I'm sure the vet thinks I'm a bad pet owner..

[flying_babyb]

$275 on a bladder infection. I know how you feel. I have a very understanding vet though. I would ask a freind to handle the cat when you are on vaction. I wacthed a 25 pound cat with anxeity who NEVER (in 10 days) pooped in his box. It wasnt that bad. You just handle it (and I got a nice payment and a souviner out of it).

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

It is okay, our vet looks at me that way more often than not. Got it just last Saturday. We have 1 vet in town that sees exotics and I have 2 rabbits, one of whom got a string wrapped around her ankle (I have no idea where she got the string, except I think the cat might have dropped it in their cage) and it cut the circulation off to her foot. I have been in for an office visit with shots and antibiotics and now laser treatments, don't know how many of those she will need, but luckily this vet is very reasonable and we get a discount because Dh was in the Army when we started going to her and she just continues to give it to us. So far it has cost me less than $200, but we will see what Monday brings.

Our cats seem to do alright at home. They are a little mad when we first get home, but as soon as we get a chance to sit down, they are piled up on our laps. We left them with several disposable litter pans and lots of food in Dec and they didi just fine, in June my cousin will be in and out and a neighbor will be checking on them when they come to feed our dog. I am rethinking boarding the rabbits, since they need a bit more attention, especially if my girl's foot isn't completely healed.

Good Luck, I couldn't deal with the poop and vomit everywhere, it would make me ill.

Suzanne

 

[OceanAnnie]

You have no idea how much this cat is loved... He is THE best cat I've ever had. Yeah, I know he sounds like a pain with the mess on the floor,

but you know what? When I put him in the laundry room with the door shut to help contain the mess, put papers down on the floor, etc? That dear cat vomited IN HIS LITTER BOX. And had diarrhea IN his litter box. He had to jump down off the window to vomit in his box. Gross yes, but tell me that's not a good cat!

If his one issue is loneliness to the point of stomach upset, he's doing better than my husband and kids!

Aww. Poor cat. He does sound like a good cat. It sounds like everyone went through it. Hope things are on the upswing and you find a place your cat can comfortably stay for your next vacation.

 

[labdogs42]

I think if you have a friend who is a cat owner/lover, they won't mind cleaning up an occasional stray poop. I think it would be the best situation for your cat. And even if you pay the friend generously, if you don't have a $300 vet bill afterwards, you come out ahead!

 

[snowbunny]

I had to tell her we couldn't afford everything she was recommending

I've had to do this too. I really like our vet but like all of them, she recommends everything but the kitchen sink. She is very understanding now when I say we are going to have to hold off on a, b, and we'll just do c.

My beloved dachshund died unexpectedly at home one night. During the previous day I had taken her in as she was obviously ill, but I had to refuse some care - they wanted me to drive her 60 miles to undergo extensive tests and be hospitalized in an emergency hospital overnight. I said no and they did what they could for her.

As it happened after she died - we were devastated and I felt so guilty - the vet autopsied her at no cost and found that she had tumors in her liver that burst. There was nothing more that could have been done. If I had agreed to leave her at the hospital in another city, she would have died alone in a cage instead of on the couch next to my DH. I was glad that I had insisted on bringing her home. Do what you think is best.

 

[roscoepc1]

Look for a "country" vet....someone who does farm calls all the time etc. They tend to be a LOT more realistic about what people can or will spend on their pets....

Ours always gives us TWO treatment plans....the Cadillac one, and the Pinto, lol.....and NEVER looks down on anyone, regardless of the choice.

We took our cat from the vet's to have my bil put him down (he HAD to be put down, he had FIP), b/c I couldn't afford or justify the cost to have the vet do it....they didn't think twice about it. Just gave me a huge hug, and helped me load him in the van.

 

[Kathi OD]

Look for a "country" vet....someone who does farm calls all the time etc. They tend to be a LOT more realistic about what people can or will spend on their pets....

Ours always gives us TWO treatment plans....the Cadillac one, and the Pinto, lol.....and NEVER looks down on anyone, regardless of the choice.

