How Much Does a Vet Visit Cost?

When your dog, cat, or other pet needs to see the vet, there are a variety of factors that can impact the total price of your final bill. Below, we'll explore some of the common reasons your pet may need to see a veterinarian, as well as the average costs for routine checkups or specialty treatments and procedures.

When to Take Your Pet to the Vet

Your pet may need to see a vet for many different reasons, and how much it costs depends on the type of vet visit. Common reasons to take a pet to the vet include:

• • Routine checkups: Routine veterinary exams are similar to human physicals. They're meant to help keep your pet healthy by assessing their overall wellness, treat any ongoing conditions, and follow up on any concerns you may have.
• • Vaccinations: You may have to set up a series of appointments to make sure your pet gets the properly scheduled vaccination shots to help prevent conditions like rabies and Bordetella.
• • Illness: Maybe your pet isn't drinking much water, or they're throwing up. You'll want to take them in for a sick visit, where your vet will check their baseline health and may recommend running some tests to figure out what's going on.
• • Emergencies: There may be a time that you're pet needs immediate medical attention, which means an emergency vet visit. Emergency visits can mean the difference between life and death, and you can expect that the cost of an emergency vet visit will be higher due to specialized equipment and treatments.¹
• •Surgical/Specialty visits: You may need to see a specialist to set up surgical procedures like spaying or neutering, dental extractions, fracture repairs, foreign object removal, or cancer-related surgery or chemotherapy treatment.

National Average Cost for a Vet Visit

The national average cost for a routine vet visit is between $25-$186.² During a routine veterinary appointment, your vet will perform a physical exam to assess your pet's health. The vet will likely check for:

• • Vitals: heart rate, breathing, temperature, weight
• • Signs of infection: ears, eyes, nose, mouth
• • Parasites: coat and skin

Average vet visit cost by state*

* To see all the states click here.

Routine Veterinary Exam Costs by Procedure

A routine veterinary exam is a good time to discuss any concerns you may have about your pet's health and to get preventive treatment for common health issues.

Dog and Cat Vaccine Pricing Info

On average, vaccinations for dogs and cats will cost between $20-$60, and can help protect them from catching serious diseases, like rabies.⁴

Vaccination cost for dogs

Here are the average costs of some common vaccinations your dog may need:

Vaccination cost for cats

Here are the average costs of some common vaccinations your cat may need:

Veterinary Tests and Diagnostic Costs

You'll want to set up a special appointment with your vet if you think your pet is sick (or worse). For example, the following are symptoms your pet may exhibit which could require further evaluation, tests, and diagnosis from your veterinarian:⁶

• • Increased thirst
• • Changes in appetite
• • Increased urination
• • Lethargy or tiredness
• • Panting
• • Coughing or sneezing
• • Weight gain or loss
• • Body odor
• • Breathing rate
• • Whining
• • Coat or skin changes
• • Behavior changes

If your pet is exhibiting signs of an illness, your vet will likely want to run some tests to help determine what's going on. They may require things like blood tests, X-rays, or fecal exams.³

Once your vet has the results, they will provide a course of treatment to address the cause of your pet's symptoms and hopefully help your fur baby feel better.

Below is the average cost of diagnosing and treating some common health problems your pet may experience.

Emergency Vet Care Costs

An emergency veterinarian visit is an unscheduled trip to the vet to get help for your pet in an urgent or critical situation. There are many reasons you might need to take a pet to see an emergency veterinarian, such as:⁸

• • Vomiting and diarrhea: Frequent vomiting and diarrhea can be signs that something serious is going on, like an obstruction, gastroenteritis or pancreatitis.
• • Trauma: Bite wounds, electrical shock or being hit by a car
• • Toxins: When you know you're pet has consumed foods or chemicals that are poisonous, like antifreeze, human medications, chocolate, insecticides, certain plants and other toxic substances a visit to the emergency vet may be needed.

The price of an emergency vet visit will depend on the situation, but you can anticipate that it will be more expensive than a routine visit due to specialized care and testing. Below are the costs for initial assessment, stabilization, and treatment.

Surgery and Specialty Treatment Costs

If your pet has an underlying condition, or something is discovered as a result of testing during a wellness check, your vet may recommend specialized treatment. The cost of these treatments ranges widely depending on the type of care needed and the type of animal.

We've outlined some common treatments and average associated costs below:

Average Vet Visit Cost by State (Continued)

The information, opinions and recommendations expressed in the article are for informational purposes only. Information has been obtained from sources generally believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, or any other, Synchrony and any of its affiliates, including CareCredit, (collectively, “Synchrony") does not provide any warranty as to the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information for its intended purpose or any results obtained from the use of such information. The data presented in the article was current as of the time of writing. Please consult with your individual advisors with respect to any information presented.

© 2023 Synchrony Bank.

Sources: