Cost Discrepancies in Veterinarian Services: Are you Shopping Around?
Posted on | February 3, 2010 | 2 Comments
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:
| Clinic A | Clinic B | Clinic C | PetSmart Banfield | Clinic D | Price Range | |
| General Exam | $40 | $57 | $44 | $34.95 | $48.50 | $34.95 – $57 |
| Spay | $120 | $374 | $218 | $354.18 | $208.69 | $120 – $374 |
| Neuter | $64 | $239 | $153 | $194.47 | $140.64 | $64 – $239 |
| Rabies Shot* | $25 | $18 | $45 | $15.95 | $28.89 (+ mandatory checkup fee of $48.50) | $15.95 – $45 |
*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?
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Tags: cost of owning a pet > Saving Money > saving money on pets > veterinarian costs
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2 Responses to “Cost Discrepancies in Veterinarian Services: Are you Shopping Around?”
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I have Joined the Yakezie Challenge!
February 3rd, 2010 @ 10:39 am
Oh yeah…we shopped around to find our vet since we were just out of college and broke when we got our Dachshund mutt 5 years ago. Most places were charging a minimum of $75 a visit. Fairbanks Animal Clinic came up the lowest in our area and we’ve used them ever since. When we got a Black Lab a couple of years ago, they charged $150 less to spay her than the other 5 places I called. Thankfully, they are close to my job so it’s still pretty convenient even though we’ve moved.
I haven’t priced out vets since then, but based on conversations with other dog owners, Fairbanks is still earning my business. I was amazed at what most places wanted to charge!
[Reply]
July 30th, 2010 @ 8:02 am
[...] After checking with several veterinarians, I found that SNAP’s wellness clinic was about half of the price. Danny Boy was neutered (the poor man), tested for feline leukemia, given a set of vaccines that included rabies, feline distemper and feline leukemia, pain medication to take home with us, a dose of Frontline, a Capstar, and we purchased non-scoopable litter while his wound heals. Lyla was given an office exam (chub-chub is 1.5 pounds over weight!), rabies/distemper/feline leukemia vaccination, a Frontline dosage, and a Capstar which almost immediately kills all fleas and other things on your pets. We also left with 3 months worth of Frontline doses for the two of them. [...]