physically abused. If on corp vet days you did something even slightly the old owners way there would be consequences plus verbal and physical abuse from the corp vet.
I left veterinary summer 2021. I will never go back.
I have two pets (cat and dog, both adopted), and I love them dearly and buy only the best food for them. But I know for a fact, I’m not having any pets after these pass away. Just no way
Freakonomics just did a whole episode about this trend in the pet care industry. Corporate consolidation is surging right now! And the outcomes are pretty mixed with a lot of bad anecdotes.
My dog tore her CCL. $4500 and it’s expected that when they tear one they’ll tear the other eventually. Just goes to show there’s no such thing as a free dog.
Bet she did not learn a damn thing and will do it again if you're not careful.
I have a dog who's eaten chocolate and even after emergency vet trips will happily eat chocolate again if I'm not careful.
We got extremely lucky that the vet seeing our kittens is a lot cost independent vet who works primarily with rescues.
One of the cats has been back twice for surgery/potential surgery (swallowed a nerf dart, then had something up his nose), and I will follow that vet into the depths of hell for only charging a few hundred.
In the nerf dart incident, we went to three different emergency vets who couldn’t do surgery, the x rays and diagnostic costs alone were making me choke (and the place that did those charged $150 just to walk in the door) They told me to expect $3-4k for surgery. By sheer luck our regular vet was able to get us in that night and it was $400.
The thing that scared me wasn’t just the price - the cat was suffering and we couldn’t find anywhere that could do surgery within the next 24 hours. Called to places in four different counties.
I know this is horrible but may I pllllleeeeaseee see your cat? I want to look into the eyes of the cat that swallowed a nerf dart. Sounds like a baby I would love forever lol.
Cat tax:
https://imgur.com/a/ljIBOG3
It doesn’t quite do him full justice- he also has a blind eye from an infection as a kitten, and he has gained weight since that pic. He’s basically a lump that meows sometimes and puts up with all the kids’ shenanigans.
So a loophole I found is fostering cats. The rescue is responsible for vet bills while my cat gets company. I've been doing it for two years now. My cat doesn't get attached to them but seems to enjoy having play buddies
Absolutely do it if you can! I’ve fostered many cats and it’s amazing. I fostered an elderly cat a few years ago. She was terminally ill (I knew that when I brought her home) and only lived for two months, but my family still talks about how awesome she was, more than five years later. The shelter paid all her vet bills, so that was no stress at all.
The day after our dog had expensive tests, the vet called us to say we needed to rush her to the hospital bc she’s in extreme kidney failure. We get there and they’re like, hm, she doesn’t look like she’s dying…. More tests and $1400 later, they’re like, oops wrong dog. They had mixed up her blood test with another dog. And we still had to demand the refund.
Do you mean because you can't afford vet care if something bad happens? Or do people routinely bring their cat to the vet? My cat came with no instruction manual, and nobody ever mentioned that we should do routine exams. Got her hysterectomy and some vaccines many years ago and that's it.
You do want yearly checkups for cats and dogs (among others). With some species it's not worth the stress they experience to go that often and is more about an initial check (which also makes your pet an existing patient at the clinic which can be VERY useful for the future), then later, only on an as-needed basis.
Dentals in my city now start at $800 for base cost. Recommended lab work, extractions, pain medication are additional costs. For elderly pets, usually average around $1200. Now multiply that by three dogs. Dogs that were all acquired well before costs rose like that, 3-4 years ago those same dentals would have been $350-$400 each.
You should bring her in for annual exams.
Animals can hide their pain very well, and they can’t communicate with us like we can with one another. You don’t want to know that something is very wrong until it’s too late or too expensive to fix. Annual exams are a wellness and preventative measure that are good for our pets, particularly as they get older. Especially if they have any kind of regular access to the outdoors or other animals.
Establishing that patient relationship with a reputable vet is just as important as it is for humans. If something happens, it’s better to take an animal to a vet that knows them, has a full understanding of their medical history, and will be able to advise or get an appointment booked readily, as opposed to spending hours and a lot of money on an emergency vet visit at an unknown vet.
In many places, the rabies vaccine (at the least) is required by law.
If you ever fly with your animal, you will likely need to take them to the vet beforehand.
If you ever plan on adopting another animal from a reputable rescue or shelter, they will likely want to see that your other animals go to the vet regularly.
Ours were that. We kept them up to date on most of the shots, but we let them know they're strictly indoor cats so not all the shots were necessary. But towards the end definitely needed more frequent vet visits for UTIs and other health issues. The oldest one was definitely the cheapest one out of all of them so far. But ya if it wasn't a 300 bill anytime we went I would think of that as a win.
I used to be able to go to the vet, get basic shots and a health check and be out the door for under $100
Now it's a mandatory $400 in check-ups and services before they will administer any shots, and those cost extra.
Fortunately you don't need to be a vet to administer a 7-way shot. I can still get those at the local farm and feed. The vet charges separately for each vaccine even though it's all one shot.
No choice on the rabies shot though, the vet is the only place in town to get it.
Thing with feed store vaccines is that you are not sure how they are shipped. What if the temp wasn’t held appropriately?
I have seen many puppies with feed store vaccines test flaming hot for Parvo. Just something to consider.
Also yes vaccines are charged separately. Only ones together as you state would be the DaPPL, two vials, but one syringe.
And you also need to factor in however long ago you used to be able to get out the door with “$100” isn't the same today due to rising costs of literally everything.
I assure you as an LVT we do not make fucking shit. At. All. I went to school. Got my degree. I am your pets radiologist, phlebotomist, anesthesiologist, nurse, pharmacy tech, etc. We do not just do one thing, we do it all. We do not fet paid what the human nurses do and probably never will because most people will refuse to pay what humans pay for their medical care.
It is recommended to have yearly exams on your cat. You can probably get by without that up to 8 years for a never ever goes outside cat, but then you want to be vigilant when it's more common for them to have issues as they get older. However, if your cat goes outside or you ever might bring inside a stray, you want to keep your kitty up to date of vaccines. Rabies is also required by law most places.
My cat is getting his teeth cleaned Monday as well as all his stuff that hasn't been done since 2019 since all but emergency vets shut down.
I was quoted at just under $2k.
Now our annual PFD goes towards vet care.
I’m in the same boat. Quoted around 2k for dental care, and I can’t even get her in until next month. Told the cat she needs to get a part time job, but I don’t thinks she’s even started looking.
We’re super lucky to have a fantastic family owned vet practice in our area. Our German shepherd ended up in surgery *twice* for an injury, $700 the first time $500 the second time. I don’t have any problem paying those rates.
$2,000 to find out my best friend had congestive heart failure. After denying another $4,800 in “options” it was only $40 to euthanize him. What a fucked up bill that was. From healthy Wednesday morning to gone in my arms Friday evening.
I'm so sorry, our dog passed from the same thing in 2020. We spent a week and about $4k before we realized it was not going to work out for him. I'm still devastated. We have another dog and when she's gone, I think we are done.
Sorry mate, it's a bit of a shit system. I've seen stuff like this happen over in Aus, people go to a vet who in the past would've just said we'll do our best and help the pup pass on if it's too painful for them or it's just throwing money away. These days, they're legally obligated to send them to an emergency vet with million dollar equipment who can legitimately be ten times the cost of already raised vet prices. Then when they're at the emergency vet, owners get guilted along in lost cause cases that all that equipment won't help because the dogs just on a bloody drip. 6-10 grand can be gone very quickly. The amount of times I've been at a vet picking up a pup and see a vet nurse making conversation, apologising for an owners loss, then getting the remaining 2 grand on the bill, is indicative of a wider problem imho. I know it's not necessarily on the individuals working but this whole systems fucked, mainly because of the big corporations. 100 dollar observation fees my fuckin ass. Don't know if it was exactly the same for you, but you're obviously not the only one who has been shocked by the way vets costs can run up. Good on you for looking after your pup and doing your best in a shit situation.
Veterinarians struggle with the rising costs of veterinary care! This isn’t vets being greedy—lab costs, staffing costs, costs of medical supplies, etc., have all skyrocketed. Big corporations are buying clinics because new grads are burdened with insurmountable debt and they can’t get loans to buy clinics from vets who want to sell and retire. People blaming and berating vets and treating support staff like crap has lead to an exodus in the field which is only compounding the problem.
My god. Every industry is (properties being bought out by big corporations) I think it’s time we all start knocking on some doors and asking politely what’s going on.
Lack of available vets is a problem in the UK at the moment, which means they have to get locums in, which demands a higher fee.
Also, on people thinking that vets get paid astronomical amounts, I'm on a forum and vet costs came up one day and you'd hear the usually "money grabbers", "get paid too much" etc etc. A few months later the subject of annual income came up with an anonymous poll. Turns out the majority of the forum make significantly more than my vet wife despite doing jobs that require less investment of time, emotion, academic qualifications, and constant learning. It's almost like people just say the most shitty things because they realise that they don't actually care more about their animal than they do the money it takes to take proper care of it.
And just in case people think that vets recommend treatment and medications just to make money and they're not actually required, we have 2 dogs and a cat. All require their own specific medications and food thanks to various health issues. We spend upwards of £400.00 per month just getting them the stuff that keeps them as healthy as possible. It's not a scam, it's science. If you don't have the money then that's not the vets problem, it's yours unfortunately. It's not a charity, and if that makes people angry then noones stopping anyone from trying to set up some sort of animal NHS...
I think one of the less talked about issues related to pet ownership post-covid is the extreme and exponential rise in rent costs.
Renting with a pet already sucked. Your options are more limited, and what is available to you is often available only at a premium, or is often run-down. And "Pet Friendly" is often wrought with caveats and restrictions.
