How much does the vet cost? Vet fees explained

If you’re puzzled about how vet costs work, or what options you have available to you, expert vet Dr Scott Miller has some useful pointers. Plus there’s some handy info on how to protect yourself from costly vet bills with the right pet insurance.

Veterinary costs are pretty variable, and depend on a few factors:

• Where you live. Where you are in the country will influence your vet bills. As you might expect, where overheads are higher – such as in big cities like London – it’s more costly to run a practice, which will impact pet owners’ bills.
• The type of consultation. What you pay will be influenced by whether you’re having a standard, emergency or home visit.
• Your pet’s breed, age and sex. These can affect things like how complicated surgery might be.
• What treatment or procedure your cat or dog needs. For example, one-off prescriptions won’t cost the same as a surgical procedure, or ongoing medication.
• The expertise required. Specialist consultancy, treatment or procedures are likely to cost more than common ones.

While veterinary professionals can offer an exemplary standard of care – treating your pet as well as they would a person – it does come at a price. Plus you may be paying for convenience if you pick your local clinic over a bigger vet chain.

It’s also worth being aware that your bill will reflect your pet’s individual medical circumstances. When you take them for consultation, your vet will talk you through all the options available. This can help you make an informed decision on treatment, as ultimately this is your call.

It’s typical for vets not to charge a fee when you register your cat or dog. But this will be down to the practice in question. If you’re not sure, contact your local vet, or have a look at the practice’s website.

When your pet has a consultation, potentially with a diagnosis, it’s likely that the vet will charge you a fee. Any further treatment costs will be extra. Consultation fees tend to start at around £20 and up.

Good to know: There are not-for-profit organisations which will see a sick or injured animal without charging a consultation fee, such as Animal Trust.

Like consultation fees, pet health checks come at a cost, also starting at around £20. But this is a price worth paying, as it’s important to take your pet for regular health checks. You’ll either have the peace of mind of knowing they have a clean bill of health, or otherwise potential problems can be spotted before they worsen.

You may also be given options such as an annual booster appointment, which will probably be more costly than a regular check-up. That said, in addition to a full health check, they’ll get vaccination top-ups to protect them against common nasties.

It’s fairly standard for practices to offer pet health plans, usually for a monthly fee. These will cover things like:

• A check-up every year or six months
• Keeping your cat vaccinations and dog vaccinations up to date with boosters
• Regular worming and flea treatment
• Potential discounts on food, supplements, toys and accessories

Pet prescriptions are not standardised. It’s not like the NHS, and the price can sometimes feel like the roll of a dice. For each written prescription, vets can charge from £10 and up.

Bear in mind that some antibiotics and other medicines may not need a written prescription. See if you can get over-the-counter medicines from your veterinary practice or pharmacy, and don’t forget to look online.

Situations can arise where your pet may need to see a vet urgently, such as if they’re ill and getting quickly worse, or if they have a serious accident. The cost of an emergency vet appointment can be anything from £200 and up.

Organisations such as Animal Trust may charge a lower price than regular practices for an emergency vet visit. But this will still be more pricey than a standard vet appointment. Plus you may not live near such a service.

As they can’t tell us, it’s not always obvious when your pet might need urgent help. So it’s worth brushing up on when to visit an emergency vet.

Emergency vets work unsociable hours to deal with urgent veterinary work while other practices are closed. This means working overnight, on weekends, bank holidays and so on. As such, the costs are higher to compensate for the non-standard hours.

Average of an overnight vet stay with a UK vet

Your pet may need to stay overnight to continue care or treatment as recommended by a vet surgeon, or in an emergency.

An overnight stay in a vet clinic with drip treatment can start from £300.

Vet home visit cost in the UK

Not all vets will offer home visits. This might be due to issues of time, safety or experience.

If your vet does offer home visits, these tend to come at a premium. This may well be added on top of the standard consultation fee.

One London vet clinic, for example, charges £270 plus their consultation cost for home visits.

And while mobile vet services are becoming more common, these also tend to charge more than standard vet practices.

Vet X-ray costs in the UK

As with humans, potential issues inside your cat or dog may be pinpointed using an X-ray. As your pet needs to remain still for the X-ray image, this will usually involve being sedated or given an anaesthetic.

X-ray prices can start from £300, and it may cost extra if sedation is required.

While inflation in the UK is no longer at the type of level which peaked in October 2022, it still faces a high cost of living. This has affected numerous areas and industries, including vets.

Your local vet practice may still be regularly increasing its prices, due to:

• The higher cost of running the practice
• Paying staff wages in line with rising costs
• The rising price of equipment
• Increased cost of transporting supplies, drugs and so on

Before committing to having a dog or cat, it’s important to think ahead. The lifelong costs of ownership can be high, including the affordability of vet bills. These costs are bound to crop up from time to time, whether that’s expected costs such as check-ups and vaccinations, or unexpected costs like treatment for illnesses and accidents.

If you need help with your vet bill, it’s worth noting that some bigger vet chains may be able to offer credit options. Like with all credit, this needs repayment.

Your local vet may be able to help you find affordable ways to manage some conditions. But you should be aware that some conditions may only have one management option or treatment.

It’s best to be upfront with your vet about what you can afford, and they may be able to offer help.

Having to make compromises on your pet’s care because you can’t afford treatment can be stressful at best, heartbreaking at worst.

This is why pet insurance is so important. It can give you peace of mind that your furry family member is covered for illness, accidents and long-term conditions.

This can free you up both financially and mentally, helping you focus on getting them well and happy.

Protect yourself and your four-legged pal from unexpected vet bills with pet insurance from Petgevity.