One of our cats was limping a lot over the last two days. Then he could hardly move, and had an accident because he couldn't make it to the litter in the basement.... first time he's ever had an accident. So, we took him to the vet (he was becoming listless, too).

They looked him over, took an X-ray and gave him a painkiller injection, plus some anti-inflammatory medicine as a follow up. No real harm, he's somehow "sprained" an elbow. It took 30 minutes.

$275.

That just somehow seems wrong. They always produce surprising bills, but usually for our dog, who is a big girl, so it's sort of expected. But $275 for half an hour looking at a cat??? Should we change our vet or am I being unrealistic?

Welcome to the club! You have found out the true cost of health care in Canada....by taking your pet to the vet!

This is not unusual, especially if a qualified vet (rather than one of his technicians) deals with you. I'm often shocked at vet's prices.

We found that Animal hospitals are less exspensive than a private practice. Their care is also very professional and friendly.

A lot of them call themselves 'animal hospitals' even though they are just normal vet practices. Our Ottawa one is a good example.

I enrolled with our nearest vet when we first got here as our dog got sick and I didn't have the time (or the inclination) to shop around - I just wanted her seen asap close to home.

Then came the time for her annual vaccs. I rang 4 within driving distance. One about 15 minutes drive away was $60 cheaper. I have enrolled her in that practise now.

Not sure how you would do it when cat is sick tho - you just need them seen asap. Maybe now you know how expensive it is get prices for vaccs as I would presume if the vaccs are cheaper the care might be too.

(I might be completely wrong tho!)

We take our cats to one of two vets in town, their prices are quite different. For some reason we are still using the more expensive one ??

BTW, our older cat gets arthritis in one leg when it's cold and damp, she limps and is extra grumpy. I have some cat painkiller from the vets - Metacam- and I give her 1ml when this happens. She likes the taste of it and it works. Maybe worth getting some in for yours?

Definitly shop around. Country practices tend to be cheaper than city ones. The practice we use was recommended by a breeder. They do a mix of large and small animals and charge by treatment rather than animal size. I also think they provide the care an animal needs rather than the care the owner will pay for.

I mentioned this before. We insure our dog. A few years ago thre daft mutt went and broke her leg. The claim was held up because the insurance company would not believe the vet had provided so much treatment for so little money.

It is 20 minutes drive up the valley, but I'm not going anywhere else.

That's what the vet gave us. It's an anti-inflammatory too. That part of the bill was $46 (plus tax) for 15ml.....

ah, so keep the leftovers in the fridge and use it when she's out of sorts again. Works well for our cat. The vet is ok with it as long as we don't dose her everyday as it can be bad for the liver.

My elderly collie is on a cocktail of drugs - Deramaxx for arthritis, thyroxin and lysodren (a chemotherapy tablet for a pituitary tumor). She's been on them for around 4 years. Cost from the vet each month is c$300. Cost from a regular pharmacy is under $150. If you need to pay for long term medication, get a script written up that you can get dispensed anywhere.

Never thought of that. Good idea. Bleeding obvious now you've mentioned it though.

+1. My old border collie is on Deramax too. $100 for 30 pills (he takes a half pill per day). My local pharmacist charges $60.

Vet clinics (especially the corporate/chain ones) realise that people will shop around for the best price on vaccines and routine surgeries and will sometimes even make a loss on these to get people in the door. However, the lost income will be compensated by higher charges for other services. I would suggest not picking your vet by what seems like the cheapest at the beginning.

As far as regular vet clinics calling themselves hospitals. There are strict guidelines for what the practice can be called e.g. clinic vs hospital and they are inspected to make sure they fulfil the criteria. It is based on the facilities they have. The criteria is very different to the UK however so you may well be surprised as to what constitutes a vet hospital here.

$120 for two booster shots and an annual check-up for our mutt. Having just visited the dentist, I thought that was quite reasonable.