Bad Vet Etiquette? Need opinions please

Question

Is there such a thing as “bad vet etiquette”? Needing opinions on if this is bad or not;
There are 2 vets in our town; they are drastically different in their professional setting and services and therefore their prices are much different too. The less expensive vet seems to cater more to farm animals (they do see the small indoor pets though) and the other leans more towards the small/domestic animals. 
A long time ago I used the cheaper vet but we switched to the more expensive one when the cheaper one did something with my dog I didn’t quite like.
A month ago my SIL found a kitten and asked me to take her. Ive been taking her to the more expensive vet but she’s just going to be an outside cat and my husband hasn’t been liking how much the vet visits are. Today I asked for the quote to get her spayed and it is $300. I need her fixed but that is more than it cost to spay our 60+ pound dogs a couple years ago. The cheaper vet only costs $90.
Is it poor form if I take her to the cheaper vet to get spayed and maybe just take my cats there and my dogs to the other vet..? I don’t want to offend anyone but at the same time that is a HUGE price difference. Part of me thinks my current vet won’t care bc I would be getting her fixed like they encourage but at the same time I don’t want to create any hard feelings. I need others inputs please.

Answer

No it’s not a big deal. And I doubt your vet would care either honestly, either way they make money off you or someone else. I’d just save your money go to the cheaper one as they’re getting taken care of either way.

Answer

The majority of vets understand the costs can add up for our clients and don’t mind if people use other vets if they’re cheaper. It might ruffle some feathers. But it’s your right to price shop and pick what works best for you. If they ever say anything about it, just be honest and say it was a decision made based off finances. The majority of vets are in $60,000 worth of debt from school and make an average of $60,000-70,000 a year by region. Believe me we understand financial strain. 
But remember, the reason it costs so much more to spay your cat ($300 is actually very reasonable for a spay) is because you’re getting a higher standard of care. The large animal vet most likely isn’t set up as well for small animal so they charge less. Because $90 does not cover all basic costs, so that vet has to be doing the procedure with some ‘cut corners’ (not that that’s illegal or unprofessional- it happens in vet med due to client demand or trying to make the cost more affordable) or subsidize the cost somehow and make it back in other procedure. A higher standard of care likely means you’ll have someone monitoring your cat throughout the procedure instead of a vet doing surgery and anesthesia at the same time. While it’s totally legal to do so and we’re qualified to manage that, the likelihood of death is increased. Animals are significantly more likely to die than humans under anesthesia because of the lack of anesthesiologist (and to have one it costs a lot more since you’re paying for a board certified specialist)- we usually have a tech monitor which does help and the small animal practice likely does that. 
Also cats often cost more as cats need more care as they like to decided to die for no good reason and are much more difficult to handle. It’s extra man power that you’re paying for. Dogs generally are much nicer to handle and don’t sudden decide to quit breathing for no reason. 
Bottom line, making decisions based off finances is not a bad thing. It happens all the time. Many vets encourage people to price shop, especially for more expensive procedures. And honestly, getting the cat spayed is what really matters.

Answer

Spay/neuter clinics or farm vets can charge that much because they cut corners on the surgical procedure. They wont place catheters for quick IV access, wont place a ET tube to help breathing and maintaining anesthesia, wont give pain meds before or after the procedure and ect. Its cheaper for the practice and they can knock out 12 spays in an hour. I've worked at both types of clinics as an RVT. As far as the vet caring if you go somewhere else to get the procedure done- they wont. The vet will just be happy that you neutered your cat.

Answer

Wow. Around here people want you to spay/neuter your pets so bad that they have free/low cost clinics. (Like $50 or less)

Bad Vet Etiquette? Need opinions please

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