How Much Money would you spend to save your Pet?

[janette]

Here are a couple of threads on insurance. I still need to get some, it would've really helped with our puppy. I wish I'd done it right away and would if I ever get another puppy.

Pet Insurance

Pet Insurance...Do You Have It and What Kind???

 

[AMClvsMKY]

Back when my Great Dane puppy was about 2 years old he went thru a glass window while we were away from home. His back legs were sooo cut up that he needed stitches on the inside then stitches on the outside. We didn't think he would ever walk again and, of course, he was much too big to be carried. His vet bill was around $800 and we didn't hesitate about having the care done to save him. He lived until he was 8 years old before his legs pretty much just gave out on him and we had to put him to sleep.

So, I guess the answer would probally be that I would spend what ever the amount to save my 4 legged babies.

 

[Robinrs]

Faith, you know how many times I came to this board begging for prayers for my cat Rambo. With each prayer there was a major price tag. It didn't matter. I always called Rambo my "small car' because he cost about that much!

The surgeries and attention kept a cat with cancer alive for 4 years, and with a great quality of life at that! When there was nothing else, and I mean NOTHING, I stopped. But by then he was 17 years old, and he had beat out some healthy cats by then.

Do what you feel is right, I know you love your furbabies, heck I saw pictures of them at IOA! Anyone who carries pictures around of her pets LOVES her pets!

 

[Kitty 34]

I would pay a ton of $$$ as long as my cat's quality of life would be OK after the surgery or whatever.

 

[skuttle]

I would pay pretty much anything to save our dogs.

 

[helenabear]

Yep, $500 would be nothing at all to me if it meant saving my cat.

 

[AspiringCindy]

Not trying to get off topic(even though I am), but I just noticed Skuttle that you graduate tomorrow. That is unbelievable! Congrats to you on both exciting new ventures!

 

[disykat]

I think I would spend up to a point. If it got to the point where the money spent would impact the rest of the family too much - I wouldn't go there.

I love my pet, but wouldn't go to the lengths I would for health care for my children.

 

[Cindyluwho]

A brief history of the lives of my pets:

My little dog Champus went blind in one eye at age 2 due to a Junior Catarac (no, it's not a Japanese rock band) and lost his other eye to Glaucoma at age 4. He also had a terrible skin condition and was allergic to fleas and smelled something awful. He lived to be 14 years old, we loved him dearly and I learned to never move the furniture in my home

My black lab Ruby ate a corn cob and it stuck in her duodinum (spelling?) I didn't even know what the heck part of the body that was until the corn cob incident, but it's where the stomach attaches to the intestine. $2800 and 3 years later, she's healthy and happy and the most expensive lab without papers I've ever seen.

My sweet bantie hen, Lilly, had an infected eye. No one in the area will treat chickens. Finally found someone at the zoo. For $185 he told me she had pink eye and should be put down because she was "just a chicken".

I now vet my own chickens, much cheaper. Even do the surgeries, etc myself. The other animals go to the vet. Oh the life of an animal lover......

 

[luv2nascar]

I would give everything I had to spend one more day with our beloved Winston who past away in April
Nothing was out of the question as far as his treatment would have been
We read in a magazine that a pacemaker for a dog costs $10,000 and DH & I were in agreement that we would spend that if our dog had needed one.
We just loved him that much

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Absolutly! If I thought there was any chance of helping them, I'd spend whatever the cost- and this coming from an in-debt 20-something who makes less than $500/week!

 

[crazymomof4]

First of all, I'm sorry to hear that your pet is ill.
In answer to your question: We have spent large amounts ($250-$450 on single occassions) on our cats for acute and curable conditions (urinary blockage, broken tail, infections). My cats are relatively young (6 yo) and in good health. We love them and will give them what they need to live a full and healthy life. I dread ever having to make the decision of whether or not to proceed with a treatment or not. If and when this occurs, I think the deciding factor will be how long and what quality of life will the animal live after the treatment. I know my cats well and I hope they can "tell" me what they want. I had a dog several years back and she got to the point where I just knew by the way she looked at me, I could read it in her eyes, she wanted the suffering to end. I was so very sure of this and that made deciding to put her to sleep so much easier.

 

[Disneynut11676]

Our cat (actually was DH's first) is 24 years old -- yes, that's 24 human years. She is actually quite healthy & has only been to the vets once, but if our fuzzy princess was sick, no matter if it was a guarantee or not, WE WOULD PAY ANY AMOUNT. I can't imagine what it would be like without her around. DH is only 27, so he has had her almost his entire life. But there would never be any hesitation as to how much we would spend to help her out.

 

[Sharon A.]

Wow, you all are pretty intense. While I'd drop $500 in a heartbeat for a pet, there is some limit to what I'd spend. Would I spend $1,000? Probably. $10,000, probably not unless I knew for certain it would cure my pet and then only if my pet would have a pretty long life with us after the procedure.$100,000? No way. I'd be heartbroken, but there's no way I'd spend that much money on a pet.

 

[SplshMtn99]

We went through this 2 yrs ago. DH & I decided we would spend whatever it cost if there was a CHANCE to help our 14 yr old Lucy (cat). In less than 3 months we spent over $2000. (I stopped counting. It was easier that way.) She went downhill so fast at the end, there was nothing more to be done. The vet did not charge us to put her to sleep. I asked for separate cremation because I wanted HER ashes back. We paid for that. And then a custom wood box with her picture painted on it from a wonderful couple on the internet.

She was worth every penny ever spent on her annual vet appts too.

We expect to do that same for our current 15 yr old Splash (cat).
They are our children.

 

[crazymomof4]

Disneynut11676 ~ WOW! 24 years old and still going strong. You give me hope. I would be tickled to have a cat live that long. The oldest cat we've ever had was my childhood cat. He was 17 when he died.

 

[Keli]

Man, I can't believe you guys. I'm a huge animal lover. My pets are happy and well taken care of (ok, my golden is a little overweight but I'm working on her diet, lol) but I know I would never spend serious money on medical procedures for my pets. A few hundred yes but not a lot more than that. Of course I've never faced that situation and if my baby shadow (the said golden) needed something very expensive done it would be difficult to say no.

 

[Poohbear123]

WOW, that is totally COOL! So, I guess Gizmo can live longer, for some reason I think after 15 thats it, but, you have proved me Wrong! Thanks again for ALL your responses, I know "other" people would think I was nuts paying out over 500 for this cat, but, I know HE is worth it!

 

[WebmasterPete]

My cat Figaro was diagnosed with feline diabetes a few months ago. Shortly after he started getting insulin treatments, he went into terrible seizures. It was awful. We found out that he also has hypo-thyroidism. The vets bills to date are over $2000. Never thought twice about spending the money. As long as he is not in pain or suffering. So far, the medications and adjusted insulin seem to work very well. He's back to his normal self (just much thinner than he was, which is okay because he was a mighty fat cat). The vet asked me at one point "how far are you willing to go with this"....I know she had to ask, but I was offended by the question. I simply said "as far as we need to". I know that not everyone thinks that way about a sick animal, but he is a member of the family, and I treat him that way.

Pete

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

All 5 cats and our 1 dog are our babies. If it would improve the quality of their life, I would spend the money.

One of our kittens was 6 months old and had a knot on his side. The vet had no idea what it was. They wanted to do exploratory surgery on my kitten! To the tune of $900! I said no. I can't imagine just cutting the cat open to look around. That just seemed cruel to me. Whatever it was went away and he is playful, sweet, frisky and loves his stuffed alligator