Vets do not charge as much as they should considering how much a Surgeon may charge. Same job different species.

Thank you Sara J for your honesty

It depends on your income IMO.

If you love your pet, you will pay what ever it cost to keep him healthy and safe

I don't believe Pet insurance is worth it because unless your animal is in need an operation, the insurance doesn't pay. I think Vets do charge to much.

These days to have pets is luxury if you really take care about them.

You pay what you get. Its up to you.

l can't afford insurance for myself let alone for my pets

No. Yes. Yes.

yes, no depends

Animal care including medicines are not subsidised by the Govt. at all. That is why vet care etc is so expensive. The same applies to their equipment.

On a Saturday my dog accidentally got a deep cut on his leg. Run to the vet. He used super glue (what?!) and said keep him immobile (??!?) for 3 days. For a horrible amount of money. The wound opened as soon as we left the “repair-shop”. Bandaged the wound and got online and somehow found a vet in America for a small fee she was with us day and night for 2 weeks, till the wound closed securely, healed beautifully. She was an exceptional vet. She worried and she was happy and she did everything to help. That’s just a story but I learned a lot from it. No vet needed - I care well about my dog and vets can be not just expensive but dangerous. Studies? Do everyone one of them love animals? That cannot be learned or bought. God bless the exceptions!

If I could afford pet insurance I probably wouldn’t need it. My pets stay relatively healthy but if it’s serious my vet allows us to pay the bill off in a timely manner

I used to think this all the time but I figure that a pet is unable to let the vets know what is wrong, they have to do different tests or xrays that can put the price up. Pets are not covered under the government and Pharmac or the likes and that is why the charges. Drug companies are the ones that charge the vets so high. Then the vets have to be paid for this and because they are our pets we are responsible for paying for their Bill's. I love my pets and I guess it is what counts.

No pet insurance. Just pay if anything happens. Which it has.

Pet insurance is a good idea as vets do charge lots

Pet insurance is usually only good for a pet up until a certain age .... whilst good vets are great people and take great care of all animals because we love our pets as much as we do our human family they know they can charge exorbitant fees ... great vets will tell you if the quality of life is worth the expense of the treatment

Pet insurance is too expensive especially when they age a bit and need more care

Animals like people have the right to good health care there are many health plans for animals. Some are putting some of the fees charged for into animal rescue.. there could be no better service than to support animal rescues hey RUSSELB I liked your shot at humour

How about a Vet joke? If you lock your dog and your partner in the boot of your car and leave it locked for for10 minutes. Guess who is pleased to see you when you let them out? Apologies everyone it's just my warped sense of humour.

Vets charge what it is worth even though many consider it way too much. It all depends on the vet and how they approach people. Some are good and can talk a person out of several thousand Dollars without a second thought others are flat out charging for a consultation without making the pet owner think that thye have been robbed blind. As for Pet Insurance look at the fine print generally speaking it's a waste of money just like Health Insurance you pay a lot of money and get covered for very little.

Vets are not subsidised by government so need to charge an appropriate cost to cover time, overheads and materials, tests etc. Insurance is a good idea.

All types of insurance are now so expensive.

Vets and insurance is too expensive i looked into pet insurance for my dog and i found them too expensive so i started taking my pet to the vet school when she needed surgery and they charged half the cost then the vet and the staff was so nice.

Vets and animals and insurance are all too expensive

Very expensive and I can't afford insurance.

The money charged can be horrendous but having written that, I have spent a small fortune on the 'problem child' (as the vet calls him).

I think Vets are very expensive-we have 2 cats -one with health problems and one very healthy. pet Insurance is a bit dicey -for older animals it really wasn't worth it. Love my cats and would do anythingfor them.

Shop around for vets. I was seeing a vet up until a few months ago whose prices I thought where good. I got quoted for a procedure which seemed high. So rang my old vet from years ago, price quoted was literally half of what the other vet was quoting! Pet insurance is good if you start from as soon as you buy puppy or kitten. I've had it for one of my cats but didn't start until she was older because pet insurance wasn't around when I got her. Every time I went to claim they would want every note under the sun to try and prove every ailment was a pre existing condition.... Was definitely a waste of money for me. I've known others though who claim for everything and actually get paid though. I just put aside money for anything they will need or unexpected expenses now.

what price do you place on your pets

Depends on the vet. I agree some seem to charge an arm and a leg and demand up front or immediate payment for any procedures, etc. So I suggest you shop around if anything needs to be done like teeth extractions and such things. I have been going to the same vet for years with both my dogs. One died 12 years ago and my current one is 11 years old. I just had her teeth cleaned and some extractions and over $1200 bill plus when I went back for follow check up got another $40 bill which I thought was a bit much. I have heard some like the pet insurance but most feel it is a bit of a rip off as so many things are not included and you often have an amount you have to pay anyway.

This is a hard one, not like for humans covered by Medicare! We don't have Pet Insurance but if needed to would somehow find the money to pay for care required for our four legged family members. These day there is Humm and perhaps could use their financial not interest only $8 month accounting fees.

