Emergencies, cost and Vets

[Cat Daddy]

http://foxnews.smartmoney.com

— an annual exam for an animal is like an exam every seven years for a human.

Plus, animals are very good at hiding symptoms. "If you can catch something early or prevent it, that's your best cost savings ever," he says.

The longer you wait for medical care, the more expensive treatment is likely to be.

senior animals (6 and older) should be examined twice a year.

You should also know what's normal for your pet, says Peterson. Pay attention to how your animal looks and acts normally.

That way, if Fluffy's eyes look cloudy or Fido has a slight limp, you'll notice it right away.

"The vet counts on you to pick things up early," she says.

I didn't know about the 1 year being like 7 years, but that does make sense after thinking about a cat's lifespan compared to human.

We had the limp recently, it got worse over a day, and I got her into the Vet, who couldn't find anything broke and gave us a painkiller plus needed a urine sample to test for diabetes.

Cat is better, still need to return the sample though, timing has been off so being she is better I haven't been so worried to rush one in,

insured cat too, just got to turn in a claim yet, suppose I can wait till after the urine sample cost.

My Senior Catizen doesn't yet get the 2X year, but has been in for hyperthyroid blood test recently, thyroid was low, she's on the medicine and that's good it's working for her.

Markups on medication can be 100% to 250%, according to Veterinary Economics magazine.

But getting a better price can be as simple as heading to your local pharmacy, says O'Keefe.

"A lot of the medicines we [veterinarians] use are human medicines," he says. You can't use your insurance to cover your cat's medications, but you will certainly pay a lot less.

"It's really a convenience factor" to buy from your vet, says O'Keefe.

I noticed the last bottle I got came from the Cub pharmacy, but didn't know I could just take a pet perscription over there, I'll have to inquire about that for the next,

because Vet A got 200 for $20, vs. Vet B 14 for $30, so having 2 Vets involved helped cut cost dramatically.

The whole article is a good short read and had some other stuff in it, wanted to add it to a sticky at the top, but hopefully will help as is.

[Mitts & Tess]

Interesting to know you could take a perscription to a
pharmacy. Ive always had the vet give me the meds
at the end of an appointment. No option on getting
them cheaper. 250% mark up seems like goughing to me.

[RockysMom]

Senior animals (6 and older) should be examined twice a year.

[/quote]

Our Cat is 15 years old and we still only take her once a year for an exam. Going to the vet is just so stressful for her. And we've been lucky, she has never had any health problems. But if we would ever notice anything odd we would take her right away.