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How to save if you have a pet

Ally Hunt
by Lovemoney Staff Ally Hunt on 23 July 2009  |  Comments 8 comments

Pets can cost a fortune - but there are some tricks that can save you a few quid.

I'm always keen to try and reduce my family's outgoings - be it by switching energy supplier, shopping around and making the most of offers. And one area you can save quite a bit that many people don't realise about concerns their pets.

Our cat, Arthur, costs very little to keep, to be honest. That is until the dreaded visits to the vet. And that's because his annual booster injection, plus a few month's worth of flea and worming treatments adds up to a pretty hefty sum.

Well that was until a few years ago when I discovered online pet companies. Because although we rely on vets to tell us what our pets need, what many of us don't realise is that many of the non-prescriptive treatments and medications can be bought elsewhere, and much more cheaply.

And I'm not talking about buying generic products (like supermarket own brand ibuprofen being far cheaper than Nurofen). Nope, I mean the exact same brand-named product can generally be bought online, just significantly cheaper.

Our cat, for example, has been recommended Frontline Spot on to prevent fleas. Now, purchasing a six month supply from the vet costs a hefty £25. But buy it online from a company like VetUK and you pay just £16.93, with free delivery. That's a saving of over £7 for very little effort!

What's more, I can buy worming treatments far more cheaply too. And our cat food can be bought in bulk for a third less than from the local pet shop..

Prescriptions

And interestingly, the same applies to many prescription medications too. You'll need to ask your vet for a prescription for any specialist medication, but if you send it to a veterinary medicine supplier like VetUK you will generally be able to purchase it more cheaply than you would directly through a vet.

There's clearly some serious money to be saved - and we only have one pet. Imagine how much you could save if you had a houseful?

 

 

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Comments (8)

  • killick_becki
    Love rating 58
    killick_becki said

    Just watch out as the vets can charge you to write a prescription. My local vets charge £8.13 to write a prescription so you have to make sure that you are saving more than that.

    Don't forget to ask them to write a prescription that can be used several times aswell, then you only pay the £8.13 and it means your are increasing your savings. This works well for prescribed flea treatment for example.

    Report on 27 July 2009  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • AuntFlo
    Love rating 24
    AuntFlo said

    I think it is a shame this country is so short sighted when it comes to vets they are a complete rip off.

    Other European countries regulate the fees they can charge but not the UK and many vets become defensive when you ask for a prescription.

    According to the CBI Vets are the most profitable small business far outreaching by around 50% the second most profitable (plumbers) with very very few ever failing there is pathetic regulation and forget trying to complain to the RCVS its a waste of time and very frustrating, vets even charge you for their mistakes!

    Prescriptions are a recent regulation and were free until October 2008, but now vets charge so much to write them it has become pointless in asking for one in many cases.

    If this country like anywhere else in Europe we would be treated with more respect not like children and be able to buy many prescription drugs such as antibiotics over the counter but apparently in the UK we are all too stupid for that.

    So next time you go for your annual booster remember the vet has paid around £1 for the drugs and look at your bill and think if I was in the USA I could buy this in a pet shop.

    Report on 27 July 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • chubby chops
    Love rating 13
    chubby chops said

    My vet will re-prescribe worming and flea stuff providing the pet has been seen within the last 12 months. 'Being seen' can be by the veterinary nurse and that is of course much cheaper than the vet herself. This is a good option if you no longer have your animals vaccinated (I usually only get my cats vaccinated for the first few years).

    I only found out because I was particularly hard up at the time and phoned to check the price before I went in.

    Unfortunately injections have to be given by the vet so the consultation charge is obviously higher.

    Report on 27 July 2009  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • billyboy121
    Love rating 18
    billyboy121 said

    very useful article and good tip from chubby chops, one of the most helpful articles i've seen on this site since it began!

    Report on 27 July 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • browncoatemsy
    Love rating 5
    browncoatemsy said

    I would like to respond to some of the negative comments about vets above.

