This is long because I want to respond to all I’ve read and comment on my experience with everything from the deception and lack of care from shelters to how much faith to put in one vet. My bottom line advice is pets are worth whatever you spend on them, but if you aren’t willing to go in debt, skip a luxury or postpone a vacation if you have to for them, then please don’t get one.
Pets are like children. You may have happy, healthy ones that never see a doctor, but something can always happen and then you must do whatever it takes to keep them from pain, discomfort and misery, without thought to how it costs you. I have owned cats for over 40 years. Usually, one at a time, but currently have 3 due to rescuing from shelter and people who couldn’t care for them after taking them.
I would like to say that the right Vet can make all the difference and all do not know or think the same, no matter how caring. Just as you would get a second opinion on any major illness or treatment, it is okay to do the same for your pets. When my 19-year-old baby, who I’d had since he was 8 mos old, passed away, I decided to have no more pets for awhile. I decided to donate cases of leftover food to the local shelter and while there, saw two cats with euthanasia dates set just 3 days away. I asked why they were being put down and was told they’d been there over 6 weeks and that was too long. It was winter, there was ice and snow out and no one was going to be out looking to adopt. There were also empty cages, so there was no need for the space. I tried to negotiate to pay daily boarding fees if they’d give them a couple more weeks, but there was nothing I could talk them into, so I decided to rescue them.
One was 6-9 yrs old, the other was 12-15. I felt like a senior should spend his golden years in comfort and love, even if only for a short time. I was told they were healthy, but that the old one had a slight cold and wasn’t eating well, because he didn’t like dry food. Of course, I always take them for a full exam before ever bringing them home. It turned out that the older one did not have a cold, but an upper respiratory infection, an ear infection and only 25% kidney function. I didn’t care. He deserved better treatment in his final years than he’d obviously had. We cleared up the infections, but his kidney function wasn’t diagnosed until I changed vets, but it was irrepairable and could only be treated. He went in periodically for IV hydration, until it got so frequent that I began giving it daily at home. It was much cheaper to order the IV and saline online and do it myself. He never liked it, and when it got up to 3 times a day and he no longer seemed to enjoy anything in life, of course, he was put down. That was 4 years after I brought him home, so he had a few good years.
The younger one is the cautionary tale that demonstrates not to totally trust just one vet. I was taking them to a very well-known and popular vet. They were one of the more expensive in town, but touted as the best. The younger one had an issue with bowel movements that looked more like mini-cow patties. Very wet and odorous. They diagnosed him with Coronavirus (not the type we’re having in people now), which is usually a pre-cursor to FIV. It is very contagious, so I kept the two cats in separate areas of the house for a long time. I eventually cleared up the bowel problems with a pro-biotic I discovered through a cat forum online. When I had to take an unexpected trip, I needed to board them and their rabies shots were not up to date. I had to get them shots on a Sunday in order to meet the boarding requirements of 48 hours prior to boarding, so had to go to a different vet, who was open on Sunday. This vet gives you a first exam for free, so even though I only needed rabies shots, they both got full exams. This vet noticed something in the young one’s eye that didn’t look normal and suggested an ophthalmologist. Long story short, he had a disease that could have taken his sight, and eventually had surgery and is now (6 yrs later) fine, but gets an eyedrop daily. My vet had seen him monthly for over a year and never noticed anything. I asked about the coronavirus also, because the two cats had managed to get together and now lived side-by-side, but the older cat had not contracted it. The vet said they could run a test that would definitely tell for $150. I did it and he did not have it. So, the highly recommended vet that had been treating him at 3x the cost of this vet had not caught a very serious eye condition, couldn’t clear up the diarrhea and misdiagnosed him with Coronavirus. So, I accidentally found a new vet, who wasn’t any more caring, or smarter, than the previous one, but was just more knowledgeable or alert to different things and caught them. The new vet also was open 7 days a week, charged less, and was willing to offer less costly treatment options and be honest about what to expect with each. So, no matter how much you love and trust your vet, if something really serious and expensive comes up, it wouldn’t hurt to just see if other vets concur with him or have other options to suggest.
My main complaint is the cost of boarding. I do not have friends or family to watch them when I'm gone and past experience with paid sitters was not good, so I don't trust them. I won't leave them in a wire cage for 23 hours a day, as most cat kennels/condos are. There is only one place in our area that provides them an actual room, with a climbing tower and shelf to hang out on. They require me to provide all their food, and though not required, I provide litter and box because theirs are too small little boxes that my cats, especially my 20lb older cat, would find it hard to go in, and certainly not big enough for 3 cats. So, all they do is provide the room(s), put your food out 3x a day, and clean litter box periodically. For that, it costs $45 per room/day. If I put them all in one room, it's $45 for the 1st one, $36 for the 2nd and $24 for the 3rd, or $108/day. That's just absurd. So, now that I'm retired, I'll not be taking any overnight trips. But it's a sacrifice I'd make for a child, so am happy to make for my fur babies.