Will you spend whatever it takes on a pet?

[Mokat76]

I once had a diabetic cat who over time cost me a chunk of change, but he lived about 8 years insulin-dependent and fairly well-controlled. The crises were what cost me because they always seemed to happen when the only vet was the emergency vet. Ugh. At the time those visits hurt my bottom line a lot, now that cost would be much easier to absorb. But he was an awesome cat and I'd already had him 6 years when he got sick.

Now I'd assess the odds before I spent a huge sum on any of my pets. My vet is really good with that approach, too. She'd be happy to have me spend a gazillion bucks, but also understands that's not always the right choice. She's great that way.

 

[mom2rtk]

I once had a diabetic cat who over time cost me a chunk of change, but he lived about 8 years insulin-dependent and fairly well-controlled. The crises were what cost me because they always seemed to happen when the only vet was the emergency vet. Ugh. At the time those visits hurt my bottom line a lot, now that cost would be much easier to absorb. But he was an awesome cat and I'd already had him 6 years when he got sick.

Now I'd assess the odds before I spent a huge sum on any of my pets. My vet is really good with that approach, too. She'd be happy to have me spend a gazillion bucks, but also understands that's not always the right choice. She's great that way.

We have an awesome vet like that as well. He's a critical piece of the puzzle when making decisions on high dollar treatment. He's not afraid to give it to us straight and offer an opinion on what he'd do if it was his own cat. I never feel like he looks at us like a revenue stream. He's really in it for the love of the animals. I'll be heartbroken when he retires one day.

 

[arlinar]

I would. My corgi is my emotional support animal and ever since getting her, my life has improved.

I purchased pet insurance due to typical corgi problems and plus she is under a year old.

I invested alot in her already and I'm going to make sure her health is fantastic (Please don't hate me that I didn't adopt)

 

[Mokat76]

I would. My corgi is my emotional support animal and ever since getting her, my life has improved.

I purchased pet insurance due to typical corgi problems and plus she is under a year old.

I invested alot in her already and I'm going to make sure her health is fantastic (Please don't hate me that I didn't adopt)

Doesn't matter how you got her. You've made a difference in her life and she in yours. That's awesome.

 

[NotUrsula]

In the case of an injury that can definitely be fixed, yes, I'll invest time and money in treatment. (I had a cat that was attacked by two boxers when she was 3 years old; she had major abdominal trauma. I paid for the surgery and went to enormous effort to care for the wound, and at the time I was a minimum-wage grad student. The same cat ended up with fatty liver disease a couple of years later, and again I went to enormous effort to care for her. However, in both cases it was a one-and-done vet bill; if it hadn't worked, then she simply would have died. She recovered again, and lived to age 19; she was one tough cookie. With only one exception, all of the animals I've ever owned have been very long-lived; I'm conscientious about keeping them as healthy as I can.

However, in the case of a painful chronic condition or disease being diagnosed, I would opt to put the animal down. Not because of the expense, really, but because I don't believe in prolonging life for animals that are in pain. They don't have the capacity to understand that painful treatments are supposed to be battling their other pain; they just know that it hurts. When I weigh that pain and confusion against my own pain of losing the pet, the animal's pain is more important. (And I say this even though I've very recently put down a cat that had been in my life for 19 years. I loved him dearly, but he was hurting, and it was time.)