Question Vets if suddenly they decide......

[Fire Fox]

Sorta what I meant by no neighbours Firefox !

  We need a Purrs Cambourne!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Sorta what I meant by no neighbours Firefox !

[Fire Fox]

Thanks Ellen but only use a wormer or flea product once a year and the flea one would need an expensive prescription.

Firfox, no neighbours and no other cats round here, well one up the road and thats it.

My bag of kd lasts a very long time and its a small one cos not there fav biscuit.

I dont buy anything else from Vets UK

I would offer to share some of my neighbours but some are inconsiderate, others hardcore bible bashers and none have any pets AFAIK. 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Thanks for the offer Desley, may take you up on it later but right now I want to stick with the one they know although I saw Misa scoffing it not the birmans LOL.

Franta was eating it fine when he was first given it and then the vets ran out and gave me a different one and he wouldnt eat that.........I ordered the wrong one from VET UK and was gonna cost £7 to send back so wasnt worth it and gave it to a dog rescue.

Then bought kd from my other vet which again was cheaper.........sigh but Franta then wouldnt eat it.

Cost me a fortune 2 years ago but just wanted to help Franta but in the end Franta does what he wants.............sigh

[Desley (booktigger)]

Gill, you can get other renal dry foods online that work out a lot cheaper - I get Zi Purina NF, it is £11.06 a bag, and even though they added p & p on (cos like you, dont want to spend £39 to get free p & p), it still worked out about £2 cheaper than getting RC from my vet - I know £2 isn't a lot, but it is most of the price of a 6 pack of wet for Buster. I can send you some if you would like to try it first, and also some Eukanaba Renal? If I remember rightly, Best Pet did a better deal on Purina than VetUK, as their postage charge was less, so they could be worth looking into as well.

Prescriptions for some items work out a lot cheaper - Sam's Vidalta were £10 a month cheaper online, and the vet gave me a 3 month repeat prescription, so my £5ish prescription more than paid for itself.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I dont use frontline only stronghold.

[Ellen2010]

Thanks Ellen but only use a wormer or flea product once a year and the flea one would need an expensive prescription.

Firfox, no neighbours and no other cats round here, well one up the road and thats it.

My bag of kd lasts a very long time and its a small one cos not there fav biscuit.

I dont buy anything else from Vets UK

Gill unless it is Frontline combo or the Frontline spray you do not need a prescription if it is just the Frontline pipettes.  That is ok if you can get it cheaper and if they don't like the biscuits yes a small bag can last quite a while.  It is just that I noticed one of my cats medications was costing £32.40 in March 2009 and I could get it from Vet UK for around £16.95 and it was the same size and make.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Thanks Ellen but only use a wormer or flea product once a year and the flea one would need an expensive prescription.

Firfox, no neighbours and no other cats round here, well one up the road and thats it.

My bag of kd lasts a very long time and its a small one cos not there fav biscuit.

I dont buy anything else from Vets UK

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I know that getting a bag of k/d biscuits from my vet is cheaper than from Vet UK cos of the horrific amount of P&P they put on food. They dont use the PO and use a courier!

I don't agree with that, unless your vet is really cheap. I was behind someone at the PAH vets last year (or was it the year before?  ) dropping ferals off when I went trapping with Julie. Someone was picking up 2 bags of k/d and it came to £56  - I was dying to tell them I was paying £13 a bag at the time. I just make sure I order £39 worth to get free delivery online (easy when Alice's cortavet is £26  )

I dont care whether you agree Mark, cos this is fact. There are now different sizes of kd so the person may have been getting the large ones.

You maybe able to afford to pay that much to get free delivery, I cant and I am only buying Kd. Added to that £13 would be about £7 for postage.

Just seen your amounts are not current and they have changed the bag sizes since then.

[Ellen2010]

The cost of getting the prescription for prescription only meds makes them very expensive to get anywhere but from your vet normally.

I know that getting a bag of k/d biscuits from my vet is cheaper than from Vet UK cos of the horrific amount of P&P they put on food. They dont use the PO and use a courier!

I think its really bad for a vet to say a cat needs something that is not needed or will actually make them ill.

Gill it maybe worth getting extra in as most of their products have a best or use before date towards the end of next year and if you combine it with things such as wormers and flea products that all counts towards the minimum amount you have to order and if it takes it over that amount then delivery is free.

[Fire Fox]

Free delivery from VetUK here too - recently ordered a years supply of Okoplus then, instead of £5 postage, added an £8 bag of Fish4cats.  Maybe you could share a delivery with another Purrs regular or neighbour, Gill?

[Mark]

I know that getting a bag of k/d biscuits from my vet is cheaper than from Vet UK cos of the horrific amount of P&P they put on food. They dont use the PO and use a courier!

I don't agree with that, unless your vet is really cheap. I was behind someone at the PAH vets last year (or was it the year before?  ) dropping ferals off when I went trapping with Julie. Someone was picking up 2 bags of k/d and it came to £56  - I was dying to tell them I was paying £13 a bag at the time. I just make sure I order £39 worth to get free delivery online (easy when Alice's cortavet is £26  )

[Leanne]

Thats pretty bad!

Good of the vet who called you back to do all that, if you wanted to take it further you could report it to the RCVS.

