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My poor cat broke her leg yesterday. I took her in to an emergency vet and they said there wasn't much left of that bone before she broke it. Now I have to take her to an orthopedic vet and decide what to do.
My relationship question is, where do you draw the line with a family pet? If it's bone cancer, her treatment could be very expensive but she's a member of the family. And more importantly, if it comes down to not being able to afford treatment (remember I had a near miss of a divorce last year that hit savings hard, spent most of this year out of work and now work at less than half of what I made before - what a difference a year makes) how do I explain this to the kids? Now there's a real relationship question.
Anyway, if you believe God looks after little animals, a prayer wouldn't hurt. Right now, our best case looks like a benign tumor on the ankle between the bone she broke and the next one down (which ate away at the bone) and she loses the leg but it could be cancer or any number of other bone leaching problems. And my funds to investigate this are limted.
Man, now I'm depressed. All the years I worked as an engineer, I never would have thought about the bill. I just would have fixed the cat. Now, it's the first thing that crosses my mind. I don't think I"m going to like living on a teacher's salary.
Well my mother just spent $2000 to fix the cat.
I myself think thats crazy.
But hey, she really loves the cat.
Just wait till the full diagnosis
Find out how much it cost
What quality and length of life expected after the operation
Find out just how much you really can afford
Then make an informed decision
Try not let the heart over rule the head
to much as it will invariably will. Good luck, I don't envy your situation
I don't think it is crazy if you decide that you want to spend thousands on the cat just as I don't think it is crazy if you decide not to. Everyone's circumstances are very different.
For me, the most important factors would be odds of a decent recovery and long term survival and quality of life. Take a look at those things before you even think about the bill and your choice might ultimately not be about money anyway.
Our animals are family too and if they are young, then I pretty much do whatever I can if the odds are decent for them. Now if they are old and surgery or treatments would be very hard on them, then I wouldn't let them suffer. Quality over quantity IMO. As their caretakers I think that is a big decision we are responsible for.
Either way there is no right or wrong answer. Your decision should be based on what you and your family is comfortable with. Your heart and your head should make the decision together. You have to make the decision that you can live with.
I couldn't really give a constructive comment for I've never become attached to a pet enough to consider it part of the family except that just go with what your heart tells you.
My parents had a similar situation with their very old cat. I believe that she was 20. Maddy had osteoporosis and had been a very thin cat in her later years from a hyperthyroid condition. They did spend money on the thyroid condition by having radiation therapy. But one day, she landed wrong and shattered one of her legs. They had her put to sleep. It was a very tough decision for them to have to make, but their reasoning was that as a cat, they couldn't prevent her from climbing up on furniture and jumping down again. Also as the cat was so old, putting her under anethesia is not a good idea.
I have two cats. One of them cost me $2100 one year. First he fell down some outside stairs while trying to steal the upstairs cat's food (yet again). Wiring his jaw together was $1500, then $125 to remove the wire. Later that same year, he developed an abscessed tooth that had to be removed. $75 for an x-ray to make sure that his yowling wasn't because of something he ate. Then between the vet visit and finally the dental surgery... it was another $400.
I have noticed that vet costs have skyrocketed in MA in the last few years. And that in TN where I've adopted three dogs from, the vet care is much much cheaper but still good. It makes me want to drop my pets off for treatment when I'm headed to FL to visit my boyfriend's family. Also, we had one TN dog that tested positive for heartworm. The vet down there quoted me $350 to treat her. Up here, the vets quote $1500 to treat for heartworm. Aside from cheaper office visits, the difference is that up north, during the treatment, the dogs are given ultrasound and x-rays before and after the treatment to see how the heart is doing. Down south, they give the medicine and that's it. If the dog survives, that's good enough for them. And that's fine for me too.
