My cat was a very sick kitten – we didn’t realize how sick – when we rescued him from a really awful pet store. (Yes, I know, never ever buy animals from a pet store…) We ended up spending about $600 in vet bills for him over the first couple of months, and this was in 1994, so I’m not sure what that’d be now.
And it was worth every penny. He’s turned out GREAT.
$65 a month x 12 months for Rimadyl (12 yrs old) = $780
OCD surgery at 2 years of age = $1500
Emergency surgery and anti-biotics after spider bite = $1200
3-day stay and treatment for a Geriatric disease = $920
Big sappy look on face when I walk in the door = Priceless
My-5-month-old-pup-Jake-wasn’t-feeling-well-last-night.He-just-kinda-laid-around-and-wouldn’t-eat-his-food-or-anything-----he-usually-eats-everything-in-sight.He-went-outside-for-a-few-minutes-then-came-back-in-very-very-thirsty.After-that-he-ate-and-drank-normally–no-problem-at-all.
Later-when-my-husband-went-outside-he-found-a-small-puddle-of-vomit-with-a-whole-toad-in-it.Apparently-toads-are-fun-when-they’re-hopping-on-the-ground-but-not-so-great-when-they’re-hopping-in-your-belly.
The-good-part-was-that-it-didn’t-cost-us-anything-but-I-think-Jake-learned-a-valuble-lesson.
In just the last 30 days alone I’ve spent $575.00 on my cats.
Cats, plural, you say? I thought you only had 1 cat, Shayna?
Ha Ha.
I am a living, breathing stray cat magnet.
The bulk of the above $575 was spent on a stray that was attacked by another cat and nearly had its throat ripped out. Taking care of his injury was $300, testing him for all the feline diseases and giving him all his shots was another $150 and now he’s on special food and antibiotics because he has bacteria in his intestines, which cost another $25.
And technically, he’s not even mine!
And my cat is suffering from renal failure. I won’t even add up all the expenses for the tests (which are done every couple of months at $150+), medications and sub-Q fluids that have to be administered every other day.
romanperson’s suggestion of a credit card specifically for your veterinary expenses is a good one, and I can add a suggestion to that. You can get a credit card from CareCredit that is specifically for pet care. The linked website is directed to veterinarians, but there’s an 800 number listed that you can call for information about getting a card for yourself. What’s nice about using CareCredit instead of a standard credit card is that they have a period (if I recall correctly, it’s 4 months) that is interest free on charges made on that card.
Good luck with your kitty. I hope she’s feeling better soon!
I really appreciate your consideration in avoiding stepping on my penis - Spiny Norman
[sym][sub][sup]©[/sup][/sub][/sym] Jeg elsker dig, Thomas [sym][sub][sup]©[/sup][/sub][/sym]
Some animal welfare organizations can assist you with payment if you can’t afford it.
Doesn’t anyone ASK the doctor what things cost before getting service?
Shayna, I can definitely vouch for CareCredit, as that was what I applied for and got, in order to be able to pay for the big guy’s spider bite. Very good choice. And Handy, well I guess sometimes you have to say fix it, and damn the cost. If it was my Dad, he would’a capped 'im long ago, being an old farm boy and all that.
$155. lucky ducky. my wee little kitty malenki the miraculous has cost me nigh upon $1000. she has had diarrhea from the time she started to wean until about 2 weeks ago. she still isn’t quite normal and is on a special diet now. between the eye infections and the skin problems and the poop problems… it is a darn good thing she is the cutest thing on 4 feet. in two weeks she goes in for “the operation.” i’m hoping things will settle down once she hits the 6 month mark. if they don’t the vet said they will be able to try different meds once she stops growing.
the things we do for love!
Last time I went to the vet BF, I called them first, asked them what it would cost, they told me, I paid them. That was it.
I understand where you’re coming from, Handy. I guess the point I was trying to make was based on my doggie’s last trauma. Geriatric vestibular disease. Low-ball estimate was $350, high-end $580. Went with the high-end, stayed an extra day in the ICU, went with the extra tests, then release and 10 day batch of anti-biotics, total outlay, $920. My Dad’s response was I could have gotten two papered hunting dogs with a year’s board and training for that much money.
All this makes me wonder how much we would pay to make our “best friends” well again. Before the ex was involved with veterinary medicine (while we were still married) we several times spent $200 or more to bring a cat or dog back to health, once for a stray with a tail that had become gangrenous, but we managed to save.
I have heard of one case where someone found a wild city pigeon with a broken wing and paid $100 to have it repaired. (You can bet the vet asked for the money in advance.)
With today’s advances in medical technology, some of the modern methods have transferred over to veterinary medicine. If someone is willing to pay the price, you can have organ transplants, and yes, even have a catscan on a cat!
Are we willing to go to any price or at some point do we say “I have done everything ** reasonable ** to save my pet, maybe it’s time to say goodbye”?
Uh, I work for a state of the art veterinary cancer treatment center. We don’t think twice about asking for 5,000 dollars for radiation treatments, but we treat the frigging wild life people bring in for FREE. Charging someone to fix a wild pigeon’s broken wing is appalling.
As for the rest of the post, quality of life is most important. If one of my cats had cancer and the oncologist felt he had a good prognosis, I would lay out 10,000 bucks to fix him up. I would not even spend 10 dollars on treatment if the vet thought all I would be doing is prolonging my pet’s misery.
Hmmmmm. Seems to me sometimes people pay more attention to their pets medical needs than the needs of the owner, themselves.
I will pay ANY amount to keep my pets well. My eldest cat is undergoing renal failure… I dont think at his age an organ transplant would be wise. It would probly hasten his end.
And Handy, I take as much care of my health and that of my son as I do of my cats and dogs.
One of the reasons I love my vets (father/son team) is they don’t charge me or only charge a minimal fee for bringing in strays. It keeps the feral cats in my area healthier. And likewise my cats if they come in contact with them.
Well, handy…
I know if I’m not feeling well, and I’m fully capable of calling a doctor on my own.
However, my dog (who is almost 11 years old) cannot tell me what is wrong, what doesn’t feel quite right, or even what hurts–she has never been the type of dog to whimper when she experiences even severe discomfort. So if I suspect a problem, I am more than willing to pay any amount simply to find out how serious the problem is and what can be done to treat it. For example, when my dog was two years old, she started limping on her right leg for no apparent reason. To make a long story short, we had to pay over $200 for various x-rays to find out that her problem was caused by a sprained Achilles’ tendon rather than hip dysplasia (which often cripples dogs to the point that they have to be put to sleep). But it was well worth it–both for our peace of mind and the dog’s comfort.