$1.000 or the Cat dies. How much have you paid in Vet bills?

[TPC]

I was awaken last night by the Cat door swinging open.
Trouble was,, the cat was sleeping on the bed with us.

Our cat jumped off the bed, headed into the living room and it was on with a Racoon.

The Racoon got tore up pretty bad judging by the trail of blood out the cat door through the garage out the second cat door and across the RV slab.,,,

But our cat got laid open pretty bad left side of his mellon below the ear on into his ear..
He's at the Vet now,, estimate $600 to $1000.

Racoons are vicious little beasts. Beware!

Neighbor is spending about $3 grand on eye surgery for the wifes Bizon Frizays (sic) dog eye surgery.

Any high Vet bills stories?:

 

[LhcBrad]

No story for me but I would pay quite a bit to have my dog get better.
He treats me good and I owe him a good long life

 

[WTMFA]

My 12 y.o. husky had to be opened up for $1200. He had about 1/2 of a rope toy in him which was embedded with staples and tree ornament hooks. When he would try to shit the hooks would catch and the rope would plug up his ass Didn't suprise me though he has billy bob summer teeth (summer here summer there) from a long tradition of eating and chewing on things that don't belong anywhere near the mouth:smackhead But we love the old fart so we do what we gotta do to keep him going Here he is (Dakota) after finishing a watermelon:beer

 

[Ziggy]

Thats always a tough decision for us.
We've spents thousands on vet bills over the years but never to "save" them.
The vet wanted us to do exporitory surgery on my old Jake(RIP) when he was 6 or 7 because he had a tumor in his gut, $1k + was his estimate. We declined because the vet gave us no reassurances whatsoever. Jake made it to 14.....which was almost exactly one year ago.
Different circumstances would garner a different decision, I'm sure.

 

[DeltaSigBoater]

The dog developed a choking like cough around December. Took her to the vet got medication. Cough only happens once in a while. End of February out walking the dog in the morning, she just falls over and pees all over the sidewalk, then starts shaking. Another trip to the vet, 2 blood transfusinons later & and new set of meds, all is well. About a week goes by and same thing happens only this time its in the house :swear. Back to the vet, another blood transfusion & and another new combination of meds. Dog is doing great for an 11 year old sheltie.

Was all set to buy a new 40 HP Yamaha OB for my Whaler, that $7k is walking around in the dog

 

[John McGuinness]

Does anyone have experience with one of those pet insurance plans? Was thinking about getting one for my dog.

 

[BoatCop]

Just spent $970 bucks having a couple of growths removed from one of my bloodhounds. One was about the size of small apple, under the skin on her front "elbow". Another wart-like growth between the pads on her rear foot. She's still a little zoned out, and on pain pills.

Did I mention that because she's a search dog, all her upkeep, food, and Vet Bills, etc. are TAX DEDUCTIBLE?

 

[OCMerrill]

Tough one TPC. Sorry to read it.

Cat went to the mat against an intruder. Deserves the best you can afford I would say.

Freaking Raccoons. There was a thread on PB that went on about them. My friend in Wrightwood call them pocket bears. Right down to the talons, the scavenging, the killing ability, and the nasty attitude.

 

[Carlson-jet]

The cat went above and beyond it's duty to protect the household.
Tell the vet you have $650 to spend and thats all you have to work with. Most likely they will get it done. Our cat costs us about $350 or so in stitches every couple years. He's not a very good fighter but thinks he is. We love him and soon forget the cost. Cats are prone to infections from these type of wounds and need immediate care. The surrounding skin will start to die and cost more to get fixed. Decide fast what you want to do or the bill will get higher.

 

[DannyH]

I say pay up. Pets are family. I'd drop a grand for my moms health in a heart beat and I'd drop a grand for my dogs health in a heartbeat. The joy my pets bring me can't have a dollar amount placed on it and in exchange I'll pay whatever I have to for my animals. Unless....

If the vet wants a bunch of money and there is no reassurance that the pet will survive I'd have to really think about spending the money. I'd hate to give the vet $1,000 plus dollars only to have my pet end up dying.

 

[Yellowboat]

Nope, I love my pets, but I can't aford $1000 vet bill.

Now I do have 1st hand exp with what a coon can do to a 75 lb dog... its not pretty.

 

[DannyH]

The cat went above and beyond it's duty to protect the household.
Tell the vet you have $650 to spend and thats all you have to work with. Most likely they will get it done. Our cat costs us about $350 or so in stitches every couple years. He's not a very good fighter but thinks he is. We love him and soon forget the cost. Cats are prone to infections from these type of wounds and need immediate care. The surrounding skin will start to die and cost more to get fixed. Decide fast what you want to do or the bill will get higher.

Don't try to cheap out on the vet. Vet's often spend their entire lives repaying their student loans. I have a good friend who is a vet. She's got close to $200K in student loans and makes about $65K a year.

