The cost of Pet Care....wow!

[AreWeThereYet0]

My pets are my kids. I will spend whatever I want to on them. This is why I save my money. I am going into it with the understanding that they can and will have some high bills along with them. Not just vet bills but I had to pay to kennel my previous dog for years and that certainly adds up fast.

 

[rk911]

...My point is how does one budget and handle this situation and what do people do that don't have the extra funds to handle these situations. From my observation their were a few other families lined up for the same financial surprise.....your stories welcome!!

each month we put $X into a pet care sinking fund and from that we cover all of "Maggie's" expenses.

 

[badatmath]

Routine yearly vet bills for me are $1200 not counting any actual "new" problems or food/etc. I don't really care - its my kid. (1 senior cat) Things cost money. /shrug It is what is important to me.

I believe you can get care credit for animals though - I think like a credit card with no (or low?) interest.

 

[Red Badger]

We learned long ago to value experiences over things. Our fur-kid is definitely not a "thing." He is, however, an investment. One that pays an enormous return.

There is an old farming adage that goes about like this. Animals may have no voice here, but will have their say when you stand in Final Judgement.

 

[IMATERP]

Our cat, Herbie, is an all white 17 year old love bug. He was diagnosed with Asthma almost 8 years ago and uses an inhaler (with the RX Flovent.). In order to get Flovent at a reasonable cost, I send Herbie RX to a Canadian pharmacy who in turn forwards the RX to a Pharmacy in New Zealand. They subsequently ship the RX back to America. This is done 3 or 4 times a year at a cost of $115 each. We have an inhaler which we administer to Herbie twice a day (prior to feeding time.)

Herbie also has arthritis. He takes a joint supplement and a tranquilizer (Gabapetin) which runs $35 a month.

On Herbie last visit to the vet, he was diagnosed with the beginnings of kidney failure. The vet suggested that we feed him $4 a can cat food. Herbie wanted know part of a glutton free diet - thus we made the decision to feed him his regular food and enjoy his continued quality of life.

He is past due on his semi annual vet appointment but is currently quite content.

 

[MRG]

I agree with making sure your purebred pup has good blood lines. We have a 13 year old Maltese puppy mill rescue and he has had a rough life. I didn't think he'd see 2020 but he's still kicking. He's on gabapentin and galliprant for arthritis and pain. He was on prescription dog food, got obese and now eats diet prescription dog food. He probably has Cushings and will eventually not be able to control his functions. He's really a good guy even if he's cranky sometimes. I started grooming both he's really special to groom.

So grooming was $125 every 6 weeks(2 dogs) and his pills he's not cheap. Our vet loves to throw guilt out, sure you don't want to fix his cataracts? Don't you want him to see better? This is in the same conversation we talked about Cushings ending his life prematurely.

Emergency care is expensive our prior Maltese got a dose of rat poison when construction allowed him access a different room. He spent 5 days in intensive care, made a good recovery. In the end the vet couldn't get him to eat, we were going in several times daily to hold him and let him lick food from our fingers.

 

[Franklin]

I agree with making sure your purebred pup has good blood lines. We have a 13 year old Maltese puppy mill rescue and he has had a rough life. I didn't think he'd see 2020 but he's still kicking. He's on gabapentin and galliprant for arthritis and pain. He was on prescription dog food, got obese and now eats diet prescription dog food. He probably has Cushings and will eventually not be able to control his functions. He's really a good guy even if he's cranky sometimes. I started grooming both he's really special to groom.

So grooming was $125 every 6 weeks(2 dogs) and his pills he's not cheap. Our vet loves to throw guilt out, sure you don't want to fix his cataracts? Don't you want him to see better? This is in the same conversation we talked about Cushings ending his life prematurely.

Emergency care is expensive our prior Maltese got a dose of rat poison when construction allowed him access a different room. He spent 5 days in intensive care, made a good recovery. In the end the vet couldn't get him to eat, we were going in several times daily to hold him and let him lick food from our fingers.

Thanks, do you recall the-cost of that intensive care visit? I'm being told it will be $4K for the 3 days he is there. Just making sure I don't get too fleeced.

 

[MRG]

Thanks, do you recall the-cost of that intensive care visit? I'm being told it will be $4K for the 3 days he is there. Just making sure I don't get too fleeced.

