Omg,vet Charges For Spays Are Highway Robbery!!!!!

1 bruce 1

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This may sound bad, but you don't HAVE to get your pet spayed or neutered. On the other hand, taking care of pets is never cheap anyways! A lot of people wait until an emergency to help their pets. And then the problems may be piling at that point... And the bills.
True, but it's not the most responsible thing ever, and I'll be honest....a female cat never really goes "out" of season/heat and they can be impossible to live with.
 

Kieka

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As someone who’s kitty cat is currently losing their battle with mammary cancer (probably due to not being spayed early in life) I completely disagree.

Spay and neuter as soon as you can. I did indeed have huge vet bills now just because I didn’t spay early on... and my kitty cat won’t be with me soon either... most likely because of me.
:grouphug2:

Same thing happened with me and a rabbit about ten years ago. I swore that I would never wait again so I wouldn't have to live with more guilt over it. Don't beat yourself up too much. All we can sometimes do is learn and apply the lessons to the next time.
 

FelisCatus

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:grouphug2:

Same thing happened with me and a rabbit about ten years ago. I swore that I would never wait again so I wouldn't have to live with more guilt over it. Don't beat yourself up too much. All we can sometimes do is learn and apply the lessons to the next time.
Eh I had made a rant post the other day angry at myself because I do not want them to just be a lesson (not sure if you were part of that thread).

For anyone reading this thread, let ME be your lesson and read my pain:

Rant: I Have Failed And Will Probably Never Recover

Spay and neuter. No question about it.
 

Fish Em

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It may seem like life or death. My sister had an intact? Female black lab that died of ovarian cancer at 10 years old. She had regular vet visits, vaccines, medications for arthritis, good diet otherwise. My point is that spaying and neuter is optional though the price for taking care of a pet for its life is costlier.
 

Jem

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People on this site often complain about medical costs when they don't do their homework on the true cost of pet ownership.
Having had 2 palliative cats (one long term and one short term) and one with aggressive fast moving cancer (tried surgery, did not work) - all culminating at the same time, whom all passed within two months from each other - needing euthanasia (more $$$)...
ANY vet bill under a thousand is decent and anything under 500 is a steal!!!
I get that MY perception may be a bit distorted at the moment, but I will NEVER complain of the cost of normal, routine animal care.
 

Willowy

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With dogs, spay/neuter is optional, although I really recommed spaying females before age 3. With cats it's not really an option not to spay/neuter. Of course if a female is allowed outside she'll get pregnant, and we've already established that raising kittens costs more than a spay. And a cat in heat can become a real escape artist. Even if kept scrupulously indoors away from males, females cycle in and out of heat so much that they're just about guaranteed to get reproductive problems. And if you think a regular spay is expensive, you don't wanna know how much an emergency pyo spay costs!

For males, if an unneutered male is allowed outside he'll fight and rack up big bills getting injured all the time. And if he's kept indoors, he might not rack up big vet bills but you're probably going to end up spending a whole lot on odor removers.
 

Minxxy

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Having pets (dogs or cats ,we have 3 dogs 2 cats)
is not inexpensive. Neutering is the least of your worries. That's always the first thing we did. Then come the unexpected medical issues. Our Airedale Terrier who passed away last year at 13 years old and issues from the start. We got him at 9 weeks old. At 12 weeks old he was at the emergency Vet due to a severe intestinal blockage from eating dirt , $2500.00 . Then came two surgeries for Torn ACL , $4000.00. Not to mention the routine Vet bills or the trips to the Vet when one of them gets sick , averaging $200.00 -$300.00 each visit.
We love them like family so it's no problem.
 
