I’d like to know why an indoor house cat that NEVER goes outside and has been vaccinated for rabies needs to be revaccinated over and over? Oh, and last time I was at the vet they tried pushing flea meds on me to give to her??? Never had a flea, never goes outside, no other animals in my house… am I missing something? I get sick and tired of the “if you really want the best for you kitty you should buy/do abc…” … yeah right. I know when I’m being taken… My cat is the most pampered cat in town but still I’m told every time I go in there that I should really do this or that or the other and it is never less than $500… what a rip off.
In the 12 years I have had my two indoor cats I have never seen a flea. We have four dogs that are in and out all day as are we…no fleas.
[QUOTE=hessy35;4198990]
I’d like to know why an indoor house cat that NEVER goes outside and has been vaccinated for rabies needs to be revaccinated over and over? [/QUOTE]
Part of that is for liability reasons. If someone gets bitten by your cat (either visitors to your home or someone at the vet’s office), and your cat’s rabies vaccination is not up-to-date, your cat could be forced to undergo quarantine. At your expense. The rabies vaccine is much cheaper. Plus your vet really does not want to be bitten by an unvaccinated cat with only your word that the cat has not been exposed.
There is also the slim possibility that vermin could make its way into your house and bite your cat. Not real likely, but the consequences of having a cat bit by say, a rabid bat, would be quite tragic if your beloved pet was unvaccinated.
[QUOTE=hessy35;4198990]
I’d like to know why an indoor house cat that NEVER goes outside and has been vaccinated for rabies needs to be revaccinated over and over? [/QUOTE]
In most states, rabies vaccinations are required by law because of the public health risk.
Because a rabies vaccine that is ONE DAY out of date here in NC means your cat is treated legally the same as the feral one they picked up off the side of the road.
If your cat is out of date and a bat gets in your home, your cat will be quarentined, you and your children and anyone else in the house will undergo the post exposure series of shots. Oh, and it’s not the 10 day bite quarentine, it’s the 6 month unvaccinated exposure one. Still all at your expense. If you don’t want to or can’t pay for the quarentine? Your cat is put down and it’s head will be cut off and sent away for testing. You can’t have the rest of the body back to cremate or bury until the test results come back.
We don’t play with rabies because it’s 100% FATAL. For them, for us, it’s just not worth the risk to take over a $10-20 shot.
Katherine
Vet Tech
*and yes I’m aware of the person who lived after being in a 6 month induced coma, but had to start life over, learning to walk talk and feed herself again. Not really considered ‘surviving’ in my book.
[QUOTE=Horsegal984;4199280]
Because a rabies vaccine that is ONE DAY out of date here in NC means your cat is treated legally the same as the feral one they picked up off the side of the road.
If your cat is out of date and a bat gets in your home, your cat will be quarentined, you and your children and anyone else in the house will undergo the post exposure series of shots. Oh, and it’s not the 10 day bite quarentine, it’s the 6 month unvaccinated exposure one. Still all at your expense. If you don’t want to or can’t pay for the quarentine? Your cat is put down and it’s head will be cut off and sent away for testing. You can’t have the rest of the body back to cremate or bury until the test results come back.
We don’t play with rabies because it’s 100% FATAL. For them, for us, it’s just not worth the risk to take over a $10-20 shot.
Katherine
Vet Tech
*and yes I’m aware of the person who lived after being in a 6 month induced coma, but had to start life over, learning to walk talk and feed herself again. Not really considered ‘surviving’ in my book.[/QUOTE]
Oh good grief… DRAMA. I didn’t say I wasn’t getting my cat vaccinated even though I think it is a JOKE for an indoor house cat to have to get vaccinated every TWO YEARS, and the last time my cat was vaccinated it was $85. There hasn’t been a case of rabies where I live in more years than I can count. My biggest beef is with the vets that push things on you/your animal that they do NOT need to remain healthy to jack up your bill. It is annoying as heck!
[QUOTE=hessy35;4199343]
Oh good grief… DRAMA.[/QUOTE]
It was 4 years ago this 4th of July that I was in the hospital getting a huge injection for post exposure to Rabies. Poor Annabelle, a kitten, had rabies. Drama, maybe. Deadly, definatly.