This was around Y2K and I'm sure its was at least 2500. I think inflation explains any difference.

 

[plex]

Just recently, my young cat apparently ate a hard plastic office seat bolt cap, causing some obstruction in his digestion, eventually resulting in fatty liver disease. It cost $9k to have it taken out, do several blood transfusions, and a week of hospital care, since he barely made it. My last cat had no significant costs but this incident blew through the discretionary vet bill fund I set up for both cats.

I looked into it and it is a pretty good idea to get pet insurance at least until 7 years old when the cost increases and coverage decreases start to really spike hard.

 

[Franklin]

Just recently, my young cat apparently ate a hard plastic office seat bolt cap, causing some obstruction in his digestion, eventually resulting fatty liver disease. It cost $9k to have it taken out, do several blood transfusions, and a week of hospital care, since he barely made it. My last cat had no significant costs but this incident blew through the discretionary vet bill fund I set up for both cats.

I looked into it and it is a pretty good idea to get pet insurance at least until 7 years old when the cost increases and coverage decreases start to really spike hard.

wow, that is a-lot of $! any ideas on per health insurance and cost?

 

[plex]

Haven't purchased it yet, but a few searches pointed to healthypaws as a 1st pick, such as this site:

https://www.investopedia.com/best-pet-insurance-4787972

It costs about $200/year and will cover 80% of the costs, until a cat is 7, after which it will quickly rocket up to costing 10x more and cover almost half as much. I would really only recommend keeping the insurance after that point if the pet has a chronic issue, like cancer.

Personally I do believe insurance is good for covering fat tail situations, so catastrophic insurance make good financial sense while the costs remain reasonable. Whole insurance generally doesn't make much financial sense, generally it is better to just cover those costs yourself, regardless of what your limits are for pet costs.

Another anecdote is that my parent's cat had something similar but less severe happen to her while young. She got her collar stuck on an air vent, causing her to freak out for a long time while they were away at work. Afterwards she stopped eating, got fatty liver disease, then needed the same treatment minus the surgery and long hospital care.

 

[Rex]

A friend once told me he was going to write a bestseller book called "How to Save $100,000 in your Lifetime"....And it would say "don't own a dog".

This posting was timely for us....we are getting a dog for the first time as empty nesters and long ago the "family dog" left us. I've been learning about the prices of stuff for dogs and I think food and supplies are reasonable as long as you do not fall for the "pets are people" guilt stuff.

In calling several local vets, I also learned that there are vets for the people that consider pets as people (very expensive, lots of add ons, guilt trips about what you should be doing/spending) and then vets that are more our speed (dogs are dogs, basic, responsible care and more reasonable prices).

Prices for stuff were priced according to this model.....One vet, $375 for spay, another vet $150......

There is a limit to how much we are willing to spend....We are looking forward to our new 4 legged family member but I think the amount you spend is a personal decision and choice.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Healthy paws doesn’t increase the cost of insurance as a pet ages once you buy it. The key is to buy it when they are young and it’s cheap. My friend uses it for all her dogs. Her husband is a doctor and they are wealthy. She showed me the payouts and she said that the insurance has paid for itself many times.

 

[travelover]

......She showed me the payouts and she said that the insurance has paid for itself many times.

I think the standard business model for insurance is to charge premiums that exceed payouts.

 

[Whisper66]

This may be a local phenomenon, but our local humane societies have been shipping up animals from kill shelters in the South......People have to be careful, though, because many of the southern strays are infected with heartworm..... Treatment was successful, but lengthy and expensive.

Heart worms are quite typical in my area (Houston). Any dog not given monthly prevention pill will have a very high risk to have heart worms. Treatment to kill them is 3 months long and costs $250 to $500 per dog (varies by dog weight) at a low cost clinic. Probably twice that at a regular vet. Fortunately the current treatments have evolved over time and are normally safe if the dogs heart isn’t too blocked up with worms and the dogs activity is restricted during treatment. As a dog rescuer, we have had many of our foster dogs treated for heart worms. Not fun, quite expensive.

 

[Amethyst]

Not just people - children! For many people nowadays, that is how pets are perceived.

