Emergency Vet Prices in Fort Collins
Prices reviewed by Matt Asciutto, DVM, owner of inkwell. Current as of November 2026.
An emergency exam at inkwell is $185. After that, every recommendation will go onto an itemized estimate before we do anything.
An emergency vet visit without significant testing usually runs $300 to $500. With bloodwork and x-ray images, it's usually $1,200 to $1,500, and with a 24-to-48-hour hospital stay, $3,000 to $5,000.
We'd love to tell you exactly what your visit will cost before you get here, but it's usually impossible to do that accurately. "My dog is vomiting" has a long list of possible causes; it's the exam and a conversation that shorten the list. Sometimes the first test turns up something that makes us want a second. Sometimes we expect several tests to be useful, then find the answer early and don't need the others. Asking for a price over the phone is like calling up a restaurant and asking what "dinner" will cost. It depends. Are you coming in for a polite conversation over side salads? Or is your group in need of apps and entrees?
We also understand that it's hard to walk into a medical visit with no financial expectations at all. So use the prices below as ballpark costs, with a heavy dose of "it depends!" served right on top. For more information on all things money-related, please check out our longer post on why the emergency vet costs what it costs.
If you're deciding whether to come in, call us at (970) 851-8751 or send the intake form. We're at 2261 E Drake Rd in Fort Collins during open hours, and we see pets from Loveland, Windsor, Timnath, and Wellington too.
How much does an emergency vet visit cost?
As a general rule, a visit to the emergency vet that doesn't need significant testing usually runs $300 to $500, treatment included. That covers a lot of what we see: a pet who ate something toxic and needs to vomit it up, vomiting treated with an anti-nausea injection, a limp or a cough in a pet who is otherwise doing well, a squinty or painful eye, and an ear infection.
One that needs a little more of a workup (like bloodwork and x-ray images) usually runs $1,200 to $1,500. Of course, the complicated cases and very sick pets need more tests and treatments, which can bring the price tag up. A hospital stay of 24 to 48 hours usually brings the total to $3,000 to $5,000.
To be a little more specific about it, we've come up with a list of costs to give you a decent idea of what to expect when you walk in the door. These are rough estimates built from our own invoices, so your pet's visit may fit in these ranges, or may land under or over them.
When a problem calls for tests or a procedure, the prices below cover the exam, the workup we usually recommend for it, treatment, and medications to go home.
| What's going on | Rough estimate |
|---|---|
| Vomiting or diarrhea: bloodwork, x-ray images, and outpatient treatment | $1,200 to $1,500 |
| Ate something toxic: making your pet vomit, plus focused bloodwork and/or activated charcoal | $600 to $900 |
| Not acting right: bloodwork, urinalysis, x-ray images, and outpatient treatment | $1,300 to $1,700 |
| Coughing: chest x-ray images and medications | $700 to $1,000 |
| Limping: x-ray images of the leg, sedation, and pain medications | $700 to $900 |
| A cat straining in the litter box, not blocked: urinalysis, pain medication, and sometimes x-ray images | $500 to $900 |
| A wound that doesn't need stitches: cleaning, bandaging, and medications | $450 to $700 |
| A small to medium wound that needs stitches: sedation and the repair | $1,000 to $1,800 |
How much does it cost to hospitalize a dog or cat?
A 24-to-48-hour hospital stay with some diagnostics usually costs $3,000 to $5,000, all in. A stay adds up in pieces. The exam and tests (usually bloodwork and x-ray images) run $1,000 to $1,500. Hospital care, which covers the intravenous (IV) catheter, IV fluids, medications, and nursing, usually runs $1,500 to $2,000 for the first 24 hours and about $1,000 for each 24 hours after that. A very sick or complicated case, like a diabetic emergency, can cost much more. Nobody knows how fast a patient will respond, so we estimate a stay as a range and update you as it goes.
A blocked cat usually costs a little less, around $3,000 to $4,000. He will be kept on fluids the whole time, and the urinary catheter usually stays in for 24 to 48 hours while his body heals.
We hospitalize patients over the weekend. On weekdays we handle the first part of the emergency, talk to you about all your options, and call the receiving hospital to facilitate the transfer. We will get a quote from the other hospital when we talk with them. The prices above are for stays with us.
How much do exams, tests, and treatments cost?
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Emergency exam | $185 ($210 on major holidays) |
| Recheck within 24 hours | No charge |
| Recheck within five days | $120 |
| Limited bloodwork (a targeted panel) | $130 |
| Bloodwork (blood cell count, chemistry, electrolytes) | $350 to $400 |
| X-ray images of a leg (two views) | $300 |
| X-ray images of the chest or abdomen (three views) | $375 |
| Radiologist review of the x-ray images, if needed | $140 to $245 |
| Urinalysis | $135 |
| Outpatient treatment and medications to go home | Usually $250 to $400, depending on your pet's size and what's needed |
Sometimes the doctor recommends a full abdominal ultrasound ($615), cytology read by a pathologist ($200 to $350), or a specific in-house blood test ($80 to $130 each).* These will explicitly be called out on the itemized estimate you get during your visit.
Saying goodbye
When you know it's time to say goodbye, our visit for a humane euthanasia is $250 plus the cost of aftercare. This includes an IV catheter, sedation, and a paw print remembrance for your pet. Cremation is priced by your pet's size: communal cremation is $110 to $240, and private cremation, with the ashes returned to you, is $210 to $400. Aftercare is through Precious Memories Pet Cemetery and Crematory.
Money questions
When do I pay?
Payment is due at the time of service. We ask for a deposit before any hospital stay and occasionally before a procedure.
What if I can't afford the emergency vet?
Tell us. We've built plans around $500 and plans around $5,000. In general, the less we do, the more risky it is, but we will talk to you about those risks and recommend the best plan we can offer given your financial goals. CareCredit and Cherry are on our payment options page; try CareCredit first, since it also works at your regular vet and at transfer hospitals. Our pet parent resources page lists groups that may help eligible families.
Will the bill be more than the estimate?
Usually not for an outpatient visit. When a result changes the plan, we talk to you before adding anything.
Do I have to do everything on the estimate?
No. Declined items stay on the estimate so you know the price if you change your mind, and we tell you what we'd be worried about missing.
Need an emergency vet now?
When your dog or cat needs an emergency vet, call (970) 851-8751, send the intake form, or come to the clinic during open hours.
What we can test for in house
* We can run more tests in house than most people expect, with results before you leave. Our goal is to get as much information as possible now so things have a chance of getting better before they get worse – and we want to have as many answers in hand as possible before sending you out the door.
In the blood, we can check cell counts (and look at a smear under the microscope), chemistry, electrolytes, blood gases, ionized calcium, lactate, glucose, ketones, clotting times, and packed cell volume. We can test specific organs and hormones: the kidneys (including SDMA, an early kidney marker), the liver (including ammonia and bilirubin), the pancreas (pancreatic lipase), the thyroid, the adrenal glands (baseline cortisol and a stimulation test for Addison's disease), long-term diabetes control (fructosamine), muscle damage (creatine kinase), and inflammation (C-reactive protein). We test for heartworm and tick-borne disease, leptospirosis, parvovirus, feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), fecal parasites, and Giardia. For urine, we run a urinalysis, a protein check, and screens for drugs and marijuana. For the heart and lungs, we have a feline heart screen (proBNP), an electrocardiogram (ECG), blood pressure, and oxygen levels. For eyes, we check for scratches with a stain, measure eye pressure, and test tear production. And we look at cells from ears, skin, lumps, and fluid under the microscope (cytology).