I also had a pug dog that lived to be almost 16. When she was about 14, my ex boyfriend said to me that she coughed too much. I hadn't noticed as she always make odd noises, like constant old people sounds because of her short nasal passages. So I take her to the vet and after a basic exam, the vet recommends sending her out for ultrasound. And because I love the dog, I agree. $600 later, they tell me that she's got an enlarged heart. I then ask what medicine she needs. The vet says, no need, but bring your dog back in in six months. Well I didn't. My pug always had good energy and she seemed very happy to be alive. I always keep her trim, even though she loved to eat. Two years later, I unfortunately let the vet send her out for a bronchoscopy test. And they had to put her under for that test. After the test, she wasn't quite herself and she died about two weeks later. It was stupid to put an senior animal like that under anesthesia. And to add insult to injury, they also gave her an unauthorized ultrasound. So it was $900 I had to pay before I could take her home with me. I clearly told the vet assistant that I didn't want that test, but they insisted on charging me for it. I never used that vet ever again.
I also spent $1500 on a beloved 13 year old cat at the end of his life. He suddenly had a diabetic crisis. So it was $500 for an overnight emergency room stay. Then the vet told me that all I needed to do was give him insulin twice a day and he'd be fine. I did that for two weeks, but again my cat got sick again. The next vet at the hospital, and one that was older and with a lot more experience, told me that my cat had bad kidneys and a heart murmur and that she thought I needed to put him to sleep. Somehow, all of that was another $1000 plus my cat and I had a very miserable last two weeks together. Another animal hospital that I will never use again.
Another dog, a terrier, was $2000 at the end because she developed a fast growing tumor on her liver and had stopped eating. Two days of observation and xrays at the vet was $200, then the operation was $1800 She bled out on the operating table. She was a stray that I had found who turned into one of my very favorite pets of all time. I think that she was only 11 years old when she passed away.
I will do anything within reason for my pets. I factor in the age of the animal and then what the recovery period will be like. Animals don't understand why they are in pain or that they need to convalesce quietly afterwards. If I think that the recovery period will be rough for them afterwards, or that they will have lingering pain, then I would have them put to sleep. With my pug, I'm sorry that I allowed those frivolous tests at the end. WIth the cat, I should have put him to sleep sooner. With the terrier, I would still have her operated on. Sigh.
I love animals, grew up with many pets - but they are still pets, not humans and I don't think anyone could blame you for putting your human family first when it comes to finances. How do you explain it to your kids? You tell them you love animals, you love the cat but as your children, they are your first and top priority when money is tight. You also tell them that the treatment and recovery for the cat would be long and painful (assuming that's true) and unlike people, cats don't understand why they are in so much pain for so long so it's sometimes more humane to put them to sleep.
This is basically what my mom told me when I was a kid and we found out my cat had a large tumor in his stomach. It was sad but death is a part of life and I accepted the above explanation without problems.
We have had pets we've loved. But there's an enormous difference between a pet and a person. If I have to choose between spending thousands on an elderly pet with a chronic condition and depleting the bank account, the pet is euthanized. Yes, it's heartbreaking. But if keeping the animal alive means ongoing suffering and financial problems, then it's an easy choice to make. If it were one of my children or my wife, I would spend every last dime I had, then would start knocking over liquor stores.
I have 5 dogs and they all are covered by pet insurance, but there was a time I didn't have insurance and have had to spend thousands. I would do anything for them.
I can't tell you what to do, but if it was one of my dogs and I didn't have the money I would borrow from friends and family.
Everyone's situation is different as is everyone's finances.
That said, of course an animal is not a human, but it is still a living and breathing being. It is not IMO, something to dump off because it is now getting too expensive. That is one of the things people should think about, animals and people get ill as they age, and will need extra medical care. I could not live with myself if our dog was sick and I did not do everything possible to rehabilitate him.
Nor would my daughter let me live.
She does not have cancer. What the first vet mistook as a tumor is the start of arthritis. All that's wrong with the cat is one shattered leg bone, which the orthopedic vet says is due, entirely, to trauma. No degeneration of the bone at all (And I paid the first vet $500 for that?). So, kitty will make a full recover if we fix her leg.
Maybe I should start one of those tear jerker emails asking for money for kitty's care. Well, this pretty much wipres out our savings. There wasn't much left after divorce lawyers, unemployment and now, underemployment. We're way too close to having to tap 401K's. I'd refinance but my husband wants to move.
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Well, this pretty much wipres out our savings. There wasn't much left after divorce lawyers, unemployment and now, underemployment. We're way too close to having to tap 401K's. I'd refinance but my husband wants to move.