My own vet is brilliant and knows I get my meds elsewhere (either on the net or from work), has said herself you understands why people do it.

Apart from the first lot when the animals get put on it which I get from the vets I do tell them that I will be looking for a cheaper alternative such as online and they always tell me to take in a copy of how much I am able to get the medication for.  The only exception to the rule here is antibiotics.  I would never go behind my vets back on medication and when my cat was first diagnosed the vet that was treating her even told me to try Vet UK when I said I would look for the medication elsewhere.
He never called me back I phoned him this morning as the other vet was trying this trick at around 5:55pm as all surgeries shut at 6pm.

Totally agree.

[Fire Fox]

It is the few crooks that give reputable veterinarians a bad name.  Of course a practice must be run as a profitable business, but there is a huge difference between making a living from a food/ medication/ test/ operation that is necessary and profiteering from telling outright lies to your clients. I suspect that sort of shady practice would be enough to get them a formal warning from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

I wouldn't necessarily change practices as you have been taken seriously by a partner but I would reiterate my concerns in writing; it's difficult for a manager to discipline or sack a member of staff without evidence. I'd also refuse to see or speak to that vet again as the trust is gone completely. I might change practices if there is a chance that out of hours treatment would mean seeing that vet.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

The cost of getting the prescription for prescription only meds makes them very expensive to get anywhere but from your vet normally.

I know that getting a bag of k/d biscuits from my vet is cheaper than from Vet UK cos of the horrific amount of P&P they put on food. They dont use the PO and use a courier!

I think its really bad for a vet to say a cat needs something that is not needed or will actually make them ill.

[Ellen2010]

Thats pretty bad!

Good of the vet who called you back to do all that, if you wanted to take it further you could report it to the RCVS.

My own vet is brilliant and knows I get my meds elsewhere (either on the net or from work), has said herself you understands why people do it.

Apart from the first lot when the animals get put on it which I get from the vets I do tell them that I will be looking for a cheaper alternative such as online and they always tell me to take in a copy of how much I am able to get the medication for.  The only exception to the rule here is antibiotics.  I would never go behind my vets back on medication and when my cat was first diagnosed the vet that was treating her even told me to try Vet UK when I said I would look for the medication elsewhere.

He never called me back I phoned him this morning as the other vet was trying this trick at around 5:55pm as all surgeries shut at 6pm.

[Ellen2010]

No this is a private run veterinary practice that has been in the area for well over 15 years that I know of as that is how long I have been using them for my animals and CP Foster animals when I was with them.  Their main surgery is in a Lincolnshire village and this surgery is just a satelite surgery.  Yes they are a business but if I can get what I need at less than half the price they are selling it at and from their accounts own department when I showed proof of what I am able to get it at including VAT get told to get it from where I can get it at that price.

I am seriously considering changing vets though after this incident, but it is convenient to where I live as is only a 5 minutes walk away from my house.

[Leanne]

Thats pretty bad!

Good of the vet who called you back to do all that, if you wanted to take it further you could report it to the RCVS.

My own vet is brilliant and knows I get my meds elsewhere (either on the net or from work), has said herself you understands why people do it.

[Angiew]

Oh dear, and then they wonder why we don't trust them......
I always suspect any vet of pushing the latest promotions I'm afraid and don't take what they say as given. They are a business after all (however much they deny it!).

It wasn't medivet was it?

[Ellen2010]

Thought I would just give some of you a thumbs up to what some vets are doing now if they know you do not get most of your medication for your animals from them.

As some of you know I have a cat with FLUTD and CRF.  She went for her 6 month blood tests a couple of days ago.  I received a phone call saying that all her bloods were within range but the vet that had seen her this time started on about the specialised Renal diet and how my cat should be on it.  There were two things that did not really sit too right here a) her blood tests were in normal range for all which was better than when she was diagnosed 21 months ago and b) if she goes on the renal diet it will cause more problems with her FLUTD.

AS the vet kept pushing I asked which diet and brand and how much for how many and all the time was checking with the prices of Vet UK to see, explained on what she was recommending I could get twice as much and have a penny change from where I get the cats others meds from, then came the corker but you need a prescription to get it so clicked confirm and went all the way upto me authorising it without being asked for the prescription, so explained this.  All of a sudden the self same cat did not need the special diet any longer, it was as though it was a way to get more money out of me.

I then asked for the vets name and this morning have contacted the owner and major partner that the rescues negotiate with to get deals with veterinary bills and he was fuming that the junior vets are doing this practice and trying to scare people into getting prescription diets.  He has looked at my cats records and his professional judgement was if she needed to be put on the special diet it would of been when she was diagnosed but as the medication she is on is controlling it and there is the added complication of FLUTD there is no way that my cat should be on renal diet or the urinary diet as both conditions are contradictory to each other and cause problems if put on the special diets for either condition.

He has apologised profusely and is putting what was paid for her last lot of tests into an account with them as an apology for the upset that was caused and he will he having severe words with the vet concerned and if he finds out they have done similar to others the vet will be dismissed from the practice.  I did not phone to get the money put back but to get his opinion and to inform him of what was going on.  I have got the meds that cats are on with the Veterinary Practices approval as they can under no circumstances match what Vet UK charge me for them.