Anonymous wrote:My 11 year cat needed teeth cleaning. My regular vet was going to charge beyween $1,500 and $2,000. I went elsewhere and they cjarged $297 including medicine.

What was the first vet doing ?

Also. My new vet got all my old vet records but refused to hang me over blood work because the said they didn't do the work.

Changing vets is a pain and expensive as the charge fee for becoming new patients

This actually doesn't make sense to me. A dental requires anesthesia, which is why they are so expensive. That costs more than $297. So my question is what was the cheaper vet doing?

Ime yes many are. They take advantage and alarm you into thinking your pet will die if you don’t do x, y and z. Learned the hard way with my cat: $1200 in various fees and she was just constipated. I did ask questions about every exam and one tech actually told me I was asking too much.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think that most vets are scammers, but some practices are more expensive than others.

In your case, it sounds like communication between you, your partner, and the vet could be regarding what treatments and tests are being recommended and why could be improved. Was a blood test done at the first visit or cytology or culture? It's always ok to ask questions about the vet's potential diagnoses and recommendations so you understand what you are consenting to.

I'm not a vet, but I have some experience in this area. Veterinary medicine is a difficult field because animals can't tell you what is wrong, so diagnosing can be challenging. Finances further complicate the picture. Some people get mad and think they are being ripped off when a veterinarian recommends a battery of tests to get information that will inform a diagnosis. Other people opt for or prefer a wait-and-see approach and don't want to be offered expensive diagnostics, only to complain that their vet did not recommend more tests once they find out their animal's symptoms could have been diagnosed or addressed sooner. Vets can't win. No matter what the vet recommends, you can always decline the tests and wait to see if the condition improves. However, it's not unethical or a scam for veterinarians to discuss or recommend testing that could help diagnose what is causing the patient's symptoms, even at the first visit. I always ask my vet what she would do for her pet and what the pros and cons of waiting before consenting to expensive testing are.

Should an appt for a cat cost 400 dollars? This is not a high income area either. Quite the opposite

Yes, maybe.

I agree with the previous poster. Too often people equate vets with people doctors and it's not the same.

Vet school is close to $200K now, and the chance of recouping the cost of your education through vet practice is no where near as certain as if you are a medical doctor.
Vet practices must carry malpractice , cover rent, utilities, staff, eat the cost of delinquent bills, and equipment and supplies. Then they have to make a living to support themselves.
Then there is the reality that there are simply not as many animal patients as people patients. People might only take their pets to the vet once or twice in the pets lifetime. Sure some people go more often but its not the norm.

Add in that by the time most people are seeking help for a vet the animal has already been sick for some time. Animals hide illnesses and pain and by the time you see it, it can be really advanced. So the cost of providing medical care or lifesaving measures is going to be more costly.

It's very hard not to get emotional and immediately feel like you are being guilted into expensive medical care in the office but I know from experience that the owner's own anxiety can make vets offer treatments because they want to give the owners hope and they know owners love their pets. Unless your pet is in critical condition at that moment, you can tell the vet you feel overwhelmed and emotional and can they please write down the options and costs so you can take them some time to consider it.

It seems expensive because you aren't paying a $5000 annual premium like you do for human health care.

We don’t go to the vet anymore for our two dogs. Stopped vaccines, flea chemicals, and feed raw meat, organs, sardines, salmon etc to our dogs now.

We will go in case of injury or acute issue but most of the issues we are seeing with pets are the same that we are seeing in humans. We are correcting the root cause of illness with good food, exercise, outdoor play etc. My two dogs, ages 13 and 11 are thriving!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 11 year cat needed teeth cleaning. My regular vet was going to charge beyween $1,500 and $2,000. I went elsewhere and they cjarged $297 including medicine.

What was the first vet doing ?

Also. My new vet got all my old vet records but refused to hang me over blood work because the said they didn't do the work.

Changing vets is a pain and expensive as the charge fee for becoming new patients

What a scam!!!

Was your pet under anesthesia for the cleaning? Did they monitor the anesthesia? What equipment did they use? Did your pet get an appropriate pre medication for pain and infection control? Were X-rays taken? Who monitored your pets anesthesia and did the cleaning? A Licensed tech or an inexperienced assistant?
You get what you pay for. And if you just want to scrape tarter off of dead and decaying teeth fine. Just don’t be shocked when your pet develops serious cardiac issues later from infection and you need to dish out well over $2k to keep them alive

Op to update. My conclusion - scammers.

