What is the most you’ve ever paid a veterinarian to treat your pet?
I also post this to try and gauge my sanity. Medium-length story made slightly shorter…a homeless kitten showed up at my door a few months ago, so I took him in, got him his shots, took care of him and taught him that he could not get a katana sword by stealing, as it was a very special sword, and that he must “earn” it through a series of agonizing flexibility exercises and repeated beatings with a rattan cane. This is all true, except for the sword part.
The little guy starts puking all over the place the other night. He’s about the size of a bottle of fish oil, and he covered an area of about 4 square meters with (mostly liquid) puke. I come home from work and find him lying nearly unconscious on his side, struggling to breathe.
I rush him to the vet clinic, of which in Japan there are surprisingly few, and an X-ray reveals that the little bastard has swallowed a slew of random items…a screw, some styrofoam packing, and a ribbon. The vet says that he needs to get it surgically removed or he’d die. I tell him to go through with the surgery.
$2200 American, completely non-negotiable. Seeing how everyone at my company has just taken a voluntary pay cut, this isn’t chump change to me. I paid it, and my little buddy is recovering nicely.
I’ve mentioned this to co-workers, and they all think I’m insane. Even the girls. I figured I might get some “he’s such a sweetheart” sex, but I’m fairly certain they think I’m now gay. Most responses are “it’s only a cat, I would have just let it die”.
How much would you pay to save your pet’s life? And would the amount differ if it were a dog/cat/whatever?
well since I have a kitten attacking my hand atm and my older cats sitting calmly next to me without being bothersome… I probably would of saved him. I’m a dog person to but ive had several bad experience owning them =(
When my first dog was hit by a car, it would of been 2300 to save him.
$800 for me. Last year my 8 month old kitten needed surgery for leg calve perthes disease, which led to a broken leg. They had to go in and remove bone fragments and shave down the remainder.
I would have paid up to $1,200, which was all I could afford at the time. If I would have had $2,200 I would have paid it if I had to.
The big thing would be what the prognosis for quality of life was after. If it was likely to be in constant pain, or have recurrent problems, I probably would have it put down.
For me, pets are a member of my family, and deserve my best effort to take care of them. If that means going without a new TV or no vacation this year, so be it.
My roomates had to pay a veterinary cardiologist $500 per day to monitor and treat their dog, after surgeries and shit it ended up costing them like $5000 I think they told me.
You’re not insane. Your co-workers are either callous, don’t have pets, or both. Your “little buddy” is exactly that…a companion and a friend. I’d pay whatever I could and then some, even if I had to borrow from family and friends, to save my pet’s life. Dog or cat, it would be the same. My cat, thankfully has been very healthy, but I do recall my parents spending around that much taking care of one of our Great Danes.
January 1st my 13 year old Blue Healer decided to pick a fight with a 4 year old German Shepherd. It didn’t go so good for her. $675 vet bill to sew my girl back up.
Last month, while I was offshore, my mother decided to take some of the dogs to the doggy dentist. In the 31 years I have been alive we have NEVER taken a dog to the dentist. 1 root canal and 2 removed molars my 13 year old Blue Healer has just cost me another $850.
I may bitch and moan about how much that dog has cost me, or how I spent weekends replanting flowerbeds she dug up, but in the end she’s a sweetheart I wouldn’t trade her for anything.
I had a basset hound who was the love of my life and I spent nearly $4000 trying to save him after a similar incident. Unfortunately there were complications and he did not make it. The only thing worse than losing a pet is paying down the small loan you had to take out to cover the vet bills. That monthly reminder sucked.
Make sure you keep a close eye on your kitten because some animals are prone to swallowing random shit on a regular basis. It’s actually a psychological impulse and can become a major problem. I used to work as a vet tech and we treated a few animals like that. The owner would be in every couple of months because the cat/dog had eaten something else. Not saying that yours is like that, but just keep it in the back of your mind.
A friend of mine had a ten year old rotty that was diagnosed with a flipped stomach/blocked intestines. He did the surgery, three months of re-hab after surgery, cost $5000! and no guarantee’s.
Three months later his dog died of cancer.
OP, if you can afford it, fix the little critter. If it’s a hum, haw decision already for you I think you have your answer already. It’s a tough call, my2c.
[quote]Artemisia wrote:
You’re not insane. Your co-workers are either callous, don’t have pets, or both. Your “little buddy” is exactly that…a companion and a friend. I’d pay whatever I could and then some, even if I had to borrow from family and friends, to save my pet’s life. Dog or cat, it would be the same. My cat, thankfully has been very healthy, but I do recall my parents spending around that much taking care of one of our Great Danes.[/quote]
This.
Pet insurance is worth the cost if you are going to be willing to shell out ofr vet bills anyway.
UPDATE: This morning, I found him licking at his incision. The vet didn’t think a cone was necessary. When I pulled his head away from the area, there was pus oozing out pretty steadily. Have to bring him back to the vet tonight, so it looks like $2200 is just the beginning.
Okay I will technically say it was the wife, since it was her pet. She had a conure (small parrot type bird). got sick paid $650+ it was in Pet ICU for three days until it died. I love my wife very much and she brings home just as much money as I do so I can not say shit.
[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:you could easily get another cat and in one year never know the difference.
a dog on the other hand is a unique animal with it’s own personality.[/quote]
The idea that cats don’t have unique personalities is 100% incorrect. We used to have four cats when I was younger. If they all magically looked identical one day, it still would have been the easiest thing in the world to tell them apart.