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Seryy'smom

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Having pets (dogs or cats ,we have 3 dogs 2 cats)
is not inexpensive. Neutering is the least of your worries. That's always the first thing we did. Then come the unexpected medical issues. Our Airedale Terrier who passed away last year at 13 years old and issues from the start. We got him at 9 weeks old. At 12 weeks old he was at the emergency Vet due to a severe intestinal blockage from eating dirt , $2500.00 . Then came two surgeries for Torn ACL , $4000.00. Not to mention the routine Vet bills or the trips to the Vet when one of them gets sick , averaging $200.00 -$300.00 each visit.
We love them like family so it's no problem.
Wow, my parents and my late husband and I, must have been extremely fortunate, as, never in my life did we ever have any emergency vet visits! Nothing but the usual vaccinations/spay/neuter. I would have quit having pets, if they were that much of a financial drain! Too many other priorities in life!
 

kittyluv387

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Wow, my parents and my late husband and I, must have been extremely fortunate, as, never in my life did we ever have any emergency vet visits! Nothing but the usual vaccinations/spay/neuter. I would have quit having pets, if they were that much of a financial drain! Too many other priorities in life!
To each his own. For many of us here the pets are one of our main priorities! To us pets are not accessories or enhancements to our lives. They are what makes our homes a real home. They are what we live for. They are our babies, buddies and companions. Having a cat was what I have always wanted growing up and now I’m fortunate to have 3! You are definitely lucky to have had such healthy pets!
 

Mow Mow -^-^-

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I paid about $100 for my kitten's spay at a vaccination clinic. That was probably the cheapest price, other vets that I called charged around $150 -$450. I was considering bringing her to an animal hospital for about $200-$250 because I was almost dissuaded by the price being so low, but I talked to ppl who had used this clinic and no one had anything bad to say.

I would agree that vet prices can be VERY expensive, but some of the cost depends on how much 'extra' they do. My sister took in a stray and her cat had problems with vomiting and a clinic charged $500 just to basically do a fecal test and find out kitty had tapeworms and do dewormer... but also did a ton of extra tests like X-rays and bloodwork and whatnot (which may not have been necessary) so that went into the cost. Some vets do a lot more testing than others, and it's probably to cover their butts, not to cheat you.

If money is rough for you, I would call around BEFORE taking your cat someplace and getting slapped with a $500+ bill. Different vets DO charge INCREDIBLY different prices for the same thing. If you have a sickly, elderly cat, you may need x-rays/bloodwork/monitoring etc. etc., but an otherwise healthy kitten *probably* doesn't.

Also, look up your local humane society, they may offer spay/neuter vouchers for low cost spay (which may or may not be dependent on your income.)
 

Mow Mow -^-^-

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Or no one should ever take in a stray(as my Seryy was), or take a free(low cost) kitten or puppy from an ad......wait until the owners have to turn them over to a shelter, where they will be vet checked,vaccinated and neutered/spayed,and one can get them for about $60!!!
No!!! You did right for adopting a homeless kitten! Shelters, while being the most humane option available for the millions of homeless pets, aren't good places for animals. Kitten would be jammed into a small cage halfway taken up by a litterbox, shoved next to other hissing cats. When people (such as yourself) finally came to adopt, maybe she doesn't do well in that environment and appears shy, withdrawn or mean. Maybe you see her crouched at the back hissing and decide to try again later... she stays in her cage and gets left behind.

Or maybe the owners aren't even responsible enough to take her to a shelter and just let her free...

Adopting from a shelter is often cheaper as they spay/neuter animals before release and may even do vaccines and other testing like FIV/leukemia. But you are NOT wrong for taking in a homeless kitten! Shelters have limited funds usually subsidized by donations/etc. so you may have saved not only this kitten's life, but another's by opening up a space at the shelter...
 

1 bruce 1

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Wow, my parents and my late husband and I, must have been extremely fortunate, as, never in my life did we ever have any emergency vet visits! Nothing but the usual vaccinations/spay/neuter. I would have quit having pets, if they were that much of a financial drain! Too many other priorities in life!
Financially sometimes pets aren't part of the priority if you need to pay bills and put chow on the table, in that case deciding not to have a pet is the smartest decision you can make.
99.9% of cats (and dogs) from my childhood until today have been hearty, healthy things that never needed emergency anything care in their 15-20 year long lifespans. A few of them have, and one cat we have here has racked up his share of vet bills. It's a financial drain sometimes, but if it's something that the animal has (when it comes to an illness) that can be helped, it's worth it when your buddy of 10 years means more than (often disposable) income.
 