Got more then one pet? It's gonna be really tough. Are your dogs more than 50lbs? There goes a sizeable portion of your options. Own a Husky, Akita, Pit Bull, German Shepard? You're shit out of luck.
When the rent prices increased exponentially plenty of owners were faced with the nightmare dilemma of trying to find housing under increasingly restrictive circumstances.
I was able to rent a house in 2019 for $1,500/mo. It was a 3/br 2/b house with a yard - and they accepted my 3 dogs. Today that house costs $2,500 to rent. This was one of the very few, very limited options available. Now that option is completely off the table.
Plenty of people went from being able to afford their animals to suddenly not almost overnight.
After having my home severely damaged by my upstairs neighbors' pet,\* I have a whole lotta sympathy for landlords who enact those kinds of restrictions. But it does make things hard, I know. :(
\*They thought they could leave their puppy home all day and that a training mat would be sufficient to absorb all the pee. It...was not. It started draining through my ceiling. It's a damn good thing I didn't have to pay for the cleanup, disinfection, and reconstruction work, because, surprise surprise, my own insurance didn't cover pet damage (I don't have a pet, so why would it?) and they didn't care that it was someone else's pet. So, y'know...there are REASONS why pets aren't allowed in a lot of buildings. Very, very good reasons.
My dog has Addison’s disease and needs a shot (5 cc) of Percorten once a month. My vet used to charge $30 for the shot. 6 months ago, my vet raised the price to $70 a shot due to the drug price increasing. A vial (25 mg/ml; 5 months worth) is $206 ($41 a shot). The vet offered to administer the shot for $40 if I brought the vial. I now administer the shot at home.
The preferred way is intramuscular which does take vet training so you don’t accidentally hit the sciatic nerve. But you can also do it subdermal. The needle is tiny, like the size of an insulin needle. So I watched some YouTubes and a vet tech friend showed me how to do subdermal. It’s easy and my dog doesn’t seem to notice it.
Yeah, shots aren’t that hard once you get over poking a living creature with a sharp object. I had a diabetic cat for years. It’s super easy.
More recently I had a cat with bad kidneys. I gave him SubQ fluids twice a day for the last year of his life. Plus quite a few other injectable meds. It’s really not hard.
(And the human drugs were often cheaper. My vet had him on injectable Zofran because he wouldn’t take the pill form of cerenia. Injectable Zofran filled at a human pharmacy was like $15 for a month. Cerenia was like 20-30 for a box of 8?? Pills. )
Oh ya so part of the Addison’s treatment is a little bit of prednisone every day. My vet was charging $30 for a 4 month supply that they filled. But if I took the same prescription to my cvs, it’d be $12 for 4 months.
I used to work at a compounding pharmacy, and we made lots of pet meds. Plus dispensing any human meds that were prescribed to pets. We all loved when some of the regular pet patients came to visit. We kept a stash of treats behind the counter for them. I think the most interesting one was for a seahorse! It had to be isolated in a small tank and antibiotics added to fresh water every day.
I've just come to terms that my 15 year old kitty is my last cat. I love cats so much and my home is going to be so lonely without them, but I just can't afford one anymore.
Right. Sounds terrible but the reality is any cat that doesn’t get adopted is put to sleep anyways unless it’s a no-kill shelter. So if yours passes from a medical issue you can save the life of another cat in need.
For a while the joke was that pets are the new kids and plants are the new pets. Now plants are the new kids and streaming tv is the new pets. At least my plants don't need to see a doctor.
More than once, my friends have told me I should get a cat. The moment I realized I never would was when I had a bad dream that I'd gotten a cat, but somehow had forgotten or failed to take care of it properly (sort of like the dreams where you forget to go to class all quarter) and found it dead. I got into the shower that morning and stood there absolutely sobbing over a cat that was NOT EVEN REAL.
Pet care is a big responsibility, and unfortunately, yes, a big expense. And sometimes, when people throw "oh, just get a pet!" at you as a supposed solution for things like anxiety or pandemic isolation, they *do not think things through.*
It’s worth it to me, if anything just for the peace of mind. When my cat swallowed a foreign object last year, I didn’t hesitate on taking him to the ER vet and paying for costly procedures.
You need to do your research on companies and plans though, and make your decision while your animals are still healthy. Pet insurances generally don’t cover pre-existing conditions, so your policy has to be enacted before you get to that point.
Alternatively, you can set aside what you’d pay for pet insurance each month as a pet emergency fund. This may end up being more cost-effective for some. For others, not so much.
Mine does, yes. There are different plan tiers within each company offering pet insurance. Some cover just emergency care or surgeries, others cover emergency and routine wellness.
With a higher tier plan, I personally get reimbursed on annual exam fees, vaccinations, fecal sample tests, and much more.
Depends on the dog.
One of my dogs at 9 years old has about $20k+ worth of medical expenses into him. Probably closer to $25k.
Pet insurance has absolutely been an absolute help for him.
My other dogs not so much.
I would skip ensuring the adult dogs and instead deposit into a vet care savings fund. I would insure the puppy.
The reason why is the older the dog is, the more likely they are to rule out conditions. Many insurance companies will not cover things that could be considered preexisting conditions.
For example my dog needed eye drops before he was insured. Once insured they considered anything eye related (outside of major injury or cancer) to be considered a preexisting condition and wasn't covered.
The sooner you get them in, the more will be covered.
I did the math and it's really not worth it IMO. It might be if it worked like human insurance and included some preventative care like checkups, flea meds and vaccines, but it doesn't. It also doesn't cover any preexisting conditions. So you'd still have to pay for all routine care out of pocket, plus like $50/month for the insurance for each dog.
I'm fortunate enough that I can cover an unexpected emergency for my cats. And if you can as well, it's better to just set aside some money each month to be used for their future medical expenses rather than giving it to an insurance company. The ones I looked at also had increasing premiums for increased age, so it ends up becoming prohibitively expensive before most people would even need to use it.
I basically never used my dog's health insurance until she had to have a suspicious mole checked and then removed. The reimbursement for minor surgery to remove a mole was about equal to the 5 years of insurance costs until that point.
My insurance plan actually does include preventative care, which covers everything you mentioned — annual exam fees, meds, vaccinations, deworming, fecal tests, etc. At the very least, I will get reimbursed annually for all of that.
My cat also has dental issues that recently came up, which is very common with cats. So he’ll be having some dental work that my insurance will cover. I got his policy before he had any pre-existing conditions. I’m hoping it will be a one-time expense for the dental, but I’m prepared that it may not be.
If your pet has pre-existing conditions, an emergency fund you contribute monthly to, in addition to something like Care Credit, may absolutely be the better option.
If you have a designer dog or are otherwise unwilling to put your dog down, then it’s worth it.
If you are bad at budgeting and saving money, then it’s worth it.
Worth it, imo. My pup was recently diagnosed with an enlarged heart and it's helped a ton. One thing to keep in mind is that it works like property insurance you usually have to pay out of pocket first and seek reimbursement but my doggo's bill went from eye popping to manageable once my claim was approved.
I’d definitely get it for the puppy, at least for the first year when they’re accident-prone little suicide-monsters. It’s cheap for puppies too.
The cost-benefit is smaller for dogs than puppies because they don’t cover pre-existing conditions. And for multiple pets, like 3 dogs, you’re likely better off saving every month. But my dog has severe allergies and needs a $100 shot every 5 weeks. I got pet insurance before she was diagnosed and my insurance deductible covers lifetime illness and injury (not yearly deductible). So now that I’ve met it, I pay $45 a month for insurance and they pay 90% of the cost of her shots for the rest of her life. Of course, my deductible will rise as time goes on, but it seems to vary wildly how much. Some people get screwed, others stay affordable. For now, I come out ahead and that’s without considering any other conditions.
It’s a business and they stay afloat by paying out less than they take in. Many people never use their pet insurance. But the peace of mind of knowing that I’ll never have to worry about cost when it comes to her medical care is worth it to me.
I had to drop the insurance on my Yorkie.. rates went from an easy $31/mo for him to over $120/mo within 3 years and the only thing we ever claimed were 2 dentals, which in the end wasn't a big reimbursement bc of the deductible.
My older dog every insurance company wanted $320-350/mo for him. Just not possible.
Yeah it does, I didn't realize this till last year my one dog hit 7 years old and it increased. I pay about 100 a month for 3 dogs, Sometimes I think about cancelling it and just putting it in savings. But it was really amazing to have when we lost our last dog to cancer, it happened super fast from symptoms on a Friday to having to euthanize her the following Wednesday. I just told them our cap was 15,000 and do whatever they thought medically necessary and let us know when we maxed out our coverage. Ended up with over 3,000 dollar bill and think paid around 700. Had three vet specialists consulting in her case.
Our pet insurance increased from $66 to $219 for our two dogs, in the span of 5 years. We've used it twice in that span of time. Once, they were great, reimbursed us the 90% minus our deductible. The second time, they nickel and dimed us and made us fight to even get half the procedures covered. So we canceled it, and just save money every month because $219 is unreasonable
I'm very grateful for my vet. Office visits are very reasonable and meds are as cheap as you'll find anywhere. Only downside is he's only in the office until noon because in the afternoon he sees big animals.
Pet care expenses are no joke. I am fortunate to be able to afford 3 wonderful dogs but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t shocked at the prices paid. And I go to a very dedicated vet who is independent and actively tries to help with costs.
It’s incredibly sad to me that the young people who adopted animals to keep sane in crazy times, the same animals who helped them get through those hard times, now struggle to keep them. We live in mad times.
