Letters to the Editor
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It really does have a lot to do with the Vet...
I worked at an animal clinic for five years. I got my first dog a couple years after working there. I paid practically nothing because I worked for the clinic. Everything was "at cost" meaning that I paid the same price for drugs that the clinic paid. Services didn't cost hardly anything.
When I graduated from college and got a full-time job, I quit the animal clinic job. Then I took in my dog for a routine check-up. I knew what I was in for because I had seen people's bills, but I thought they would still give me some break. I paid about $250 for shots.
I decided to find a different clinic. I have a few friends who worked at the clinic with me who also moved on. We try to help each other find good, cheap vets. We finally found one too! My vet is great, gives me lots of freebies, and loves my dogs. I think that if vet bills are too high, people can look for other vets. There is a big variation in cost when it comes to animal care.
One thing the humane society does is advertises not rescuing pets if you don't have the money. Pet care does cost money, and to avoid abandoned pets and economically-euthanized pets, don't adopt an animal until you can financially.
Most vets, even with high prices, can work something out with the owner. From my experience working at the clinic, we never frowned on people who couldn't afford to keep their animal alive a little longer. In fact, we tried to help people see their animal was suffering and encourage them to do what was best for the animal (not themselves). And that usually meant euthanasia. Coincidently, I ended up working in the hospice field.
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$5800 for my cat
I have spent the last month in an horrible panic trying to find out what was wrong with my cat. My regular vet charged me $800.00 on various tests and visits and couldn't come up with a solution other than sending him 150 miles away to a teaching veterinary hospital.
I then took him to a "Cats only" Clinic and the vet there insisted that I take him to an emegency clinic, but not before presenting me with a $500.00 bill for her services.
He ended up needing surgery on a ruptured disc, my vet basically told me if I loved him I would do it and suggested
I take out a home owners loan !
I finally made the decision to have the surgery and he is home and hopefull on his way to a full recovery.
I don't regret my decision, but I am so angry at the tactics employed by all the vets that I consulted with.
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What didn't I do for my cats
When I "inherited" my two cats (ages 12 & 13)from a great aunt, I fully understood the responsibility I had undertaken. No they were not human, but they were still creatures I would take care of to the best of my ability, and if that meant pasta four days a week, OK.
They gave my partner & I endless joy for six years & they also gave us credit card bills; we joke that we probably sent at least two of our vets on cruises. Around the world.
Would we have chosen to do it any other way? No, we cared for them to the best of our ability. We made some sacrifices, but they gave us happiness (and attitude), so when the time came to put Christmas (19) down because of cancer and Bunny (18) because of kidney failure, we were incredibly sad but knew we'd done our best.
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Switch to Wet Food
I have had the same trouble with my cat. Switch Ferdie to (non-fish-based... for some reason fish is not good for going to pee-pee town) wet food, which offers much better hydration and also prevents diabetes. My cat, strangely, hates wet food, so I only feed it to him for one meal, but he hasn't had any trouble since.
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Cats with diabetes and urinary tract issues
We recently went through the diabetic/urinary tract issues with our 11 year old cat, Dante. He was diagnosed with cystitis and the vet told us he was prediabetic and needed a special diet. Happily, we were able to find out some information that would help Dante and not bankrupt us after his urinary infection was cleared up. Here is a link to a great vet's article: http://www.felinediabetes.com/DietaryRecs_Greco.htm
The upshot of the deal was that a good quality, high protein dry food, coupled with daily wet food, brought Dante's blood sugar levels down to normal, and kept him from having to take daily insulin shots.
Another great idea which has helped us encourage all the cats to drink more water: a decorative water fountain that provides a splashing noise (to entice them to the water) and freshly aerated water which is more appealing to drink. As long as the fountain water is clean! The little fountains marketed for cats aren't practical in a multi-cat household; get something you like looking at too, for you'll be looking at it a lot.
Hope this helps, y'all.
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Okay.
So, the author's vet will fix the cat if she can't afford to pay the bill or just won't. And then the vet will give the cat to someone else.
Now, imagine that the same cat is returned to the vet a month later needing $5,000 worth of medical intervention and those second owners can't or won't foot that bill.
Will the vet? Again? And will that vet find yet another owner?
And then what if those third owners return the cat to the vet needing $10,000 worth or surgery and are unable to foot that bill.
I promise you that that cat is going down.
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Well Said
I like what ololon said a few pages back. When your pet gets old or sick, it is best to let them go peacefully & with a minimum of pain.
There are millions of other poor dogs & cats begging for a good home. Give one of them the gift of a loving home. I think your old pet would approve.
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Many appropriate uses for Pet Strollers
I found this article very interesting. As much as I love pets (all pets, not just my own), I understand the emotions and pragmatic issues with which the author is wrestling.
I have no answers to the bigger questions, but I do object to the way in which the author references pet strollers. My wife and I own the Web site that is linked in this story (JustPetStrollers.com).
We understand that at a glance many people do not understand the uses and purposes of a pet stroller. They may seem frivolous or that humans are trying to encourage laziness in their animals.
But if you look deeper (which I expect Slate writers to do), there are many legitimate reasons for pet strollers. To equate pet strollers to "stylish sweaters" and "Prozac" for pets is simply not very thorough or accurate.
Many people get pet strollers for good reasons. Some have pets who are old or injured; some want to keep their pets safe on busy city streets on their way to parks; some want to take longer walks than their pets so they walk their pet part of the way and stroll them the rest; some use pet strollers to permit their cats to safely get fresh air (rather than letting them run free); and many cat and dog lovers simply want to spend more quality time with their pet.
My favorite story is of a couple who had an older dog. They used to walk the dog to the dog park, but he'd gotten so weak that by the time he got to the dog park he'd just collapse and watch the other pets play. So, they purchased a pet stroller and strolled their dog to the park instead. Now, their still-fresh dog explodes from the pet stroller ready to enjoy his time playing with his canine friends. The couple thanked us for giving them "a new dog."
Some people may find that story silly, but I think the cost of a pet stroller is a small expense to increase the quality of a pet's life or the amount of quality time a pet owner enjoys with his or het pet.
By mentioning the upper end of pet stroller costs and referencing pet strollers as she has, the author has diminished a legitimate product which satisfies legitimate need for many pet lovers. I think it is too bad when journalists don't take more care.
And BTW, while some pet strollers cost upwards to $400, there's no reason to throw that figure around as if that's the entry cost. Most of the pet strollers we sell cost less than $150 or so!