8 BILLS TRACKED
Emergency hospitalisation & overnight care
Where bills jump from hundreds to thousands overnight, sometimes literally. Owners report day rates doubling between quote and invoice.
Read the full guide: overnight hospitalisation costs explained →
Every price we track (hover a dot)
The gap: advertised vs actually paid (medians)
People reported paying 81% more than the advertised list price for overnight hospitalisation.
List prices are advertised prices; paid figures are what people reported, often for different cases and from a small sample so far. Treat the gap as a signal, not a quote.
Quoted vs actually paid (real submissions)
The strongest signal there is: what one person was quoted, and what the same job actually cost them.
- quoted £160↑paid £320+100%
Estimated at £160/day for monitoring a blocked cat with a catheter; actual day rate came in at double.
| Year | Region | Practice | What it was | List | Paid | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | UK unspecified | Unknown | Cat hospitalisation day rate (catheter monitoring)Estimated at £160/day for monitoring a blocked cat with a catheter; actual day rate came in at double. | — | £320quoted £160 | source |
| 2024 | UK unspecified | Unknown | Overnight hospitalisation with IV dripDehydration | — | £350 | source |
| 2026 | UK unspecified | Corporate / chain | Hospitalised care (first 48 hours)Animal Trust CIC; then £359 per 24h; intensive care +£359/24h; list valid to Jul 2026 | £719 | — | source |
| 2024 | UK unspecified | Unknown | Hospitalisation + fluidsCovered by insurance | — | £849 | source |
| 2024 | UK unspecified | Corporate / chain | Emergency diagnostics: scan, bloods, IV fluids (cat bite abscess)Running total at OOH provider; wound clean under GA quoted at further £700 | — | £1,300 | source |
| 2024 | UK unspecified | Corporate / chain | Overnight observation + IV fluids + pain reliefObservation-only stay; overnight quoted at minimum £260/day | — | £1,500 | source |
| 2025 | UK unspecified | Corporate / chain | Emergency overnight hospitalisation | — | £1,800 | source |
| 2025 | UK unspecified | Unknown | OOH visit at 11pm + overnight stayIncl. overnight hospitalisation | — | £2,500 | source |
Common questions
How much does overnight hospitalisation cost in the UK?
Across 8 real UK prices, the median is £1,075, with bills running from £320 to £2,500. These are real prices people paid or that practices published, not estimates.
Why do overnight hospitalisation prices vary so much?
It depends on where you are, who owns the practice, and exactly what is included. The Competition and Markets Authority found corporate-owned practices charged 18.3% more on average than independents, and vet prices rose 63% between 2016 and 2023.
Is overnight hospitalisation cheaper at an independent vet?
Often, yes. The CMA's 2026 review found independent practices averaged 18.3% less than the six large corporate groups for comparable work. From September 2026 every practice must publish a price list, so comparing a few nearby is worth it.
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Methodology: prices here are published list prices, bills people reported in public posts or submitted directly, and survey averages. Each row says which it is, with a link to the source where one exists. We never estimate and no sponsor can touch a number. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix or remove it fast.