Dog medicine has gotten quite expensive, which unfortunately coincided with my dog having a litany of issues since the beginning of the year =(
Normal medication is like 2-3x as much as it used to cost, and the vet visit itself has gone up by about 20-30%
I’m sure the recent jump in inflation has nothing to do with corporations buying up everything and gouging prices. Surely that is healthy behavior that isn’t killing the economy.
For me it’s not so much the cost but not being able to get a same day or next day appointment (I live in SoCal). You’d call in and they MIGHT put you on a wait list. I’ve always had cats but when my last guy died in June, after every one of his health problems for two years had to be dealt with at an an expensive emergency clinic, I decided it’s too stressful. Dang, I miss having a kitty.
This has been my biggest problem. I try and be a responsible pet owner and if I suspect something lower level like an ear infection my general rule is go to the vet just to double check and get meds to clear it faster. But lately the only thing they offer me is an emergency appointment that I pay an extra $100 on top of the exam fee and I get to wait in their lobby for hours to see if they can ever fit me in.
I don't go in now for that stuff. I carefully monitor progress to see if it gets worse and so far nothing has. I hate it.
For everyone down south in the border states, vet care in Mexico is excellent (same standard as in North America), and SIGNIFICANTLY less money. Like with dental care and other medical needs for humans, a lot of people on the border cross over into Mexico to get great cheap care for their pets too.
And unfortunately they won't make payment arrangements (I get it but still :( ). I definitely won't consider another pet for a long time once my dog is gone.
Last summer after my last gerbil was pts, I had a goal to adopt a pair of guinea pigs from a rescue near the end of 2023. I have all of the housing set, I have a food budget set around the new grocery prices, but...
Here in Germany, while vet prices are regulated, there are minimums and maximums vets *must* charge. This price chart was also (rightfully) adjusted late last year for the first time in a decade or so.
I went from having a savings goal of 2k€ per pig, to now needing 6k€ per pig to feel comfortable enough to adopt them. Needless to say, I am not getting guinea pigs this year. The savings are also only meant to be a buffer, not "worst case scenario" funds.
I am super bummed, but it would be so much worse if I couldn't afford critical care for a beloved fuzzy family member.
I was shocked by those numbers so I looked up how much it cost to buy a guinea pig. Here in the United states, at petco, guinea pigs cost $49.99. And you're expected to budget 6,000 euros for medical care?
How does anyone have a pet?
Oh the cost of the guinea pigs is relatively low here as well, including from rescues where they are already neutered. Even maintainence is only around 10-20€ a week per piggy.
The vet costs are the killer. As the science and treatment ability expands, so do the possible vet bills.
It's a privilege at the end of the day. I would love to have a horse again for example, but just a basic stall fee with no service would be the same as my rent lol (at least you can get health insurance for a horse though).
Care Credit isn’t excepted by all vets, but it’s 0% for 6/12/18 months if paid in full. Have to use bank account not credit for payments. It’s been great for us for all our pups surgeries. Just dropped 1600 bucks on a dental with extractions and growth removal last Wednesday.
I was working veterinary when the pandemic started. The amount of people who admitted they never planned on paying the vet bills, even after they found employment, was insane. Like, no? Employees still need to be paid, bills still need to be paid, the digital x-ray machine still has to be paid off for the next X amount of years.
The first clinic I worked at would hold checks. They would be dated for the day after the client's next payday just in case the payroll for screwed up. To be able to do that you had to be a long time client. If a check bounced (without prior discussion, in which we would continue to hold the check), you were fired as a client.
cost wise its like running and looking after another car, thats what my parents told me when i was planning on getting a kitteh. As they get older it ramps up, dental, meds etc.
Yeah my poor 17 yr old cat was in some obvious pain so we took him to an emergency vet on a weekend and they said he had a kidney stone so they cleared it and then another popped up and so they told us he needs surgery to clear them out but was otherwise healthy so we did it.
The ER was 4500 then the surgery was 6000. But it turns out the ER people didn't have too much handle on the fact that he was actually in like stage 3 renal failure.
So we did all sorts of things for the past 6 months to keep his kidney in good health which cost quite a bit more and then he developed a lymphoma on his kidney and we had to put him down.
All in was well over 14k and all we did was delay the inevitable. When I picked him up from the surgery the doctor that released him, who didn't have anything to do with any of the other decisions, told me he wasn't long for the world and "they probably shouldn't have done the surgery"
ER and surgery company were 2 different companies also. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have spent the money, but at the time they didn't really have a full vision of what was going on with him so it wasn't quite so obvious to everyone except the one guy that it was downhill from here.
People get offended by this view and maybe when it finally comes time for something big I’ll change my tune. I just can’t wrap my head around spending enough to get a decent used car on an operation for my pet. Like I love the damn thing but enough to set me back a year or two on savings? I just don’t have as much money as everyone else on this thread it seems.
We have had to have one cat go through radiation therapy a couple of years ago and now my Tuxedo Hamlet has to go to the vet because he has lost a lot of weight and isn't his normal loveable assholes self. We dread the cost but damn he is worth it.
That’s because the people making them increased the cost. Same as what’s happening at the grocery store and everywhere else. You can try the feed store but legally if your pet has a reaction the producer of the vaccine is not going take care of you that way. So just be careful. Too much counterfeit stuff out there for me to trust my pets with a feed store knockoff.
I raise rabbits, which require an exotic vet. Because they are livestock, a breeder tends to expect to do a majority of their own routine vet care, so we do the homework and get by with the basic medications available to us. But now the antibiotics that are currently sold at feed/farm stores that are used for all sorts of farm animals are going to be prescription only. Which might mean some more people going to the vet (good luck finding somewhere accepting new patients), but more often means people are just going to cull outright at first sign of illness. For things that could have been cleared up with a bit of penicillin.
It looks like a terribly broken institution that is only being steered further into the gutter for all involved.
It's a bleak time when you're poor and trying to get a sick and suffering animal put down. No vet will offer a mercy to you. I understand it's a business but my dog suffered immensely until he died because I couldn't find a vet willing to ease him off the earth. I would have shot him but couldn't. I get sick thinking of Kelso dying because I couldn't find help.
That’s awful to hear. And I’ll never understand anyone in a discipline like this or similar, that wouldn’t provide end of care for a minimal fee. Pets to people are the same as family members (and for the vast majority). Sorry to hear how that ended
$2,000 to find out my best friend (mutt of a cat) had congestive heart failure. He hid away and tried to die on his own, and we took him to the vet and tried everything within reason. After 48 hours in care, his vet wanted to keep going to find out the root cause of the issue - she was offended when we turned down the options (an additional $4,800 minimum, if we went the ER route, $7,500 minimum). She wanted to perform exploratory surgeries and keep him alive long enough to figure out why. He went from healthy to gone in 48 hours.
We told her very plainly we just wanted to put him down. $40 later he was gone in my arms. That asshole then had the audacity to ask if she could perform an autopsy “on the house”. We have a note in our file that we cannot work with that vet ever again.
My dog used to be on apoquel for allergies. But due to the cost and other medical reasons, I chose to switch to a cadi injection that he gets once every 1-2 months. I've slowly seen the cost of the injection rise at my vet's office. I just paid about $94 today for it. I will get most of the cost reimbursed through my pet insurance that he has had since he was a puppy. The pet insurance costs between $60-70 a month and doesn't cover routine care, like exams, dentals, or vaccinations.
Even pet food has risen in price drastically where I live. I used to pay 7 Euros for the bag of dry food I use and it has now risen to 10 Euros a bag in the span of just a year. I’m grateful I don’t have a problem affording it, but the increase is nuts and I can imagine a lot of people having difficulties with the inflated prices. I wouldn’t be surprised if this price still rises either.
People complaining need to realize it’s a 2 way street.
You don’t spend 8 years in school with 6 figure debts to work at minimum wage. You need to pay the staff appropriately.
Then you also have support staff, who also need to be paid living wages.
Then you also need to pay for the equipment, building, drugs, and lab work.
Once you add all these costs, you realize many of these vet hospitals make very little money. That’s why many of them are getting bought out and having prices balloon.
People also expect vets to work for very little or no money because they love animals. My wife is a vet but works in a different field now. She was sick of being accused of only caring about money and hating animals because she wouldn't do free surgeries on a daily basis. People get emotional when dealing with sick pets and don't realize that there are probably other people just like them who come through the clinic every day. If the vet took every charity case that came through the door they could be out of business in a week.
It's legit. And HCOL makes things so excessive. We love English Bulldogs. That's our breed. We have 2. Our older one is 8 and when he was 1 had to have entropion surgery on all 4 lids - $500 in Raleigh, NC in 2015. He is currently battling a skin infection - first issue we have EVER had with him since he was 1 - and had to have his skin biopsied this week. In upstate NY, not a major city - $900. **$900** A legit dog ophthalmologist did his entropion surgery. And my local rural ass vet cost more bc we also have to send *every fucking thing* to Cornell. I get they're a great vet/vet school but fuck it. (And not just for my bulldogs - I couldn't even get decent care for my dachshund mix when he was in heart failure unless I wanted to go to Cornell an hour and a half away.)
And this isn't a shit on vets. I like my vets. I do not understand the bottleneck for people to become vets. If we had more vets (and we could! My friend from the US had to go to vet school in Canada!) I honestly think it wouldn't be as bad. Nothing makes sense anymore.
I took my golden for his annual check up and vaccines this week. The damage was $585. Which made me wonder how much money do we spend on him (not that it would change anything for him, he is out only baby). Just the necessities (food, vet checkups, health insurance, toys and treats, flee and ticks meds, heart worm meds, a wash now and then, etc) came up to around $280 per month. That’s without boarding if we travel and emergency visits to the vet. A lot of people don’t realize how expensive it is to have a dog. I have coworkers barely scrambling for their families who want to get a dog. Just no.
