Last Call of the Day Ruins My Mood

[Dizazter]

I've owned many cats in my life and I will be the first to admit, I don't take them to the vet unless something is obviously wrong. Most people that know me, would say that I have more than I can afford now, but they are well fed and loved and all but 2 of them I rescued off the street.There have been times I have had to make the horrible choice to put one down rather than take on expensive on going care. Doesn't mean it didn't devastate me for days afterward.

I have a wonderful vet office and several times they have worked with me on getting costs down so I can afford treatment for one. Care Credit is a great idea, but like any other kind of credit, not everyone qualifies for it.

The only time I have ever lost my cool with a vet was at our local Emergency Vet. I do realize and understand that because of the hours they keep/nature of the business, they are going to charge more than a regular vet. I expect to pay at least double if I have to go there. I had a cat come down with a horrible uterine infection late at night. Poor baby was in agony. It was almost like she was in labor. I rushed her up there knowing it would mean an emergency spay. (My boys are all fixed, working on the girls one at a time as I can afford it.) They wanted $1100 to spay her. Eleven.hundred.dollars. For a house cat that weighed under 10lbs. That was over 8 times the price my vet charged me. I have never in my life heard of a spay on an animal that small being over $300 max. I told them to give her antibiotics and something to ease her pain and I would have her at my vet as soon as their doors opened. You would have thought I kicked a puppy the way they acted. I didn't yell at them, but I did tell them exactly what I thought of their using dire situations as an excuse for highway robbery. I also said I would take any more of my animals out in my back yard and shoot them, before I would bring another one back there. I have also told every pet owner I know to stay very far away from them unless they want to take out a second mortgage.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

You might want to avoid our clinic then lol. We only do laparoscopic spays, so it's typically around $800-$900.

[Enjis]

Obligatory picture of my cat who poses for pictures like a boss.

That is one fine cat!!

[JoitheArtist]

I was so sad when I had to move away from my amazing cat clinic in Orange County. They were more expensive than the Humane Society, but they treated Rocket SO WELL. Tech during sedation, all that stuff. When I took her in after a cat fight left her listless, the vet printed out 3 different treatment plans so I could pick what worked best for my budget. They were totally worth the extra dough.

[Dizazter]

You might want to avoid our clinic then lol. We only do laparoscopic spays, so it's typically around $800-$900.

This one wasn't laprascopic though.Just normal every day spay.No special techs, etc. I asked what was so different about their surgery. They couldn't give me an answer.

[wheeitsmee]

We waited to get a dog until we owned a house. And we started out with the insurance for her, but after a while we stopped it. It didn't pay the regular expenses, just unexpected and emergency type of stuff. The money we don't spend on the insurance we figure rolls over into our savings account and we would dip into that to pay for the unexpected emergency stuff. Which we needed when the second dog we got decided to chew rocks one day. (3 fractured teeth removed= $750).

And yes, we buy the better dog food. We make sure their treats are made in the USA (heck, we make some of them). We take them to yearly check-ups. We take them in to the Vet when we think something might be affecting their health. I'm not buying good food for me and crap food for my dog. I'm not spending the money on health for me, and not my dog.

I'm going to have to say goodby to them way to soon for my liking. I want them around and healthy for as long as possible.

[The Braindead Live]

I'm not buying good food for me and crap food for my dog. I'm not spending the money on health for me, and not my dog.

Those are some wonderful looking animals, and I particularly like their accoutrements.

[wheeitsmee]

Those are some wonderful looking animals, and I particularly like their accoutrements.

Thank you!

We got them at a "Bring your dog" faire that's held in one of our local parks every year. We also picked up ones for them to wear for the "Dog Days of Summer" game that they have at our local minor league baseball stadium.

[The Braindead Live]

Thank you!

We got them at a "Bring your dog" faire that's held in one of our local parks every year.

The best part of my job is seeing the dogs that come in to the store every day. I like to go over to pet them; better is that the human animal companion is happy to let me pet the dog. I guess I'm a dog person, as the animal usually wags his tail and sniffs me (I have a small animal companion at home; she is my wife's little poodle). Dog sightings at work really take the edge off of the pains of dealing with people.

[Slave to the Phone]

I'm so sorry that happened to you, but I'm also surprised that this was the first time it happened. I've been doing cat rescue for longer than I like to remember (I can't possibly be that old!) and I have heard many techs taking those sort of calls.

All of the pets we adopt out have been vetted and fixed. We usually do charge enough to recoup the cost. Some people yell at us because we want $50 for a male cat. A male that has been fixed, gotten his shots and fostered underfoot. Our honest opinion is that if someone isn't willing to spend that for a pet, we don't want them to have one of ours anyhow. Even cheap food adds up after a while. Vet visits are certainly not cheap. Vet visits caused by cheap food are even more expensive. If someone can't afford the adoption fee, we don't think they can afford to own a pet.

(OK, maybe I've lied a little. There are some people who only pay 20 bucks and get free food, toys and litter for life. Prove to us that you will be a responsible pet owner, show us that you are willing to make the commitment to a pet, and touch our hearts at your obvious love for animals and understanding that you can't afford one...yeah, we roll right over an show our bellies!)

[wordgirl]

If you cant afford to take care of your pet maybe you shouldn't have one.

I wholly agree. I know the care my vet takes with my cat - and bless him, he charged me rescue prices for care for my boy for at least a year after I first brought him in. (G. wandered up to us one night when we were sitting on the porch. He had a case of mange so bad there were ulcers down to the bone on his shoulderblades, and there was barely a hair left on his body. Both the vet and I marveled at watching this scaly, half-dead creature turn into a beautiful, long-haired, solid black cat.)

I also know there are vets out there who are scam artists - we ended up with one after a vet retired who had been doing a lot of the surgeries for the trap-neuter-release crowd in my mom's town. The new guy bought out that practice and advertised very low prices for spay/neuters specifically for TNRs. Except he found a reason, on nearly every surgery, to charge at least double, sometimes triple. And his work was incredibly shoddy. One of the ferals we took to him had actually been taming up pretty well, and my mom was hopeful of placing her as an adopted cat rather than leaving her in the feral colony. But she came out of surgery with a horribly mangled-looking incision and died two days later, the morning we were going to take her back for a checkup.

It may not be perfectly fair, but after that experience I'll always be leery of "discount" vets. Good care is worth paying for.