Cost shock after vet treatment: Price five times higher than expected
Created: 12/08/2022 11:38 am
By: Ulrike Osman
Santi the cat is struggling with tartar - his master with high costs.
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Rüdiger S. did not expect that.
He expected a bill of 120 euros for the removal of tartar from his cat Santi.
In the Germering small animal center, however, they asked for more than five times as much.
Germering – Kater Santi is at least ten years old – no one knows exactly the age of the former street cat – already a senior.
Rüdiger S. knew that the animal had problems with excessive tartar since he got the four-legged friend from the animal shelter.
That's why Santi goes for dental treatment once a year.
In advance
S. paid between 80 and 120 euros for it in the past.
At the end of September it was time again.
For the first time, Germeringer brought his velvet paw to the small animal center on Industriestraße for routine treatment.
He delivered Santi there in the morning and picked him up again in the afternoon.
He was not informed in advance of the costs to be expected.
The shock was all the greater when S. saw the bill.
It said a whopping 665.01 euros.
"These treatment costs seem completely disproportionate to tartar treatment," says the 51-year-old, pointing out that the senior tomcat has hardly any teeth left.
Outraged, S. turned to the district veterinary association in Upper Bavaria.
But there he was misunderstood.
After reviewing the bill, there were no indications of a violation of the fee schedule for veterinarians (GOT).
Association: Normal procedure
A daily query from the Federal Association of Practicing Veterinarians (BpT) also revealed: "Basically, this is a normal procedure," says press spokeswoman Ursula von Einem.
Each veterinarian can decide which items are charged.
Preliminary examinations, such as a blood count, are routinely carried out prior to anesthesia.
"But since not every patient is cooperative, it is of course easier to do this during anesthesia," explains the spokeswoman.
Thus, the effort of the investigation is higher in the end.
"In practice, however, it should be discussed in advance."
(
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What bothers Rüdiger S. the most, apart from the high amount, is that neither the small animal center nor the district veterinary association showed "even a trace of awareness of the problem".
For him personally, the sum was bearable.
"But I know many pet owners who couldn't just put over 600 euros on the table."
Elaborate treatment
But how can the discrepancy be explained compared to what S. was used to from his previous veterinarian?
"It wasn't just looking at teeth," says the head of the small animal center, Barbara Haas, when asked by the daily newspaper.
As is usual with older cats, Santi first had a blood count taken to determine liver and kidney values.
The cat got a venous catheter and a sedative.
He was intubated, anesthetized and monitored.
After an ultrasound examination of the teeth, the tartar was removed - by a specialist, "not by a veterinarian who also makes teeth," says Barbara Haas.
The whole thing was “an enormous effort”.
The fact that the cat owner was not informed of this in advance is also an oversight from the point of view of the small animal center.
For this, S. received a credit of 120 euros.
After the GOT was raised significantly in November, Santi's dental treatment would now be even more expensive.
Haas therefore recommends health insurance for animals.
Otherwise, as an animal owner, you would quickly lose a few thousand euros.
You can find more current news from the district of Fürstenfeldbruck at Merkur.de/Fürstenfeldbruck.