VET Bills

[buster]

How much would you spend on a sick pet? We just dropped $2,000 on our 6 year old cat. Put in perspective, our Vet who is great and we love, spent $25,000 on her cat. (Yes, ridiculous). She said she would never do it again.

I was telling my wife, you have to consider that taking the animal to the Vet is often very stressful for the animal. We as humans know why we are going to the doctor, animals don't.

The other issue I have is they often test and test not knowing what it is and it can add up very quickly.


We are at the point now where we will not spend a dime more. It's just not worth it. I have my limits and we already exceeded it. If she doesn't improve, we will just let her live the rest of her life at home in peace.

Men and women seem to differ on this. The men are often viewed as being less senstive and the women tend to want to spend whatever it takes to figure it out. I'm in teh middle, but lean towards only doing a little bit.

 

[SLCraig]

I don't have a number, it's probably different in the heat of the moment. One thing I can tell you though, $25K is way more than I would ever spend, that is just way too much $.

I could see spending a few thousand. The current cat in the family (at my folks place) is awesome, and I love him to death. I would want him to live as long and as happy as possible. Still don't think I would go near $25K though...

 

[RF Overlord]

I feel you, bro.

Just this summer I spent something like $750 on one of my rabbits. Logic would dictate that putting her down would have been the correct answer...she was a rescue from the local animal shelter and not a rare or valuable breed...but logic goes out the window with pets. I just could not do it, and it doesn't bother me in the least as she made a full recovery and is now happily cavorting around in the hutch with her companion, and my heart fills with joy every time I look out the window at them.

 

[xBa380]

That is a very tough call... My dog is seriously family to me, so it would be tough just to say no... But $25K is way too much in the end.

Makes me wonder if I should have done the insurance with AKC for my dog when I had the chance... I still might, I will have to look into it. Covers vet bills and quite a few other perks for him. He is six now though, so not sure if they would even start coverage.

 

[andrewg]

I have an Airedale that I've spent over $10,000 on in two hip and two stomach surgeries. I don't miss the money.....but I sure would have missed him had I not spent the money. Now, if I didn't have the money, then that would have been a real dilemma.

 

[TWG1572]

Our dog had a back injury this spring and the Dr. recommended a $6,000 surgery to fix it. My reaction was a swift and immediate NO, my wife had to talk with her friends to make sure she wasn't a bad person for not doing it. They said it was too much, so she also made the decision and moved on.

We had the money but felt that such a large of a sum of money could be better used elsewhere (college fund, pay down mortgage, etc). He had a good run, but you have to draw the line somewhere.

 

[powayroger]

We just had one of our rough coat collies, Harley, die of aggressive cancer. He was only 5. How much do you spend? I work as a Park Ranger so I am not wealthy, but we consider our pets to be part of our family. In the last 6 months, we probably spent over $7,000 on Harley, mainly with the specialist. And we could have spent more because they wanted to run more tests and tests. Finally I had to sit the family down and explain things to them. In the end, the specialist wanted to know what exactly was doing this to him so we gave him permission to take some tissue samples after Harley was put to sleep and that is when they found out he had aggressive cancer.

About 5 months ago, I went to Costco to refill one of Harley’s prescriptions. The tech came out and told me that there was a big jump in the price since last time (We had paid $60 3 months earlier). The price was now $450. Yes, I was taken back, but knew I would get it. After telling me the price, the tech asked me if I still wanted the prescription filled and I looked at him and said, when you love you pets, you will do this. He shook his head in agreement.

 

[danthaman1980]

Years ago, after my now ex-wife told me how much she spent to have her 12 year-old cat's teeth pulled due to chronic gum disease (~$2,000), I JOKINGLY told her that a bullet only costs 25 cents

She did not think it was funny.

I'm not a cat person so I'd rather not spend $100 on a vet bill for a cat; but I could see myself spending $2,000 on the right dog if it was absolutely necessary. The age of the animal is also a huge factor; a 6 year old cat might have a lot of life left, but the answer might be different if the cat were 15 years old. I think the answer is different for everyone; really depends on how much you can afford, how much enjoyment, companionship, or utility you derive from the pet, and how quickly you could move on if you had to.

 

[Stelth]

I guess I've been fortunate in that my dogs have mostly been terminal when the time came. My favorite dog, Daisy, had a blood disease that there was a small chance could be cured. But she was old, the treatment was expensive and the vet didn't really expect success. She also had hip dysplasia, and it was time. I held her head as she took her final sleep. Hard? Oh yeah. But the correct decision, I think.

We got another dog from the local shelter, a beautiful shepherd mix, but the shelter was having a parvo outbreak (we found out later). We put plenty of money into that dog, and the results were horrible and an agonizing death for the dog. The vet did all he could, but parvo is tough. Daisy (see above) lived through parvo as a puppy. I was very angry at the animal shelter, because they knew they had a parvo problem, and I did this in response:

 

[AandPDan]

My thoughts,

If the animal is suffering and not expected to survive, euthanasia is probably the most humane thing you can do.

Otherwise, your pet is a member of your family. You do what you can do.

