How much would you spend on medical bills for your cat, before letting it die?

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

Over in the MSIMP there is a thread about “feline spinal injuries”. Much discussion about folks spending thousands of dollars for vet bills and rehab for their injured cats.

Do people really throw down this kind of money on something they can replace for free? Seriously, cats are useful on farms and ranches for keeping down the mice population, and I can even see the general amusement as a pet, but do people really break the bank over caring for these animals?

So how much money would you spend to save your cat vs. letting it die?

Poll to follow…

#2

Of course.

I didn’t answer the poll because I can’t set a dollar amount. My decision would have more to do with the cat’s prognosis.
However, I have spent over a thousand dollars in the past to keep a particular cat alive, and because of that experience, I feel somewhat less likely to do so again.

#3

I’m assuming this question is about pets in general. For cats, lemme die. For my beloved dogs, somewhere between 5,000-10,000. I’m not going to lie and say the sky’s the limit. Realistically, 10,000 is a lot for my income at the moment and would put me in debt. If I was a regular teacher, maybe 25,000 tops. Like I said, I’m not going to say 500,000 or anything insane. I’d be fucked if I needed 500,000 worth of medical prodecures, never mind my pets. Anyway, however, I wouldn’t spend a dime if it was one of those deals like one of my dogs had six months to live and this procedure gave them a few more months of “living”. If it was all down hill anyway, I’d just take the money and put them asleep. So, they can be in peace.

#4

I put $100 because that was the closest - & I’m in NZ where our money is worth so little.

I would spend up to $200 of our joke dollars. That should be enough to fix up minor to medium problems.

#5

Depending on the prognosis I would say probably $10,000 would be my cap. I’ve spent as much as $3,000 in one sitting for emergency vet care for my cat and would do it again in a heartbeat. When I adopted my cats and, most recently, when we adopted our puppy it was to bring them in and love them as part of our family. If I hadn’t had the intention of taking proper care of them when I adopted them I wouldn’t have brought them home in the first place. They are not living furniture or toys, they are family members.

That being said, if my cat or dog was in a position where his or her quality of life was going to be poor or if it was going to be a really painful cure for them I would have them put down instead. For instance, I can’t see trying to explain to an animal that can’t speak english why I cram them in a carrier and force them to go through chemo several times a month if they are already pretty old by their standards so it would probably be more humane to put them down.

#6

Would you feel the same way if your middle eastern grandmother who has alzheimers needed chemotherapy for cancer treatment?

#7

It would really depend on the cat’s age likely quality of life afterwards. If my cat’s already in its mid-teens or older, I’m not going to spend more than a couple hundred bucks prolonging its life unless the result of my spending more would leave it essentially unaffected. And I’m not going to spend much at all to save a cat if it’ll be crippled for the rest of its life anyway. But I might go up to a thousand to save a relatively young cat that I’d had for a few years, if the result would be a return to good health for many years.

I love cats (dogs too, for that matter), but they are not on the same level as people. They’re ultimately fungible.

#8

I picked no limit, but I’m not some crazy cat lady, who will go for feline chemo and organ transplant and all the rest of what’s available.

I’m just saying if my cat had something that could be fixed allowing the animal a normal pain free life, then yeah, I wouldn’t care about the cost. I’d try to work it out somehow.

But with the more expensive options, there’s always the quality of life for the animal to consider, along with its strength and age. Chemo is an unpleasant course of action. I doubt I would choose chemo simply because after all that suffering, you can’t be sure that it would even work. Better to simply let the animal go.

Always, ALWAYS, the standard that I use for choosing vet procedures is will it ultimately benefit the animal, or will it simply prolong the inevitable causing or allowing pain to continue?

The cost is always, ALWAYS, secondary.

#9

… what the fuck? Why are you bringing random human ethnicities into this discussion?

#10

Depends on the prognosis and my financial status at the time. Close to 20 years ago, I put $500 on a credit card (a serious ton of money to me at that time and place) when I was in grad school to save a 1.5-year-old ferret (which is young) who’d swallowed a rubber band and would recover nicely if operated on. Last year we had an 8-year-old ferret who maybe would have had a couple more months of life, probably punctuated by seizures, if stabilized in the vet hospital and given lots of new meds. She was very old and had other health problems on top of the new one, so we had her euthanized.

Having grown up with farmers on both sides of the family, I understand that barn cats are often treated differently than a family’s cherished pet.

#11

Purplehorseshoe, in the other thread Omar tells a troubled cat owner their domestic was less valuable than a barn cat, because at least it earns its keep.

In other words, I’m not convinced yet about the objectivity behind which this thread was started.

#12

:dubious: Wow, that is quite a jump. Seriously, WTF?

In answer to your question, yes, if my grandmother was of advanced age and couldn’t understand the reason why she was going through chemo (due to alzheimers or or whatever, I’m pretty sure I could find her a translator if it was only a language barrier) and just knew that her family was forcing her to go through horrifying, painful experiences I would want for her to have the ability to die soon with minimal pain instead of living for a couple more years with constant pain. With pets you can’t have a translator so that they can understand what is going on and you have to do what you think is best. Personally I think it would be best for my cat or dog (or grandma, for that matter) to not be put through incredibly painful medical treatments if it isn’t in their best interest. I hope my family has the same respect for me when it is my time to go and doesn’t make me undergo terribly painful medical treatment for years instead of letting me die in peace.

#13

They’ve always been a part of the discussion. Many cat owners have humanized their animals. pbbth, said his animals were family members. I’m just curious if his limit on what he would do for his cat extended to what he would do for another family member.

ETA: I’m not judging. Just trying to understand.

#14

My opinion. But I’m not trying to dictate what other people’s opinion should be.

#15

Fortunately humans have access to things like translators, living wills, and healthcare power of attorney.

#16

Depends on the cat, the prognosis, and the kind of treatment. I just had my favorite cat into the vet to have some teeth pulled. The vet misquoted me and the final bill ended up being almost $500, which was $150 than the quote. I sighed and tightened my belt for that month because he’s 1) my favorite 2) a young cat who would recover quickly and be 100% ok 3) it was a one time treatment with a week of meds after.

If the cat needed $100 in meds that it hated getting every month for the rest of its life, was more than 10 years old and would only deteriorate and never get better, I’d probably put it down. It’s all about the situation.

#17

Are you saying that it’s unfortunate that cat’s don’t?

#18

So, assuming the cat lives for 15 years, and an interest rate of 7% over the next 5 years, your saying that a cat’s not worth $5,000 (PV of 60 months of $100 at 7%).

I think you and I are in agreement. Especially when you can get a free one any day of the week, in pretty much in any community in the country.

#19

Yeah, I saw that. This was the very next thread I saw. (I jump around.) I had already reached the same conclusion. Frankly, that’s why I typed out the cussing instead of just going “WTF?”

#20

As you wrote this sentence, grammatically, “they” = “random human ethnicities.” Are you telling me the ethnicity of the hypothetical grandmother is relevant? Surely you’re not, but I don’t know how else to read your posts.

(Sorry for the double-post. You may slap my wrist now.)