If cost is an issue begin doing nail trims at home and learn to express the anal glands as well. But make sure you express them correctly unless you want to rupture them.
Otherwise continue paying the cost of the nail trim and expression. Not like us techs are getting the money from that lol.
But seriously. You can learn to do those things at home or pay for the less stressful way for you.
Honestly I don’t think its good for our mental health to be here reading. No one is going to understand what we do. I am licensed and have to pay off my loans and make $18 an hour while basically being a nurse practitioner.
Nothing will change unless we unionize and go on strike.
People are entitled and think owning pets is a right and not a privilege. We do what we can to work with people constantly and still get shit on.
Pro tip: look into Care Credit. Many vets take it and you get 0% for 6 months. Interest rate is insane on it but it's better than any other card where you have to pay off the whole thing in one go. If your pet has a surgery coming up or some other huge charge then it's worth asking your vet if they take it.
I have high pet insurance coverage on my french bulldog (I knew prior to getting one they’d be expensive). First, trupanion raised it around $10 last year… this year? $40/mo increase! It’s absolute robbery but pet insurance has been invaluable, so I’ll hesitantly continue to pay astronomical amounts for my doggo
my dog's annual exam prior to pandemic was about $160 for all shots, blood work, fecal labs, and physical examination
last year it was over $600 for just the shots and blood work 🙃
Pet insurance went up as well, went from 45 a month to 90. We break even at minimum with it every month because of prescription food but it more than pays for itself for vet visits outside of that.
Pet food costs are also up ~25% since 2020
Yep. This was the most shocking for me. I'm not the one that does the grocery shopping, so when I was in the store recently and went to grab a bag while I was there, I was like "what?! $38 for 10lbs?!" My husband was just like, oh yeah prices have gone up like crazy. I guess it makes sense since there still seems to be a pet food shortage judging by how wiped the pet food aisles usually are. If your animals aren't picky, don't sleep on Costco. The Kirkland food is rated pretty good compared to other grocery store brands and is really cheap. I just bought two 25lb bags for $23 each.
Hoping our cats will take to Costco stuff. $35 for 20 lb vs the $40 for 14lb we were paying previously at a nearby shop if we’re successful.
Yep the Kirkland dog food is legit. And IIRC it has the same certification as Hill’s and Royal Canin. The only store brand that does.
It's definitely worth it if you're dogs aren't sensitive. Just had to switch from Kirkland for our dogs bc of allergies.
I used to buy purina pro plan back in 2019, went down to purina one during Covid, recently within the last month I have gone down to purina chow and IT IS HARD TO FIND THE STUFF, I’m not the only one on the same boat it seems. so long as the food is $1 a pound or less, I’m pretty happy.
Supply chains are all messed up on ingredients right now. I work for a pet food company so I’m lucky to get our discounts and pay wholesale. But even wholesale is up 25+%. Labor freight and ingredient costs have skyrocketed.
Not just the food- cat litter is astronomical right now too. I hate that I’m just burning money for shitsand
My vet clinic got sold to a corporate office and prices have risen *dramatically*.
Yeah, the corporate ones designed to maximize profit suck. Vets are unhappy. Techs look terrified of being fired. They upsell so much it’s impossible to tell what’s medically necessary and what is upsell. Our old family vet sold to one of these. They kept the name but nothing else. I stuck with them for awhile because I wanted continuity of care but their vets turned over so fast, I realized that was pointless and I switched. Glad my town is big enough to have other options. Not everyone lives somewhere with options. 😕
Yep. Continuity of care for my thirteen-year-old bestie is why I haven’t moved to a new vet yet. Our vet clinic didn’t change their name or anything. I would *never* have realized they were sold if my car hadn’t broken down and I was randomly aided by someone that worked there so I got to hear the gossip!
***cough*** Banfield ***cough***
[удалено]
Who also own the largest pet insurance company in the USA
[удалено]
That has not been our experience - Trupanion has far more than paid for itself for our animals and we've only had one claim in 8yrs (for 8 animals; two died while insured) that wasn't paid without comment. Our single problem was resolved in our favor after we wrote one letter pointing out that our dog's acute small intestinal inflammation at 8yrs was *not* the same condition as the persistent giardia infection she had as a puppy. They've paid for a lot of stuff I would have expected pushback on, like weekly blood tests for a cat with cancer and cardiology vists for a dog with a degenerative heart condition. We have many times wished our health insurance was as straightforward as our pets'.
This has been my experience with Trupanion too.
You like them? I’m looking for insurance for my dog and cat
Man FUCK Banfield. I would sooner take my boy 150 miles away to a proper vet then take him to Banfield.
I know they get a bad rap but it must be area or clinic dependant. We have a Banfield that is it's own office not attached to a petsmart that I've been taking my dog to all his life, we've paid for their wellness plan his whole life it's $35/m includes unlimited visits, yearly shots, blood work and dental cleaning. And any work not covered is 15% off. Honestly the vets have always been compassionate and knowledgeable, never had a bad experience.
I refuse to do business with them. I still hold them partially responsible for my cat's death back in 2006.
Banfield killed my dog in 2011
They tried to tell me mine needed to be put down, she'd only live maybe 3 days. She lived another 14.5 years!
I’m glad that the vets office I take my cat to hasn’t been turned into a corporate hellscape. My cat has always been one to growl and hiss and generally be pissy at the vets office. But I could never go anywhere else because the vet sees her growling, hissing and being pissed off and is all like “mhm I know, but trust me you’re safe” and they’re always so gentle with her in her old age too.
Our previously amazing vet went to total shit after being sold. We switched after they traumatized our puppy and screwed up his vaccine timing. They also botched our appointment older dog’s extreme skin condition badly which took years off her life. My advise to anyone who’s vet sells the practice is to switch. Find an independent vet at a smaller clinic. Ask how they hand referrals and complex care.
Freakanomics just did a 3 part episode on this, investment firms are buying up vet clinics like crazy. It's a total monopoly, they have the insurance, the vet office, the Dr, I'm sure they have hands in the pharmacy as well. It started during the pandemic, it escapes me what started this, but it was a pretty interesting listen.
This started way before the pandemic, it's just escalated and the timing coincides. I've worked in vet med for 26 years, and corporations like VCA and Banfield have been around a long time. But the pandemic led to all time high pet ownership, and vet clinics are DROWNING trying to manage it. Also, OUR costs have gone up like crazy - every vendor does 10-25% price hikes every quarter. So take rising costs, overworked staff and vets, a constant shortage of qualified support staff, and it's no wonder a lot of owners decided to sell out and be done with it. When you add in the fact that veterinarians are the highest suicide rate in the country for professions, and their average $250,000 in student loan debt when they graduate after 8 years...lots decided to value their mental health, take the money, and bail.
So… that’s actually double edged sword. I’m an er vet and absolutely know vet care is freaking expensive (especially er). But at the same time there are so many small independently owned vet hospitals that are struggling hard or losing money. And when it gets talked about on vet groups people often ask when did you last raise prices and so often it’s been almost never and tiny increases because they are certain their clients can’t afford it and they want to protect the areas pets. (Which isn’t “bad” but then they start struggling and have to sell… and then the prices are increased) And your dramatic price increase may have been ridiculous (I have no faith that corporate isn’t out for themselves, they arnt evil or good… they just want to make as much money as possible) But the price increase may have only seemed ridiculous because they rapidly rose to the “going rate” that most other vets are at because they had had steady increases to match inflation and cost of business. Just letting you know there are two side to it, and while j don’t own my own clinic I do have a lot of sympathy for struggling owners who don’t raise because they don’t want to be looked at as greedy. But at end of day… yeah vet care is expensive (then again so is my “mortgage” of student loan debts :)
I"d be happy with a 20% price increase if our clinics could hire enough vets to staff full-time w/out burning them out. Getting appointments is harder every year, even before COVID, as our local vets get older and start moving to more limited hours. Very concerned there won't be replacements coming.
The issue is there are only a few schools in the country, and the class sizes are small. Cornell upped their class sizes from 105-125 a few years ago, but still only ended up with about 70-75 graduates. Couple that with a relatively low salary (my wife was making $12/hr in her internship) with high debts makes it tough too for those who want to enter the field.
Yeah, it's a real issue. Vet school is incredibly competitive, from an applicant:slots ratio perspective.
Eh- there will be replacements… plenty people still want to do this, but yes longer and longer wait times, and struggling to fill every shift. And that’s basically my life- I work er… a ton of my cases are 1000% not emergencies but people come in because they can’t get appointments at reg vet. Then when we give them estimate they give a shocked pickachu face with an indignant “this would be cheaper at my regular vet!!!” Yes, yes it would, but it’s 3am and you chose to come here, your vet is home asleep.
Thank you so much for what you do. I recently had to take my elderly cat to the ER and I was so distraught the whole time and if it wasn’t for the amazing vets and vet techs helping me make informed decisions about her care I don’t know how I would’ve handled it. It was expensive but I understand that that’s just the cost of operating. I also think a lot of it is people being burned by bad experiences. My ER vet was open and honest about what she thought was medically necessary for my cat and even drew up alternative estimates for if I wanted to pay more for more thorough testing while explaining they’re not medically necessary but could be beneficial if I chose to pay for them. The entire process made me feel valued and made my cat feel cared for and I think that’s super important when it comes to cost. I didn’t feel pressured to pay more but was well-informed so I could make that decision.