Minxxy

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Wow, my parents and my late husband and I, must have been extremely fortunate, as, never in my life did we ever have any emergency vet visits! Nothing but the usual vaccinations/spay/neuter. I would have quit having pets, if they were that much of a financial drain! Too many other priorities in life!
That's good.You're very fortunate that you didn't have the need to use Emergency services.
I do agree with one point , people that don't have the means to deal with such issues should not have pets. Anything could happen at any time.
We have a savings account and Care Credit for such Emergencies. If we couldn't afford to properly care for three dogs and two cats we wouldn't have them. We also take care of a stray cat that our neighbors abandoned when they moved.
 

kashmir64

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I got very lucky. The shelter paid for my two. I adopted them, after fostering, for $20 each. This included spay, shots and microchip. And the vet who did the spay happens to be my personal vet, so I was fine with it.
However, if you already have a cat, the price for a spay is around $50-$55 at the clinic. This doesn't cover blood work or meds.

I just looked and for subsidized it's $30 to spay, full price is $45 and they offer pain meds for an additional $10.

There has to be something like this in your area.
 
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Seryy'smom

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I got very lucky. The shelter paid for my two. I adopted them, after fostering, for $20 each. This included spay, shots and microchip. And the vet who did the spay happens to be my personal vet, so I was fine with it.
However, if you already have a cat, the price for a spay is around $50-$55 at the clinic. This doesn't cover blood work or meds.

I just looked and for subsidized it's $30 to spay, full price is $45 and they offer pain meds for an additional $10.

There has to be something like this in your area.
Actually it turned out that I got a low cost spay for Seryy, because this veterinary clinic does them for Feral/Stray cats, and since my daughter had her 4 feral kittens from the horse farm done there, they were familiar with the location of the farm and my daughter, so when she told them Seryy came running across the road to her where she was working on the fence, they put her down as a stray. However, this place was an hour drive away, in another county,and there are no such deals in my county, even though it is a large county!
 

kashmir64

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However, this place was an hour drive away, in another county,and there are no such deals in my county, even though it is a large county!
Same here. My vet, the hospital (human), pretty much any store that carries anything is in the neighboring town an hour away and another county. (as the car drives). If I could fly, it's really not that far.
 

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It's around $60 here at any of the vet's.
 

Babypaws

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I agree that pets aren't cheap, but vets should not be charging such insane prices so that only the "very well off" should consider having one! Or no one should ever take in a stray(as my Seryy was), or take a free(low cost) kitten or puppy from an ad......wait until the owners have to turn them over to a shelter, where they will be vet checked,vaccinated and neutered/spayed,and one can get them for about $60!!!
I fully agree. Vet’s charges are outrageous. I took a kitten to the vet which was born in our yard because I was going to keep him inside. He received a deworming and his first distemper shot, cost was over $200. Next appointment was for second distemper shot, cost $106. He wasn’t in the office more than 20 minutes
my other cats were taken to a clinic to get their kitten shots and the highest cost was $49.
 

430amcat

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The vet I went to for spay charged for $540 something as I recall. I put my cat on whole coverage insurance ($50~ each month) and the insurance company reimbursed 90% of it, so I only paid $54. Include an overnight stay and all other stuff.

I figured getting insurance coverage was a good idea when I received a $1,000 bill from emergency room when my cat was still a kitten...so I swear it should never happen again...
 

Uncled

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My two were neutered at a low cost clinic for $100.00 each ,no blood work done,they were five months old at the time. The price also included vaccinations of your pet needed them.
 
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