First vet visit = kitty had stinky ear and some excess ear wax but didn’t seem too bothered by it. But we figured we’d take her in. My dh took her bc I had to work. He’s clearly an easy mark.

Close to $400 for that visit plus tests and we walked out with ear drops. I just looked up what the medicine is for and it’s primarily for ear mites. A quick google search had already told me that my cat obviously did not have ear mites. She wasn’t bothered, her ears weren’t bloody etc. When I googled, the two potential culprits for her wax buildup seemed to be ear mites (no) or a yeast infection. Ok.

Weeks go by with little improvement in kitty’s stinky ear (but she’s not bothered) so we call and they tell us we need to come back in. Ok. I thought it might be a yeast build up but I’m not a vet and figured they’d know. Maybe it’s more serious. Ok so we bring her in.

Second vet visit. $700 for more tests, a culture, blah blah. We walk out with another med - ear drops. This med works almost immediately, thankfully and kitty’s ear looks great. Ironically we still haven’t heard the results of the important tests they ran. I just looked up the med they gave us. It is for a yeast infection!!!! The same drops were less than $30 on chewy!! I could have skipped the appt, saved my cat the drama of a car ride and saved $700.

WTF. And for anyone who says that I should have known what the medicines were for, been more of an advocate, blah blah, NO. You shouldn’t need to be armed to walk into your vets office. You should be able to trust them.

Anyway, I’m changing vets. Lots of people I’ve asked already complain about the same issues, but hopefully there are some good vets still out there.

Anonymous wrote:I actually finally found a good vet—and it was through a recommendation on this forum! They do exist but maybe ask other pet owners in your area.

Give them a plug here!

Anonymous wrote:I know vets are scammers, they try to make money off of teeth cleaning and prescription food etc….and charge TOO MUCH for routine care. They do tests that don’t need to be done. The honest moral vets are so full they aren’t taking patients. We need more low budget low income vets.

Vet students are graduating with like $350,000 to 400k in debt and almost no options for loan forgiveness. It’s a 4 year degree and there are a shortage of get schools in this country. If you want cheaper vet care, push for more funding for affordable in-state vet school options and scholarships, and for laws preventing PE from being involved in any kind of healthcare practices.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You might pay extra for services that you don't need if you come in without having done your due diligence, OR if you can't think on your feet once you're there. Your husband sounds clueless, and paired with a vet who doesn't care how much you spend... it's a bad combination for your wallet!

I have a mobile cat-and-dog vet that comes to my home and is very low-key and hands-off. He has an old school wait-and-see approach and doesn't push any services that aren't strictly necessary. Once he did recommend I see a surgical vet about a persistent UTI for my dog, and I paid $400 for a bladder ultrasoundthat was inconclusive. But that was after months of symptoms and urine samples that were borderline positive a UTI, even with antibiotics, so the cost was entirely warranted, given my dog was a puppy at the time, otherwise healthy and will hopefully live 10+ years.

For my "exotic" pets, I see a different vet practice that always explains clearly what my options are. Once my middle-aged, 2 year old, gerbil had a head tilt - very common in gerbils, and usually not a good sign (cancer). A diagnostic scan would have cost $1000, and the vet entirely expected me to refuse it, which I did! My gerbil was given steroids to reduce inflammation and died a month later. Do I regret not paying for a scan? No. Gerbils have a 3 year lifespan.

You've got to be honest with yourself, OP, apply the scientific method carefully, and avoid extrapolating things on discussion boards that DON'T look like your pet's symptoms. And then ask the right questions of the vet.

Maybe next time, go yourself and don't send your husband?

I can’t take the day off. And to say that I shouldn’t send my husband bc they know they can take advantage of him is proving my point.

OP, after so many reasonable explanations of why vets do what they do, you cling to your theory that ALL vets are scammers because you're not happy with how pushy YOUR vet was. I am 45, have had so many pets in my life, and have NEVER come across a pushy vet!

SO WHY DON'T YOU CHANGE VETS?

For goodness' sakes. Are you the same person who goes on the Health and Medicine Forum to claims to have lost faith in doctors? If it's not you, you have a twin over there

Oh it’s crazy pet thread poster. Sigh. I think you need to jump to the pit bull thread

PP you replied to. Excuse me? I think the shoe is on the other foot here

I foster pregnant dogs and their puppies for a rescue - lots of pit mixes in there. Since I get them from birth, I find them docile and easily trainable. But no, I don't defend or attack any dog breed on DCUM threads.