There hasn’t been a case of rabies where I live in more years than I can count.
Where’s that? Out here, we are just started to get recommendations to vaccinating our horses for it. As far as I know, the territories Rabies has been found is expanding- not shrinking.
My biggest beef is with the vets that push things on you/your animal that they do NOT need to remain healthy to jack up your bill.
Healthy can be a relative term.
The majority of vets I know have no intention of jacking up a bill, but just want to see the pet stay as healthy and safe as possible. Actually, most vets I know like animals- and are in the profession for that reason- and most live a pretty conservative life (compared to others which have undergone that level of training).
[QUOTE=FatPalomino;4199505]
It was 4 years ago this 4th of July that I was in the hospital getting a huge injection for post exposure to Rabies. Poor Annabelle, a kitten, had rabies. Drama, maybe. Deadly, definatly.
Where’s that? Out here, we are just started to get recommendations to vaccinating our horses for it. As far as I know, the territories Rabies has been found is expanding- not shrinking.
Healthy can be a relative term.
The majority of vets I know have no intention of jacking up a bill, but just want to see the pet stay as healthy and safe as possible. Actually, most vets I know like animals- and are in the profession for that reason- and most live a pretty conservative life (compared to others which have undergone that level of training).[/QUOTE]
I have a right to my opinion based on my personal experiences with vet care in my area, so you should stop taking it so personally. The vets where I live (a metropolitan area) intentionally jack up bills for no reason, I see it often and my friends complain of the same when they take their pets in. Telling me that my indoor cat would benefit from flea medication is ridiculous when she has no history of fleas and is not exposed to other animals and lives inside! Whether you do that or not is not the point, the point is that it DOES happen and it annoys the heck out me that they get away with it.
Oh and to add, rabies vaccines last between 5-7 years in animals. Why make them get vaccinated every 2 if they are indoors and are at very low risk to begin with?
I hear ya Meredith Clark.
I treat my small animal vet like the car dealer that does my oil changes. I’m VERY clear that I’m only in for “such and such” NOTHING extra. Period. No exceptions and I don’t give a rats you-know-what if they try to make me feel like a “bad mommy”.
I live in a yuppie-infested town and the small animal vet charges big $$$ for stuff that used to be (10 years ago) small $$$ and they’re always looking to tag on extra services to a routine HW test/rabies vaccine visit.
[QUOTE=hessy35;4199533]
Oh and to add, rabies vaccines last between 5-7 years in animals. Why make them get vaccinated every 2 if they are indoors and are at very low risk to begin with?[/QUOTE]
To begin, most every city requires it by law. The vaccines are not proven to last 5-7 years.
People, for some reason, get really upset when they get exposed to something that can kill them just because an animal wasn’t properly vaccinated. It annoys the heck out of the people that have to euthanize a bunch of young animals (that were too young to be vaccinated) because they were exposed to one older, unvaccinated, infected animal. Just sayin’.
Having worked at many vet clinics in different part of the countries, it’s safe to say I’ve never been behind the scenes at one who keeps a scoreboard of “clients we’ve jacked up the bill on.”
Not to saying some aren’t being pushy, but as a client, I’d hope you’d ask why they are recommending these procedures. Maybe it’s to screen for early diseases that could be treated if caught soon enough. Maybe it’s to keep the kids and other pets in the household safe. Maybe it’s the gold standard.
[QUOTE=Daatje;4199557]
I hear ya Meredith Clark.
I treat my small animal vet like the car dealer that does my oil changes. I’m VERY clear that I’m only in for “such and such” NOTHING extra. Period. No exceptions and I don’t give a rats you-know-what if they try to make me feel like a “bad mommy”.
I live in a yuppie-infested town and the small animal vet charges big $$$ for stuff that used to be (10 years ago) small $$$ and they’re always looking to tag on extra services to a routine HW test/rabies vaccine visit.[/QUOTE]
Me too… yuppie-infested. My vet has marble countertops, hardwood floors…etc. The guilt trip thing just makes me see red.
