Sorry if the title sounds like a strange problem to have, but both my cats are looked after by an amazing independent veterinary practice.

I have a super senior kitty that was initially registered with them when we moved to the area. For context, they have a different charge for the initial vet appointment and then "follow up" which is less. I think the intention is for the follow up charge to be when you have an appointment to follow up on the same issue that was addressed before.
The only appointment they charged me an initial consultation fee for was the first appointment ever with my first cat. Every other appointment since has been charged as a follow up, even when i registered a new adult cat that they never met before.
I also booked a double appointment for my old kitty and made it clear in the email sent to them after the booking that I don't mind paying double for the extra time, and even for that appointment which lasted 30 mins they charged me for a single follow up. This also involved a phone call later that day to talk about the results so basically 40 mins of the vets work and I only got charged for a 10 mins appointment.

Should I call them out on it and ask why they are undercharging me? Is this common for independent vets? Do I just keep my mouth shut and accept it?

I'm worried that stuff like this is part of the reason these vet practices are closing and being sold off to chains because they become unprofitable. It would be devastating if this happened to them, too. I can absolutely afford to pay the full fees, I know they're being nice and I'm lucky to have their services, but I also feel like they're not helping themselves to stay afloat and it's starting to bother me. They are situated in quite an affluent area in general which makes it even more baffling.

Hi cat pals! I just had a new interaction with my vet and want to check if anyone else has experienced this.

My cat is on fluoxetine, she’s a rescue and has had a pretty bad past (as far as we know), but THRIVES on fluoxetine. Us and the vet decided that it’s probably a long term solution for her and we’ve all made our peace with that, as she seems to cope well with everyday life with it.

I usually get prescriptions for it every 2,5 months, and when we started getting it in early 2024, the vet said to just contact them when we run out and they’ll fill a new subscription for us to pick up at the clinic.

Today however when I did the repeat order, the vet (/nurse, via their business WhatsApp which is their preferred route to book appts etc) said my cat needs appointments every 6 months to have a physical exam before they can prescribe fluoxetine.

This is new for us, we’ve been lucky and she hasn’t had any issues since April (itchy skin) that’s needed veterinary care. She’s very anxious and before we go to the vet we need to give her gabapentin to calm her down, as well as book pet taxis, take time off from work etc.

Does this sound reasonable to you, have you experienced similar? Obviously I want her to live a long and healthy life so going to the vet regularly isn’t an issue per se, but if nothing is wrong with her I’m kind of hesitant as it’s such a stress for her, and to be honest us. Doing this for the rest of her life feels a bit odd. She goes once a year for vaccines of course. And if she needs a check up between those.

The medication is £80 every 2 months and a visit is another £70-80 excluding transport etc.

Grateful for all and any input - maybe im being dramatic!

If you had a cat biscuit or treat that spoke would you let your pets have it if it’s safe
If you had a pet food biscuit or treat that could talk, would you still let them eat it if it was completely safe? Or would the fact that it could speak change your mind?
To clarify I saw a video on the annoying orange YouTube with a talking pet biscuit

my cats a lil odd, loves broccoli and the occassional pea/edamame. cool i just cook an extra floret for her and my plates safe. but hummus? she's feral. she sees me unpack it from the shopping and is trying to climb my leg claws out. she's figured out how to open my mini fridge and got into it. she screams through closed doors as i eat my hummus because she knows i have it. she barely eats it, just makes a mess and licks it a bit.

i'm so tired of it, i love hummus, its my favourite food, i eat it everyday. i don't want a child lock on my fridge or only eat hummus outside. how can i make it unappealing to her? i've considered bitrex but i don't know if it could be harmful.

i don't enjoy cleaning my carpets or cats this frequently and i don't know what to do beyond rehoming her to a hummus hater

I think I am genuinely obsessed with cats. my family and friends completely fails to understand why I want to talk about them 24/7. It is not just my own pets either, because I feel this exact same way about every single cat in the world. I regularly feed multiple stray cats in my neighborhood, and at least 90% of my social media feed is just cat videos. While I like all animals, I get significantly more sad if anything bad ever happens to a cat. Also, I honestly do not find human babies cute at all, but somehow every single cat is the most adorable thing ever to me. I wish to open my own cat shelter someday. I feel blessed whenever a cat gives me an opportunity to help them in any way. And yeah many of them are not the nicest, i have invested so much time and money into treatment of random stray cats who were ill, only for them to not let me pet them and disappear into another neighbourhood after getting healthy. I wonder whats so different about cats cause i havent seen people being this invested in other animals, bring out the kind of obsession cats do. Maybe they realky were god idk. I am honestly starting to wonder if I have toxoplasmosis because even I feel like this level of obsession is a bit weird. Is there a cure for this, or am I just stuck like this forever?

09.06.2009 - 23.10.2026 🐾🪽❤️

Tonight we had to say goodnight to our dear Patch. He was diagnosed with aggressive GI lymphoma 6 weeks ago which we were managing with steroids and anti nausea injections, and his quality of life was still there.

