# MRI Scan- Cost?



## pipje

Has anyone's cat gone for an MRI scan before? 

I am considering sending my brain-damaged kitten to one but am afraid of the costs. She isn't insured and I don't believe the insurance company will cover this if I apply insurance for her now. 

Thank you.


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## DoodlesRule

My previous dog had an MRI scan, £778 + vat and that was 5 years ago


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## Quinzell

I would agree that it is unlikely that any insurance you would take out now would cover the cost.

We had an MRI on our Min Pin last year and his treatment at the referral vets cost us around £3k. This included the MRI, overnight stay and a few drugs - unfortunately, I can't remember the exact cost of just the MRI now but you would most likely be looking at a few additional fees on top of the MRI too.

If you find out who your vets would refer you to (most specialists will only deal with you if you have a referral), they should be able to give you an idea of costs.


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## pipje

Oh my, that's all a whole lot more than I expected. I thought if it's around 300 euros or so, I would consider it but thousands would be too much. 

She was hit on the head by a photo frame-pushed down by her mum- when she was 11 days old. She recovered after some time. Now (9+ weeks), we can feel a dent on her head so quite certain she had a skull fracture and she looks a bit 'strange' compared to her litter mates. Generally though, she seems fine (considering the circumstances). 

However, last night and this morning, it seems like she has had some kind of seizure(total 3 x). She would suddenly start going madly in circles, her tail is big and her eyes are all dark. The first 2 times, she ended up pooping.


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## jenny armour

i enquired about sonni having an mri scan back in 2005 cant remember where but i know it was a vet hospital and they quoted £1200 plus vat


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## havoc

Seen an invoice in the last week or so as it happens - £1500 for the MRI.


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## MaineCooner

Earlier this year, an MRI scan for one of my girls was £1600 inclusive of VAT and all the extras.


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## chillminx

The prices being mentioned sound very expensive I had an abdominal MRI scan done on myself last year, privately, and it cost me about £600. Confirms my suspicion that veterinary fees are often unjustifiably inflated!  

I assume a cat has to have a general anaesthetic to have an MRI scan so I suppose that bumps up the cost a bit? Even so......!


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## rose

Perhaps if she is fitting and you know the cause (photo hitting her) vets could try anti fitting drugs without doing a scan?


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## Grace_Lily

How sad 

Just goes to show that if you don't have insurance it's essential that you have a contingency fund.

Has she been to the vet at all? Regardless, I would take her there ASAP as having seizures is definitely not normal and could well be causing her pain and suffering. As her owner, it's your responsibility to make sure this doesn't happen.


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## havoc

> Confirms my suspicion that veterinary fees are often unjustifiably inflated!


Not arguing the basic premise. Where did you have it done? Was it a stand alone private hospital which doesn't undertake *any* NHS work? If so then I'm impressed with the cost and the facility must be loading costs elsewhere to pay for such a machine.


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## pipje

She has been to the vet many times since the accident. The vet is of the opinion that we should 'wait and see'. He has never recommended an MRI or any kind of test- probably because he's aware of the costs. I guess it's also a matter of OK so, it's confirmed that she's brain damaged. And now what? 

I am also usually an advocate of pet insurance but pet insurances are only possible to apply after the animal has been chipped. Also, I had planned on 'selling' her (at 13 weeks but the incident happened at 11 days old) so to be fair, I probably wouldn't have applied for insurance for the nest anyway (even if it were possible). I am of course keeping her in this condition. 

The seizures happened 2 more times yesterday so in total, 5 seizures ( + who knows how many when we're asleep). They are all very short- perhaps between 5-15 seconds. So far, there isn't much harm but what could cause harm is if it happened while she's higher up (she likes to sleep on the top of the couch). It's just weird that it suddenly started happening. I wonder if it's an occasional thing or something which will be happening on a daily basis from now on.


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## pipje

Hmm, just checked my pet insurance policy (for my older cats) and as they're the basic ones (about 11 euro per cat per month), MRIs aren't covered. The policy which covers MRIs is 25 euro per month per cat:/


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## havoc

I don't think kittens can be insured under 8 weeks old (may be 6 weeks) and you'd have to declare any existing problems anyway.


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## Quinzell

I still think its worth going to the vets as they might be able to recommend some drugs to control the seizures. Bruno was on epilesy drugs and is now being weaned off of them. 

We had Bruno's MRI done at Willow's in Solihull. They had recently moved to a new/bigger premises and I think the MRI machines were new, so could it be that they are still recovering costs which unfortunately makes the MRI's more expensive?


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## havoc

> I think the MRI machines were new, so could it be that they are still recovering costs which unfortunately makes the MRI's more expensive?


They are extremely expensive machines which is why I asked the poster who paid privately for a scan for themselves where they had it done. If it was as a private patient but using NHS (or part NHS) facilities then there's no need to recover the cost of the machine.


