Prescription charges

[hightail]

Although vets can now charge for prescriptions again it is still worth checking the costs if you have an animal with a chronic condition. For some drugs the vet only needs to see the animal every 6 months and can write a prescription for a six month supply. The charge for the script should be fixed no matter how much of the drug is prescribed. If they are prepared to sell you three or six months supply from their own dispensary then they must provide you with the script if you ask.

 

Some vets are charging their consultation fee for the script, for others £12 seems to be an accepted norm. It is worth checking vets in your local area. For things like a thyroid condition or an ongoing need for steroids the difference in vet prices v online ordering can mean an owner being able to continue treatment.

 

An interesting 'side-effect' of an owner knowing what to ask is that a vet may even reduce their price. Vets are a business, they charge what the market will bear and are 'incentivised' (hate that word) by the drug companies. If losing the sale will make a difference they do discount. Don't be afraid to ask and barter. Your pet is your world - to the vet it's a business proposition so lose the emotion as you walk through the door. Deal with your vet as you would a car salesman and you won't go far wrong. I'm hard as nails with mine and I find they actually respect me for it.

[hightail]

Interesting isn't it that the 'prescription' diets being pushed by vets are for diseases that are certainly exacerbated if not caused by dried food in the first place. Both diabetes and FLUTD have been linked with these over-processed dried foods full of cheap filler.

 

When Royal Canin brought out their pouched wet food not long back they sent me loads of the stuff for free. I couldn't find any information about the meat content, there is no evidence of any meat protein and the price is horrendous.

 

Pets at Home do Natures Menu at a reasonable price - at least 70% meat with no additives. Works out at £4.48/kilo if you buy an outer of 4 x 12 pouches. That's cheaper than the supposed equivalent premium brands in a supermarket.

[hightail]

I like them on dried for their teeth

 

I happen to believe that's another fallacy Dried food causes plaque and decay just like any other. Cats fed on a diet of raw food including bones (such as chicken wings) have good teeth because that's how cats are meant to eat. Most of us need to resort to prepared foods for our pets at least some of the time so a product like Logic Oral Gel can be useful.

[hightail]

I've always had cats and never had a fat one

 

You have had one with FLUTD and one with lost teeth though. Just like humans, cats are all different and prone to different weaknesses which will be exacerbated by certain things.

 

I've bred cats for decades. I remember the dried foods coming in and all the great promises made by the manufacturers and repeated by vets. I still use them myself, including Hills and RC - in moderation as I do other prepared petfoods. I get them a darn sight cheaper than you do because I'm a breeder and I'm offered inducements to recommend them to my kitten buyers. I'm a realist and I know that most pet owners will not wish to feed their cat a natural diet so I have to raise my kittens to fit in with the homes they'll go to.

 

However, there is a huge difference between pet owners having a wide choice of how they feed their animals and being conned into expensive over-processed foods once their pets become ill. They are hit at a vulnerable time by a load of pseudo scientific claims when common sense is needed - but there's no profit in common sense.

[hightail]

What do you think about leukemia vacc for house cats?

 

Firstly, it does make a huge difference to the cost of vaccinating and I don't do it. However, all my cats are tested and I can guarantee that my house is FeLV free. A snap test for FeLV/FIV will cost around £40 per cat which is far more expensive than the extra cost of including it in the booster.

 

It is a disease that can take a long time to show so unless you can be sure all your cats are FeLV free it is a bit of a risk but nowhere near the same as if they were allowed to roam and had contact with other cats.

 

If money is tight then it's far better to do the basic booster than nothing at all. You can't bring FeLV in on your clothes/shoes etc. and infect your cats. There is a higher risk of such a thing happening with feline enteritis or the cat flu viruses so do what you can afford to protect against the greatest risk.

[hightail]

That kitten is the weak link and you have hit the nail on the head with the way to go about it