You're so weird, OP.

You’re so exhausting when you jump onto a thread. Unhinged, all caps, endlessly argumentative, blah blah. Plus you use emojis like a teenager.

Yes, we know you love pitts and they get a bad rap, amirite? It’s an owner issue, not a breed issue, right?

DP, but you're the clown who brought the anti-pit stupidity to yet another thread, so maybe log off, walk your dog, and get some fresh air for your last brain cell? You're a mess.

Anti pit stupidity? Whatever do you mean?

Anonymous wrote:My 11 year cat needed teeth cleaning. My regular vet was going to charge beyween $1,500 and $2,000. I went elsewhere and they cjarged $297 including medicine.

What was the first vet doing ?

Also. My new vet got all my old vet records but refused to hang me over blood work because the said they didn't do the work.

Changing vets is a pain and expensive as the charge fee for becoming new patients

What a scam!!!

Anonymous wrote:I know vets are scammers, they try to make money off of teeth cleaning and prescription food etc….and charge TOO MUCH for routine care. They do tests that don’t need to be done. The honest moral vets are so full they aren’t taking patients. We need more low budget low income vets.

Exactly. I put a call in to our local humane society that offers vet services. Totally booked

As others have said, it’s private equity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You might pay extra for services that you don't need if you come in without having done your due diligence, OR if you can't think on your feet once you're there. Your husband sounds clueless, and paired with a vet who doesn't care how much you spend... it's a bad combination for your wallet!

I have a mobile cat-and-dog vet that comes to my home and is very low-key and hands-off. He has an old school wait-and-see approach and doesn't push any services that aren't strictly necessary. Once he did recommend I see a surgical vet about a persistent UTI for my dog, and I paid $400 for a bladder ultrasoundthat was inconclusive. But that was after months of symptoms and urine samples that were borderline positive a UTI, even with antibiotics, so the cost was entirely warranted, given my dog was a puppy at the time, otherwise healthy and will hopefully live 10+ years.

For my "exotic" pets, I see a different vet practice that always explains clearly what my options are. Once my middle-aged, 2 year old, gerbil had a head tilt - very common in gerbils, and usually not a good sign (cancer). A diagnostic scan would have cost $1000, and the vet entirely expected me to refuse it, which I did! My gerbil was given steroids to reduce inflammation and died a month later. Do I regret not paying for a scan? No. Gerbils have a 3 year lifespan.

You've got to be honest with yourself, OP, apply the scientific method carefully, and avoid extrapolating things on discussion boards that DON'T look like your pet's symptoms. And then ask the right questions of the vet.

Maybe next time, go yourself and don't send your husband?

I can’t take the day off. And to say that I shouldn’t send my husband bc they know they can take advantage of him is proving my point.

OP, after so many reasonable explanations of why vets do what they do, you cling to your theory that ALL vets are scammers because you're not happy with how pushy YOUR vet was. I am 45, have had so many pets in my life, and have NEVER come across a pushy vet!

SO WHY DON'T YOU CHANGE VETS?

For goodness' sakes. Are you the same person who goes on the Health and Medicine Forum to claims to have lost faith in doctors? If it's not you, you have a twin over there

Oh it’s crazy pet thread poster. Sigh. I think you need to jump to the pit bull thread

PP you replied to. Excuse me? I think the shoe is on the other foot here

I foster pregnant dogs and their puppies for a rescue - lots of pit mixes in there. Since I get them from birth, I find them docile and easily trainable. But no, I don't defend or attack any dog breed on DCUM threads.

You're so weird, OP.

You’re so exhausting when you jump onto a thread. Unhinged, all caps, endlessly argumentative, blah blah. Plus you use emojis like a teenager.

Yes, we know you love pitts and they get a bad rap, amirite? It’s an owner issue, not a breed issue, right?

PP you replied to. I've never thought that, or typed that Many people use emojis and all caps, my friend. It's hilarious you're just going off on a random stranger, and it does put an interesting perspective on your initial rant about veterinary care.

You're a few fries short of a Happy Meal, it looks like.

You do realize that people can tell you have rattled off several responses above, right? Your frenetic style is very obvious.

My 11 year cat needed teeth cleaning. My regular vet was going to charge beyween $1,500 and $2,000. I went elsewhere and they cjarged $297 including medicine.

What was the first vet doing ?

Also. My new vet got all my old vet records but refused to hang me over blood work because the said they didn't do the work.

Changing vets is a pain and expensive as the charge fee for becoming new patients