I'll second this advice!!! When SIL moved to a little bit more rural area her neighbors hooked her up with a "farm vet" when she got some lambs. He makes house calls and not only sees the lambs, but also her Lhasa Apso. His fees are about 1/4 what she was paying before.

FWIW, you are much better than me. While I don't mind animals, I'm not an animal person. No way I'd spend over $100 for a vet bill, but that's just me.

 

[TheRatPack]

Huh? I'm always amazed at some peoples posts.

LOL, we had an acquaintance that told us he would never have another dog after he had to put his down a few years ago. My husband said "oh no...what happened?" He was getting nippy the guy said...HUH You put your loving dog down because he was getting nippy at people? How about some behavior classes or training, even a muzzle or a crate when people came over.....a BEWARE OF DOG sign and a gate? I was just shocked that someone would put a young dog to sleep because of that, I told my husband I was going to put him down soon if his attitude didn't improve LOL

We love our doggies....I can not imagine 'just' getting another one.

 

[DisneyDreams4P&B]

Our family dog was not feeling well, took her to the vet..$1200.00 later she is free of urinary stones and on the mend. With things being so tight and my husband loosing hours at his job, it was a very hard decision, that the vet didn't make any easier by explaining in graphic detail what was wrong with our dog in front of my 6 year old son who looked like a deer in headlights and began to cry....

 

[goofyisinphilly]

Our dog was supposed to get neutered on Friday. He had been doing this funny coughing up slobber thing and I called the vet about. She said it was probably nothing just an allergy. Well Friday when my DH took the dog in he was convinced by a different vet the dog needed this test to check for an enlarged esophogus(sp?). Of course it came back negative. So now we are out $200 and dog is still not neutered. That is next week. I told my DH he has sucker stamped on his head.

 

[pianoronni37]

I wacthed a 25 pound cat with anxeity who NEVER (in 10 days) pooped in his box. It wasnt that bad. You just handle it (and I got a nice payment and a souviner out of it).

I don't think I want to know...

 

[Mermaid02]

I know how you feel- our dog has conjunctivitis and it cost me $121 on Thursday. Over the years she hasn't really cost us that much though- she's been pretty healthy.

 

[Mad4Mickey]

It sounds like a cat issue not a kennel issue. No matter where you take the cat or DONT take the cat he will be sick . He needs medication for the stress before it becomes stress for him .
I am sorry you have to go through this . We go through it with our cat and one of our dogs who has since passed away . I work at the animal Hospital and I know they give really good care to everyone. I also know my staff put in extra time, love and effort because they knew the dog wouldnt eat while I was away . He still would get very sick and not eat, drink, have the nasty poops and 2-3 times had to stay in ICU on fluids.

 

[TheLittleRoo]

Aargh! So, the cat (Cheddar, by the way) was doing better. 24 hours and no messes. Had his appetite back and was happy. So, late this morning, I gave the all clear to let him out of quarantine.

WTH was I thinking? I came home from my mom's day out and my "dear" husband left all the lights in the house out save for the one in my DS4's room. Odd, I think to myself.... What do I see but a large round pile, this time on the WHITE carpet upstairs.

One roll of paper towels, lots of Stanley Steemer carpet cleaner spray and pet enzyme spray later, it's gone but %$#&*%^@ cat!!!! And $%#&^%# me too! He's in the laundry room for the next two days, I kid you not. I just don't get it... why in my son's room?!?

 

[MouseketeerOvaHere]

What do I see but a large round pile, this time on the WHITE carpet upstairs.

One roll of paper towels, lots of Stanley Steemer carpet cleaner spray and pet enzyme spray later, it's gone but %$#&*%^@ cat!!!!

This is why I have hardwood and tile floors.

 

[xiola]

I've gotten that look several times, but not from our vet. It's the receptionist.

Two weeks ago, I went in and bought Frontline for the cats and one of the dogs - I have two of each, had some left over from last year. $238!!!

Last Wednesday, I took the dogs in for their annual vaccinations. Receptionist girl got snippy with me about how I need to use Frontline because ticks were present on the dogs.