You and I would do anything, spend anything to make our actual children well if they were hurt or sick. Mostly, it is because we love them more than we love ourselves. Another factor is that healthy human kids can be expected to live to be 80-90 years old. Not so pets, unless yours is a tortoise or parrot.

The veterinarians are simply pricing to match the culture.

I've been learning about the prices of stuff for dogs and I think food and supplies are reasonable as long as you do not fall for the "pets are people" guilt stuff.

.

 

[Whisper66]

Pets can be expensive. We've always just paid the costs directly (no insurance) and gave up other things when needed to pay for them.
Our first dog developed an eye issue at about 7 yrs old. A $900 surgery (a LOT of $$ to us then) would possibly save her sight. We decided to do it thinking she'd have a couple good years left in her. She did live several years but cataracts soon took her vision except for blurry light vision anyway. We were ok with that. She was a great dog to the end, even older and mostly blind.

Also had a cat of ours that got internal injuries from one of our dogs "playing" with her. Rushed her to emergency room. Attempts to save her were unsuccessful but cost $600. A lot of money to us back then but we wanted to give her what chance we could.

In more recent years, a wonderful dog of maybe 10 yrs old all of a sudden went downhill. Advamced cancer was diagnoised. Treatment would be expensive with questionable results. Vet didn't recommend it. We tearfully chose to let her go. It was very hard and driven by the prognosis and not the $$.
Yes, pets can be expensive.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Travel, I know how the business model works. My friend has lucked out. They also pay 10-14 days.

 

[ER Eddie]

Yeah, it can be a little pricey, especially toward the end of their lives (as with ours). I think the best thing is to keep them as healthy as possible during their lives. That's the best way to keep health costs down -- stay healthy.

For example, any additional money you spend to get them good, real, nutrient-dense, species-appropriate food -- not the dried kibble crap they sell everywhere -- is worth it. They will be healthier and happier. They will enjoy their lives more and be more active, which benefits them as well. They won't get stressed out by having to go to the vet as often.

And your wallet will benefit, too. Your vet bills will be smaller. With the money you save, you could set up an investment account in his name.

 

[travelover]

..........For example, any additional money you spend to get them good, real, nutrient-dense, species-appropriate food -- not the dried kibble crap they sell everywhere -- is worth it, imo. .........

I wonder about that. I've had two dogs that lived their entire lives on good quality kibble. The first lived 16 years and only had annual vet visits and the second, a larger breed, lived 14 years with minimal vet visits, too. The more I read about "special" dog diets, the more cultist is sounds. I suspect that exercise and proper weight is just as important to a healthy life.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

We learned long ago to value experiences over things. Our fur-kid is definitely not a "thing." He is, however, an investment. One that pays an enormous return.

There is an old farming adage that goes about like this. Animals may have no voice here, but will have their say when you stand in Final Judgement.

Overall, animals get harsh treatment in our industrial society. We have egg farms in our area that have 1 million chickens. The chickens are kept in close confinement and their beaks are clipped so they don't injure other birds, I could go on, but it's no secret that that the meat industry is far from humane.

I recall a discussion somewhere about cockfighting, which is widely regarded as cruel. But fighting cocks are fed well and treated with great care because good ones are highly prized. Compare that to the life of a broiler chicken, bred to be so top-heavy that it can't walk. Life in a cage is 14 weeks long. Which would you rather be -- a fighting cock or a broiler bird?

 

[aja8888]

Overall, animals get harsh treatment in our industrial society. We have egg farms in our area that have 1 million chickens. The chickens are kept in close confinement and their beaks are clipped so they don't injure other birds, I could go on, but it's no secret that that the meat industry is far from humane.

I recall a discussion somewhere about cockfighting, which is widely regarded as cruel. But fighting cocks are fed well and treated with great care because good ones are highly prized. Compare that to the life of a broiler chicken, bred to be so top-heavy that it can't walk. Life in a cage is 14 weeks long. Which would you rather be -- a fighting cock or a broiler bird?

You asked:

Personally, I would opt for the broiler bird life. Fighting cocks have to work and also get injured.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

But they'll likely live longer than 14 weeks.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I should add that a successful gamecock might spend years at stud after he retires from the pit.

 

[aja8888]

I should add that a successful gamecock might spend years at stud after he retires from the pit.

Well, that might change my mind!