What's your Vet cost threshold?

[doodlebug 3]

Friend of mine just told me she's looking at $1,500 in vet bills AT LEAST for her two cats who are 17 1/2 years old. One is losing weight rapidly and the other has two massive tumors.

What would you do? Is that just too much for that old of a cat or is it just fine?

[JenT 0]

I'm not a cat person so I'll refrain from commenting on how little $$ I would say was too much for a cat ;-)

My girls have a cat, so I would do what I could, I suppose.... I have a gf who had an 18 yr old cat. Cat was a walking skeleton. Had to give her IV fluids every day, etc., but she was a part of their family and they did what they had to do.

I had 2 labs that cost a pretty penny in terms of medical bills.... but as long as I could maintain their quality of life with medical treatment, that's what I did. It's part of one's responsibility as a pet owner, IMHO.

My daughter's horse broke a non-weight bearing bone in his leg last year.... I drove to where we board our horses every day (30 miles each way) to medicate him and wrap his leg, before and after his surgery. About 12 weeks total. Talk about $$. But he's as good as new and my daughter did very well with him in one of the local horse show circuits last year....

Jen

[Savanphil 3]

At any given time $30 is my max. if it costs more than that

[Arazia 0]

I think it depends on the situation. If you're talking about an older cat, and you are just prolonging it's life or it's suffering in doing so... then I would say that it's more humane just to put them down. On the other hand, if it's a young animal, and once the problem is fixed, they would be perfectly healthy... I don't see why not.

In my own situation, I spent about $1200.00 on my male cat. He had a urinary blockage, which required him to be catheterized for it to clear up. He was only two years old at the time, and otherwise perfectly healthy. We caught it early and he had no other health problems, so I had no real problem in spending that much to save his life. Almost two years later, he's happy, healthy, on a special diet, and hasn't had any re-occuring problems.

Seriously, if you're not going to at least take responsibility for your animal's yearly vet visits, then you shouldn't own an animal. In my area, yearly check-ups and shots are about $65 per animal, and that's at a discount clinic.

[Nessa 23]

No idea. We spent almost 800 to bring him to the States, he better not die on me Now seriously, it's like Arazia said, it depends on the situation, my cat is almost 2 years olds, he's young, I would be devastated if something happened to him in an early age. But if he was in an old age I don't know.

[doodlebug 3]

At any given time $30 is my max. if it costs more than that

[StarProg 0]

My sister has already spent at least $2100 on two of her dogs this year. $800 was to extract something her puppy swallowed, and $1300 to remove a tumor from her older aussie. And I'm sure there will be more vet bills this year for her, especially for her blind dog.

For me, I have no money to spend on pets. My cats are lucky I manage to feed them.

[Mary Lou 681]

17 1/2 yrs old is quite old, but i guess if she feels its worth it, then she should spend the money for them. Only she can determine this. When my dog was in the last months of his life, i spent over $1,500 on his care. I probably would have spent anything to be honest. I loved him so much and still a year later i still miss him loads

[sparkofcreation 0]

I would spend any amount if it was likely the cat would recover and be able to have a happy, healthy, normal life afterwards. I have a co-worker who has a 23-year-old cat in perfect health except for being deaf in one ear, so 17½ doesn't seem like an unreasonable age to be providing medical treatment. Certainly I'd be willing to spend a few thousand, just like I'd spend it if our furnace broke or Gareth needed surgery or whatever.

Then again, my husband always says I love the cat more than him ... and while I don't know if that's true or not, I *can* tell you that if they hadn't gotten along, the cat would have stayed and he would have gone. (Luckily she adored him from the moment she saw him—a reaction she's never had to *anyone* she's meeting for the first time, including me.)

[Henia 11]

Well I have never taken a pet to the vet, so I am not sure... but I think max $500.

[SoL. 0]

I also agree that it depends on the age of the pet and the probabilities of recovery in case of a disease. I wouldn't keep him much longer if I knew that there was no remedy and make the suffering longer

I have been lucky that all my cats have been healthy *knocks on wood*

[Alex+R 0]

As much as it would take unless it was prolonging the suffering of the cat for your own benefit. I don't think that's right. Animals aren't made to die like that.

[Thingee 0]

I'm another one that thinks it depends on the age of the pet and the expected quality of life after the whatever it is. The dog I have presently just cost me $130 in vet bills and there's nothing wrong with her other than age. Was actually informed she's getting a little senile(greaaaaaat). I doubt I would go up to 500 in her case, she's between 12 and 15 and is getting old dog problems fairly quickly, arthritis, going a bit deaf, eyesight clouding etc.

[Mags 112]

I think that at 17 and a half both cats have lived a long and happy life. To operate on them, at that great age, is probably more cruel than anything else.

For my cats? It would depend on the illness, the possible outcomes, ages and many other contributing factors. So, I can't really say until something like that happens.

In the UK I had pet insurance for my two cats. I paid 10 quid a month and that covered everything.

[john_and_marlene 162]

I think it's funny.

People are whining that it might cost $1000 in fees in the future to bring their wife or husband to the U.S., but they don't blink an eye over larger amounts to save a rodent.

Kinda puts the values of some people in perspective for me.