Vets bill

I would ask for monthly repayments Mattsmum2 that way he will be reminded of his responsibilities. The down side of having pets I'm afraid and not something people always consider when taking an animal into their family.

This does seem a lot of dosh for putting a cat to sleep. My elderly cat was very poorly last November and it cost me £80 for the consultation, injection and disposal of the body. It didn’t reach the minimum for any insurance to be included. I would be inclined to query the bill with the surgery and ask for it to be itemised.

I suppose it depends on the kind of relationship you have with your son and whether you can afford the £2500. If my son were very attentive and supportive of me, I may let it go if I could afford it. If he has no sense of money and often uses me as a member of staff, I may well want to be paid back.

The vet bill for euthanasia should be nowhere near that amount. Unless of course the cat had scans prior to being put to sleep.
You're right to encourage your son to get pet insurance in future.

MissChateline

This does seem a lot of dosh for putting a cat to sleep. My elderly cat was very poorly last November and it cost me £80 for the consultation, injection and disposal of the body. It didn’t reach the minimum for any insurance to be included. I would be inclined to query the bill with the surgery and ask for it to be itemised.

Absolutely MissC, my first thought was ‘how much?!’.
We had to have our lovely cocker put down a few years ago, from memory £400 which was covered by insurance.
That included her ashes returned in an urn.

In the UK it should cost between £100 and £300 to euthanase a cat.
If the vet came out to the home then the charge is around £250 to £400.
It seems to me that you have been grossly overcharged.

That's a lot of money to put a cat to sleep. I'm assuming there were tests beforehand?

I'm not sure what you should do as far as the cost, but wanted to contribute on the pet insurance. If they're a young family that hasn't got a lot, the cost of pet insurance is not insignificant (but neither are vet bills). I do have pet insurance on my animals but feel it's a fortunate position to be able to do so. You could talk to your son about pet insurance (maybe told him you picked up some leaflets about it when you saw them at the vet's office) or suggest he start a separate savings account for vet costs. As the animals get older, this only increases.

£2000+ is a lot of money given that the cat became ill and was pts the following day. It would be understandable if it had been treated for a while.

Five of the seven cats we have owned had to be put to sleep. We never had insurance on them so paid all the costs. I may be wrong cos it was more than 12 years ago for the last one but I honestly don't recall being charged at all, or a minimal amount, for the job. Fortunately, apart from one, all our cats were pretty healthy throughout their long lives. But we definitely didn't have any bills of that sort of level.

A couple of years ago one of mine had to be put to sleep as an emergency' It meant an out of hour's appointment, but the vet had been able to diagnose over the phone so no further investigation was needed. As far as l remember it was about £350. A lot of money but it had to be done.

It is the case of vet clinics signing up to large corporate chains. There was a BBC program on the subject, maybe that suggested prices have recently doubled. It is up to the pet owner now, to find an independent vet for more realistic prices. Fingers crossed Mattsmum2.

I prefer an independent vet.
However, if your pet needs an advanced level of diagnoses or treatment, the independent vet will refer you to a specialist hospital. Within a corporate group you can be seen the following day, a bit like jumping the queue because it's all the same company getting the fees.

Ask for an itemised bill and arrange a repayment plan with your son.
He and his husband should also arrange pet insurance for the remaining cats, if possible as I understand there’s an age limit, and any future pets they take on; this is the responsible thing to do when owing animals surely?!

I subbed my DS, about 12 years ago when their beloved uninsured cat was run over. I lent him £7000 to pay the vet. He paid me back every penny and learnt a valuable lesson about saving

Dd has two springer puppies, no insurance at that time as they knew the gamekeeper owner. Scanned etc and all seemed fine until one started hobbling in pain. Result was several scans and hospital treatment with a big operation involving bone cutting and pins,. They had to pay £9000 out of the present I had recently given to all of my AC, the last donation to AC from my savings, so not a loan but a gift

The pets recovered so it was money well spent and I need to forget about it. It was meant for roof repairs

Private equity companies own 60% of our vet practices.
That tells you everything. These people are vultures where money is concerned.
It’s another subject that just being ignored 🤬

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/aug/30/pet-owners-private-equity-firms-vet-ownership-rules-change

Thank you all for your messages. The cat had to have emergency treatment and I’ve already paid £600. This was an estimate and not sure what the final bill will be. I agree it’s high. I have an elderly dog who is insured, always has been.

If there was no prior treatment £2,500 is an immense amount of money for putting the cat to sleep. Ask for an itemised bill. As to what you do about your son, I would ask for the money to be paid back, in instalments, and refuse to look after the cats unless they were insured.

I would also ask for a monthly DD til it’s paid.

I would also, harsh as it sounds, “refuse” to look after his pets until he gets insurance. The issue here is if this is the first time he’s insuring older cats the premiums are likely to be quite high.

My son has two cats and a pup, all insured and a monthly pet plan set up at the vets directly for twice annual checkups, vaccines, flea, tic and worms treatment.

We have the same for our cocker, as does our DD for her three sausages.

People sometimes feel cats are far “cheaper” to care for than dogs, but it’s not always the case.

Good luck

Does the vet have a monthly payment system - as someone suggested? Direct debits to you otherwise...
I think I'd suggest your son does that.

That is a lot if money. Your son and SIL surely dont expect you to pay this bill!!
If it is behond their means then they must pay off their debt to you in installments. You are incredibly generous a £1000 each birthday- wow!
Talk to your son and let him know his next two or three birthdays will be gift free. I recognise you dont want to fall out with him but he must take responsibly for his pets. Good luck

Even with the emergency treatment, £2,500 is unbelievably high. I certainly would not pay it without a full breakdown of costs involved. I would then suggest that your son offers to pay the vet by monthly instalments. He should then either take out pet insurance or put money away to cover future treatments his cats might need.

I recognised karmalady’s decision to gift some inheritance early. I’ve taken a similar approach, gift not loan but haven’t faced your dilemma MatsMum. It’s practice now for vets to give an indication of costs when tests and treatment are needed. Six years ago I paid excess of £5000 for my six year old dog’s investigations, scans, pain relief and pts at home when scans showed inoperable tumour. The process lasted 26 days from any indication he was in pain.

Vets bills are high and there’s no indication they’ll reduce. My dogs are insured, expensive but this month my spaniel had an infected abscess - total cost including 24 hours in hospital, about £5000 .

I believe you need a calm discussion with your son. Yes pet insurance is expensive but so is having pets. I considered saving the amount I pay monthly to my insurer. In reality, the recent spaniel claim amounts to about what I’ve paid so far for her insurance. I recognise your son is stretched for cash and I do hope he doesn’t get a kitten, or worse a dog. They’re expensive hobbies (family members)

Mattsmum2

Thank you all for your messages. The cat had to have emergency treatment and I’ve already paid £600. This was an estimate and not sure what the final bill will be. I agree it’s high. I have an elderly dog who is insured, always has been.

If you do get an itemised bill check each treatment listed.
I know from my own experience with a solicitor that 1 procedure can be written in 1/2 ? different ways. Therefore paying for 1 procedure twice ( or more)

I agree with those folk who suggest monthly repayments - pick an amount, however small, that they can manage. It's the principle, not the money.

I donated to the cost of an operation for DS's cat. Said cat eventually came to live with us. He had pre-existing conditions so we didn't insure him (never have had pet insurance) and he cost us a lot (but was worth it).

Vet's bills can be huge but independent vets will often give you options. When you see everything itemised - down to the last pair of gloves - it makes you thankful for the NHS and that we don't get the same sort of bills ourselves, unless we choose to go private.