How much would you spend on your pet's health?

[cockatoo]

Ok well everyone has mentioned good points here. But it really comes down to what the pet or animal means to you. In my own experience I can’t handle seeing animals suffer and am willing to put forth a reasonable sum of money to keep them comfortable or get them well. I recently had to do this for my own cat who tends to get sick at least once a year. Turns out he has a condition that is managable but needs to be monitored and requires a special diet. He’s off medication now but it costs me 4 times as much to feed him as it did before he got sick. Is it worth the investment…yes for the amount of affection I feel for him yes. Logically in the cold hard world of the wallet and bank account not really but then again I never could be cold and logical when it comes to a suffering animal or person. For all those who say the money should rather be spend on the poor. I already give to the poor and the additional sum I spend on my cat wouldn’t make any difference here or there…anything I give to charity is only a drop in the bucket anyway in the big picture. I feel that God gave us a responsibility to watch over and protect animal as well the eachother and the evironment. So anything we can do the further that or maintain that is just doing his will. Of course there comes a time when an animal is suffering and the cost is too great in those cercumstances it should be a given to let the animal go. But if you feel that you can afford it and just forego an ipod or new computer or dining out a few times and the animal has a good chance for a decent quality of life then I would invest the money in my pet .

I agree with everything you said
Last year my family spent a lot on our dog. She is healthy for her size and age and we hope she will be around for another 2 years(really old for a dog her size).

It is our responsibility to take care of animals. If they fall ill we should take care of it, to the best of our abilities and what is reasonable to us.

 

[rinnie]

I had a cat he was wild. He has been getting bad for the last 3 weeks. All summer he has been real skinny and looking bad. He was a wild outside cat. He was 15. My husband and i decided when he wouldnt eat anymore, and looked like he was suffering we would put him to sleep. Well one month ago on Sunday he really looked bad. We knew it was time. The next morning he was in his box. God took him for us. Sometimes you are lucky and can just leave it in the Good Lords hands. We figured we would have to do it that week, but didnt have to. So if you animal isnt suffering and you dont want to spend the money sometimes just give it time. But as far as what i would spend a million dollars if i had it. They are really part of the family.

 

[KCT]

So far, we’ve mostly paid for regular shots and vet visits. I did have to pay for a bloody cyst to be removed, but that wasn’t bad.

The vet has been telling us for a while the dog’s teeth need to be cleaned, which will involve putting the dog to sleep - bug bucks as far as I’m concerned. I told her flat out that in our house, only humans get that kind of $$ put into their mouths .

I’m not a big animal person, so if doggy ends up needing expensive care/ treatment, I have no trouble saying, “It’s time to put him to sleep.” Sorry to sound calous, but someone has to make the tough decisions when the time comes. --KCT

 

[cockatoo]

So far, we’ve mostly paid for regular shots and vet visits. I did have to pay for a bloody cyst to be removed, but that wasn’t bad.

The vet has been telling us for a while the dog’s teeth need to be cleaned, which will involve putting the dog to sleep - bug bucks as far as I’m concerned. I told her flat out that in our house, only humans get that kind of $$ put into their mouths .

My mom is a hygenist, and the one thing she hates the most is vets overpricing cleaning dogs teeth. My friend’s dog’s vet wanted to clean the dogs teeth my mom got annoyed and did it for free. I am not one who worrys about teeth when it comes to pets, there was a time it was like never done, my german shepard mutt lived 20 years and died with all his teeth and never had them cleaned. As for my dog, we don’t bother with it, the vet says her teeth are fairly clean, even though they always want a dental visit.

 

[KCT]

I am not one who worrys about teeth when it comes to pets, there was a time it was like never done, my german shepard mutt lived 20 years and died with all his teeth and never had them cleaned. As for my dog, we don’t bother with it, the vet says her teeth are fairly clean, even though they always want a dental visit.

Animals in the wild don’t get oral care!! I know it would be nice, but not when the humans in the house need dental care. --KCT

 

[Sr_Sally]

Oh goodness! I am so sorry about your cat, but I do have to say I would never have spent $1500 to begin with. Our dog has recently been diagnosed with a degenerative bone condition. We spent about $400 on visits, x-rays, and meds. But we have already said we will not do surgery if it comes to that. He is doing fine now without further treatment, but we all know, kids included, that if he gets sicker we will have to put him to sleep.

I do think there is something in the CCC on this. Perhaps someone else has already referred you there.

 

[kevinsgirl]

I never really gave this a lot of thought until my husband’s cat had to be put down. In her case, she was 16 years old, had multiple infections, and was obviously suffering. I think the dealbreaker for me was whether or not she had a good chance of recovering and how much pain she was in. In her case, the vet felt putting her down was the most humane option.

