Hello all,
Just wanted to find out how much does a blood test for a cat cost. My cat got it done yesterday and I was charged $250.
Just wondering if it is the norm and the vet didn't rip is off.
How Much Does a Blood Test for a Cat Cost?
RSmith on 08/12/2023 - 06:57
Last edited 08/12/2023 - 10:07 by 1 other user
Last edited 08/12/2023 - 10:07 by 1 other user
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Alternatively, renting premises, keeping them sterile, hiring staff, stocking drugs and other supplies, registering with the board and maintaining that, education, etc.
And we're only talking about the vet. Most of them wouldn't test blood, they would send it to a pathology company.
How much do you think it SHOULD cost?
So what's the cost of getting a blood test for a human being?
They also require all of the above, and the medical profession has been not impressed with the amount Medicare pays them, so presumably the answer is somewhere inbetween those two dollar amounts.
you could see how much it costs a Human in the USA and then compare that to Australian vet costs,
I don't know. Like anyone who provides a useful service, I think vets should be paid well. (Considering most of them can perform the mental gymnastics to save pets during business hours but pay to have them tortured and killed for frivolities outside business hours then they should probably be paid more than lawyers. (But then so should so many other professions - but I digress)). My own take on the matter is that they seem to be making much more than the local GPs. I have a vet acquaintance, admittedly a specialist and shrewd business person, that can easily pull in 5 figures a day.
As someone who is close to a few vets, I can assure you that clinical vets (not specialists) earn nothing close to what a specialist does. In fact, the poor pay when compared to similarly trained human medical professionals is a key driver for the current vet shortage and poor industry retention rates. As for your mental gymnastics comment, many in the industry have left or refused to join vet associations that aren't actively against horse and greyhound racing. They will also avoid any work with breeders where possible, who are often profit-driven at the cost of animal welfare.
@Lunarnight: But I bet they don't mind paying for calves to be killed and their mothers to be repeatedly sexually violated for cheese, hardly an essential item.
@afoveht: I've found that, especially if they have been involved in farm work, there is a strong tendency towards veganism. But this is unrelated to OP's question. My main point was more that the cost of treatment doesn't reflect in the payslips of clinical vets. As @foursaken has noted, there are many other cost pressures, including the payment of middle and upper management in corporations who don't directly generate income themselves.
My main point was more that the cost of treatment doesn't reflect in the payslips of clinical vets
Perhaps. Sure even. But someone is making good coin on the backs of "pet owners."
. But this is unrelated to OP's question.
You raised "welfare" in the first instance.
why don't you try taking your own pets blood and send it to the pathology lab and then get the results back for you to review and interpret
Paid 240 a couple of days ago in SA, yes I was thinking it would be less
.It should be a grand given the damage cats do to the environment!
If you wanna play that game then your and my blood tests should be billions.
Not if the cat stays indoors…
I happen to know quite a few veterinarians on a beer level.
Many keep telling me that their education was as hard as a human doctor and they earn only half as much.
So the kick to have a larger spectrum of the animal kingdom to work with has both its up and downs.
All tell me that dealing with pet owners can be pretty well put into 2 baskets.
From the veterinarians mouth: Not cat owners = lovely clients.
Cat owners mostly undesirable and unreasonable folks to deal with!
Sounds like it costs $250
$250 sounds like a lot.
That'd be $200 for getting the blood out of the cat without being clawed, or failing that for medical attention to the scratches, and $50 for the blood to be tested, right?
My last visit to the vet was with one of the cockatoos. Warned her it hadn't liked being caught. She said she knew what she was doing. Next thing we hear some squawking, then a scream of pain, and the vet comes out with blood dripping off her finger. Who'd want to deal with customers who want to bite you, and are equipped to.
Actually the worst part of being a vet is you get into it because you love animals, then find so much of the job is euthanising them because so many people decide the cost of treatment isn't worth it.
Human blood tests cost between $80 and $300 but medicare pays mostly, so you don't see this. Now add the appointment fee.
Sounds like $250 is reasonable?
Now add the appointment fee.
The $250 was for the blood test only. Appointment fee was an extra $90 which I didn't mention in the post.
It seems more expensive than a human blood test because human medicine is subsidised by the government.
a blood test for what? it isn't just a one size fits all, which pathology tests needed to get done? keep in mind it is all done manually they send it off to a pathology lab, my advice take some of your own blood and check the iron level, and see how long that took you and then work out how much you would pay your self for that.
Normal for routine haematology and biochemistry.
I got charged similar for a Dog one
Cat better donate some blood then, as insurance,because a future transfusion could send you to the wall.
Just wanted to find out how much does a blood test for a cat cost. My cat got it done yesterday and I was charged $250.
Was the $250 for just the blood test or the entire visit? Slightly costly for just a blood test, but slightly cheap for the entire visit I would think.
Do remember that for animals there is no 'medicare' covering the costs, you pay for it all. So while you as a human can get a free blood test, the tax payer is paying for it. While for an animal, its all you to pay.
Entire visit was $340.
Cat better get a second job.Influencing is their default skill
Its within the ball park. Depending on how many blood tests and what they did, I would expect between $100-400 for them these days based on the last time I got them done.
They are far from cheap.
We paid less than half of that for our cat a year ago, but that was at a regional vet.
The cat had a blood test and an F3 vax and the total bill was $240. The vet didn't charge us a consultation fee.
I have a cat with thyroid issues who needs testing every three months. Most recent test was 13.11 - $197.80 for health profile bloodwork. It's always possible that I get charged a lower amount due to frequency - I know that the consultancy fee is charged as a revisit at $65 instead of a standard consult fee $95.
The norm is vets ripping you off. (My experience anyway).