Veterinarian Expenses - Annual versus one time

[IMATERP]

One of the hardest "fixed" expenses to justify is for the well being of my cat. By the way, my 14 year old cat is generally healthy but was diagnosed with asthma a little over 3 years ago. Anyway, he has episodes and I cringe anytime I know that I need to take him to the Veterinarian. This weeks charges were close to $400 + $158 for an RX that I have to get through a Canadian Pharmacy. Luckily, the $158 is for 6 months of Flovent. It's much more expensive in the U.S.

The cat is doing better as he has had no asthmatic episodes since Monday and I just received an e-mail from a New Zealand pharmacy (via Canada Drugs) that Herbies Flovent is on the way.

Anyway, my experience this week has led me to post this topic and ask others to describe their experiences with healthcare for their animals. My wife tried to explain to me that this weeks visit is less than my 1/2 payment for a dental crown (another topic - for another thread.)

Total outlay was $550 but I know that anything $50 would have made me cringe.

Your thoughts and experiences.

 

[MRG]

We've had some emergency work done that was a few thousand at the time. I generally don't worry too much about vet bills, except our new, soon to be ex-vet, has a spending problem.

She's been pushing cataract surgery for an almost 12 year old dog, who sees well. This is after she wants to spend thousands on blood work as she suspects the dog might have Cushings. If I believed it, I'd consider it. However everything I've read says the dog's normal.

I expect some expenses as they age, it's part of being an owner.

 

[38Chevy454]

We have 3 dogs and 2 cats. I just figure expenses come up and deal with it at the time. I do not specifically budget for it. It's just one of those occasional expenses to pay. I have spent way more than $550 many times. It's a justifiable expense for me, even if I think I paying my vet's kid college tuition each time.

 

[Scrapr]

It's hard. Vet bills in the early years are small. But as our pets age the "stuff" starts happening. I haven't tracked it but our 15 y/o Golden Retriever probably cost $2-4k over the last couple years. Kind of like human end of life expenses

A few years ago we did change vets. We took Penny to an emergency vet on a weekend. They could not be nicer. After we got the bill we figured the emergency vet was cheaper than our regular vet. We already had been a bit unhappy at the regular vet. It seemed as if they were not as empathetic for the animals. More of a $$$ sign than care for our dogs.

Our vet now cried with us as we had to let Penny go.

 

[Teacher Terry]

In the past 13 years we have spent about 40k on just medical care on our dogs. during this time we have had 3 or 4 dogs. Even when young they ended up having some expensive stuff. Now as they are old I am picky about what we will do. Vets are very expensive where we live. My friends in KS and TX pay a third of what we do. As they die we will only have 1 or 2 in the future because of this.

 

[GravitySucks]

My bet is more expensive than others in the area but has talked me out of extending life when quality of life would be horrible. (Cornell for dog cancer, prosthetics for disabled 18 year old cat.) She's the most empathetic health professional i ever met and is worth the extra money on normal visits to keep me from spending to hurt the poor guys.
Wish she could give me that final shot when it makes sense.

 

[RobbieB]

I've been lucky, no major expenses. No surgery, no chemo, just the usual preventitive stuff and the anti imflamation stuff for the stiff joints as they aged. That (the Remadil) also needs periodic blood work to check for liver damage.

Followed at the end by the shot of death and cremation.

But they have always been mixed breed shelter dogs which I hear are somewhat more sturdy than purebreds.

 

[Teacher Terry]

The more dogs I have had to put to sleep the easier it becomes. I never thought I could do it to my favorite Maltese but when the time came she was suffering and I did what was best for her. The first time I had to make the decision I felt like I was killing the dog. I think for both pets and people we have to realize that too much treatment at the end just prolongs suffering.

 

[Sojourner]

I think for both pets and people we have to realize that too much treatment at the end just prolongs suffering.

