How much is too much to spend taking care of a beloved family pet?
Recently, I had to fork out another small fortune on blood tests for the man of the house: China. He’s 15 and a distinguished black rescue moggie, but has been showing signs of his old age and signs of distress. I booked an emergency appointment at our local veterinary hospital, which is part of a chain with dozens of branches across London. The vet took blood, leaving him with a sad, shaved patch of fur below his neck, telling me she would call with the results in a couple of days. “You can pay at reception,” she said.
And I did. Oh, I did. “That’ll be £311,” the receptionist told me, completely unfazed. “Just pop your card in for me.”
My card, I’m afraid to admit, didn’t have £311 on it to spend – so I had to put it on my credit card and mentally calculated what I would now not be doing with my children for the rest of the month. We wouldn’t be going to the cinema, we wouldn’t be getting a Friday night takeaway – and we wouldn’t be taking a day trip to Legoland over half-term. How could we? I’d just spent all our “spare” money on vet bills.
And I’m not alone – far from it. This week, the competition watchdog has said that vets should be forced to publish their price lists so pet owners can see all the costs up front – and then shop around for the best available offer.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that some pet owners are paying as much as 16.6 per cent more at large vet groups than at independent vets – and are also potentially overpaying for medicines. It also found that families like mine could be paying double for commonly prescribed medicines from vet surgeries, compared to online retailers – leading to hundreds of pounds in extra costs.
Amen. I spoke to friends with loved ones (animals) who have needed treatment, to find out how much they were forking out – and the results were staggering.
One friend said when her golden retriever, Sybil, needed an operation on her elbows in 2022, she had to fork out an astonishing £7,000 – and then recoup the costs from her pet insurers, later. But having to pay up-front maxed out her credit card to the extent that: “It didn’t go up high enough”. Coincidentally, she had to have a (human) hip replacement at the exact same time, saying: “Having both owner and dog hobbling around after mutual joint operations wasn’t the best time to be out of pocket.”
Another friend said that when it comes to her esteemed 13-year-old cat, Ned: “It’s £120 a month on insulin, then about £35 a month on alopecia tablets – but I buy them from an online pet pharmacy at the vet’s suggestion, because they’re cheaper from there.” Ned’s insurance alone, she said, is £180 a month. “When he has to have blood tests to check various levels, a vet visit skyrockets to the hundreds. But the tests have eased off because he’s currently stable.”
She added: “His diabetes food is also expensive – maybe as much as £70 a month. He’s also on various supplements for dry skin, which I get from an online pharmacy, because it’s cheaper. I spend so much that I really appreciate my vet telling me when to get things from elsewhere.”
The stark truth is that these bills are crippling ordinary families. Most of us would pay whatever it takes to keep our loved ones well and safe – and private vets, presumably, know that.
Even if you pay every month for pet insurance, as most of us do, there’s a lag in getting back what you pay up-front, and a cap for the total they’re willing to pay, too. And just like any other insurer, the more you use your policy, the more your premium will be the next year, when it’s time to renew. You’re out of pocket either way.
In my case, the irony of China’s extortionate blood test bill is that it showed he wasn’t diabetic and he doesn’t suffer from hyperthyroidism (and thank goodness). In fact, the vet said, “he’s just greedy”. I’ll take it, of course – and I’m grateful. I just wish I hadn’t had to pay £311 to find out that my cat is a bit of a pig.