Now if one of my dogs were to get sick, I’m willing to spend several hundred on vet bills to get them better. If the treatment was going to cost more than a thousand, I think I’d have to revaluate and see if it would really help them to a pretty much full recovery or just put them through more pain.

However, if I was in a financial situation where spending money on vet bills was infringing on the necessities of life for either myself of my children or seriously depleting our savings, I would probably have the pet be put to sleep.

 

[ack]

Animals in the wild don’t get oral care!! I know it would be nice, but not when the humans in the house need dental care. --KCT

Animals in the wild don’t eat dog food, they rip up animal carcasses with their teeth. Dogs who eat dog food sometimes need teeth cleanings. We just got our dog’s teeth cleaned, and the vet had to pull 4 teeth due to severe decay.

If your dog lives for a long time, you may eventually need to do this. Dogs with severe tooth decay may stop eating, and in extreme cases tooth decay can lead to death in animals and humans alike (since you live in MD, you probably remember the Dimonte Driver incident…)

If your dog had severe tooth decay and wouldn’t eat, would you rather euthanize your dog than give it the dental work it needs? What’s the point of having a dog if you’re not going to take care of it?

 

[cockatoo]

Animals in the wild don’t eat dog food, they rip up animal carcasses with their teeth. Dogs who eat dog food sometimes need teeth cleanings. We just got our dog’s teeth cleaned, and the vet had to pull 4 teeth due to severe decay.

If your dog lives for a long time, you may eventually need to do this. Dogs with severe tooth decay may stop eating, and in extreme cases tooth decay can lead to death in animals and humans alike (since you live in MD, you probably remember the Dimonte Driver incident…)

If your dog had severe tooth decay and wouldn’t eat, would you rather euthanize your dog than give it the dental work it needs? What’s the point of having a dog if you’re not going to take care of it?

You don’t need a vet to find tooth decay(to get the tooth out, but not to find it). And teeth cleaning is WAY over priced, you are better off brushing the dogs teeth yourself, and checking, if you think you really need it. I had 3 dogs in my life and no tooth problems, no teeth brushing and no vet cleaning them(if it needed to be done my mom can do it). All teeth cleaning is, is basically scraping the tarter off the teeth.

 

[Sr_Sally]

Our dog is a poodle (mini) and they apparently tend to have problems with tooth decay. Since I have to get him groomed anyway ($$ there, hmmmmm), I ask the groomer to clean them and then we do it once a week or so in between gromming visits. I do not plan to have the vet do it, since I don’t want to deal with having him put to sleep.

 

[ack]

Aha, this is true. We never had our vet do PREVENTATIVE teeth cleaning, but when the cavities come, you do need to do dental work; you can’t just let the dog’s teeth rot.

You don’t need a vet to find tooth decay(to get the tooth out, but not to find it). And teeth cleaning is WAY over priced, you are better off brushing the dogs teeth yourself, and checking, if you think you really need it. I had 3 dogs in my life and no tooth problems, no teeth brushing and no vet cleaning them(if it needed to be done my mom can do it). All teeth cleaning is, is basically scraping the tarter off the teeth.

 

[Norseman82]

I’m of the camp that believes that it is on a case-by-case basis based on whether it will cause you to neglect duties to your family or self, and whether or not the care will actually accomplish something.

About six years ago, my late cocker spaniel Roscoe caught leptospirosis (aka lepto), which is a deadly bacterial infection of the kidney. I estimate that I spent between $1000 - 1500 on him, mostly on initial tests before it was finally determined it was lepto (because my other dog had no symptoms, the vet initially ruled it out).

One other point is worth mentioning: although animals are not equal to humans, how we treat our animals often indicates how we treat humans, and responsibility with pets often is good practice for resposibility with kids.

 

[KCT]

Animals in the wild don’t eat dog food, they rip up animal carcasses with their teeth. Dogs who eat dog food sometimes need teeth cleanings. We just got our dog’s teeth cleaned, and the vet had to pull 4 teeth due to severe decay. /quote]

The vet wanted something like $400 to put the dog to sleep and clean his teeth. Plus blood work beforehand to be sure he could be safely put to sleep. —KCT

 

[cockatoo]

ack;3052364:

Animals in the wild don’t eat dog food, they rip up animal carcasses with their teeth. Dogs who eat dog food sometimes need teeth cleanings. We just got our dog’s teeth cleaned, and the vet had to pull 4 teeth due to severe decay. /quote]

The vet wanted something like $400 to put the dog to sleep and clean his teeth. Plus blood work beforehand to be sure he could be safely put to sleep. —KCT

Wow, my horses vet is cheaper than that. it cost 250-300 for 3 visits. She had to get some shots a month a part from eachother since she hadn’t had any medical attention for a while.