+1

 

[Teacher Terry]

I read that for people we spent a ton of $ on the last few months of life prolonging it. Both my parents had do not resuscitate orders hung around their home so this would not happen to them. However, if you go anywhere you have to carry a copy with you or they will call an ambulance. This happened to someone dying of cancer and he was gone but his daughter couldn't stop the restaurant manager from calling the paramedics and the paramedics from reviving him even though she told them not too. It was the one day they went out with a copy. He was furious when he was revived.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

I spend whatever it takes to heal and/or manage symptoms effectively when possible, and this is key, without adding additional suffering. For example, i give sub q fluids and oral and trans dermal meds to my cat with a chronic kidney condition. But, i would not give her a transplant nor will i let her go past stage three as from everything I've read, stage 4 CKD is quite uncomfortable for cats, and meds do not change that.
I do not really budget for vet bills, nor for much else anymore either. My actual spend varies from $500. to $2000. per month for everything incl food treats litter, etc. With an occasional (about once or twice per yr) excursion to as much as $3000. when there is a crisis event. This is for six pets, all quite elderly (now five as we had a death in Jan 2018).

 

[Teacher Terry]

Last year 2 of my 4 old dogs were on 4 meds each 3x's/day and 1 on one daily pill. The cost was 350/month. I felt like a nurse but it was worth it as their quality of life was still fine but ended up losing 2 within 2 months when they went downhill quickly. One had CHF which never has a good outcome and the other was 20yo with kidney disease.

 

[CardsFan]

We have spent over $4,000 on our dogs over the last 25 years. And we are very glad we did.

The first one (a rescue) got hit by a car after escaping the back yard run. Ruptured diaphram, surgery was about $1,000. later follow-up surgery due to the staples causing an infection. Another $1,000. The first vet said we would be lucky for the dog to live 3 more years. We got 11 more fabulous years and never regretted the expense.

The second was a pure bred Corgi. went through cancer treatments one time, gave us another year to say good-by.

The current (and last) one is another mutt. 10 years old and acts like a puppy. No "major" expenses. If/when the time comes, we will spend a "reasonable" amount if it makes sense.

We have been fortunate enough to be able bear these costs without impacting our life style. We are also fortunate that the vets we have had were pragmatic people. They laid out the options, the costs, and were supportive either way.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Here cancer treatment for a dog costs 10k. I would not do it for another year of life . Our first dog had a heart problem at 3 months and the surgery 13 years ago was 4k. She is still alive and doing well. People thought we were crazy as we only had her for 2 weeks but we adored her.

 

[CardsFan]

Here cancer treatment for a dog costs 10k. I would not do it for another year of life . Our first dog had a heart problem at 3 months and the surgery 13 years ago was 4k. She is still alive and doing well. People thought we were crazy as we only had her for 2 weeks but we adored her.

In our case, the cancer treatment was about $2,000. And there was the slim possibility it could give her 3-4 years. I would not have spent $10k. In between, who knows.

I know my FIL thought we were crazy spending the first $2k, and he was a dog lover.

You do what makes sense, at the time, with the resources you have available.

 

[Teacher Terry]

At one point I could have flown with my 3 Maltese and had their dentals done cheaper then here in KS. I had my own teeth done their because of the cost. For some reason both vet and dental care is ridiculous. The cheapest dental we ever had for a dog was 350 when no teeth had to be pulled and up to 1k. They recommend yearly cleanings for the small dogs but we do it once every 2 years and when they hit 16 that is the last one they get.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

One of my kitties has developed chronic kidney disease and needs Rx food and twice-weekly subcutaneous fluid injections. She's gotten pretty expensive but we don't mind one bit. We tried giving her the sub-Q at home (DW was an RN in a previous life) but kitty doesn't cooperate with us. The vet said it's not uncommon for the owners to have this sort of trouble. Sure would be cheaper to do it at home, though.