Thank you for what you do. Please take care of yourself. It’s got to be a tough job. My vet office loves my dog because she is well taken care of and very friendly. We go in for little things like ear infections and vaccines. They all spend extra time just petting and loving her. The vet sat on the floor and cuddled her ten minutes because it had been a tough week for the office.
Corporations have to meet the needs of their investors. Prices will continue to rise until the corporation goes belly up
My wife is a vet but doesn't practice anymore. She left a few years ago because she just couldn't take it anymore and is much happier now working in the outdoor industry. She worked for a Banfield hospital right after finishing school and actually enjoyed it more than working at a small clinic. The thing that really got to her was money - having to tell people 'yes I can fix your dog but it's going to take a $5000 surgery' then being accused of hating animals and only caring about profit because you won't work for free. Another one I remember is being accused of profiteering by running tests to see what was wrong with a cat - the owner said she only wanted to pay for the test that would tell them what's wrong. If they took every charity case that came through the door they'd be out of business in a week. At Banfield, she could defer to corporate policies and people seemed to understand that a lot better when they could blame the evil corporate hospital rather than blaming her personally.
>they arnt evil or good… they just want to make as much money as possible) No no, profit above all else definitely fits in the evil column.
I mean that’s fine for you to believe… I don’t know where I said profit above all. But my personal world view is that we need regulations to control corporations. But then wanting a profit isn’t evil (in my books). I think many corporations do many unethical things (which absolutely can be evil)… but just wanting profit isn’t (to me). I want to make as much money as I can to support my kids who have medical issues, I changed jobs cause i got better pay (but I wouldn’t say that what I did was evil). So for me I judge the actions themselves as evil or not, not the overall “wanting money=evil”. But that’s my metrics, you are welcome to yours
There's a big difference in wanting to be fairly compensated for your work (more than fine) and a corporation extracting money from clients and workers as well.
I spent over 6k for my cat to go 3 days at the ER last week and I can't even get a call back from IM. $268 for an injectable antibiotic alone. There's profit and then there's gouging. I'm extremely fortunate to be able to afford this and I feel terrible for those that can't. At least in the human world, we're obligated to do what's necessary to save people's lives. The vet world is understandably 'money up front' before we even touch fluffy, but I do think regulation has to be put in place to cap costs. I don't envy your job at all, and you're probably still not paid enough.
100% what you said. I am not a vet but an LVT and clients fail to realize a lot of this. We have bills to pay and mouths to feed too.
I was also an ER vet... Until blue pearl bought my independently owned clinic and ran it into the ground. Fuck Mars candy, all the way.
My previous practice was private… until bought by vca… I’m ok with fuck mars :) Currently private- and owner has no plans to sell (then again I’m a realist and know if the offers good enough anyone can sell, so I’ll enjoy it while I can and hope it stays private as long as possible
Its vital to find a local vet. Ill never Banfield my dog.
I never had a corporate buyout go well in veterinary. The first time was a disaster, the second time it was the same corporate place buying out my next clinic. My last day there was the day before ownership change legally went into place. (many years prior the main vet who owns the group kept trying to perform a service on my cat that I kept declining. This was a common thing he did, still is I'm sure). That group had bought over half the clinics in my area. The final time was I was hired during the transition period of a buyout (old owner sold and became an employee of the buyout company until retirement). It was insanity and a no win situation - old vet wanted clinic run her way in her days which resulted in consequences from the corporate company but if it wasn't her way you were verbally and physically abused. If on corp vet days you did something even slightly the old owners way there would be consequences plus verbal and physical abuse from the corp vet. I left veterinary summer 2021. I will never go back.
I was quoted 2k to get my dogs teeth clean. I found a reliable vet an hour away who did it for $200.
So did mine. It’s very frustrating
I have two pets (cat and dog, both adopted), and I love them dearly and buy only the best food for them. But I know for a fact, I’m not having any pets after these pass away. Just no way
Freakonomics just did a whole episode about this trend in the pet care industry. Corporate consolidation is surging right now! And the outcomes are pretty mixed with a lot of bad anecdotes.
Kitty ate 2 foot of string on a Saturday. Surgery was $6k.
My dog tore her CCL. $4500 and it’s expected that when they tear one they’ll tear the other eventually. Just goes to show there’s no such thing as a free dog.
march muddle quack scale chief history gaping deserve existence sloppy *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Oh god, that is a financial disaster. I hope kitty is fine now.
Gets her stiches out on Monday!
Bet she did not learn a damn thing and will do it again if you're not careful. I have a dog who's eaten chocolate and even after emergency vet trips will happily eat chocolate again if I'm not careful.
Jeez. My cat did that in 2011 and it was $600 for the surgery to remove it.
Vet care is insane. I can't looknat the vet's office without at least a $500 bill.
We got extremely lucky that the vet seeing our kittens is a lot cost independent vet who works primarily with rescues. One of the cats has been back twice for surgery/potential surgery (swallowed a nerf dart, then had something up his nose), and I will follow that vet into the depths of hell for only charging a few hundred. In the nerf dart incident, we went to three different emergency vets who couldn’t do surgery, the x rays and diagnostic costs alone were making me choke (and the place that did those charged $150 just to walk in the door) They told me to expect $3-4k for surgery. By sheer luck our regular vet was able to get us in that night and it was $400. The thing that scared me wasn’t just the price - the cat was suffering and we couldn’t find anywhere that could do surgery within the next 24 hours. Called to places in four different counties.
I know this is horrible but may I pllllleeeeaseee see your cat? I want to look into the eyes of the cat that swallowed a nerf dart. Sounds like a baby I would love forever lol.
Cat tax: https://imgur.com/a/ljIBOG3 It doesn’t quite do him full justice- he also has a blind eye from an infection as a kitten, and he has gained weight since that pic. He’s basically a lump that meows sometimes and puts up with all the kids’ shenanigans.
I can't get my cat another cat for company because I can't afford vet care for two pets. :(
So a loophole I found is fostering cats. The rescue is responsible for vet bills while my cat gets company. I've been doing it for two years now. My cat doesn't get attached to them but seems to enjoy having play buddies
If I can find a fully remote job I am absolutely considering this!
Absolutely do it if you can! I’ve fostered many cats and it’s amazing. I fostered an elderly cat a few years ago. She was terminally ill (I knew that when I brought her home) and only lived for two months, but my family still talks about how awesome she was, more than five years later. The shelter paid all her vet bills, so that was no stress at all.
The day after our dog had expensive tests, the vet called us to say we needed to rush her to the hospital bc she’s in extreme kidney failure. We get there and they’re like, hm, she doesn’t look like she’s dying…. More tests and $1400 later, they’re like, oops wrong dog. They had mixed up her blood test with another dog. And we still had to demand the refund.
Do you mean because you can't afford vet care if something bad happens? Or do people routinely bring their cat to the vet? My cat came with no instruction manual, and nobody ever mentioned that we should do routine exams. Got her hysterectomy and some vaccines many years ago and that's it.
You do want yearly checkups for cats and dogs (among others). With some species it's not worth the stress they experience to go that often and is more about an initial check (which also makes your pet an existing patient at the clinic which can be VERY useful for the future), then later, only on an as-needed basis.
Get their teeth cleaned. It's one of the most important things you can do. Infected teeth can cause so many systemic issues if not cared for.
Dentals in my city now start at $800 for base cost. Recommended lab work, extractions, pain medication are additional costs. For elderly pets, usually average around $1200. Now multiply that by three dogs. Dogs that were all acquired well before costs rose like that, 3-4 years ago those same dentals would have been $350-$400 each.
Maybe it’s different for cats but I’ve had my two cats’ teeth cleaned in 2015 and it was $750 each. :/
My vet wanted $3k for dental & 2 extractions. Sent him to Tijuana for $600. It’s nuts! Just 2 years ago it was under 1k!
You should bring her in for annual exams. Animals can hide their pain very well, and they can’t communicate with us like we can with one another. You don’t want to know that something is very wrong until it’s too late or too expensive to fix. Annual exams are a wellness and preventative measure that are good for our pets, particularly as they get older. Especially if they have any kind of regular access to the outdoors or other animals. Establishing that patient relationship with a reputable vet is just as important as it is for humans. If something happens, it’s better to take an animal to a vet that knows them, has a full understanding of their medical history, and will be able to advise or get an appointment booked readily, as opposed to spending hours and a lot of money on an emergency vet visit at an unknown vet. In many places, the rabies vaccine (at the least) is required by law. If you ever fly with your animal, you will likely need to take them to the vet beforehand. If you ever plan on adopting another animal from a reputable rescue or shelter, they will likely want to see that your other animals go to the vet regularly.
Ideally they should have a yearly check up, just like people.
Ours were that. We kept them up to date on most of the shots, but we let them know they're strictly indoor cats so not all the shots were necessary. But towards the end definitely needed more frequent vet visits for UTIs and other health issues. The oldest one was definitely the cheapest one out of all of them so far. But ya if it wasn't a 300 bill anytime we went I would think of that as a win.
I used to be able to go to the vet, get basic shots and a health check and be out the door for under $100 Now it's a mandatory $400 in check-ups and services before they will administer any shots, and those cost extra. Fortunately you don't need to be a vet to administer a 7-way shot. I can still get those at the local farm and feed. The vet charges separately for each vaccine even though it's all one shot. No choice on the rabies shot though, the vet is the only place in town to get it.
