Letters to the Editor
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Dodging the flaming arrows
I also live in Europe (France) and my roommate's cat just went through a bit of an emergency. He's relatively young, maybe about 6 and a big, ol' baby. He's gotta weigh 15 pounds and he purrs like a mofo. So, Tiger got in a fight and his paw blew up like a tennis ball. This has happened before and while I don't have any animals myself right now, I've certainly experienced many cat infections in my life. We waited it out. The last time it happened, Tiger spent several days next to the heater with his giant paw until he finally licked it open, the infection drained out and he was fine. This time he wasn't getting better and finally stopped eating.
My roommate dithered, he makes minimum wage here. He called a couple of vets (didn't like the last one he went to) and found one who seemed reasonable and was open. He made an appointment--didn't go in as an emergency. The vet ("veto" in French) douched out the wound, gave him a shot of antibiotics and a prescription for more, and sent him home. 30 euro. He's fine. Purring on my bed as we speak. Sure he slept for about a week, refused food for several days and looked miserable, but he got over it.
Same scenario in the States would have been a half a day in the vet's office, a tube to drain the infection, stitches to close the wound made by the vet to put in the tube, an Elizabethan collar so cat doesn't eat stitches, antibiotics and a whopper of a bill, likely in the triple digits at least. The last cat problem I had was about $300 at a very low-cost clinic in Oregon.
The thing is, here in Europe it's not so much about the money. People value their free time and unlike the States, where the first question people usually ask is "what do you do?" as in work, here the first question is "where are you from?" And not just me (as a foreigner) French people want to know what your origins are. I don't get that same everyone-scrambling-to-make-just-a-little-more-money, vets and doctors included.
So yeah, things are better and cheaper here and I'm seriously considering getting a dog. But if that dog ever costs me more than my rent, I'll be finding another home for it, even if that home is dog heaven. There's so, so many unwanted pets in this world, I consider them--wait for it, I can hear the flaming arrows coming my way--somewhat disposable. Yeah, I know, I'm gonna get it for that. But having raised two children, had many, many animals and not making a lot of money, my priorities are; me first (because I can't take care of anything else if I don't take care of me. Some people don't get that concept), kids second, housing/food third, car fourth and pets fifth. I think that's the reality for a lot of people.
And for the record, all the vets I've been to over the years have been very understanding of my situation and willing to work with me. My first experience with that was at the age of 12 standing in the stall with my horse and summoning up the courage to stab a needle into his neck myself instead of paying 50 bucks for the vet to come and do it. It was hard but both me and the horse survived.
Good luck to all the pet owners out there struggling with these difficult decisions. Even though I say I would choose rent over cat (and have), don't think for a moment that I wouldn't be heartbroken to lose my beloved pet. Just not heartbroken enough to be homeless with him.
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Every pet has a finite value and all pets die in due course
I bet your vet lied to you about not putting down pets and adopting them out. It isn't that easy to find homes for older pets, especially for ones without existing and transferrable pet insurance.
Every pet owner ultimately has to set a price limit of what they will pay to try to save a pet. All pets eventually die and you have to ask yourself only whether the the extra time a serious vet procedure buys is worth it to you. We once had an older cat we were very fond of and paid several hundred for a single vet round of treatment as you did, but then what looked like just a dental problem turned out to be cancer. We generally draw the line when a specialist is called for.
A friend of my sons had a problem like your cats, and over $1,200 later spending money they couldn't afford they had a procedure done that extended the cats life. Then they had to move from a rented home to a rental apartment that doesn't allow pets and came to the realization they couldn't even sneak in a pet with a bladder function problem. In the end their $1,200 said bye as they took the cat to a shelter or found a new home. (I can't recall which, but in the end they no longer had the value of that vet bill.)
Another time a cat had a tumor that was probably cancer. The vet wanted us to take the cat to an eye specialist to remove the eye with no guaranteed that would be the end of vet care, so we made the decision to put the cat to permanent rest rather than put the animal through a lot of pain that might have accomplished nothing and would definitely have made the animal feel less whole.
There is no absolute right or wrong decision when it comes to how much you should spend on a pet, but everyone needs to make a decision in advance of seeing a vet as to how much they should be willing to pay and stick with it. Because, in the end there are no guaranteed outcomes for cats, just like for people.
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What is this stuff....
I work for my money. I earn my money. If I want to spend it on my dog's illness, or get a second job to pay for it, or put it on my Visa and take five years to pay it off, it is my money, my values, my decision. As it is yours. In caring for my animals, I take into consideration quality of life for the animal. Period.