Emergency vet care – financial help

Does your pet need emergency, one-off veterinary treatment? If you're on a low income, we might be able to help you with emergency  consultation or treatment costs for your pet.

Am I eligible for help with vet costs?

• You must be in receipt of Universal Credit or other means-tested benefits
• You must also live in our catchment area in Bath and North East Somerset and parts of Wiltshire. To confirm you are within our catchment area, check you are in the orange area of this map. Call us if you're unsure

If you're eligible, please call us during office hours on 01225 787321.

If you're outside our catchment area, you can find your closest RSPCA Branch.

Help we can offer

• £75 towards the initial vet consultation charge.
• 25% of the vet bill up to a maximum of £200. Your vet will need to invoice us with details of the treatment received

Conditions

• This is only for unexpected emergencies – we can't offer financial assistance to treat chronic or ongoing condition

• We don't usually provide financial assistance for insured pets, but if you're experiencing complications claiming via your insurance company you can contact us. These requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. We won't contribute to insurance excess costs under this scheme

• You can only request emergency veterinary assistance once within any 12-month period. If you have multiple pets needing care, consider your options below

I need help, but I'm not eligible

If you're not eligible for financial assistance from us, or need more money than we can offer, here are some other options to consider:

• Call your pet insurance company (if your pet's insured) and check what they can offer as part of your package
• Ask your vet if they can offer a payment plan
• Phone other vets to see if they can offer a cheaper option or payment plan
• Use a personal loan or credit card. If you're concerned about debt, please seek help – the National Debtline is a great place to start

We’d rather your pet stayed with you, but if you feel it's for the best you can sign over your pet to BCDH for treatment and rehoming. Read our advice page to see how we can help, or call us on 01225 787321.