Put up the $$$ to have the challenge studies done to document it, and you’ll get no argument from me about extending the legal guidelines.
Until then…
Oh good grief… DRAMA. I didn’t say I wasn’t getting my cat vaccinated even though I think it is a JOKE for an indoor house cat to have to get vaccinated every TWO YEARS, and the last time my cat was vaccinated it was $85. There hasn’t been a case of rabies where I live in more years than I can count. My biggest beef is with the vets that push things on you/your animal that they do NOT need to remain healthy to jack up your bill. It is annoying as heck!
In NC you can get a titer that shows the level of Rabies antibodies in lieu of the vaccine. My friend does that for her dog who has horrible reactions to vaccines.
If your beef is cost, most animal controls do low cost rabies days. But even my very pricey vet does rabies only for like $20. Maybe call around?
Not proven? Why give a vaccine that is supposed last 5-7 years if it is NOT going to last even 5 years? I vaccinate my animal happily, as do all of these poster I’m sure, so really the lecturing about the need for a vaccines is not necessary. My question is why do I have to do it every two years when I have had a vet tech tell me directly that it lasts up to 5 years? … Clients just can’t help but feel like we are getting a sales pitch and lectured and forced to hand them cash for things that are just not needed when we do go in for our animals vaccines and check ups.
[QUOTE=magnolia73;4199636]
In NC you can get a titer that shows the level of Rabies antibodies in lieu of the vaccine. My friend does that for her dog who has horrible reactions to vaccines.
If your beef is cost, most animal controls do low cost rabies days. But even my very pricey vet does rabies only for like $20. Maybe call around?[/QUOTE]
It’s not about the cost of the rabies vaccine (hello, my cat is vaccinated). It is about the feeling like I’m being told I need something for my cat that I do not need to make more of a profit every time I take her in to get what IS needed. I used the rabies vaccine as an example of it being good for 7 years but being told to get it every two anyway. Poor example obviously because it is a serious thing that is causing all this drama, but an example nonetheless.
Once more.
When there is documentation that meets the regulatory criteria that the vaccine is routinely protective for 7 years, things may be different.
Right now, the legal issues trump your indigance.
“A vet tech told me” isn’t much in the way of documentation.
My rant is not about rabies…. that seems to be getting lost here. I was just happy to jump on the rant wagon so that I could do just that – RANT - about the cost of small animal vet bills. But I will now be jumping off because I do not wish to argue with vet techs that are obviously defending their livelihoods.
[QUOTE=Ghazzu;4199731]
Once more.
When there is documentation that meets the regulatory criteria that the vaccine is routinely protective for 7 years, things may be different.
Right now, the legal issues trump your indigance.
“A vet tech told me” isn’t much in the way of documentation.[/QUOTE]
Here is some light reading for everyone about this exact topic:
[QUOTE=Ghazzu;4199731]
Once more.
When there is documentation that meets the regulatory criteria that the vaccine is routinely protective for 7 years, things may be different.
Right now, the legal issues trump your indigance.
“A vet tech told me” isn’t much in the way of documentation.[/QUOTE]
I can see it now…
Cat bites somebody… Cat had a rabies vaccine 4 years ago. Cat is euthanized because it is legally unvaccinated and the local laws require all unvaccinated animals involved in a bite to be rabies tested…(this IS the law in many areas). Owner says “but the vet tech said…”
Laws vary by locale, and some places even still require yearly vaccination…fortunately most at least have gone to 2 or 3…
Vets push for rabies vaccination because it is the law. Don’t like it? Go lobby to change it…Don’t blame the vets…
Well, I decided today to call one other local clinic to find out their xray prices (this clinic is on the pricey side)…and even their prices were 40.00 less than my clinic.
At that point, I picked up the phone and called my vet’s office and asked to speak to the office manager, who wasn’t in today. They told me that they would have her return my phone call tomorrow.
I’m not trying to be a bitch…but I do seriously want to know why they doubled their xray price in the last year and why they are the most expensive in town now. They probably won’t care…but I figured I should at least tell them why they are going to lose me as a client.