...Well. When you live in the sticks, Frontline just doesn't get all the ticks all the time. I told her that, she rolled her eyes at me.

Right, because I'm going to spend $238 on pet meds, and then not use them. This is a sensible conclusion to draw.

Our actual vet is awesome, though. He's one of those country vets, too. One of our dogs got really sick because he ate something he shouldn't have. We didn't give it to him, but he got into something. Anyway, we took him to the vet. They kept him there for 4 days, and it was really expensive. So a few months later, he did it again. I called the vet and spoke directly with him. Told him that I didn't want to bring him in for over nighters like that. He gave me the dosage and frequency that I should give pepto bismol, and directions for reintroducing food. Then he called every day to make sure that my dog was doing okay! I really like our vet!

So the first time around, I shelled out $300 so the vet could give my dog pepto bismol and pedialyte....

 

[MelessaG]

I love our country vet too! Our dog was recently either clipped by a car or stepped on by a horse (where we live, either is very possible) and his leg was badly hurt. The vet gave us three scenarios including $6,000 steel-plating. Then he laughingly told us if we picked that one we would have to be referred out as he's pretty sure none of his clients would ever choose that and he doesn't do it in his practice. We paid a fraction of that to have his leg pinned (poor baby), and because this vet has always been about half the cost of the vet we had when we lived in town, I know I wasn't overcharged for the procedure.

I hope your kitty is on the mend and doesn't leave you any more 'surprises'! I'm very familiar with those.

 

[MichelleVW]

Look for a "country" vet....someone who does farm calls all the time etc. They tend to be a LOT more realistic about what people can or will spend on their pets....

Ours always gives us TWO treatment plans....the Cadillac one, and the Pinto, lol.....and NEVER looks down on anyone, regardless of the choice.

:

Yep, sounds like my vet. They are great, no frills, and sometimes I feel like I need to ask them to be a little more agressive at times, but I am always amazed at how cheap my vet bills are!!

.

FWIW, you are much better than me. While I don't mind animals, I'm not an animal person. No way I'd spend over $100 for a vet bill, but that's just me.

I'm alway happy when the vet bills are under $100, but I am usually bringing in multiple pets at once.

I've gotten that look several times, but not from our vet. It's the receptionist.

Two weeks ago, I went in and bought Frontline for the cats and one of the dogs - I have two of each, had some left over from last year. $238!!!

Last Wednesday, I took the dogs in for their annual vaccinations. Receptionist girl got snippy with me about how I need to use Frontline because ticks were present on the dogs.

....

Frontline doesn't get ALL the ticks, that receptionist is dumb. I have one dog that I can't use Frontline on because she has weird reactions.

 

[TheRatPack]

I have the exact opposite at our vets. I took my dachshund in last year for a ruptured neck disc and she couldn't hold her head up I was soooo upset as she's only 8 and she's like one of my children. Anyhow....he mentioned in a round about way, putting her to sleep if the medicines and rest didn't work. I asked him about surgery for it and he said that there as one but most people didn't choose that because it was a few thousand dollars. I was kind of upset that he'd jump straight to putting a dog to sleep....we got our dachshund knowing that she'd probably end up with back or neck problems and we'll plan/pay accordingly....but we're not going to put her to sleep if there is a treatment that fixes what is wrong with her.

 

[stm61]

I had one tell us we didn't deserve to be pet owners because we couldn't spend the $5000 min. it would cost for exploratory surgery at a teaching hospital several hours away! Actually it was the tech/receptionist that said it, but when I mentioned it to the vet several weeks later he said she probably got it from him! The dog was 10 yrs old and he'd already said he probably had cancer. The vet looked really shocked when I informed him I couldn't come up with $5000 if one of my kids needed it, I was waiting for social services to appear at my door for weeks afterward lol. We ended up calling a 2nd vet who, after hearing the issues over the phone, agreed to put him out of his misery. However, the same vet, when a friend called about a 16 yr old dog who couldn't stand or eat, wanted to give all his shots before anything else! I don't know if they spoke with the vet or receptionist, but when they questioned the logic of vaccinations for a dieing dog, they got the same line about not deserving to have pets.