 

[Carlson-jet]

Don't try to cheap out on the vet. Vet's often spend their entire lives repaying their student loans. I have a good friend who is a vet. She's got close to $200K in student loans and makes about $65K a year.

The "estimate" was $600-1000. What is Cheaping out if they gave the estimate?

 

[DannyH]

The "estimate" was $600-1000. What is Cheaping out if they gave the estimate?

Cheaping out is if the animal needs $1,000 worth of care and you only offer $650. If Ross was a single mother who is living paycheck to paycheck and fixing his cat is the difference between feeding his children or not feeding them then I could undertand his reasoning in attempting to get theprice down. He just bought a new Z06 and he and the wife are pretty well off from what I understand so there's no rhyme or reason in them trying to talk a well trained professional down on the price of a professional service that in itself costs the pet health care provider a good amount of money just to provide.

I take my car into the shop and the mechanic says "Based on what I can visually see right now it's going to cost somewhere between $650 and $1,000 to fix your vehicle. I wont know for sure what the final cost is until i open her up." You think the mechanic is going to accept "Well I got $700 to get it fixed so that's all you're going to get."

A good vet won't negotiate anyhow.

 

[spectras only]

We have two 12 yr old Burmese sisters Emily and Bronte. One is in perfect health , just needed one tooth pulled [ $$$$$$$] a few weeks ago. Bronte is going to cost a lot more, but they're like family. Bronte has some serious issues [ she is hyperthyroid ] started having a kidney desease caused by it. Pills didn't help ,it ruined her appetite and stopped eating because of it. She's back on her regular diet to gain her weight back and going to have iodine radiation [ $1100 ] next week. Se'll have to sleep in a different room for a week , because she's going to glowfor a litlle while.We had cats before but nothing like these two with personality only dogs can give to their owners.

She loves to be vacuumed
[video=youtube;yJC7wGOOvio]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJC7wGOOvio[/video]

 

[Motor Boater]

Thankfully I havent had any expensive vet trips but I would pay A LOT of money if anything ever happend to my pussy.

 

[sorry dog]

Don't try to cheap out on the vet. Vet's often spend their entire lives repaying their student loans. I have a good friend who is a vet. She's got close to $200K in student loans and makes about $65K a year.

That's the nature of the business and they should know it going into it. A good Vet makes a decent living but getting rich out of it takes a lot of work.

BTW - I managed a VCA for close to a year. Unfortunately for you Cali folks, ya'll got a lot of those out there...and ya'll are in mostly in the top price program brackets and hospitalization charges was one of the biggest run ups.

An for the record... you gotta remember that animals just like you and me... there ain't no guarentees or warranties, unless the vet just obviously screws something up...and we are all human. I had file an incident report or two every month.

The majority of vets will work with you on payments as long at you put down a 1/3 first.

If you are frequent customer then sometimes you can negotiate a little break, but the surgeries are the biggest margin codes there are.

If ya'll have any specific questions just PM me... I ain't in that business no more so no dog in that fight. In fact... I don't even worry about vaccines for mine... they are all old enough that it basically doesn't matter much any more. I only do HW/flea medicine, fecal, and bloodwork now.

As for pet insurance... this post is already too long so I'll talk about that another day...

Gotta go back to work 6 hours...

 

[Riodog]

The last 6-8 months I dropped $3-4000. bucks on my Keeshond, Critter. I use VCA-All Care in Fountain Valley. Must have a vet referral.

Basically, he has an upset tummy.

He's 2 1/2 yo.

No big deal

Rio

 

[Wombat]

Just had my male Australian Fox Terrier in for a check up on a suspect bad tooth. Turns out there was 2 in the lower jaw that needed removal, this plus medication, nails clipped and wash set me back $218 (pretty good l thought). Would have paid any thing the Vet wanted as the dog is family. :thumbsup

 

[sorry dog]

The last 6-8 months I dropped $3-4000. bucks on my Keeshond, Critter. I use VCA-All Care in Fountain Valley. Must have a vet referral.

Basically, he has an upset tummy.

He's 2 1/2 yo.

No big deal

Rio

Specialty Hospital?

Yep... those are big margin deals too.

VCA can be pretty slick for some things... they have the biggest vet lab business too... lots of money made there.

Better hit the sack or tomorrow will suck ass...

 

[sorry dog]

Just had my male Australian Fox Terrier in for a check up on a suspect bad tooth. Turns out there was 2 in the lower jaw that needed removal, this plus medication, nails clipped and wash set me back $218 (pretty good l thought). Would have paid any thing the Vet wanted as the dog is family. :thumbsup

...sorry ya'll got me started...:hotdevil

tooth removal was always easy money... pair of pliers and add $60 to the tab.

nail clip $9... even though it's included in the bath...extra if you ask for it.

You are what we call the A customer. yall are 20% of the customers but 80% of the profit.

OK...I'm really crashing now.

