Owning a cat can get very expensive if the pet falls ill
WATCH OUR POLITICS CHANNEL ‘PEEPS’ ON YOUTUBE
PET owners struggling to afford expensive vet consultations that cost “more than private healthcare” are calling for reforms to stop the rip-off.
Changes to the way charities provide veterinary services have left poorer people in Camden facing tough decisions about whether they can keep their pets.
Vets can charge around £60 for an appointment – while an emergency appointment can cost up to £200 – leading many owners to resort to fundraising pleas online. Associated costs including dental surgery, medications and sedations – used to calm agitated pets during relatively minor treatments – can add hundreds of pounds, leading to concerns sickly animals are being left untreated because of the big bills.
The New Journal spoke to owners this week about horror stories with one woman saying she was having to rehome her cat because of potential future costs she would not be able to meet.
A government-backed review by the Competition and Markets Authority is looking into national concerns that pet owners are overpaying for medicines that are not always the best treatment options.
Ian Cohen, from West Hampstead, was hit with a £2,600 bill this year for his dog – despite paying a £200 monthly insurance policy.
He said: “Private GPs, they charge me cheaper. It’s a complete rip-off.”
The New Journal has seen Mr Cohen’s itemised bill which featured dozens of charges for medicines, blood tests, sampling and injections. Mr Cohen, who said he was in a position to pay the costs, said: “We are all getting sucked into this thing about animals and what they are. We used to call them mutts, and now we call them pedigrees.”
He added: “It’s like dentistry, it’s a business about making money. While you have it like that, that is how it will be run. If you haven’t got insurance, they will get you, or if not they offer the payment plan. “The alternative is having people who want to do it because they care, like nurses in the NHS.”
The RSPCA Animal Hospital in Finsbury Park, which used to offer a discount vet service to people on benefits, has in recent months stopped taking cases that are “not connected to cruelty and neglect”.
The Blue Cross charity said its Animal Hospital in Victoria is no longer registering new clients coming from Camden postcodes since Covid.
The PDSA – formerly in Hendon, now in Edmonton – is not taking new registrations from certain areas.
Another Camden pet owner told the New Journal: “When I found out I couldn’t register my cat I cried more than when my husband died. I don’t want to part with my cat. But that is what I’m going to have to do. I can’t afford to take him to the vet’s, and I can’t get to the hospital.”
The Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital in the Royal Veterinary College in Royal College Street, Camden Town, has reduced rates, but can still be prohibitively expensive for people on low or uncertain incomes.
Independent veterinary practice has declined as the dominant ownership model in the capital. In 2013, 90 per cent were owned by vets who worked there – but now almost 60 per cent are owned by large companies, often backed by private equity.
The RSPCA, which provided a discount service at its animal hospital in Finsbury Park until the summer, said: “Owners who have taken their pets to Finsbury Park previously can now register with the PDSA to access vet care, dependent on their postcodes. “Free and low-cost vet treatment is available here for pet owners in 11 postcode areas in north London.”
A PDSA spokesperson said: “We provide free veterinary treatment for one pet for owners on means-tested benefits, council tax support or Housing Benefit.
“Additional pets can be registered for our low-cost service, and preventive care is also charged at an affordable rate for all pets.”
Speaking about concerns from a pet owner who had been refused care, they added: “Sadly there can be situations when a vet practice is put into a position where they have no choice but to withdraw their services from a particular client.”
