5 Ways to Get Help With Vet Bills

Your pets are valuable members of your family and if they're sick or hurt, you want to make sure they can get the care they need. Cost isn't on your radar—at least, not until you're handed the vet bill. 

Vet care can be expensive, especially if you don't have pet insurance. You could use a loan or a credit card to cover the cost, but there may be other ways to get help with pet bills that are also worth checking out. 

Let's look at how to manage vet bills, as well as how to get debt relief if you already have pet care debt you can't afford. 

5 Ways to Get Help With Vet Bills

There are several ways to get help with vet bills, including in-house payment plans, veterinary care financing, nonprofit assistance, crowdfunding, and low-cost clinics. Some of these options require you to apply for financing, while others give you money to cover vet bills that you don't have to pay back. 

1. In-house payment plans

Some veterinarians offer in-house payment plans to help pet owners manage the cost of care. You make a fixed monthly payment until the balance is cleared. You might be able to use a payment plan to pay for care in a financial emergency, or for planned expenses, like a surgical procedure your pet needs. 

Pro: You may qualify for an in-house payment plan without a credit check. Some vets may charge no interest or fees for payment plans. 

Con: Vets don't have to offer this option and yours may not. Or, if they do, you might pay interest and fees, which adds to your cost.

2. Veterinary financing

Veterinary financing usually means a credit card or line of credit that you use specifically for pet care. CareCredit is a credit card that you can use for pet care, while ScratchPay uses a buy now, pay later structure. You could use either type of vet financing for routine vet care, emergency care, or specialty care. 

Pros: You can pay for vet care over time, and you may have a choice of flexible payment plans. You may pay 0% interest if you pay off the balance within a set period. 

Cons: Vet financing may require you to pay interest and/or fees, and the rates may be higher than what you'd pay with a standard credit card. It might require a credit check.

3. Nonprofit assistance

Nonprofits and charities can offer help with vet bills and other needs. RedRover, for example, offers financial assistance for life-threatening emergency care, but it also provides help to people who are escaping domestic violence situations with their pets. Some nonprofits have a specific focus, like helping senior dogs with cancer treatments or cats with diabetes. 

Pros: Money is provided as a grant, not a loan, so you don't have to pay anything back. You can get financial help to meet a wide range of pet-related needs. 

Cons: Grant availability varies by organization, and you may need to go through a lengthy application process to get help. 

4. Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding can help you raise money for vet bills from people who want to help pets in need. Waggle connects donors with pet owners in need and pays funds directly to the vet. You can set up a fundraising campaign, with Waggle's expert help, and collect donations to help cover vet bills. Since this isn't a loan, you don't have to pay the money back. 

Pros: Crowdfunding can help you raise the money you need for vet care quickly, and connect with a larger community of people. 

Cons: You may have to pay a processing fee to the crowdfunding platform. Some platforms won't release funds unless your campaign is fully funded. 

5. Low-cost clinics

A low-cost vet clinic could care for your pet for a nominal fee. Some may use a "pay what you can" fee structure instead. PetHelpFinder.org can help you locate free and low-cost vet clinics near you. If there's a veterinary school in your local area, you may be able to get care there for free or at a reduced price. 

Pros: You can get the care your pet needs at a lower cost than you might pay to your regular vet. If the cost is low enough, you may not need financing or other assistance to cover it.

Cons: Clinic options may be limited in your local area. If you have a clinic nearby, there may be long wait times to get in. 

How to Get Debt Relief for Vet Bills

Debt relief might help if you already have pet care debt you're struggling to pay. Some of the ways to get debt relief include a debt management plan (DMP), debt consolidation, and debt settlement. 

Debt settlement could be an especially good option if you have old vet bills that have gone unpaid, or credit card/loan debt related to vet care that you're past due on. Negotiating with your creditors could let you settle that debt for less than you owe and have the rest forgiven.

You can try to negotiate on your own, or hire a professional debt relief company to do it for you. Here's how debt settlement works if you enroll in a debt relief program:

• You meet with a debt expert who reviews your financial situation to decide if you're a good candidate. 

• If you're eligible for debt settlement, you agree to make one low monthly payment into a secure dedicated account that you control.

• Your debt expert negotiates with your creditors to get the amount you owe reduced.

• If the credit agrees to a settlement, you authorize your debt expert to use funds in your secure account to pay the debt.

• Once the agreed amount is paid, the rest of the debt is canceled and the debt relief company takes its settlement fee.

Debt settlement could help you pay off vet bills for less than what you owe. You could also use this strategy to resolve credit card or loan balances you have from financing vet care. 

Talking to a debt specialist can help you figure out whether debt settlement might be right for you. At the very least, it may be a relief to share your debt situation with someone else and learn what solutions you could have for dealing with it. That can lift debt stress off your shoulders as you focus on getting your pet healthy.