New fee schedule makes vet visits more expensive: What dog and cat owners need to know now

Created: 2022-11-24 09:28

By: Helena Gries, Lea-Sophie Mollus

Anyone who owns a pet such as a dog or cat now has to dig deeper into their pockets at the vet.

The new fee schedule has come into effect.

Kassel – The fact that keeping a dog or a cat is not necessarily cheap is nothing new: food, visits to the vet, and a tax for dogs.

Everything is getting more expensive at the moment, including supermarket prices – and now a visit to the vet as well.

Why dog ​​and cat owners pay more and how much more they have to dig into their pockets.

The veterinary fee schedule regulates how much money veterinarians are allowed to charge for which services.

For more than 20 years, since 1999, the costs have not changed.

The Federal Council has approved a new version that involves expensive changes for dog and cat owners.

In addition, according to

information, the German Animal Welfare Association fears that more animals will end up in animal shelters and that animal welfare in agriculture will also suffer from the higher costs.

On November 22, the new scale of fees for veterinarians in Germany came into force.

Rising costs for the vet: Dog and cat owners will have to pay more from October.

(Iconic image) © Sven Hoppe

Dogs and cats: pet owners have to swallow - a visit to the vet is more expensive

According to information from the German Animal Welfare Association, medical

for livestock and pets is not guaranteed in some regions of Germany.

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Higher veterinary costs: In addition to dog and cat owners, farmers also have to pay more

Many dog ​​and cat owners have suffered from the changes in the new fee schedule because they now have to dig deeper into their pockets.

According to the Thuringia Chamber of Veterinarians, a visit to the vet for a general examination of a dog costs around ten euros more – 23.62 euros instead of 13.47 euros.

Cat owners have to pay even more: while a general examination previously cost just under EUR 9, it now also costs EUR 23.60.

If dogs and cats need a vaccination, the costs almost double: from 5.77 euros to 11.50 euros.

X-rays should cost 32.07 euros instead of 26.35 euros.

It is not possible to say in general terms how much the prices for individual treatments will increase.

It should also be considered that the costs for consultation, anesthesia and painkillers as well as for the sales tax to be paid are additional.

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Massive changes at the vet: This is how expensive it is for dog, cat and other pet owners

In addition, the scale of fees takes into account various factors, which means that veterinarians may charge triple the rate.

For the examination with advice for dogs or cats, instead of 23.62 euros, 70.86 euros can quickly become due.

These factors include the difficulty of the examination or the procedure, but also how much the animal to be treated cost.

"The particularly high value of a patient requires additional effort for special care and liability insurance," says the Federal Chamber of Veterinarians in an explanation.

Expensive change at the veterinarian: Farmers also have to spend more money

Farmers, too, will soon have to spend significantly more money.

From November 2022, examinations of cattle and pigs will cost 20.50 euros instead of the previous 12.80 euros.

Because many farmers already have financial concerns due to skyrocketing fertilizer costs and falling hog prices.

Animal rights activists fear a loss in animal welfare due to rising veterinary costs.

According to the farmers' association, however, this will not happen, writes

.

(Lea-Sophie Mollus and Helena Gries)