I've had expenses on our pets. Just this spring for over $1200 on a reaction to a vaccination. Many years ago it was more than $2000 for a cat with heart disease.

They aren't just a piece of furniture.

 

[Donald]

I spent about $600 to have the eye removed from a cat that had adopted my cat food. The cat had been in a fight I assume. There was little question that the cat would be fine after the surgery. I think it was a test from God to see how I might use some of the resources (money) he has given me.

As part of buying my ex-wife out of the house, she got a big check and the cat.

But tests, xrays and transfusions can add up. Even if its something well known like Lyme, its expensive.

 

[Drew99GT]

What's wrong with your cat Buster? If you let it live without spending more at the vet, will it be in any pain or suffering? That's the thing I'd be most concerned with. I love cats and dogs, but at some point, you can only afford so much, and if the animal will be in any kind of grueling pain, I'd consider putting it to sleep.

 

[mattwithcats]

Several choices..

Animal insurance, pay a little each month...

Charities also exist to help with bills....

Alternative medicine-research you pets condition. How to work with the disease, other cures, etc.

Had a cat with beginning kidney failure, vet gave me three months. Did my research, found a medicine used in UK and Canada, but not in US...

Vet gave me script, I took it to Wal-Mart for human form of medicine (legal except for narcotics)
Five years later, cat is still stinking up the litterbox...

Meds cost $4 for two months...

 

[mattwithcats]

Easy way to save a little money is take animal for a checkup every 18 months rather than 12...

Vaccines generally last 3 years...

A third less stress on you, your fur friend, and your wallet...

 

[IndyIan]

Since we started hobby farming, my tolerance for high vet bills has been reduced. With 10-20 goats, our course of action has been to take care of them, but if they have extrordinary problems that can't be solved with standard medications and care, they get a bucket of grain and out comes the .22 while they are distracted.
Same for the cats now, hundreds is in the budget if they are still reasonably young, but not more money for chronic conditions. I'd rather give the money away to a charity and make sure the cat isn't suffering.
I guess if we made $200k per year, I might blow more on them, but until the kids are out on their own, paying big vet bills isn't on the table.

 

[buster]

Thanks for the replies. I can see where everyone is coming from.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: buster
How much would you spend on a sick pet? We just dropped $2,000 on our 6 year old cat. Put in perspective, our Vet who is great and we love, spent $25,000 on her cat. (Yes, ridiculous). She said she would never do it again.

I was telling my wife, you have to consider that taking the animal to the Vet is often very stressful for the animal. We as humans know why we are going to the doctor, animals don't.

The other issue I have is they often test and test not knowing what it is and it can add up very quickly.


We are at the point now where we will not spend a dime more. It's just not worth it. I have my limits and we already exceeded it. If she doesn't improve, we will just let her live the rest of her life at home in peace.

Men and women seem to differ on this. The men are often viewed as being less senstive and the women tend to want to spend whatever it takes to figure it out. I'm in teh middle, but lean towards only doing a little bit.


I will spend as much as I am capable of. To me a pet is a member of the family and you do what you have to if the need arises. I only think about the money if it goes beyond my ability to come up with it. I done without, have sold a vehicle( 1 year old truck )so my payment and fuel expenses were less, sold off personal items and cashed in bonds and such to come up with the money. I could do no less and live with myself.

My previous dog( Black lab, Male, named Thunder )had a lot of medical problems in his life. Started out at only 4 months old blowing an ACL. Over the course of his 13+ years with me he had a lot of injuries and illnesses ranging from minor to major. I looked over his vet records when he was 10 and at that point I was just a hair over $13,000 spent on him( 3 knee surgeries almost 1/2 of it ). He developed a bad heart condition at 11 and I spent many thousands more on med's over his final 2 years. I would say I spent somewhere near $15,000 on him "medically" in his life.

I do not regret one red cent spent on him nor anything I did without so he could get what he needed. I don't miss any of that but I sure as heck miss him every day now that he is gone. I would gladly shell out another $15,000 to get him back. He was my best friend and was like my kid. He was a hunting dog too and he worked darn hard for me. The least I could do was take care of him when he got sick or hurt.

People who think about the money only shouldn't have pet's. It is your obligation if you have them to care for them. Now, of course if it is some crazy treatment that is $20,000 I get it that most won't have it and that isn't what I mean. You do what you can though and you don't whine about it.

 

[jrustles]

If I posted my true thoughts on vets and their rates, I might get banned. Zinging people good right with the things they care most about at the most desperate of times; Guaranteed payments especially for those tests. Can't afford? Just wanna put em down? That's gonna be 200 bucks to kill your friend pls.


We lost a good friend yesterday, 10yr old cat that had nothing but love to give. Someone else gave up on her and did what I consider "the ultimate betrayal". I refused to be part of it.

 

[Cutehumor]

25K for a vet bill? I got two college degrees for less than that!

 

[buster]

I look at it this way. I adopt all our animals from shelters etc. They are going to get a much better quality of life just from being adopted. Doing what you can is what it comes down to, but you have to draw the line somewhere and that will vary, rightfully so.

We got to a more reasonable vet. Many still have Penn Vets, so the quality is still very high.