    I have worked as a veterinary nurse for 8 years and I have yet to meet anyone in this industry who is in it for the money (I don't claim they don't exist - sinply that they are a small minority.) The vast majority of vets work extremely hard & very long hours to provide the best care for their patients (vets are not covered by the european working time directives & often work 60+ hours a week).

    Wages in the animal care industry are comparatively poor - vets earn significantly less than comparable professionals & most other veterinary staff earn much less than the national average.

    There is no NHS for animals or government funding - therefore a veterinary surgery must profit or go bust. When you think about the fees charged - don't think simply in terms of the cost of a certain item - consider that the business has overheads that must be paid eg. staff wages, electricity, gas, water, sewage, phone lines, building lease. Vets are also under increasing pressure to provide the most up to date equipment eg laboratory gear, ultrasound, digital xrays. Mundane equipment must also be maintained & replaced eg. washing machines, vacuum cleaners, kennels, fire alarms.... the list is endless. Veterinary surgeries must also provide 24 hour cover - this also costs money.

    Doctors charge around £12 for a private prescription, it doesn't seem unreasonable for vets to charge a comparable amount - or perhaps they should work for free?

    The suggestion that people should be able to buy antibiotics over the counter fills me with horror. How does joe bloggs know which antibiotic is suitable, how long should the course be, and what the dosage is. Vets spend 5 years at university in order to learn how to diagnose illnesses & prescribe suitable treatments.

    I am interested to know where this mysterious £1 vaccine can be bought - our practice spends over £1000 a week buying in vaccines. I agree that the fee charged for an annual booster appointment is significantly more than the cost of the vaccination itself (I would guess about 2-4x depending on location) but that is because this is also a health check, an opportunity to have your pet examined by a professional and discuss any concerns & seek advice. Pets often hide illness and owners don't always notice symptoms eg gradual weight loss so vets will often detect potentially life-threatening illness early. You are paying for the vet's time & expertise as well as the vaccine. (you are also indirectly paying for the receptionist who answered the phone when you made the appointment and greeted you when you entered the building, the nurse who may need to assist the vet, the lights so the vet could see what they were doing, the heating in the winter so it isn't freezing cold for you & your pet, the computer system which holds your pets records, the instruments the vet uses to check your pets eyes & ears, the fees the bank charges so we can take card payments, the disinfectant used to clean the table & floors etc).

    I apologise if this comes across as a bit of a rant, I have no issue with the original article trying to help those in financial difficulty and some of the helpful tips (I would much rather owners could afford to keep up to date with their flea treatments & wormers than go without) but I feel the tone of one of the posts above was very derogatory to veterinary practices. No-one ever questions the fees charged by other professionals eg.lawyers, tradesmen, but veterinary treatment is a very emotive issue and many people dont realise the true cost of providing this service. (strangely americans always tell us how much cheaper we are over here, and also because they pay for their human healthcare I think they appreciate the costs involved. If people knew how much NHS procedures actually cost and had to pay for those themselves, I think they would be amazed at the quality of service vets actaully manage to offer for a much much lower cost.)

    Report on 27 July 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • browncoatemsy
    Love rating 5
    browncoatemsy said

    On a lighter note, it's well worth buying the larger packs of frontline if you can afford it as the 6-pack usually works out a lot cheaper per treatment than the 3-pack. Just make sure that the expiry has a good long date on it.

    Report on 27 July 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • nickpike
    Love rating 270
    nickpike said

    I've always thought Vets were OK value wise. If you really need a vet, they are a godsend, and don't charge the earth. Bear in mind these are professionally trained people and are on par with doctors. If a vet diagnoses a problem then I'd let them issue the prescribed medicine as well, as it would be part of their payment. Running a vets must be expensive.

    I see people in the UK paying double what a house is worth, but will penny pinch over important things like your pet.

    Report on 28 July 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • kaori
    Love rating 0
    kaori said

    Another good website is www.petprescription.co.uk who at the moment are doing buy 3 Drontal worming tablets, get 1 free, but only during July. That's for cats and dogs. They are generally much much cheaper than the vets anyway and sell everything a normal vet practice would. I've found delivery is really quick and you can call them if you get stuck on the website.

    Report on 30 July 2010  |  Love thisLove  0 loves

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