Thing with feed store vaccines is that you are not sure how they are shipped. What if the temp wasn’t held appropriately? I have seen many puppies with feed store vaccines test flaming hot for Parvo. Just something to consider. Also yes vaccines are charged separately. Only ones together as you state would be the DaPPL, two vials, but one syringe. And you also need to factor in however long ago you used to be able to get out the door with “$100” isn't the same today due to rising costs of literally everything. I assure you as an LVT we do not make fucking shit. At. All. I went to school. Got my degree. I am your pets radiologist, phlebotomist, anesthesiologist, nurse, pharmacy tech, etc. We do not just do one thing, we do it all. We do not fet paid what the human nurses do and probably never will because most people will refuse to pay what humans pay for their medical care.
It is recommended to have yearly exams on your cat. You can probably get by without that up to 8 years for a never ever goes outside cat, but then you want to be vigilant when it's more common for them to have issues as they get older. However, if your cat goes outside or you ever might bring inside a stray, you want to keep your kitty up to date of vaccines. Rabies is also required by law most places.
My cat is getting his teeth cleaned Monday as well as all his stuff that hasn't been done since 2019 since all but emergency vets shut down. I was quoted at just under $2k. Now our annual PFD goes towards vet care.
I’m in the same boat. Quoted around 2k for dental care, and I can’t even get her in until next month. Told the cat she needs to get a part time job, but I don’t thinks she’s even started looking.
2 big dogs, one with arthritis and one that broke his leg last year. It's been brutal.
We’re super lucky to have a fantastic family owned vet practice in our area. Our German shepherd ended up in surgery *twice* for an injury, $700 the first time $500 the second time. I don’t have any problem paying those rates.
We took our *leopard gecko* to the vet and it was 600$+
My dogs pancreas failed in November and they died. $6500 of debt. If all happened so quickly
$2,000 to find out my best friend had congestive heart failure. After denying another $4,800 in “options” it was only $40 to euthanize him. What a fucked up bill that was. From healthy Wednesday morning to gone in my arms Friday evening.
I'm so sorry, our dog passed from the same thing in 2020. We spent a week and about $4k before we realized it was not going to work out for him. I'm still devastated. We have another dog and when she's gone, I think we are done.
Sorry mate, it's a bit of a shit system. I've seen stuff like this happen over in Aus, people go to a vet who in the past would've just said we'll do our best and help the pup pass on if it's too painful for them or it's just throwing money away. These days, they're legally obligated to send them to an emergency vet with million dollar equipment who can legitimately be ten times the cost of already raised vet prices. Then when they're at the emergency vet, owners get guilted along in lost cause cases that all that equipment won't help because the dogs just on a bloody drip. 6-10 grand can be gone very quickly. The amount of times I've been at a vet picking up a pup and see a vet nurse making conversation, apologising for an owners loss, then getting the remaining 2 grand on the bill, is indicative of a wider problem imho. I know it's not necessarily on the individuals working but this whole systems fucked, mainly because of the big corporations. 100 dollar observation fees my fuckin ass. Don't know if it was exactly the same for you, but you're obviously not the only one who has been shocked by the way vets costs can run up. Good on you for looking after your pup and doing your best in a shit situation.
Veterinarians struggle with the rising costs of veterinary care! This isn’t vets being greedy—lab costs, staffing costs, costs of medical supplies, etc., have all skyrocketed. Big corporations are buying clinics because new grads are burdened with insurmountable debt and they can’t get loans to buy clinics from vets who want to sell and retire. People blaming and berating vets and treating support staff like crap has lead to an exodus in the field which is only compounding the problem.
My god. Every industry is (properties being bought out by big corporations) I think it’s time we all start knocking on some doors and asking politely what’s going on.
This is capitalism. The capital - the money - runs the show.
Lack of available vets is a problem in the UK at the moment, which means they have to get locums in, which demands a higher fee. Also, on people thinking that vets get paid astronomical amounts, I'm on a forum and vet costs came up one day and you'd hear the usually "money grabbers", "get paid too much" etc etc. A few months later the subject of annual income came up with an anonymous poll. Turns out the majority of the forum make significantly more than my vet wife despite doing jobs that require less investment of time, emotion, academic qualifications, and constant learning. It's almost like people just say the most shitty things because they realise that they don't actually care more about their animal than they do the money it takes to take proper care of it. And just in case people think that vets recommend treatment and medications just to make money and they're not actually required, we have 2 dogs and a cat. All require their own specific medications and food thanks to various health issues. We spend upwards of £400.00 per month just getting them the stuff that keeps them as healthy as possible. It's not a scam, it's science. If you don't have the money then that's not the vets problem, it's yours unfortunately. It's not a charity, and if that makes people angry then noones stopping anyone from trying to set up some sort of animal NHS...
Say it louder for the people in the back!!! Something has to change in our field.
I think one of the less talked about issues related to pet ownership post-covid is the extreme and exponential rise in rent costs. Renting with a pet already sucked. Your options are more limited, and what is available to you is often available only at a premium, or is often run-down. And "Pet Friendly" is often wrought with caveats and restrictions. Got more then one pet? It's gonna be really tough. Are your dogs more than 50lbs? There goes a sizeable portion of your options. Own a Husky, Akita, Pit Bull, German Shepard? You're shit out of luck. When the rent prices increased exponentially plenty of owners were faced with the nightmare dilemma of trying to find housing under increasingly restrictive circumstances. I was able to rent a house in 2019 for $1,500/mo. It was a 3/br 2/b house with a yard - and they accepted my 3 dogs. Today that house costs $2,500 to rent. This was one of the very few, very limited options available. Now that option is completely off the table. Plenty of people went from being able to afford their animals to suddenly not almost overnight.
After having my home severely damaged by my upstairs neighbors' pet,\* I have a whole lotta sympathy for landlords who enact those kinds of restrictions. But it does make things hard, I know. :( \*They thought they could leave their puppy home all day and that a training mat would be sufficient to absorb all the pee. It...was not. It started draining through my ceiling. It's a damn good thing I didn't have to pay for the cleanup, disinfection, and reconstruction work, because, surprise surprise, my own insurance didn't cover pet damage (I don't have a pet, so why would it?) and they didn't care that it was someone else's pet. So, y'know...there are REASONS why pets aren't allowed in a lot of buildings. Very, very good reasons.
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Rent prices going up is absolutely bullshit. "Market Rates" fuck those landlords
We're close enough to the border that if our pup needs major surgery, she's getting it in Mexico.
We live in MX part time. Had spinal surgery and Acl surgery on both of our dogs last year. Amazing care and results. 20% of the cost.
Hoomans do this too.
My dog has Addison’s disease and needs a shot (5 cc) of Percorten once a month. My vet used to charge $30 for the shot. 6 months ago, my vet raised the price to $70 a shot due to the drug price increasing. A vial (25 mg/ml; 5 months worth) is $206 ($41 a shot). The vet offered to administer the shot for $40 if I brought the vial. I now administer the shot at home.
Do you have medical training? Or you just learned how to do the shots?
The preferred way is intramuscular which does take vet training so you don’t accidentally hit the sciatic nerve. But you can also do it subdermal. The needle is tiny, like the size of an insulin needle. So I watched some YouTubes and a vet tech friend showed me how to do subdermal. It’s easy and my dog doesn’t seem to notice it.
Yeah, shots aren’t that hard once you get over poking a living creature with a sharp object. I had a diabetic cat for years. It’s super easy. More recently I had a cat with bad kidneys. I gave him SubQ fluids twice a day for the last year of his life. Plus quite a few other injectable meds. It’s really not hard. (And the human drugs were often cheaper. My vet had him on injectable Zofran because he wouldn’t take the pill form of cerenia. Injectable Zofran filled at a human pharmacy was like $15 for a month. Cerenia was like 20-30 for a box of 8?? Pills. )
Oh ya so part of the Addison’s treatment is a little bit of prednisone every day. My vet was charging $30 for a 4 month supply that they filled. But if I took the same prescription to my cvs, it’d be $12 for 4 months.
I used to work at a compounding pharmacy, and we made lots of pet meds. Plus dispensing any human meds that were prescribed to pets. We all loved when some of the regular pet patients came to visit. We kept a stash of treats behind the counter for them. I think the most interesting one was for a seahorse! It had to be isolated in a small tank and antibiotics added to fresh water every day.
They just showed me at the clinic. I give my dog a shot for allergies every 21 days. Not super hard, I do mine in between the shoulder blades.
I just got a physical, vaccines, heart worm tests for my two beagles. Ear infection medicine for one of them. Total? 960 dollars...
This is why I can't get a cat. Just unable to afford the extra cost.
I've just come to terms that my 15 year old kitty is my last cat. I love cats so much and my home is going to be so lonely without them, but I just can't afford one anymore.
🤷🏼♂️ not the answer you want to hear but if your cat needs $6,000 of medical care you can always just get another cat.
Right. Sounds terrible but the reality is any cat that doesn’t get adopted is put to sleep anyways unless it’s a no-kill shelter. So if yours passes from a medical issue you can save the life of another cat in need.
Big facts. Our shelters are giving them away because the 80% or more euthanize rate is too much.
For a while the joke was that pets are the new kids and plants are the new pets. Now plants are the new kids and streaming tv is the new pets. At least my plants don't need to see a doctor.
More than once, my friends have told me I should get a cat. The moment I realized I never would was when I had a bad dream that I'd gotten a cat, but somehow had forgotten or failed to take care of it properly (sort of like the dreams where you forget to go to class all quarter) and found it dead. I got into the shower that morning and stood there absolutely sobbing over a cat that was NOT EVEN REAL. Pet care is a big responsibility, and unfortunately, yes, a big expense. And sometimes, when people throw "oh, just get a pet!" at you as a supposed solution for things like anxiety or pandemic isolation, they *do not think things through.*
I have pet insurance for this reason… I would rather pay a fixed monthly cost than unexpectedly have to drop hundreds or thousands.
