Everywhere you look these days, prices and the overall cost of living continues to rise exponentially and the veterinary industry is no exception. We remain fiercely independent and are now only one of two remaining independent vet practices in Worthing, the rest having been taken over by corporate groups and this in itself is one… Read more »
Everywhere you look these days, prices and the overall cost of living continues to rise exponentially and the veterinary industry is no exception. We remain fiercely independent and are now only one of two remaining independent vet practices in Worthing, the rest having been taken over by corporate groups and this in itself is one of our biggest challenges financially, owing to the fact that we are not part of one of these large corporate groups who have access to multiple buying power, large resource pools and layers of supporting departments. Here at Cat’s Whiskers we face our own struggles and challenges and manage everything ourselves, from researching the best value veterinary products and drugs, to weekly shopping for items such as toilet rolls, recruiting and training staff, managing third party suppliers, including building maintenance, all just to keep the clinic open, so we continually look for ways to thrive and survive.
Here are just a few of the areas which are challenging for us:
• Costs of veterinary drugs have increased significantly over the past 12 months and manufacturing and supply chain issues have added to the challenge
• As with the rest of the country, our utilities costs have soared
• In order to operate a veterinary practice, there are many insurances and annual inspections (too numerous to mention) that are mandatory in order for us to remain open. All of these costs have risen
• IT and telephone costs, including support have also increased
What measures have we taken to ensure the clinic stays open?
• Membership Plans – we introduced the membership plans and became a membership only clinic last year, this ensures we have a regular income
• We are unique – we are cat only; our ethos is preventative healthcare. This ensures we stand out from the crowd and means we continue to attract like-minded cat lovers
• We ensure we are energy efficient and environmentally sustainable. Examples include, going digital and reducing our paper consumption. We switch lights off when not in rooms. We recycle. We choose products that are environmentally friendly, even our uniforms are made from an eco-sourced material
What measures have we taken to ensure veterinary care is affordable for owners and help keep veterinary costs down?
• Preventative health care – we advise owners on ways to prevent their cats from becoming unwell, which ultimately saves owners money in the long run and ensures their cats live longer
• Membership Plans – this ensures that owners can spread the costs of routine veterinary care
• We continually research all areas from cat food, to medicines, to the costs of our utilities to ensure that we keep costs down and don’t pass this on to our clients
• If we know owners can get items cheaper themselves elsewhere, then we will advise that
And finally, we couldn’t remain in the veterinary industry without the support and dedication of the Cat’s Whiskers team and our lovely clients and their cats, all of whom believe in what we do, so heartfelt thanks to you all.