It then cost 7000 for a leg injury to a horse(not barbaro type, but life threatening), considering it is a horse, the price is not bad.

 

[whatevergirl]

*I am very troubled at this time. One of my 2 cats had to have surgery last month for a blocked bladder. The whole ordeal cost us about $1500.00. Now he’s having problems again and the vet said he may have scar tissure and could need additional surgery. I love this cat, I rescued him as a kitten (he’s 4 now) and he sleeps with us. However, when I think of spending thousands of dollars on a cat I am really torn up about this. Besides being financially draining I’m thinking it may not be morally right, as there are poor people right here in America who go to bed hungry, are homeless and can’t afford medical care. I’d like to get some (name removed by moderator)ut from the readers out there, what whould you do when faced with this predicament? How much would you spend on your dog, cat, horse, etc. to bring him/her back to health? *

Hmmm…hmmmm…I love our kittie, too. I really do, but $1500. Hmmm. That’s a lot. I tend to think like you when it comes to thoughts of homeless people, or whatever…and then spending a lot of money on a cat. I know. I don’t know. But, if you are not in financial duress over it…then, why not? But, I wouldn’t not pay a bill or two, or something along those lines for our cat. But, probably if it wouldn’t be financially burdensome, I might pay for it. What does your vet think? A lot of the time, they will tell their clients, if it isn’t going to bring a much longer life for the animal, to just let nature take its course.

I haven’t been much help, I’m afraid.

 

[nana3]

Someone was wondering if I have kids and if that money would be taken away from the kids, if I did have kids at home I probably would have to sacrifice the cat in favor of the kids, but my kids are grown and its just me and hubby. However, I do have lots of medical bills, not working due to disability, plus I need a new sofa and mattress ( they are falling apart), my decision is between paying off my medical bills, buying new furniture or saving the cat. Its a real tough decision for me, so please say a prayer.

I will say a prayer for you for it is not easy to say good-bye to our pets. I too have the same dilemna. Our dog is 8 years old and when she was about 2 years old, she had hip dysplesia. The vet wanted to do a total hip replacement, but that was $3000.00 and we said we could not pay for that. He did a more minor surgery for $500.00. Well recently, she could not even get up from the lying down position for her hip pain was worse. We took her to the vet and they needed to do X-rays, but in order to do that she has to be sedated. All that cost us $300.00. The xray showed us that she was not a candidate for hip surgery for both hips were bad as well as the knees. The doctor said that she was so surprised how the dog was not suffering more. They gave us some more pills for her hip pain which has worked wonders, but they were concerned about her hip having cancer, the one that had the surgery. I believed it was really bad osteoarthritis, but hubby wanted us to do the bone biospy that the doctors wanted to do. That cost us another $400.00 not to mention the medicine. It was not cancer but osteoarthritis. Now our dog has spots all over her body and is losing her fur. I took her back to the doctor and he said it was a staph infection and gave us antiobiotics which did not work. I took her back and they said they suspected hypothyroidism, but needed to do a thyroid panel which was $97.00 and that visit was $87.00. We got a call today and she has clinical hypothyroidism. They want to see her again to change the antiobiotic to something else and put her on thyroid medicine. I am afraid to hear how much that would cost us.

So would I spend the money. I did spend the money. I really did not want to spend the money for the bone biospy, but dh did. It is a decision that you have to make. Our dog may not live much longer for when the day comes where she is in so much pain, I will have to put her down and my dh and dd are preparing themselves for that.

 

[silentdeb]

Argh, that’s hard … we have ten cats, all of whom were strays or abandoned. The day-to-day bills fall on me; my mum (who lives with me, and is the one that actually RESCUES the cats and brings them to live with us) helps with the vet bills when she can. So I tend to be pretty broke, most of the time.

I agree, when you get a pet, you have a responsibility to keep that pet as healthy and comfortable as possible - and that’s where the overwhelming majority of my money goes, whether I can afford it or not. Often, I can’t… but that’s what a line of credit is for.

(I’m sorry - it’s been a particularly difficult 3 or 4 weeks with the cats - bladder problems for one, one poor dear that somehow needed 4 teeth pulled and had infected anal glands, one that’s recovering from liver damage, another that’s become anaemic and I’m trying to nurse into better health, and now one that’s at the vet tonight for a ‘routine’ tooth cleaning and anal gland expression, and the kitten that has inflamed gums after trying to eat dry food with a couple of teeth missing … and this is on top of the usual twice-daily insulin for two of the cats. At this particular moment, I’m feeling entirely spent, both emotionally and financially, and I want a good cry. I know it’ll sort itself out - it always does - but right at this moment, it’s too much)

So my point is that I do know how you feel - both the financial worry, and the concern about what is really right.