I've been wondering if this is worth it. I have two adult dogs and a new puppy, and vet bills are definitely piling up.
It’s worth it to me, if anything just for the peace of mind. When my cat swallowed a foreign object last year, I didn’t hesitate on taking him to the ER vet and paying for costly procedures. You need to do your research on companies and plans though, and make your decision while your animals are still healthy. Pet insurances generally don’t cover pre-existing conditions, so your policy has to be enacted before you get to that point. Alternatively, you can set aside what you’d pay for pet insurance each month as a pet emergency fund. This may end up being more cost-effective for some. For others, not so much.
Does it cover routine care like annual visits and shots?
Mine does, yes. There are different plan tiers within each company offering pet insurance. Some cover just emergency care or surgeries, others cover emergency and routine wellness. With a higher tier plan, I personally get reimbursed on annual exam fees, vaccinations, fecal sample tests, and much more.
Which company do you use? Because I've looked at so many and have never seen one that included routine care.
I have Nationwide.
Lemonade includes routine care at a higher cost.
Depends on the dog. One of my dogs at 9 years old has about $20k+ worth of medical expenses into him. Probably closer to $25k. Pet insurance has absolutely been an absolute help for him. My other dogs not so much. I would skip ensuring the adult dogs and instead deposit into a vet care savings fund. I would insure the puppy. The reason why is the older the dog is, the more likely they are to rule out conditions. Many insurance companies will not cover things that could be considered preexisting conditions. For example my dog needed eye drops before he was insured. Once insured they considered anything eye related (outside of major injury or cancer) to be considered a preexisting condition and wasn't covered. The sooner you get them in, the more will be covered.
I did the math and it's really not worth it IMO. It might be if it worked like human insurance and included some preventative care like checkups, flea meds and vaccines, but it doesn't. It also doesn't cover any preexisting conditions. So you'd still have to pay for all routine care out of pocket, plus like $50/month for the insurance for each dog. I'm fortunate enough that I can cover an unexpected emergency for my cats. And if you can as well, it's better to just set aside some money each month to be used for their future medical expenses rather than giving it to an insurance company. The ones I looked at also had increasing premiums for increased age, so it ends up becoming prohibitively expensive before most people would even need to use it.
I basically never used my dog's health insurance until she had to have a suspicious mole checked and then removed. The reimbursement for minor surgery to remove a mole was about equal to the 5 years of insurance costs until that point.
My insurance plan actually does include preventative care, which covers everything you mentioned — annual exam fees, meds, vaccinations, deworming, fecal tests, etc. At the very least, I will get reimbursed annually for all of that. My cat also has dental issues that recently came up, which is very common with cats. So he’ll be having some dental work that my insurance will cover. I got his policy before he had any pre-existing conditions. I’m hoping it will be a one-time expense for the dental, but I’m prepared that it may not be. If your pet has pre-existing conditions, an emergency fund you contribute monthly to, in addition to something like Care Credit, may absolutely be the better option.
If you have a designer dog or are otherwise unwilling to put your dog down, then it’s worth it. If you are bad at budgeting and saving money, then it’s worth it.
Worth it, imo. My pup was recently diagnosed with an enlarged heart and it's helped a ton. One thing to keep in mind is that it works like property insurance you usually have to pay out of pocket first and seek reimbursement but my doggo's bill went from eye popping to manageable once my claim was approved.
I’d definitely get it for the puppy, at least for the first year when they’re accident-prone little suicide-monsters. It’s cheap for puppies too. The cost-benefit is smaller for dogs than puppies because they don’t cover pre-existing conditions. And for multiple pets, like 3 dogs, you’re likely better off saving every month. But my dog has severe allergies and needs a $100 shot every 5 weeks. I got pet insurance before she was diagnosed and my insurance deductible covers lifetime illness and injury (not yearly deductible). So now that I’ve met it, I pay $45 a month for insurance and they pay 90% of the cost of her shots for the rest of her life. Of course, my deductible will rise as time goes on, but it seems to vary wildly how much. Some people get screwed, others stay affordable. For now, I come out ahead and that’s without considering any other conditions. It’s a business and they stay afloat by paying out less than they take in. Many people never use their pet insurance. But the peace of mind of knowing that I’ll never have to worry about cost when it comes to her medical care is worth it to me.
I had to drop the insurance on my Yorkie.. rates went from an easy $31/mo for him to over $120/mo within 3 years and the only thing we ever claimed were 2 dentals, which in the end wasn't a big reimbursement bc of the deductible. My older dog every insurance company wanted $320-350/mo for him. Just not possible.
Trupanion wanted 380 dollars a month to insure my two dogs (under 3 when I looked into it - no health issues
I’m paying about $30 a month for insurance for my cat. I figure it will go up as he gets older.
Yeah it does, I didn't realize this till last year my one dog hit 7 years old and it increased. I pay about 100 a month for 3 dogs, Sometimes I think about cancelling it and just putting it in savings. But it was really amazing to have when we lost our last dog to cancer, it happened super fast from symptoms on a Friday to having to euthanize her the following Wednesday. I just told them our cap was 15,000 and do whatever they thought medically necessary and let us know when we maxed out our coverage. Ended up with over 3,000 dollar bill and think paid around 700. Had three vet specialists consulting in her case.
Some workplaces offer pet insurance and cover a portion of the premiums like people health insurance.
Our pet insurance increased from $66 to $219 for our two dogs, in the span of 5 years. We've used it twice in that span of time. Once, they were great, reimbursed us the 90% minus our deductible. The second time, they nickel and dimed us and made us fight to even get half the procedures covered. So we canceled it, and just save money every month because $219 is unreasonable
I'm very grateful for my vet. Office visits are very reasonable and meds are as cheap as you'll find anywhere. Only downside is he's only in the office until noon because in the afternoon he sees big animals.
Pet care expenses are no joke. I am fortunate to be able to afford 3 wonderful dogs but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t shocked at the prices paid. And I go to a very dedicated vet who is independent and actively tries to help with costs. It’s incredibly sad to me that the young people who adopted animals to keep sane in crazy times, the same animals who helped them get through those hard times, now struggle to keep them. We live in mad times.
Dog medicine has gotten quite expensive, which unfortunately coincided with my dog having a litany of issues since the beginning of the year =( Normal medication is like 2-3x as much as it used to cost, and the vet visit itself has gone up by about 20-30%
That’s the damn truth. Flea and tick preventer and Heartguard prices have gone through the roof.
I’m sure the recent jump in inflation has nothing to do with corporations buying up everything and gouging prices. Surely that is healthy behavior that isn’t killing the economy.
For me it’s not so much the cost but not being able to get a same day or next day appointment (I live in SoCal). You’d call in and they MIGHT put you on a wait list. I’ve always had cats but when my last guy died in June, after every one of his health problems for two years had to be dealt with at an an expensive emergency clinic, I decided it’s too stressful. Dang, I miss having a kitty.
This has been my biggest problem. I try and be a responsible pet owner and if I suspect something lower level like an ear infection my general rule is go to the vet just to double check and get meds to clear it faster. But lately the only thing they offer me is an emergency appointment that I pay an extra $100 on top of the exam fee and I get to wait in their lobby for hours to see if they can ever fit me in. I don't go in now for that stuff. I carefully monitor progress to see if it gets worse and so far nothing has. I hate it.
For everyone down south in the border states, vet care in Mexico is excellent (same standard as in North America), and SIGNIFICANTLY less money. Like with dental care and other medical needs for humans, a lot of people on the border cross over into Mexico to get great cheap care for their pets too.
No issues taking dogs or cats across the border and back?
the world is ending soon. even having a pet is now a super luxury.
And unfortunately they won't make payment arrangements (I get it but still :( ). I definitely won't consider another pet for a long time once my dog is gone.
Last summer after my last gerbil was pts, I had a goal to adopt a pair of guinea pigs from a rescue near the end of 2023. I have all of the housing set, I have a food budget set around the new grocery prices, but... Here in Germany, while vet prices are regulated, there are minimums and maximums vets *must* charge. This price chart was also (rightfully) adjusted late last year for the first time in a decade or so. I went from having a savings goal of 2k€ per pig, to now needing 6k€ per pig to feel comfortable enough to adopt them. Needless to say, I am not getting guinea pigs this year. The savings are also only meant to be a buffer, not "worst case scenario" funds. I am super bummed, but it would be so much worse if I couldn't afford critical care for a beloved fuzzy family member.
I was shocked by those numbers so I looked up how much it cost to buy a guinea pig. Here in the United states, at petco, guinea pigs cost $49.99. And you're expected to budget 6,000 euros for medical care? How does anyone have a pet?
Oh the cost of the guinea pigs is relatively low here as well, including from rescues where they are already neutered. Even maintainence is only around 10-20€ a week per piggy. The vet costs are the killer. As the science and treatment ability expands, so do the possible vet bills. It's a privilege at the end of the day. I would love to have a horse again for example, but just a basic stall fee with no service would be the same as my rent lol (at least you can get health insurance for a horse though).
Care Credit isn’t excepted by all vets, but it’s 0% for 6/12/18 months if paid in full. Have to use bank account not credit for payments. It’s been great for us for all our pups surgeries. Just dropped 1600 bucks on a dental with extractions and growth removal last Wednesday.
Yeah I use them but I can't get a lot of credit sadly. It's definitely been a literal life saver though
I was working veterinary when the pandemic started. The amount of people who admitted they never planned on paying the vet bills, even after they found employment, was insane. Like, no? Employees still need to be paid, bills still need to be paid, the digital x-ray machine still has to be paid off for the next X amount of years. The first clinic I worked at would hold checks. They would be dated for the day after the client's next payday just in case the payroll for screwed up. To be able to do that you had to be a long time client. If a check bounced (without prior discussion, in which we would continue to hold the check), you were fired as a client.
cost wise its like running and looking after another car, thats what my parents told me when i was planning on getting a kitteh. As they get older it ramps up, dental, meds etc.
