feline dentistry!

[vash]

island, good point. talking to one of the vets decribe the procedure amazed me. it was like talking to a dentist that melded with a doctor. that is alot of information to learn for a career. and all from patients that cant talk.

your less than $300 bill makes me ill.

[island911]

Originally posted by vash
you hear that noise? that is the sound of my fun money evaporating. . .. .
.. .your less than $300 bill makes me ill.

Cliff, you certainly could shop around. One thing about the Ga . . .er; Bay-area, is all the DINCWADs (dual-income, no-children, with a dog)s. These are the people whos pets *are* their children. Some of them (usually drama-queens) actualy like having outrageous Vet bills. They get go-on about how their lovely Tinkerbell had an MRI just to make sure . . .

If you're at one of those vet clinics, you will likely find Vet-doc's with much the same 'tude as Human-doc's. . .. .and bills to match.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by island911
From what I've seen, Vet's do NOT go in to the profession chasing big money/power . . .. unlike the majority of human doc's.

btw, funny timing of this thread. I took my Mom's cat to the Vet yesterday. It had wounds from a nasty fight. The Vet anesthetized the cat, fixed the wounds. . . and then suggested yanking a few bad teeth, and cleaning the rest.

From this thread, I was expecting $600+ . . . the bill was less than $300.

Hold onto that vet. Our German Shepherd went in for a foxtail in his ear canal. Was getting infected (our bad for not seeing it sooner). Was anesthetized, fox tail removed, and he was perscribed an antibiotic pill. Total damage was $675. As repayment, during a rousing game of fetch in our front yard, our GSD decides to eat a small dog who happened to come by. I go with the dog's owner to another vet to get the little guy stitched back up. Vet decides the dog is in shock, keeps overnight, stitched up with drain tubes, and sent home with meds, total damage $1400.

Don't tell me most Vet's are not out to take advantage.

[RickM]

Originally posted by RickM
Vet costs are out of control.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[QUOTE]Originally posted by island911
[B]See, I don't get that.

What's not to get?

Did you read my entire post?

As mentioned it's not necessarily the initial cost but charging where they don't have to.

On another recnt thread I described nhow my dog, who was near death, was diagnosed with 5 or 6 different afflictions. Turned out to be Lyme disease....oh and after I spent ALOT of $$$ for their mistake...and I'm the one who insisted on giving him the test.

I also don't like the practice of Vets relabeling over the counter vitamins and other products and charging exorbanent amounts of money.

[Tim Hancock]

I grew up in a rural area, if a cat got sick it got a well placed .22 round if is was lucky. What is next? What if the family goldfish gets sick? I can understand a couple hundred on a good family dog, maybe. Am I missing something here?

[island911]

thing is, I've recently spent a lot of time in (human) hospitals and a dentists chair. My POV is that HUMAN medicine costs are the ones out of control. . .. .not vet-med.

I get the felling that some of you guys have some greeder than norm Vets.

. .. ."relabeling over the counter vitamins and other products and charging exorbanent amounts of money." . . ? I rememer hearing of some dog-pill that was infused in to some liver-flavored chuck, so that humans wouldn't buy the (much cheaper) animal-form of the SAME medication.

FWIW, I do know that there has been a lot of corporate take-over of independent Vet hospitals. . . .kinda like Walmart let's control this market sector type of business. I stay very clear of those places. But I do know that their (corporate) focus is all about schemes and plans to separate you from your money.

No matter what the business, I figure, that the owner/operated places are more commited to keeping happy customers. YMMV

[Burnin' oil]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
I grew up in a rural area, if a cat got sick it got a well placed .22 round if is was lucky. What is next? What if the family goldfish gets sick? I can understand a couple hundred on a good family dog, maybe. Am I missing something here?

Same here, Tim. I don't get it. When I was growing up dogs, cats, horses, cattle, sheep (oh, those sheep) came and went. I wouldn't spend ten bucks on a cat.

[RickM]

Originally posted by island911

I get the felling that some of you guys have some greeder than norm Vets.

This is probably the case. I'm sure I pay more than someone in rural PA might. There are alot of vets around here and I've been to quite a few over the years. I also talk to family and friends about their experiences. It's common for most to feel taken.
I realize there are overhead costs, education, insurance etc but when a vet obviously leverages emotion to elicit profit or uses blatant trickery to overcharge I have a problem.

[kang]

Try those teeth-cleaning cat treats. They can really help.

[tswaney]

Come on people!

You're missing the obvious solution that I like used....marry a vet. She would charge about $100 or less for your cat's dentistry procedure, Vash. Of course this is semi-rural KS, and many pet owners treat problems with a shotgun.

[JavaBrewer]

Time to take kitty for a drive...

[88'3xBlk911Cab]

Wasn't it just a month or so ago you guys were voicing sympathy for a fellow Pelican who had lost his kitty to a sudden illness? Now you are talking about shotguns and not wanting to spend $10 on a cat? WTF

Cliff, you did the right thing. The vet bill seems a little high but it will mean the world to your girlfriend.

[RickM]

Originally posted by dmoolenaar
Time to take kitty for a drive...

LOL, good one. Maybe if you tell them they're going to sleep with the fishes they'll follow willingly.


BTW, my pup is looking down again today. I hope the Lyme didn't return.

[Halm]

BTDT, last week as a matter of fact. $285 for a cleaning, 3 teeth extracted and the ID thing implanted in his skin.

The vet called during the procedure to make sure that we knew there was an endodonist in Charlotte that could do a root canel at $600 per tooth. We didn't hesitate: YANK 'EM! Took the cat about 5 days to recover, but he is happier and more friendly than ever.

[island911]

Originally posted by SoCal911SC
I'd pay for the $65 "Sweet Release" special.

At least we have that option, for our pets.

Imagine what the cost would be if you had to let a dog die on it's own; "naturally" . . .say, a dog with a brain tumor that couldn't control it's self. Vet's would make a killing, on not killing. ("ya better leave Max here at the hospital . .. .else he will crap all-over your house, and may bite the children .. . ")

I wonder how much human-medicine costs would come down, if we had that $65 "Sweet Release" special option, for ourselves.

[Tim Hancock]

A .22 round is much cheaper than $65.00! Something is just plain wrong with people spending $500 + dollars on a pet cat. We need John Stossel to do a "give me a break" special on this !

[Halm]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
A .22 round is much cheaper than $65.00! Something is just plain wrong with people spending $500 + dollars on a pet cat. We need John Stossel to do a "give me a break" special on this !

Tim, I think it is you that need to give the rest of us a break. If I want to spend a couple of hundred dollars on my dog or cat, that's my business. If you want to solve your pet issues with a .22, I am not going to say a word. Everyone values a pet differently and that is okay as long as they are treated humanely.

[island911]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
A .22 round is much cheaper than $65.00! . . .

What next, are you going to be posting;
'how to remove blood-stains . . .dry-cleaner wants $65 just to remove a few little splatters ' ?

[Tim Hancock]

Halm, you are correct, it is your business what you spend your money on, sorry if I offended you. The thought of spending $650 or whatever it was on a cat's dental issues that was originally posted here just cracks me up. Like I said I grew up in a rural area and we loved our pets, but they lived outside and were treated as pets, not family members. We presently have two dogs and 6 or 7 cats that we feed, water and provide dog and cathouses for. The cats reproduce and proceed to get hit by cars and run off on occasion. I actually paid money once at a vet to have the dog get it's shots.

I stand behind my opinion, it is a free country right?

[Halm]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
I stand behind my opinion, it is a free country right?

Tim, absolutely! And it sounds like we are on the same page. My aplogies if I over reacted.