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Are Some Vets Contributing to Pet Over Population

We recently took our newest baby to the vet for a check up.  A new vet (we moved two months ago) that we won’t be returning to.  His prices were ridiculously high; so high it made me wonder if vets like this are actually contributing to pet over population.

I introduced readers to Thumbs a couple of months ago.  Her official name now is Chi (pronounced ‘chē’ – my daughter named her) and she’s about four months old.  We took Chi to the vet yesterday for a check up and her rabies vaccination.  We also discussed spaying her in a couple of months; I asked for the new vet’s prices to spay a cat/kitten.

After I picked myself up off the floor, I realized this vet was one of those vets.  You know, one those vets that seem to be in this line of work only for the money.  He was nice enough, examined her and treated her well, however his price to spay Chi was simply unbelievable; $330.88 to spay a 4 pound kitten. 

On the other hand, the Tampa Bay Humane Society will spay a cat/kitten for $45.00. 

$330.88 versus $45.00; I’ll give you three guesses where Chi will be spayed at. 

There is no excuse to me.  I understand everyone needs to make a living.  I understand this man spent years in school to learn his trade.  However to me, no spay or neuter, regardless of who performs the surgery, should cost that much. 

If the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) wants to really make a difference in the world of pets, I suggest they lobby Congress to initiate a free spay/neuter program supported with tax dollars.  Every vet performs FREE spays and neuters, and the vet receives a tax credit for each surgery.  Perhaps then more pet owners will neuter their animals and in turn the volume of homeless pets will lessen. 

There is currently a bill in Congress that suggests allowing pet owners to deduct up to $3,500 for qualified pet care expenses; the HAPPY (Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years) Act.  Personally, I feel this bill will do nothing to make necessary changes in the pet world.  With millions of dogs and cat being euthanized every month simply because of over population, a tax credit to pet owners isn’t going to change much of anything.  http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2009/08/17/a-tax-deduction-for-your-pet.aspx

The killing of homeless pets needs to stop.  The price gouging of pet owners by those veterinarians needs to stop.  Furthermore, Congress needs to do something better with their time with regards to pets (perhaps starting with enforcing the laws they developed – specifically forcing the FDA to abide by Federal law with pet food).  As for me…I’m looking for a new vet to care for my pets. 

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Truth about Pet Food
Petsumer Report
www.TruthaboutPetFood.com

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Comments (16)

doris l. becker
Said this on 10-9-2009 At 02:19 pm
let me mention, i have a cat vet that charges85.00 just to walk in, everything extra, I also have a vet for dog, they charge a lot also, but they charged me 7.50 for a pepsid pill. One pill.
I spent $1000.00 last week for the cat and dog at 2 vets.