Vets are too expensive - it is why I no longer have a pet, but then so are some doctors and specialist. I saw one of the latter the other day, was with him less than 10 minutes the charge was $190 of which i got $76 back from Minicare - the rest was not claimable thru Private Health Insurance. Pet Insurance is a massive scam and the reason Insurers, including Private health Insurance companies like Bupa and Medibank Ltd are so keen on it is that it is almost 100% Profir, which in Bupa's case they can take back to their owners in England!. Check out the Exclusions -practically every thing is excluded or excluded on the grounds that it is an "existing condition"

Vets are expensive ,but if my pets get sick I do"nt worry about the cost ,I pay what ever I have to because I love them

Vets are expensive but so would our own medical costs be if it wasn't subsidized

Isn't it too not to?

There charges can be quite expensive if your animals has a major health complaint or has an accident. I have been very lucky and none of my pets have had any issues. For me pet insurance is a waste of money as I pay less than $200 for my dog and cat each year.

Vets are expensive but you don't look at cost when your beloved fur baby is injured on in pain. I have pet insurance and found it worthwhile but everyone has to make up their own minds.

Yes: my dog needed an operation on her leg I shopped around 3 out of 4 vets said the operation would cost around $3800 to $6000 I found a really good vet in Brisbane who was 2 hours away but he charged $1800 for the same operation I found him excellent and my dog is fine now

Vet care can definitely be expensive. We haven't had any serious issues so far. Mainly just routine vaccinations which cost $100 once a year and one trip to check out an issue which resulted in antibiotics which was about $100 as well. I did price vet insurance but it is also terribly pricey and restrictive in what they cover. It might be something I look into it further later, but not now.

Yes they are expensive but they study for 7 years longer than a doctor We need them and they cover more than domestic pets what about all the stock they look after cattle horses etc

Yes they do and that is anywhere in the world. The are enormously expensive in Australia.

Yes, vets do charge too much and there should be more vet clinics that cater for the lower income families like they do in the UK. They are getting too greedy and so are the insurance companies. We have two cats and they have their regular check ups and booster shots which is pretty expensive, especially as one of my cats has a urinary problem and is on vet diet food, also very expensive, but there are a lot of animals out there that suffer because their owners can't afford the vet fees so they either don't get treated or they are put into a shelter, or worse. Something needs to be done about it.

Got no idea as I don't own a pet, but I know others that do and they will spend what it takes to help there pet/s

Overcharge.pets sometimes can heal themselves.

It depends on the Vet, we changed vets after spending $6,000 for treatment for a cat only to find she had cancer and the vet was trying to get us to have him give her Chemotherapy. The new vet that we have been going to for about 10 years now told us straight away when our 3 year old dog got cancer that it was better to let her go as we could spend a lot and the chances of her surviving were not great. Another older vet we had used before he retired was really fair, charged about half the fee most of the others were charging. So it does pay to check them out.

I think vet charges are pretty fair

They do charge too much, but the vet where Iive is flexible

Yes they charge too much but I will find the money somehow if something is wrong with any of my 3

We have just been given wonderful treatment. for our much loved cat , definitely worth it and l believe he charged us less than he should have as he knew we were on a budget

Vets do not charge too much. Their consultations are not unreasonable, but they are constrained by the pharmaceutical companies. One of my dogs had a bad condition that was eased by the same medication I was prescribed for my osteoarthritis. $40 at the vet but less than $10 for me, because it was on PBS (Yes, I gave her my medication). The vets don’t have any choice. There’s just no government backup for them. As for pet insurance - if your pets don’t have a preexisting condition, I heartily recommend finding an insurance company that covers your pets as part of their home and contents policy. I use RACQ. Pet cover adds very little to the premium. It depends on your pet’s needs, but this form of cover works perfectly for us.

I had some friends who had a cat that was bitten by a snake, they forked out about $3000 on top of whatever the pet insurance covered to help it. But it only lasted a few months. Crazy how expensive it can be. But the worth is determined by the owner. For most pets I would say no, but for my sister's German Shepard wow that dog was far more than just a dog. When it joined the family it became part of the family.

Yes they do charge to much but they have to know a lot more on each different animal and just put your money aside in a different account and call it pet insurance, it depends on the situation

They are a welcome sight when you need them and are worth their weight - but not in gold!

I never had any type of pet (love is expensive) and going foreward I will never have any type of pet!Edited 28-Mar-21 05:24am

Yep. Insurance just doesn't cover your day to day expenses, which are the big ones. Only accidents or rare disease, so it's not worth it

Vets cost more because they aren’t subsidised by the government like G.P’s

I don't have a pet so I am not sure about how much a vet has changed

I will pay whatever it costs to keep my little dog free from any pain. And I am already doing that.

VETPAY it's like Zip and Afterpay

Recently took the cat to the vet. $165 and review in 2 weeks. Further $135 which included 10 ml of medication at $55! Same meds $14 on line. Ok so can I get a script for this? Sure. But that will cost &26! Even if I request a script from my GP it only costs me $10! I mean logon and press print! Not happy!

No pets right now.

No definitely not to much vets charge.i think it is worth it.i think it is normal to pay whatever is needed for the pet they are apart of the family

What ever my pet needs I will help him to live a good life. I do not think pet insurance is worth it. If you adopt a pet we must take on any expense needed to ensure he/she is kept healthy. If you are not prepared to pay the cost then do not adopt. It is very selfish and inhumane if you let them suffer because you do not want to pay what is necessary. They feel pain no different to us and we would seek medical needs for ourselves.

Yes, No...and No