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## monkeymummy32

Hi, sorry to hear about your kitty. One of my cats had an MRI done in April during which it was discovered he had a large inoperable brain tumour:sad:. Anyway, the MRI itself I believe cost around £1200. Not many vet practices have them on site s we had to have a referral to a university vet school in a nearby city. Some areas have a mobile MRI that visits. Good luck x


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## chillminx

havoc said:


> Not arguing the basic premise. Where did you have it done? Was it a stand alone private hospital which doesn't undertake *any* NHS work? If so then I'm impressed with the cost and the facility must be loading costs elsewhere to pay for such a machine.


It was at a private facility, which has contracts with the NHS as well as private Health Insurance companies. They will also do scans on private patients who are paying for themselves (i.e. have no Health Insurance).

I have just spoken on the phone to the company, to ensure I was not 
mis-remembering the price I quoted.

The price I mentioned is in fact what the Scan company charges the Insurance Companies. They have just renegotiated the charge and it is now lower than the £600 I mentioned, now being £585.

But, here's the really amazing thing -- if you were to go and have an MRI scan done privately at this facility, paying for it entirely yourself, the current price would be *£350!!!*. Incredible eh??!!

I should also say the company confirmed they own the machine.

I asked them what possible justification there could be for a veterinary facility to charge a price such as £1200 to give a cat an MRI scan, and their answer was *"just because they can get away with it!!! Everyone in the business knows that veterinary facilities pile on the charges"*.

I rest my case.


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## pipje

My kitten is fine! Am so happy!

Finally, I decided to take her to our old vet whom we don't go to anymore because:

i) I thought he didn't speak English
ii) he is a good and smart vet but hates talking and has zero communication skills (I'm not the only one who thinks that, his reviews do as well)
iii) he is very old (80s) and I wanted someone who could be there for the entire length of Pip's life and being old, he has old -fashioned ideas on cat care (like not spaying until the age of 1) but as I said when it comes to actual medical care, he's always been great. 

Other vet I have has great communication skills and also a very,very nice man but it's always 'wait and see' and 'what do you think? ' (I'm not a vet so I would expect the expert to do the thinking!)

OK, long story short, the kitten started having a neverending seizure so we took her to the new old vet who then surprised us by saying HMM, these are not seizures from brain damage. Gave her 3 injections (one is valium, others I don't know. As I said, no communication skills!). She was better but was really drugged (from the valium) and continued to have seizures (a lot less intense though) so I took her again the next day. 

This time, I was ready with questions and it turns out he thinks a viral infection is causing the seizures. We didn't expect this as she was eating fine, put on over 200g in the last week and her poop looked completely normal. He gave her another jab (which again I don't know what it is but it is not valium) and since last night, she is completely healthy! ))) NO MORE seizures, active, back to her normal self

Very happy and will definitely go back to this vet again if any of my cats become ill (it's not the first time, he's diagnosed my cats correctly). He might be old but sometimes old= shedloads of experience


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## chillminx

Very pleased to hear the good news Pipje! You must be so relieved


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## daisybellbell

Does anyone have any experience with an elderly cat, (with a variety of health probs in the last month?). She has had hyperthyroidism for 18 months which is controlled with vidalta. She is nearly 18 and last month was lethargic, violently sneezing, and not really eating, had bloods checked and all fine. Since then facial paralysis and off balance. various trips to vets diagnosing horners syndrome, palsy, perhaps tumour? but it felt she too old to withstand mri, noticed on this thread one person saying their cat had a brain tumour was just wondering as I gave googled and googled all her symptoms to no definite diagnosis, last vet suggested could be an abscess and also found severe ear infection, she is also now for the last 3 weeks eating quite ravenously and putting weight back on., it is driving me mad with worry. Also I was so blindsided with the first diagnosis didn't even think about the ears, but insisted on Monday that they check her ears (they hadn't up till then!) and that is when the infection was discovered. Vet also said on Monday her eye is now closed and he said blind, and could see a mass behind, which could be tumour, or an abscess, also could be vestibular disease????? Help !!


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## Little Zooey

One of our cats had a brain tumour, but I don't know if it will be of any help. She started having wobbly episodes which were initially diagnosed as an inner ear infection. When things didn't improve it was suggested there may be lingering damage. She got progressively worse and asking another vet who was visiting our llamas, he suggested it could be a brain tumour. We got a referral and the MRI confirmed this. We opted for surgery followed by procedures under GA to drain fluid. This kept her going for another 18 months or so, but then she needed further surgery. She had four operations in all and she purred through everything, but only because she was an extraordinary cat. She adored the staff at the AHT and it gave her another 7 years of life.

However, Purdy was only 8 when this started. She had to put up with a lot, but she tolerated everything well. It cost us tens of thousands of pounds because she wasn't insured, endless worry, endless pills and blood tests, thousands of miles to and from the specialist vet and many procedures involving anaesthetic (and she wasn't a good candidate for this with her problems). We were happy to do this because of a chance of quality life.

I know how much you worry and you desperately want to make them better. We have a 22 year old cat and I dread the time when her failing kidneys get even worse, but I don't think I would put her through any more than a special diet and a daily pill.

I think I'm saying how do you feel about treating what you can, trying to ignore what can't be treated and spoiling her rotten?


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