I dont know if i can afford any more, the cat is 19 yrs and the dog 12.
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Nuria
Said this on 10-9-2009 At 02:31 pm
It's pretty bad. I paid no less than $250 to neuter my two boys and around $300 for the two girls. Luckily the last girl I adopted was already spayed. But I've heard it many times from other cat owners and even those who have strays they want to help. It's unbelievably expensive to have a cat spayed or neutered, especially if it's a stray. People don't want to spend that much.
Reply to this Comment
D. Orourke
Said this on 10-9-2009 At 02:34 pm
Yep, it's very disturbing. Last year, I stopped going to the vet I trusted for over 20 years because his rates became so high. At the time my pup needed neutering and they quoted a price of more than $500! I shopped around, even in a high-end area, and they were all priced less $325-$375 mostly. Placed a personal call to the vet to tell him I was leaving him, and he said, "Do what you have to do, but I pay my staff well and provide benefits, that's why my prices are what they are." Didn't even offer to "match" (even for this one time only) any other vet's prices I quoted, after all these years!!!
Reply to this Comment
Cynthia
Said this on 10-9-2009 At 02:44 pm
I'm certainly not going to defend the ridiculous prices vets charge in the city I live in.....but I would like to say that the spay you would be getting at your animal shelter is a "no frills" spay. No pain meds for post op pain, and I don't believe they give iv fluids during the surgery and recovery...they also don't perform a pre-op blood panel to make sure your animal is healthy for general anesthesia. It's more of an assembly line spay/neuter surgery at shelters. I'm not comfortable putting my "kids" through that, so I gladly pay for the extra services, to ensure a good outcome. Also, more and more shelters are now performing partial spays, in which the entire reproductive organs are not removed.
Reply to this Comment
alphadog
Said this on 10-9-2009 At 02:50 pm
OMG! At that rate I guess I really can't complain about the rates here in our rural area. That said, however, our group managed to contact a vet whose passion is spay/neuter. He offered to come down here and do as many as we could gather up in one day for $5 each. The local vets somehow blocked him---said he was taking food out of their mouths, so we still have mostly unneutered animals in our area.
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Laura
Said this on 10-9-2009 At 03:34 pm
I, too, live in an area where cost makes it prohibitive to even bring a sick pet to the vet - a plain old yeast infection in the ear has a price tag of at least $500 to $600, for meds that don't cost over $20 for the vet - that is a wee bit greedy in my humble opinion. I have had to put precious pets down because the vets in my area were too greedy - demanding upwards of $2000 to $5000 cash to treat a sick pet, no matter the sickness. They just demand that money up front and diagnostics follow. People in our county are afraid to even go, so I often wonder how many pets are suffering quietly at home? These folks would pay for a normal-priced vet. However, having personally checked myself, there is only one, whom I found accidentally at a local fund raiser for animal rescue. Thank God I found this vet, but I paid too high a price in the interim, having to put my friends to sleep when I didn't have $5000 cash to see what was wrong... very sad state of affairs, and I don't care about their overhead. Sorry. I care about my pets. Also, I just hope you told the vet what you felt about his prices, Sue. I know it can be awkward, but we all need to speak up and let them know how ridiculous their fee schedules are, and that we are not gonna be back. It may help eventually. Maybe some poor pet owner will catch a break when they need it from the costly vets.
Reply to this Comment
Laura
Said this on 10-9-2009 At 03:39 pm
Also, I meant to say to the poster who felt her pets were getting all the bells and whistles for the expensive spay/neuter - DON'T kid yourself. HA!! Paying a higher price guarantees your pet nothing. I have worked for vets for many years as an assistant. Just because you're paying the big bucks does not mean your pal is getting IV fluids and adequate pain meds. If they are that greedy, they will cut corners every way possible. They want PROFIT, thus their high prices. Susan's vet didn't give her a reason of giving her pets high-end care for his prices. Nope!! He justified it by how much he is paying his office staff. Of course, I'd love to ask his employees how much that vet is spreading the wealth! lol So, just because you're willing to pay high prices for spaying does NOT mean your pet will receive anything different than an assembly line spay. Nope. You're probably gonna pay 10 times the cost for the exact same product. After all, you're certainly not allowed to observe anything, are you?? Nope. That's not gonna happen either! And sadly, your pets can't relate the truth either. That's what we're here for, and paying higher prices does not in any way provide safety or comfort for them. Don't be fooled!
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Lynn
Said this on 10-9-2009 At 07:49 pm
I don't get all the belly aching over the cost of veterinary care. There are many different pet insurance plans available so get pet insurance if you can't afford the vet bills. I think expecting the government to pay for spays/neuter or the bill that has been proposed is absolutely assanine. Have you not heard that the federal deficit is out of sight? However, we don't need to be adding more idiotic programs to it. Part of having a pet is providing veterinary care for them. Shop around for a vet....there are others out there that may offer a better deal but please don't take the "entitlement" mentality to the world of pet ownership now.
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Mary
Said this on 10-9-2009 At 09:34 pm
I have said that for years. More pets would be adopted if vets would come down on their prices - more pets - more visits. I recently lost 4 year old Riley to the tune of $1700 - and no one, not even a specialist could diagnose him. I'm considering adopting another - but can I really afford it?
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Mary
Said this on 10-9-2009 At 09:38 pm
Since you seem to know all about pet insurance - do you have it? Does it really pay off? Maybe you are in the upper middle class and vet bills just don't affect your budget. Well, for most of us, it is an act of love to fork over at least $150 for the annual checkup, plus the cost of good food. I have spent thousands!!
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Same
Said this on 10-10-2009 At 12:15 am
Same expereince here. Prices are astronomical...over $600 for a 10 lb dog spay. Medicines more than mine. All itemized(as the hopitla do..ie syringe $x, disposal of syrings $x, use of ? rm $x, use of gauze $x.....Problem is the vet is very good, though with an attitude. Many have horror stories from other vet's re care,so......caught!
Reply to this Comment
Laura
Said this on 10-10-2009 At 12:59 am
Lynn: Dogs and cats and pets should not have to be covered by insurance plans. For Pete's sake! Talk about an air of entitlement! We don't expect to have to have insurance coverage to pay for a routine physical exam and routine vaccinations. Shame on you for contributing to the problem by suggesting such an absurd solution! How about vets charging fair prices? There are vets out there who are not out for the money and their prices prove it. A simple ear infection just 2 years ago ran about $50 to $80 tops, including office visit. Same condition a mere 2 years later and now is $600? And the meds cost $20? The meds actually cost me $20 because I took the scrip and filled it myself at the human pharmacy. The vet would have paid cost so probably not even $5. Yet he sure wanted to profit off me and my old pooch. He swabbed his ear with cotton pads, trimmed his toe nails and hit me with a bill for $600. I should have insurance to protect me against that robbery? I think not! And have you even priced what you so ignorantly recommend?? The cost of insurance for pets is more prohibitive than the vet care. Its ridiculous and thus the #1 reason that its not catching on in America - maybe educate yourself on what you recommend before you recommend it. I was going to say why don't you get a pet and research costs yourself before you condemn petowners, but then I realized I love pets and would not want to put one thru abuse. Have a great day and maybe don't read pet forums if you have no empathy for pets or their loving owners who are being exploited by greedy vets.
Reply to this Comment
Jessica
Said this on 10-10-2009 At 01:03 pm
First, let me say that I advocate the use of low cost spay/neuter programs and think they are fantastic. I actually volunteer at a spay/neuter clinic that just opened in my city. But here's how I feel about the price difference, and the difference in what you get for your money when comparing the two.

At The Humane Society they usually don't intubate their patients, instead they typically mask their patients which doesn't always keep them under deep enough anesthesia (I've seen more than a few cats partially wake up during a surgery while only having a mask on, never with an endotracheal tube.) They usually skip a pre-medication and skip right to induction, patients typically don't receive proper pain management post-op and aren't monitored or kept warm enough during surgery, which can make for a really rough recovery.

At a reputable veterinarian's office, you're paying for your cat and/or dog's vitals to be taken at least every 5-10 minutes (Temp, Blood Pressure, SPO2/CO2 levels, Heart Rate, Respiration Rate, etc) while they are under anesthesia. You're also paying for safe pre-medications and induction agents, as well as warming blankets, hot water pads, intravenous catheters and warmed fluids during surgery and up to two hours post-op to help with recovery, and you will typically never walk out the door without a pain medication for the cat/dog for post-op pain.

So there is big price difference, but there is also a big difference in the standard of care your pet will receive.
Reply to this Comment
Laura
Said this on 10-11-2009 At 10:30 pm
Thanks for the detailed info, Jessica, and given in a professional, calm, intelligent noninsulting way always works wonders, doesn't it? I believe you 100%, but also find it such a shame that the care at the "Humane" societies sounds far less than humane... isn't there some irony in that? Oh well...
Reply to this Comment
Kath
Said this on 10-12-2009 At 04:37 pm
With all the great info all of you have provided, I STILL can't see paying these prices for one of the most basic services a vet provides.
It is a routine op and costs should not fluctuate so widely. A broken leg, something swallowed, a high temp., etc. need investigation and usually test galore, but a routine procedure should not put an owner in the poorhouse.
These days, most people can't afford the health insurance on their kids so I can see why most folks don't even consider pet insurance.
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Jane
Said this on 10-14-2009 At 06:53 pm
I've always had 3 dogs. Two have died and I have one right now. I would love to adopt more dogs, but with the cost of pet care now, I can't afford to. It's a shame!
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