Out of Pod Experience

So I've spent quite a bit of money on pets over the years.. from horses to dogs and cats.

I once spent nearly 3k on plastic surgery for my favorite boarder collie when he got hit by a car and skinned off 1/4 of his face. That one I had no problem paying as he was simply the coolest dog I've ever had or known. Seriously.. that dog was incredibly awesome.

Now I just had to put down a cat as she got an infection from a cat fight that led to an abscess and I don't have the 800 bucks for surgery/recovery. She was a cool cat but pretty expensive since she's allergic to flea bites so she's on constant medication to prevent infection.

I feel guilty for not shelling out the cash this time.

Anyways ... what price is your 'breaking point' to spend on vet bills to keep your pet around?

I will never, ever, EVER own another Labrador Retriever. Best dogs in the world, but their entire reason for existing seems to be to put veterinarian's kids through college. Just poured over 3k into my Yellow Lab to repair her ACL..... and this is the second time around with her! Grrrr.

I got my cat from the pound. He was a kitten and he'd been attacked by dogs who had caused some damage to his head and brain (the brain damage wasn't apparent from examining him physically, but he showed signs of abnormality). Anyway, he's a pretty interesting guy, he processes things very differently. I love to watch him. Sometimes he'll get lost in a pattern on a carpet, and he takes his time with leaps and jumps. I think depth perception is complex for him and it's difficult for him to figure his way around things that are colored black. He eats my hair.

He is also epileptic, which needs daily medication which isn't very expensive but it adds up over time. I don't mind that, but it is painful to watch him have a seizure when he's having one and I typically leave him with a friend if I'm at work or going somewhere.

Most people don't really understand why I would want him for my cat, but I feel that he's a part of my life.

Edit: What is my breaking point? I don't know that. I think I would probably go broke.

I had a female long haired Siamese who came home one day limping badly on her hind leg and visibly upset. I assumed she may have been clipped by a car or some douche kicked her. I checked her out and couldn't feel anything broken so I decided to wait and see if she would get better on her own. Two weeks went by where she sulked in a corner in my livingroom suffering in obvious pain and she just was not acting like her pesky, playful affectionate self. I was working part time then and was in college so I was dreading taking her to the vet fearing I would not be able to help my little buddy for lack of money. I finally decided to have her checked out and it turned out she needed surgery on her knee. The vet mentioned it would be costly but I said to him in no uncertain terms I did not want to put her down and to go ahead with the surgery. The bill was near $600 but this was in 1995 and for a month or two I was eating rice and fishsticks if anything at all but for the number of years I had her after that and all the joy and fun she brought into my life it was money well spent. I was just relieved I was able to pay for it and not have to make that agonizing decision to euthanize. She passed away about 10 years ago in an accidental outdoor mishap. Got caught up in a weedy tree and apparently asphyxiated. Buried her in the backyard by the garden where she would love to pester the local murder of crows. I haven't had a pet since not so much about the worry about vet bills but because of the heartbreak of losing a faithful friend when no amount of money can save them. :(

I know exactly how you feel! I had to put one of our two dogs down yesterday, also because I couldn't afford all the medical bills. On top of that we weren't given good changes that she would survive much longer anyway.

When it gets to this point, my personal believe is to rather put an animal down and out of it's misery. All our dogs over the years have always had the best lives they could have had and that we were able to give them - i get solace in that.
It still sucks doing it though and I'm always heart broken afterwards.

*edit*

As an afterthought: over the many years that we, as a family, have had pets - from dogs, to cats, horses. etc... (i grow up on a farm), I came to realise I have more concern and compassion for animals than I do for humanity and humans.

Hah! i didn't even see that! But how very true!

btw, every time I see your pic it reminds me of Liam Neeson; got that gritty, steely determined look.

No limit for me

My vet would just let me make small payments to pay off my bills

Spent a small fortune an a lobotomy for my penguin. He had horrible anger management issues and went for the guns......

Do none of you have pet insurance?

I recently had a massive bill of over £2500 for my Labrador after she got liver disease. Sadly even after all the attention she didn't make it, and had to be put to sleep 3 weeks ago :(

However, it cost me only £80 in the end, the policy excess.

I took in a cat that a friend had to get rid of because her boyfriend was allergic. This was a cat that I had known since it was a kitten so it was natural that I took it in and I cared a lot for the cat.

3 weeks after I took it in the cat got sick, weak, stopped eating.

Brought it to the vet. They held it for 5 days with a drip for nourishment. Turns out the cat was at 50% kidney capacity and an infection pushed the weak kidneys over the edge which is why she got so sick.

That stay at the vet cost 500 Euros a day for five days, 2500 Euros total. I got a prescription for kidney medicine to give her once a day and an antibiotic gel to give her three times a day which cost me another 100 Euros plus some special food.

For the next week I started the morning by literally holding down the cat and force feeding her the pill and gel which quickly made her avoid me at any out of fear of the routine.

She stopped eating again the week after that. She got weaker, she stopped drinking her water, instead she spent all day laying down by the shower drain and vomiting. I decided that enough was enough and brought her to the vet to be put down. They charged me 80 Euros to kill her and then another 300 euros for "seperate cremation"

You see there are 4 things they can do with your pet.

You can get the cold corpse with you in a box
They can throw it in the garbage with the rest of the medical waste
They can cremate it together with other pets and you can then get like a share of the total ash for some 50 Euros
Or you can have a separate cremation for 300 Euros (you get a nice personal estimate where they list the price per kilogram)

Oh and what they don't mention is that once cremation is done they don't actually contact you. You're expected to contact them and check up if the cremation is done and if you miss the "window" then your beloved pets ash goes in the garbage with medical waste anyway.

When my next cat gets sick. I'm taking her to the vet for a check-up. If it's not something that they can't fix easily then I'll just bring her back home. wring her neck and throw her in the garbage. It's humane and the cat doesn't care what you do with the remains. You have to be practical about these these things and not be bled dry by the business around it all.