That's it, next time I'm just asking you guys.

[Rin]

Just got back from the vets with a $107.00 bill I can't afford for what I knew was just a simple URI in a cat. It's not a bad one. Just sneezes a bit. Otherwise he's as lively as a kitten, eats and drinks and everything normal. I waited nearly an hour - even though I made an appointment and they looked at him for all of 10 minutes and I was the only one really doing the talking - telling them he had a uri and got them off and on a lot (I was hoping they could tell me why, maybe allergies or something - honestly I'm happy now that's not the case after seeing what they charge for the meds) and worse yet is they apparently don't do scripts - they only will sell you the meds which are priced TWICE what I could have gotten them online and they didn't really give me any heads up either. After looking at him they just walk in with your meds, open um up and show you how to apply them. I don't even think I'm capable of doing them the way they showed me given it's just me here doing it.

$42.00 just to see him
$3.50 secret fee "to put him in the system" they didn't warn me about.
$31.00 for 15ml of Clavamox drops
$30.50 for 3.5g of Erythromycin Ophthalmic - which looks suspiciously like something I'd seen in the pharmacy at work. For humans. Not that I can get it on him anyway. He's a very spirited cat. Even in the vets office she had to have me scruff him and lift off the table so he'd stop "dancing" and trying to poke his eye out on it.

Seriously, Unless my animal ever has a broken something - I wont ever be back.

 

[bagendhens]

sry you had to go through that!
i know the feeling too, vets around here are the same...

 

[redhen]

Yup..they nickle and dime you for everything!
I need to bring my dog in for his ears..its not going to be cheap..

 

[toletiquesbysam]

I have a great "farm" vet just 20minutes from us, they are wonderful to the animals and don't hurt the wallet too bad! Last week I took our momma cat and her 4 kittens in to get some medicine for their eyes being shut/matted and momma & the kittens where also sneezing. Total bill $76.90, got the momma cat rabies shot, ear mite medicine & some vaccination plus medicine for the sneezing, the kittens got eye medicine & 1/2 dose of their 1st vaccination just to get their immune system up to fit off this infection and he checked them all over real good! They don't overcharge for their meds, which helps Alot!!!

 

[Rin]

It wouldn't annoy me as much if they TOLD me what was costing me as I went especially when I made it clear money WAS an issue. Every vet I've been to in the past would have ASKED me what treatments I preferred and what my options would cost me. If they had they would have known that I already had meds for his URI. Homeopathic, but it works, I just wanted to know why he kept getting them after long stints of no issues which they didn't even bother looking into. He gets them maybe twice a year, first one around this time and second one usually in the dead of winter. Could have been allergies.. could be nutrition... they just wanted to treat the URI even though they also called it mild... >> *sigh* I just feel cheated and I couldn't even argue it. I knew the cost for bringing him in. I just didn't think they'd give me such expensive medication and /opening/ them without discussing it with me first... or sneak in that fee to type his name into a computer to give him a profile >>

 

[Rin]

Quote:
I'd /kill/ for your vet - unfortunately they are the only vets out here.

The other vets that I was considering going to had apparently shut down as their # didn't work.

 

[cmjust0]

Just so ya know, you can actually get amoxicillin and cephalexin tablets under the names "Fish Mox" and "Fish Flex".. They're 250mg tablets of each, designed to be dropped in fishtanks to clear fish of bacterial infections. There's also "Fish Flex Forte" which is a 500mg tablet.

No scrip. Totally OTC.

Just sayin.

We recently got A WHOLE 100ml BOTTLE of amoxicillin oral suspension from our vet to treat a cat.. The cat was getting teeny amounts and they said we'd have a ton left over, but...oh well, right? Can't remember the cost, but it was cheap...like, $10 for the whole bottle.

Well, then two of our dogs got in a fight.. I knew they each needed antibiotics (deep punctures), and remembered the amoxicillin. The vet's office had put their label over the manufacturer's label, so I tore it off because I needed to see if I could find the dog dosage to sorta "repurpose" the leftovers..

Lo and behold...human-use instructions. That's it. No animal use instructions at all -- only human.

Oh well...google was my friend.

I found the dosage I needed, got the dog started on it, got the other one started on another goat antibiotic we have, and everybody was A-OK.

 

[ultasol]

Honestly, $100 or $200 for a vet bill, especially for treating an ill pet, isn't bad at all.

I have some money diverted from each paycheck into a savings account for animal emergencies. Over time, it adds up.

 

[Rin]

Quote:
It is when it was something I already knew how to treat myself for $15 tops. It is when they made it so I /had/ to buy their meds which were overpriced and unnecessary. And it certainly is when they didn't even look into what I went there for in the /first/ place.

Worse yet is this particular cat has an extreme fear of being inside cars. Rolls around in his carrier and soils himself to the point white fur becomes very very brown fur. All over. Ew. >< I've tried anxiety meds, drugging him with childrens benedryl, and Feliway spray and flat out nothing works with him short of a bene O.D.

My problem is - this is extremely routine and the MOST I was expecting was $60... (I called for estimates before hand and everything) Which I made sure I had in the bank before I left... I had to overdraw into my savings in order to pay for this and I'm expecting a car insurance bill soon that I SHOULD have had money left over to pay - but now I don't. The thing is, their prices are insane enough they made me very leery about ever returning even when the cat needs it. The office in question isn't even /clean/ they have cats they let loose in the office which are now probably at risk of catching his URI.

Yes, this is the vets I mentioned in previous posts the one I'll refuse to take any puppy to unless they'd already been vaccinated - it just screams parvo threat to me. The tables aren't even stainless steel or other easy to manage material. They are laminated particle board - that they don't even /cover/ with anything. Mind you - my boy was covered in cat feces at this point in time. No amount of disinfection is going to get laminated particle board free and clear of diseases and bacteria. Especially when the laminate has been scratched through to the board from use.

 

[HeatherLynn]

Yea you need a farm vet. Once upon a time I had a dog that drank something poison at a neighbors. She was forever climbing the fences, I got her back literally in just 3 or 4 min but she had ran straight for their garage. She almost died. I think it was 4 days at the vets, she was on IV, Had to have her heart restarted twice, lord knows how much meds and they charged me $300. I think the vet was more determined to save her than I was. I was torn up and he was frantic. A good farm vet is invaluable.