It’s never fun. It’s sometimes necessary. We’d like you to be prepared and armed with some facts to help you make informed decisions.
We asked vets in South Africa for some typical costs involved with common procedures & ‘standard’ veterinary functions.
Here are our findings (remembering that these will fluctuate depending on various factors. These are to be used a rough guideline, every vet is slightly different.)
Let’s get straight into it:
Typical vet costs in South Africa:
Neutering a male cat, around R750, and R1 350 for neutering a female cat.
Neutering a male dog around R1200 – R2500 and R1 800 up to R4000 or more for neutering a female dog, as the size and age of your pet will influence this cost greatly.
Around R700 for an annual check-up, including shots and pest control. That’s your vaccines – possibly more when you include tick/flea/de-worming meds.
Typical consultation R350 to R550 – depending on what part of South Africa you’re in.
Blood tests will be around R700-900.
X-rays costs about R700 and subsequent x-rays cost about R400. The number of x-rays you need depends on the area of the body being examined.
Antibiotic treatment will cost R150 to R200 or more for dogs or cats, but this is a difficult number to pin down. It depends on the antibiotic needed. Some will cost R50 for a course, some R500+ and it also depends on the size of your pet and dose needed.
Hospitalisation is usually about R200-300 per day, this is the stay itself, excluding other costs involved for meds and fluids and vet/nurse checks and food etc.
Cremation usually costs about R600-R2000.
Initial vaccinations: You will need about three vaccinations plus a rabies shot. The vaccinations will cost an average of R470 each, so around R1500 for all of them.
The upshot:
Those are typical costs in South Africa. We have made every effort to give you a realistic insight into the costs involved with a vet visit in South Africa.
As we can see, it makes sense to have pet insurance in South Africa, and we can help you with that. Speak to a broker about PawPaw Pet Health Insurance, or ask us for a callback. One of our representatives will call or email you back to answer any questions and to you help get you on board and covered.
We know what you need from your pet health insurance in South Africa. We’re pet people too.