My criteria is whether or not the operation - even if it isn’t a horribly expensive one - is actually going to make the animal’s life better. If it isn’t… no, I don’t do it. This has come up 4 or 5 times for me over the years, where no matter what we would have spent, it was unlikely the cat would be better off for it… and if an animal is suffering already, I’m not spending more to prolong its suffering.

Follow your heart, my dear, and pray to Saint Francis. :hug3: You’ll figure out what to do.

 

[Phemie]

I’ve been known to spend $250 for surgery on my pet rat so I may be the wrong one to ask. If you can afford it and nobody in your family will suffer because of it, why not?

 

[silentdeb]

I will say a prayer for you for it is not easy to say good-bye to our pets. I too have the same dilemna. Our dog is 8 years old and when she was about 2 years old, she had hip dysplesia. The vet wanted to do a total hip replacement, but that was $3000.00 and we said we could not pay for that. He did a more minor surgery for $500.00. Well recently, she could not even get up from the lying down position for her hip pain was worse. We took her to the vet and they needed to do X-rays, but in order to do that she has to be sedated. All that cost us $300.00. The xray showed us that she was not a candidate for hip surgery for both hips were bad as well as the knees. The doctor said that she was so surprised how the dog was not suffering more. They gave us some more pills for her hip pain which has worked wonders, but they were concerned about her hip having cancer, the one that had the surgery. I believed it was really bad osteoarthritis, but hubby wanted us to do the bone biospy that the doctors wanted to do. That cost us another $400.00 not to mention the medicine. It was not cancer but osteoarthritis. Now our dog has spots all over her body and is losing her fur. I took her back to the doctor and he said it was a staph infection and gave us antiobiotics which did not work. I took her back and they said they suspected hypothyroidism, but needed to do a thyroid panel which was $97.00 and that visit was $87.00. We got a call today and she has clinical hypothyroidism. They want to see her again to change the antiobiotic to something else and put her on thyroid medicine. I am afraid to hear how much that would cost us.

So would I spend the money. I did spend the money. I really did not want to spend the money for the bone biospy, but dh did. It is a decision that you have to make. Our dog may not live much longer for when the day comes where she is in so much pain, I will have to put her down and my dh and dd are preparing themselves for that.

:hug3: bless you, dear.

I have been told by other pet owners that thyroid medication isn’t that terribly expensive, so I am praying for you that that is the case. I’ve known a few people that have had pets on thyroid meds for years and they’ve done wonderfully well.

I’m told that it’s rather like dealing with diabetes in pets - the tests initially cost a fortune, but once that’s out of the way, the cost of medication and the occasional retest isn’t so bad at all. I really hope that’s true for you.

You are in my prayers - please post, somewhere/anywhere, to let us know how everything is going.

 

[cockatoo]

I will say a prayer for you for it is not easy to say good-bye to our pets. I too have the same dilemna. Our dog is 8 years old and when she was about 2 years old, she had hip dysplesia. The vet wanted to do a total hip replacement, but that was $3000.00 and we said we could not pay for that. He did a more minor surgery for $500.00. Well recently, she could not even get up from the lying down position for her hip pain was worse. We took her to the vet and they needed to do X-rays, but in order to do that she has to be sedated. All that cost us $300.00. The xray showed us that she was not a candidate for hip surgery for both hips were bad as well as the knees. The doctor said that she was so surprised how the dog was not suffering more. They gave us some more pills for her hip pain which has worked wonders, but they were concerned about her hip having cancer, the one that had the surgery. I believed it was really bad osteoarthritis, but hubby wanted us to do the bone biospy that the doctors wanted to do. That cost us another $400.00 not to mention the medicine. It was not cancer but osteoarthritis. Now our dog has spots all over her body and is losing her fur. I took her back to the doctor and he said it was a staph infection and gave us antiobiotics which did not work. I took her back and they said they suspected hypothyroidism, but needed to do a thyroid panel which was $97.00 and that visit was $87.00. We got a call today and she has clinical hypothyroidism. They want to see her again to change the antiobiotic to something else and put her on thyroid medicine. I am afraid to hear how much that would cost us.

So would I spend the money. I did spend the money. I really did not want to spend the money for the bone biospy, but dh did. It is a decision that you have to make. Our dog may not live much longer for when the day comes where she is in so much pain, I will have to put her down and my dh and dd are preparing themselves for that.

My dog has had a problem with a torn ACL. We got her the surgery, we did the recovery process the best we could. After surgery her bark had change, like sometimes she is trying to bark and there wouldn’t be a sound. Her legs recently started to go down hill again, she falls a lot, but still is herself. We are not going to do the surgery option again we are choosing rest. I read somewhere that dogs with ACL and i think hip dysyplasia are better off with rest, and vets do misdiagnose dogs a lot with them. Like when the vet checks the legs and the dog is really sore afterwards is not a good thing.