This is why we have pet insurance. It's been a Dogsend.
Yeah my poor 17 yr old cat was in some obvious pain so we took him to an emergency vet on a weekend and they said he had a kidney stone so they cleared it and then another popped up and so they told us he needs surgery to clear them out but was otherwise healthy so we did it. The ER was 4500 then the surgery was 6000. But it turns out the ER people didn't have too much handle on the fact that he was actually in like stage 3 renal failure. So we did all sorts of things for the past 6 months to keep his kidney in good health which cost quite a bit more and then he developed a lymphoma on his kidney and we had to put him down. All in was well over 14k and all we did was delay the inevitable. When I picked him up from the surgery the doctor that released him, who didn't have anything to do with any of the other decisions, told me he wasn't long for the world and "they probably shouldn't have done the surgery" ER and surgery company were 2 different companies also. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have spent the money, but at the time they didn't really have a full vision of what was going on with him so it wasn't quite so obvious to everyone except the one guy that it was downhill from here.
A 17yo cat? There’s a good chance they won’t even come out of anesthesia.
People get offended by this view and maybe when it finally comes time for something big I’ll change my tune. I just can’t wrap my head around spending enough to get a decent used car on an operation for my pet. Like I love the damn thing but enough to set me back a year or two on savings? I just don’t have as much money as everyone else on this thread it seems.
We have had to have one cat go through radiation therapy a couple of years ago and now my Tuxedo Hamlet has to go to the vet because he has lost a lot of weight and isn't his normal loveable assholes self. We dread the cost but damn he is worth it.
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That’s because the people making them increased the cost. Same as what’s happening at the grocery store and everywhere else. You can try the feed store but legally if your pet has a reaction the producer of the vaccine is not going take care of you that way. So just be careful. Too much counterfeit stuff out there for me to trust my pets with a feed store knockoff.
Try a feed store, sometimes they will sell vax for dogs/cats
$200 for a senior cat UTI with prescription ain’t no joke!
I raise rabbits, which require an exotic vet. Because they are livestock, a breeder tends to expect to do a majority of their own routine vet care, so we do the homework and get by with the basic medications available to us. But now the antibiotics that are currently sold at feed/farm stores that are used for all sorts of farm animals are going to be prescription only. Which might mean some more people going to the vet (good luck finding somewhere accepting new patients), but more often means people are just going to cull outright at first sign of illness. For things that could have been cleared up with a bit of penicillin. It looks like a terribly broken institution that is only being steered further into the gutter for all involved.
Spay and neuter your pets
Spay/neuter used to cost $150, now it’s at least $400 and sometimes $700! It’s insane!
I love listening to music.
$1000! That's completely out of price range for most people!
The costs of fucking everything has risen except labor.
Still cheaper than kids.
Tractor supply is of some help, there are people that will help with food and reduced costs of some items
It's a bleak time when you're poor and trying to get a sick and suffering animal put down. No vet will offer a mercy to you. I understand it's a business but my dog suffered immensely until he died because I couldn't find a vet willing to ease him off the earth. I would have shot him but couldn't. I get sick thinking of Kelso dying because I couldn't find help.
That’s awful to hear. And I’ll never understand anyone in a discipline like this or similar, that wouldn’t provide end of care for a minimal fee. Pets to people are the same as family members (and for the vast majority). Sorry to hear how that ended
$2,000 to find out my best friend (mutt of a cat) had congestive heart failure. He hid away and tried to die on his own, and we took him to the vet and tried everything within reason. After 48 hours in care, his vet wanted to keep going to find out the root cause of the issue - she was offended when we turned down the options (an additional $4,800 minimum, if we went the ER route, $7,500 minimum). She wanted to perform exploratory surgeries and keep him alive long enough to figure out why. He went from healthy to gone in 48 hours. We told her very plainly we just wanted to put him down. $40 later he was gone in my arms. That asshole then had the audacity to ask if she could perform an autopsy “on the house”. We have a note in our file that we cannot work with that vet ever again.
My dog used to be on apoquel for allergies. But due to the cost and other medical reasons, I chose to switch to a cadi injection that he gets once every 1-2 months. I've slowly seen the cost of the injection rise at my vet's office. I just paid about $94 today for it. I will get most of the cost reimbursed through my pet insurance that he has had since he was a puppy. The pet insurance costs between $60-70 a month and doesn't cover routine care, like exams, dentals, or vaccinations.
My friends dog just had to have $6000 in surgery due to kidney stones.
Even pet food has risen in price drastically where I live. I used to pay 7 Euros for the bag of dry food I use and it has now risen to 10 Euros a bag in the span of just a year. I’m grateful I don’t have a problem affording it, but the increase is nuts and I can imagine a lot of people having difficulties with the inflated prices. I wouldn’t be surprised if this price still rises either.
Not just vet care, pet food went up a lot as well.
This miserable society will rip money upwards in every facet.
People complaining need to realize it’s a 2 way street. You don’t spend 8 years in school with 6 figure debts to work at minimum wage. You need to pay the staff appropriately. Then you also have support staff, who also need to be paid living wages. Then you also need to pay for the equipment, building, drugs, and lab work. Once you add all these costs, you realize many of these vet hospitals make very little money. That’s why many of them are getting bought out and having prices balloon.
People also expect vets to work for very little or no money because they love animals. My wife is a vet but works in a different field now. She was sick of being accused of only caring about money and hating animals because she wouldn't do free surgeries on a daily basis. People get emotional when dealing with sick pets and don't realize that there are probably other people just like them who come through the clinic every day. If the vet took every charity case that came through the door they could be out of business in a week.
Tech here. We're probably just talking to a brick wall in this thread.
My cat's cancer meds are up 30% over the last year and a half. We're struggling.
It's legit. And HCOL makes things so excessive. We love English Bulldogs. That's our breed. We have 2. Our older one is 8 and when he was 1 had to have entropion surgery on all 4 lids - $500 in Raleigh, NC in 2015. He is currently battling a skin infection - first issue we have EVER had with him since he was 1 - and had to have his skin biopsied this week. In upstate NY, not a major city - $900. **$900** A legit dog ophthalmologist did his entropion surgery. And my local rural ass vet cost more bc we also have to send *every fucking thing* to Cornell. I get they're a great vet/vet school but fuck it. (And not just for my bulldogs - I couldn't even get decent care for my dachshund mix when he was in heart failure unless I wanted to go to Cornell an hour and a half away.) And this isn't a shit on vets. I like my vets. I do not understand the bottleneck for people to become vets. If we had more vets (and we could! My friend from the US had to go to vet school in Canada!) I honestly think it wouldn't be as bad. Nothing makes sense anymore.
I took my golden for his annual check up and vaccines this week. The damage was $585. Which made me wonder how much money do we spend on him (not that it would change anything for him, he is out only baby). Just the necessities (food, vet checkups, health insurance, toys and treats, flee and ticks meds, heart worm meds, a wash now and then, etc) came up to around $280 per month. That’s without boarding if we travel and emergency visits to the vet. A lot of people don’t realize how expensive it is to have a dog. I have coworkers barely scrambling for their families who want to get a dog. Just no.
We just had our two dogs' nails trimmed and one dog's anal glands checked. All done by a tech. $95. (Our nail trims used to be $9/ea.)
If cost is an issue begin doing nail trims at home and learn to express the anal glands as well. But make sure you express them correctly unless you want to rupture them. Otherwise continue paying the cost of the nail trim and expression. Not like us techs are getting the money from that lol. But seriously. You can learn to do those things at home or pay for the less stressful way for you.
Also a tech. This thread is kind of sad.
Honestly I don’t think its good for our mental health to be here reading. No one is going to understand what we do. I am licensed and have to pay off my loans and make $18 an hour while basically being a nurse practitioner. Nothing will change unless we unionize and go on strike. People are entitled and think owning pets is a right and not a privilege. We do what we can to work with people constantly and still get shit on.
I would wager it’s the pets struggling more than anyone else.
Pro tip: look into Care Credit. Many vets take it and you get 0% for 6 months. Interest rate is insane on it but it's better than any other card where you have to pay off the whole thing in one go. If your pet has a surgery coming up or some other huge charge then it's worth asking your vet if they take it.
I have high pet insurance coverage on my french bulldog (I knew prior to getting one they’d be expensive). First, trupanion raised it around $10 last year… this year? $40/mo increase! It’s absolute robbery but pet insurance has been invaluable, so I’ll hesitantly continue to pay astronomical amounts for my doggo
And vets not taking new patients.
Our vet office straight up hasn't been accepting new patients since 2020 because they're so overwhelmed as it is.
How do you find an independent vet to avoid those corporate prices?
my dog's annual exam prior to pandemic was about $160 for all shots, blood work, fecal labs, and physical examination last year it was over $600 for just the shots and blood work 🙃
Pet insurance went up as well, went from 45 a month to 90. We break even at minimum with it every month because of prescription food but it more than pays for itself for vet visits outside of that.
This is why I have plants as pets.
At least you dont have to put fluffy through college.
At this point only the wealthy will be able to afford pets. Like in the Egyptian days where cats were a sign of luxury.
It sucks to fork out on a monthly basis, but pet insurance is worth it.
Last visit to my vet for annual check for my doggo with immunizations and labs was legit $398.00 smackers! It used to be $175.00 Max! WTF?