Letters to the Editor
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Got cats? Got dogs? Watch your wallet.
Before I finish reading this, I want to let you know I just got a vet bill for $1400 and there was no warning that it was going to be this much. Not even a heads up.
Ouch.
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vet bills
I used to have a roommate that owned three legged cat. One of the cat's legs had been amputated after a run in with a car. The vet bills were so steep, her boyfriend's band played a fund-raiser for it.
The cat was amazing, like the war amps poster cat or something, but I couldn't help thinking of it as a semester's tuition that purred and left mice on the doorstep.
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What I wouldn't do for my cat
My vet just recommended that my cat have an echocardiogram because he has a heart murmur. The cat is perfectly healthy and is, in fact, attacking my arm as I type. Now the cat's trying to have a romantic moment with my feet - don't think it needs any medical help, maybe some counseling though...
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there are 'alternatives'.
Try homeopathy in future. Might not be suitable for some problems, but apparently vet homeopathy can be remarkably effective, even where conventional medicine has failed. And it's bound to be so much cheaper.
Good luck with Ferdinand!
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My cat = my new carpeting
Last year, my husband got a nice bonus from work. The same week our cat, Leo, ate a penny (yes, ate a penny, in front of our two kids). Turns out that is a very awful thing for a cat to do. He ended up with pancreatitis, mouth infections, ulcers, was in an emergency vet hospital for a week on IV's, all sorts of treatments. And, he pulled through. My kids love that cat--but the treatment? Took the bonus--ALL of it--over $5,000. I joked that the cat ate my new carpeting, which is what I had intended to spend the $5,000.
Yes, we love him and I am glad to have him, but I still think we were crazy to spend that much money on a cat.
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A:
A car
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I Used to Think I Wouldn't Pay That Either
And then my 17-year old cat, that I love dearly, got ill very quickly and I took her to an animal emergency room. That costs me $600 for the tests to figure out what was wrong with her. The emergency vet was very specific about how much each test cost, so I knew before hand. It will probably cost me another $800 to $1000 to get a final cure.
Now, I've accepted the fact that she doesn't have much longer (maybe 3 years left) and I've decided that it depends not so much upon the money but upon if what is happening is going to be torture for her to endure in "fixing" what will eventually go wrong. By-the-way she has been and is in great shape.
Maybe it sounds silly but she has been one of my best friends (she is the most loving cat I've ever had), but I'll pay the price to the extent that I can. I feel I owe her that.
On the other hand, I'm wary of vets that push a lot of unnecessary this or that when I go in. I had one before that wanted to clean the cat's teeth just about every time I brought her in and then went to another one, they looked at her teeth and said they didn't see the need.
With this thought, I worked with a marketing company about 10 years ago and the "money" thing then was to push as many expensive different services and pills (this includes denistry, by the way) that could be viably argued for in order for the vet or dentist to come up with a larger bill (how to make your vet/denist business more profitable!). So, research the problem before you make a decision as much as possible. I think MOST vets are honorable but I'm always suspicious after that job.
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holistic approach equals fewer bills
Pets are often vaccinated every year though there is no science to assert the necessity for it. In fact, vaccinations often harm animals and can lead to chronic disease a few years down the road. I encourage anyone to read Dr. Jean Dodds who has spent years researching this issue and reconsider whether, after the initial vaccines, more is necessary. There has been an increase in cancers and automimmune disorders since the practice of frequent and multiple vaccinations has become commonplace. Vets, who depend on vaccines for a significant part of their income, have been very reticent about disclosing the dangers of over vaccination.
Also, vets throw powerful medications at the slightest malady when many of these medications have serious side effects.Frequent use of antibiotics can cause resistance to disease and lead to long term and deleterious results such as colitis. Steroids which should only be used short term are used way too often and way too long also can result in significant damage to your pet's health over time.Oftentimes natural alternatives are eschewed in favor of expensive medications. For example, garlic/mullein oil works very well for my cats' ears when they are inflamed and is of minimal cost.
Finally, the pet's diet (again just like us) is essential to maintaining health. Any petfood that lists meat by- products as one of the first ingredients is garbage. Quality pet food geared to your animal's needs go very far in maintaing wellness. Cats are often fed dryfood which is very bad for them and can lead to urinary tract infections in males. In nature, well over 50% of a cat's nutrition comes from protein whereas dryfood is mostly carbohydrates. Over time, this can lead to problems like diabetes and kidney failure.
After many thousands of dollars spent on conventional treatment and increasingly sick animals as a result, I now use a homeopathic vet. In an emergency I will go to the conventional vet but otherwise I find the holistic approach cheaper and, most important, have far healthier animals as a result.
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$750 was too much for me
When my cat was 11 the vet told me she was healthy but should have a battery of tests that would check hormone levels, blood sugar, etc. When I asked why, since she was healthy, she said it was routine for cats her age to have the tests -- which would cost at least $750. I said I'd think about it. What I thought to myself was "WHAT? $750 to tell me that my old cat is old and getting older every day?" I took the cat home, and never went back to that vet again.
The cat is now 18 and other than being grouchy at times due to arthritis in her hips, she's done just fine without the tests. And when her health really goes, I will have her put to sleep. It will be a sad day for me, but she's a cat, not a human, and if she does have 9 lives then I might as well set her free painlessly to go on to whatever the next one is.