 

[nativenewenglander]

Everyone has their way of dealing with ailing and elderly pets. We get unwanted and shelter pets an have them many years until their health fails. Our way to deal with costs is $500 cost per incident cap. Many people I know spend 10K plus and we can't afford that.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We rescue dogs too. Unfortunately, here 500 would not pay for any incidents. It is one reason we are downsizing as they naturally go. It has cost a fortune for minor things. For instance, we inherited my son's big dog that was 9 and healthy. Well within a year he gets a bad ear infection (came with it), has 3 anal gland infections so on meds and then he needs one anal gland removed. the total was 3k.

 

[MRG]

At one point I could have flown with my 3 Maltese and had their dentals done cheaper then here in KS. I had my own teeth done their because of the cost. For some reason both vet and dental care is ridiculous. The cheapest dental we ever had for a dog was 350 when no teeth had to be pulled and up to 1k. They recommend yearly cleanings for the small dogs but we do it once every 2 years and when they hit 16 that is the last one they get.

We've had two Maltese and they tend to have dental issues(small dogs are prone). Our first, now passed, eventually had most of his teeth pulled including the front. Vet told us he'd have issues with his tounge hanging out. Eventually that happened but he was happy and kinda cute.

When I was off w*rk for 3 months because of injury, the first never left my side. He was better than oxy for long term pain management.

Our new vet cleaned both our small dog's teeth last year. A year later the second Maltese needs his done again. That's mainly because one quadrant didn't appear to have been done last year! A new vet will do his second cleaning in two years.

 

[Teacher Terry]

i love Maltese. they are smart, fun so loving and loyal. When I am sick they stay with me the whole time. I had the flu in Jan and my son's big guy would not leave my side either. My husband said he had no dogs as they were all hanging out with me in the bedroom. Our tiny one lost all her teeth at 7 and her tongue didn't hang out until the last 2 years of her life. The smaller they are the worse their teeth are.

 

[Aerides]

"My" cat is actually a feral who was born outside from a neighborhood feral, and they both spend most of each day sleeping inside my house, then go back out at night. Took them years to get this comfortable, and I'm still not able to even touch the Mama.

Boo, the baby, I can cuddle and snuggle now, but when she was 10 months old, I'd yet to touch her and she was 100% outdoors. She disappeared for a week, and came back with a broken leg. The price for her surgery and boarding till she healed would have paid for a very very nice vacation. And I take expensive vacations... I justified it because she was so young, and it wasn't an illness. Pay, fix, done. 5 years later she's my baby and I'd spend double no question (don't tell DH).

I remember reading at the time most people (US) have a benchmark of $500 before they'll instead decide to have a pet put down. But I'm sure in this group that's much higher.

Either way, I like to think I probably wouldn't go for "prolong" type stuff - chemo, or things after their quality of life is already going downhill. Give them a pill and they get another year? Sure, but "eh try this treatment it's not pleasant and might not work" - pass.

 

[bigcmagor]

We're up to $2,300+ on two cocker spaniel littermates this year. Female had $1,000 in diagnostics on what turned out to be a tummy ache. Probably caught one of the lizards she chases around daily. Both had teeth cleaned with some extractions for $1,100. Their breath sure smells better. One more trip to vet last week for more digestive issues. We talked about how far we'd go financially and decided we wouldn't be spending multiple thousands to save them if they were seriously ill. The problem is that you may be up to $1,000+ just figuring out what's wrong.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

Actually radiation and then chemo for my cat who died three yrs ago was cheap only 150. to 200. per treatment She had a total of 5 of each over a span of 6 months. It gave her just short of nine months more comfortable life before the cancer spread and it was time. The treatments do not for a cat, cant speak for dogs yet, have any side effects. She was a very social certified therapy cat who enjoyed being with the vet techs and vets. Think she considered it an adventure just like a trip to the hospice or nursing home or child psych wards. So, it really depends on both your own resources and the animals personality as well as not adding to their suffering in deciding how far to go with treatments.

 

[Hermit]

I have spent over $2200 dollars on dogs this year and I don't own a pet!