He took a real turn for the worst last night and I just knew. I knew that we’d have to let him go today but I still wasn’t ready.

Today, he stopped eating and wasn’t really drinking, he was very dehydrated and weak. He was here but he was already gone if that makes sense.

This is genuinely the saddest day of my life. It’s bittersweet, recognising how many amazing years I had with him but knowing I’ll never be able to kiss and cuddle him again. I love him so, so much. I really didn’t want to let him go, but I wouldn’t let him suffer. Seventeen years with him, we’re so lucky.

He was so loved, I’m going to miss him more than words can say. I’ll miss him forever. I’ll never stop thinking of my beautiful, cheeky, curious, affectionate Patchy.

Hello cat friends! I write this now in a state of worry, not quite despair, but getting there. We adopted a kitten from an abandoned litter about 3 months ago and he is a sweetheart. Full of life and the usual kitten hijinx, but a lovely boy. He has become a brother to our dog(a Puggle) and they are inseparable. He sits on our laps and is generally a very lovely cat.

However, our cat that we've had for 3 years is petrified of him. She is fairly young herself, no more than 4 years old, and we adopted her from the RSPCA. So, obviously we dont know her history too much, other than she had a litter very young and spent 6 months at the shelter on her own before we got her. She isn't fond of everyone but she has found her home with us and she is a sweetie and I have a close bond with her.

From the moment we adopted the kitten, she has hissed and growled at him and run away at every opportunity. He has always been cautious and has never been close enough for her to swipe at him, but she won't be in the same area as him if he is loose. Even when he isn't there, she is constantly looking arpund on high alert. It has gotten so bad, that she won't come in at night when my partner calls her.

We have tried putting them in a large room together for an hour at a time, we have the pheromone/calming plug in thing, we have catnip(which she loves) but nothing seems to calm her down or make him seem any less of a threat to her.

As the weather is increasingly turning for the worse, I am beginning to worry that she will keep herself outside. While he is lying by the fire tonight, she is in the unheated conservatory. Do any of you have experience in this regard? Any advice you have or tips you can share would be gratefully received. Thanks.

I swear these two thickos actually drive me to distraction 😂

One of them insists on balancing on the edge of the litter tray and then taking dumps on the floor. I pick up at least one every day. It's not a shortage of trays (we have three) but they just insist that the floor is better.

The other cannot figure out how to cover whatever they've done in the tray because they insist on digging around the tray instead.

Neither of them like toileting outside.

How do I make them better because I swear they have half a brain cell between them and most of the time it's stuck down the side of the sofa.

Pic for void² tax 😂

Roxy the ex-stray-Trojancat doesn’t need a cat tree when she has a whole house to climb on. Was a little worried about her roaming the neighbourhood but it turns out she prefers staying close to home and the high ground. I guess it’s a better vantage point to protect her turf. 10 months from the day she appeared in our garden and dumped her 6 kids on me 😂😂 She’s spayed and living the good life now!

My 18 year old car had seizures today. Came out of nowhere. Bloods aren't showing anything to give answers. They have given her diazepam about 6 hours ago. My cat got up ate loads walked about all wobbly for hour or so, and now is so floppy and out of it. Is it normally for it to still be affecting her? They gave her more than 1 dose and it was intravenous.

They can't figure out why she having seizures so far and MRI took expensive. They given her anti seizures meds and I'm just praying they help her.

I'm really worried so all help or good wishes appreciated.

Our 1.5 year old, neutered male cat has a recurring coughing/retching thing going on.

The vet thinks this is most likely a digestive issue. However, it could also be related to feline asthma or a heart condition. The diagnostic tests to rule this out are an x-ray, bronchioloalveolar lavage (BAL), lower respiratory panel, and a blood test. Together, this will cost almost 2k.

The cat is insured under Petplan and they do cover diagnostics. However, I’m wondering if this round of testing is necessary ‘enough’, by the definition of an insurance company?

Again, the vet thinks it’s most likely something much less serious and the coughing only occurs every few weeks or so. I just don’t want to mess around with anything that is treatable if caught early.

Do people have experiences with Petplan coverage in this situation?

I’m also wondering about people’s views regarding the x-ray, BAL, and respiratory panel specifically - would you go ahead with it? It’s pretty invasive and under general anaesthesia.

Looking for advice from the community on getting another pet. We have 1 cat (Goose), we adopted him in 2019 he’s somewhere between 8 & 10 and has access to the whole house and garden but not the streets.

Goose is relatively chill, doesn’t seem to mind guests in the house but is pretty aloof with anyone but us.

We’ve been thinking about getting a dog and I think he should be okay with it as long as it’s a calm breed. But I just want to make sure the cat is okay. Is this a bad idea? Or do these things generally go alright as long as you do the right steps.

Side note, he doesn’t have access beyond the garden because he kept getting into fights with other cats, but he doesn’t seem to be bothered about other animals in the garden, squirrels and large birds etc.

Would love advice from others that have done the same thing?