 

[weliketoparty]

My lab blew out her ACL in her hind leg. She was swimming at the beach and BAM! Never knew dogs had an ACL. Anyway, she had to have a titanium plate put in her leg by a specialist. 5k later, she is as good as new. Some of my friends thought I was nuts, but I never even thought twice. She is family!

 

[boatnam2]

I would pay some dough because i love my dog so much but could draw the line.People are selfish in general its animal not a human and to have it suffer and lay around for 2 years sick is not right.I see people with dogs with cancer and such spending big dough and the only one suffering is the dog.There not human they dont live 80 years when there very sick put them to sleep.In one way they are lucky they can be put to sleep unlike humans which may have to suffer for years with a terminal illness.

 

[Flyinbowtie]

Wow, Ross that sucks.

I'll admit, I have spent many thousands of dollars on our family dogs over the years. If you love these critters, they become like kids, ya know?
If the vet says the animal can go on to live a normal life, then the checkbook comes out.
If it is just a temporary fix, and the animal is still going to be in pain or whatever, then, well...we've made the tough call a couple of times, too.
Right now our 5 yr. old SHITzu is healthy, which is a damn good thing.
I love that little fart so much I'd break the bank on him, I'm afraid.

 

[WTMFA]

I would pay some dough because i love my dog so much but could draw the line.People are selfish in general its animal not a human and to have it suffer and lay around for 2 years sick is not right.I see people with dogs with cancer and such spending big dough and the only one suffering is the dog.There not human they dont live 80 years when there very sick put them to sleep.In one way they are lucky they can be put to sleep unlike humans which may have to suffer for years with a terminal illness.

So true. My dad lived with me for the last 5 years of his life. I watched alzheimers eat away at him. Believe me, near the end living with alzheimers is not living. I KNOW if it was legally possible he would have wanted to be "put down" so to speak. I love my animals more than some people. I have never met a person (other than my mother maybe) that was so dedicated to me and my happiness. CHEERS:beer

 

[WATERDOG]

I've got you all beat, by a lot. Try a $18,000 vet bill. Wasn't even my dog, but one I ran over backing out of my driveway. That really hurt. Luckly for me the owners didn't blame me and they had the money and didn't care what the cost was. Vet's know you or we love our pets and will do anything and pay dearly to save them. After 30 plus years with dogs as my business, I could tell you all stories forever. No matter what everbody will on there own have to say when, or enough is enough, It's one of the hard choices anybody will have to make.

 

[Her454]

I've spent more than I care to remember on pets in my lifetime.

Don't regret one single penny of it and I'd do it again. Hopefully not anytime soon tho.

Sorry about the cat Ross, those are nasty critters to mess with.

 

[VegasCharger]

Adopted a puppy Had her for a week. Next thing we knew she has Parvo.
Two weeks at the Vet and 4000 $ later.
She is still around 3 years later.
I am a sucker when it comes to my dogs.

 

[Cheaper To Keep Him]

Gave our boxer a steak bone, she brought it into the house hid it in the couch, when she couldnt get to the bone ate the couch. The foam swelled up in her stomach and had to be surg removed.
3 Days hospital Surgery Meds etc $ 2,600
1 Sectional Sofa $ 1,300
The Drool on her face when she meets me at the door PRICELESS
Hell yeah I'd do it 20 times over, sept I get the bones before she comes in now

 

[was thatguy]

The cat went above and beyond it's duty to protect the household.
Tell the vet you have $650 to spend and thats all you have to work with. Most likely they will get it done. Our cat costs us about $350 or so in stitches every couple years. He's not a very good fighter but thinks he is. We love him and soon forget the cost. Cats are prone to infections from these type of wounds and need immediate care. The surrounding skin will start to die and cost more to get fixed. Decide fast what you want to do or the bill will get higher.

Our cat looks IDENTICLE to yours!
We get 2 kittens at a time historically. They are outside cats, with food bowls and water bowls. No litter box's. Their job is to kill all rodent type creatures they find on our 4 acres.
Usually, one will "leave" at around 8 months or so. Sometimes they dissapear, other times they move to a neighbors house.
Our black cat just set the record at 2 years. He is a real character, and my wifes best friend. He has never been afraid of anything in his life, and is the most alarmingly laid back hunting cat ever. He will lounge shamelessly on the diving board, or roll in the dirt like a dog. all the while preening and posing like a rock star.
He got sick last month. They never pinpointed what it was, but it was touch and go for a week with him in "ICU".
Bill was over $700.00. For this particular cat, money was no object.

 

[HDD]

Our Black & Tan Weiner Coco developed the back problem and was one jump away from getting paralyzed if she ruptured a disc.
She was 4 at the time almost 6 years ago. We spent about 2K and had the back surgery.

Today she is still going strong just like a pup.

Money well spent.:thumbsup

Hope all goes well Ross:beer

HDD

 

[was thatguy]

Any updates on the cat?