The downside of having pets

[Two_Sheds]

a c section was ...over £1000.

I was scandalised and disgusted at the at the cost.

Vet bills do seem excessive, shockingly high, but maybe that's because we're used to the NHS picking up the bill for our own illnesses & complaints, rather than having to pay the doctor ourselves, like in the old days. A GP appointment alone costs about £25 I think, and my chemo was in the tens of thousands. Imagine having to choose whether to pay, or have yourself put down.

I suspect pet insurance is a reason for higher & higher bills, or more intervention at least. I don't insure my pets any more, and have so far not been told they need to have such-and-such, and so-and-so, apart from £20 ear cleaning fluid (half that if bought online). I'm competent enough to do nail cutting, wing clipping & grooming myself.

I'm not completely reckless though, I put the £60 pcm that insurance would cost me, into an ISA to go towards any future vet bills.

Pets of my friends always seem to be having treatment for something, inc. epilepsy, hip dysplasia, dry eye, skin allergy, off the top of my head.

[Thelma Sanders]

That's the thing - nowadays we expect the vet to save our pets and treat ailments that in the past would have resulted in the animal dying or more humanely, being pts.
This is still an option, but we prefer the expensive treatments, and so have to swallow the cost.

[Alison]

Tasha would have died two years earlier without treatment and I'm grateful to our vet for explaining the options to us before we made any decisions. She was very much part of our family and at almost 16 was older than many of our friends' children! Sadly it got to the point that the amount of treatment she was needing could not be balanced with the quality of her life and we made that decision with the vet. Her kidney failure (rather common in old cats) meant that toxins built up in her system and she needed a spell on a drip every few months which was very expensive. The scans for her pancreatitis weren't cheap either but we were more than aware of it all before it was carried out. I was comfortable with the treatment and it felt right as it enabled her to lead a good life.

I did make the mistake of googling her condition once and found a forum for owners who went far further than I felt was fair, with many of them choosing to feed their cats for years with mushed up food in syringes (when they were no longer capable of eating on their own) and daily subcuteous (sp) fluids too. I felt that some of them were keeping the cat alive for themselves not for the animal. This isn't advised by many vets in this country and wasn't something I was comfortable with as a concept anyway but we all draw the line at different point.

[Potstubsdustbins]

First insurance, We have to realise that insurance companies, all insurance companies are there for one thing only. To generate money for that company, they are not there to serve their customers. So the idea is to take in as much as possible in premiums and pay out as little as possible in claims.

You might gather I am not a fan of insurance companies, I only use them where absolutely necessary.

Vets. My last dog died of bone cancer and although expensive I was more than happy with the service I received. On our first visit before diagnosis the vet recommended an x-ray, I had to swallow hard when he told me the cost but gave the go ahead any way. When I got home I googled the cost of a vets x-ray machine and nearly fell of my chair, then there were on costs such as shielding, staff training etc.

The only treatment available was complete removal of her hind leg and this would only give her a limited time. Both the vet and I agreed that with such a large dog this would not be the best option, so she lived the last free weeks of her life on extremely strong medication in order to be pain free. One day it was obvious that the pain was getting through and I had to make the awful decision to have her euthanized.

Again the vet is there to make money but this is usually combined with a love of what they do and with all the hidden expenses to cater to todays pet owners expectations I can see why their fees can seem exorbitant.

[bearded bloke]

My best friend ever, who kept me company unquestioningly through thick & thin for 17 1/2 years was uninsured, at 16 years he had the doggy equivalent of a stroke which was controlled by medication for just over a year (don't know & don't care how much we paid for vets & medication, those were not primary concerns) very late in life he was diagnosed with prostate cancer at which point his "quality of life" plummeted, he was visibly upset & I had to make the ultimate decision

[JanieB]

My two dogs used to be insured and it was quite expensive. I have made the decision to just pay up if the circumstances arise, but thanks to a bit of a legacy, it's because I can. My dogs are 4 1/2 and currently very healthy. They have all their shots etc. They've had their moments. One was when Hollie had diarrhoea and had an overnight stay at the vets on a drip. It cost me about £180, but it would not have been worth claiming on the insurance because of the £100 excess.

I had a Labrador many years ago. She was a fantastic dog but at about 12 years she developed cancer of the blood vessels. She had two operations paid for on the farm insurance (working dog) but it came back again. The vet said the only way to save her was to take her leg off. She was used to running over 400 acres of land. She would have to live with one of those upside down buckets on her head for several months and three legs for the rest of her life. I could have let her have the operation but she would have had no quality of life and there were no guarantees. The decision was left up to me. I held her whilst she went to sleep.

The insurance would not have paid for that operation but it wasn't a consideration at the time 'cos I could afford it. The problem comes when they turn you down and you can't afford it.

[Lumpy]

We have had a right collection of abused dogs over the past 20 odd years and never been able to afford insurance because of their various injuries and mental health issues. We have always just managed somehow to pay the vets.
We moved up here at the end of last year and found a brilliant vet in Newark. The charge for just walking in and saying 'Hello vet' dropped from £38.50 to £15.
Since we lost our beautiful greyhound Wilfie last Nov we said - 'no more dogs once Messy greyhound pops her clogs.
However, that was short lived - we are now foster carers for a charity and have a labrador for end of life care. Although the charity will pay for food, petrol etc we never claim we just let them pay for Archies 4 weekly vet visit.
I can't imagine my life without a dog or two causing havoc on a daily basis. It keeps things interesting when you have greyhound who is virtually blind, has sciatica and was terrified of everybody and everything and a labradore with end stage arthritis who walk like John Wayne just got off a cart horse and had lived outside (no cover at all) for all of his 10 years till he came here.

In a nutshell I prefer dogs to people as they don't judge me for any reason

[Bacchus]

She phoned me and I took her there in the car with the cat. The vet decided a c section was needed but quoted my daughter over £1000.

My wife works as a vet. nurse and she says that a normal cat c section is around £300 so it appears that vet was sticking his/her arm in.

[Aberdeenplotter]

indeed but what does one do with an animal in distress in the middle of the night when your own vet is on holiday? her own vet was apologetic but unfortunately apologies don't pay the bills.