Before Lyla—our half-Siamese, half-attitude, kitty cat—the only veterinarians I had ever come into contact with were ones for our cows (60 in total) on the farm. Every few months our vet would come in, take some temperatures for cows that were looking a bit weary and give lipstick-sized pills to others. Occasionally we witnessed a twisted stomach surgery. Under anesthesia, the cow would be put on its back and hoisted up by all four hooves so that the vet could operate.

            Now I am only responsible for the health of one animal. In the last 2.5 years that I have owned Lyla she has had her vaccinations, she was spayed, and I had a general exam for her in order to fly her to Houston from Florida where I used to live. But other than that, we have stayed out of veterinarian offices.

            When I had these services done, I never questioned whether or not I was getting the best deal. After all, a spay surgery is the same at any clinic, and a rabies vaccination has the same material no matter who administers it, so why should I worry about pricing these services out? Inspired by a recent conversation with my carpooling buddy for work who informed me of his suspicion of price differences found between vets, I decided to investigate. I googled local vets in my area (Houston, TX), and chose 5 of them to call and ask their prices for typical cat veterinarian needs, such as being spayed/neutered, rabies shot, and general exam.

            Below is what I found:

*May last for either 1 year or 3 year, which could partially explain the difference in pricing

            As you can see, there is a huge range of prices for veterinarian services. I know I will be shopping around for vet prices before taking Lyla in again.

            How has your vet bills compared with those above? Have you found price differences between clinics?