Spending on pets? Cat in the ER

[badatmath]

I took my cat to the emergency vet last night and expect to get him back Monday, very possibly without any diagnosis. It was quite confusing how they said that they didn't do x or y on weekends but they could do z. I have an appointment with his regular vet on Tuesday so hoping she will sort it out for me but holy crap I am not too sure I didn't just spend $2500 for him to sleep somewhere else. I am expecting an update later this morning which might make me feel more confident or informed. How do people even know what to do?

 

[Turbo29]

What was the issue with your cat?

 

[tmm99]

What is this "z" thing they are doing? I hope it's not something you could do for your cat at home, like IV'ing fluids.

What's wrong with your cat?

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Pets can be very, VERY expensive. This year, we have spent about $4,800 and last year it was $7,600...and that was JUST vet bills for 3 dogs.

Emergency vets are almost ALWAYS more expensive than your neighborhood vet, sometimes by a substantial amount. I do think it's odd that they don't do "x-rays" on the weekend, especially if they are holding themselves out as an emergency clinic. All the vets we have used in the last 10 years (some that are very small practices with only one DVM on staff had x-ray capability) and there wasn't ever a time that service wasn't available (if they were open).

 

[tmm99]

... I do think it's odd that they don't do "x-rays" on the weekend, especially if they are holding themselves out as an emergency clinic...

I don't think the OP mentioned x-rays at all. He just said, x, y and z.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I don't think the OP mentioned x-rays at all. He just said, x, y and z.

You are absolutely correct. My bad for posting early on a Sunday before having a full cup of coffee.

 

[pacergal]

Yes, vet bills, especially ER vets, can be expensive. But, what can you do? You bring your pets into the household who bring you joy and contentment.

Our 12 yr old dog is spendy on a monthly basis. He now needs specialty food, and needs to be seen every month for treatment. But he is part of the family and has been my "therapy" dog after some traumatic dog episodes. We feel blessed we can afford his vet bills. If we couldn't, it would make for some very difficult decisions.

 

[MRG]

For me the issue comes from trust in your vet. We moved 5 years ago and the first vet we used, highly recommended, and she was nuts. She told me in the same visit that 1. My dog was blind because of cataracts and I was cruel not to treat them 2. the dog had Cushings and would die if it wasn't treated. She had a huge $$$ treatment plan for him.

I put him down this January and he was seeing just fine, he didn't have Cushing either. At 14 he had other issues including his knees that our new vet said could have been fixed at 15k apiece.! He recommended against that and gently said euthanasia was what he would do if it was his dog. I've developed a trust in his office, doesn't hurt a dog loving friend told me a story about how he treated her dog. I've seen how the office operates and it's consistent with how we treat our pets. Vet care has gotten on par with people care and it's costs.

 

[travelover]

It depends on the age of the animal and how deep your wallet it. Our 7 year old pup had a root canal and two teeth pulled. All in, it was about $4000. It seems that veterinary specialists are extra expensive.


Our previous dog lived to be 14 and I don't think we spent $4000 on her over her whole lifetime. When she got lymphoma, we declined to do chemo because of her age, though the vet suggested it. I pointed out that at 14 she could well die at any time, cancer or not.

 

[Gotadimple]

Vet care has gotten on par with people care and it's costs.

Agree. I've had several dogs, and with this most recent ones, I signed her up for an insurance plan thinking as she got older it will help with costs. She came up with a bacterial infection that required a lot of diagnostic tests, and I was reimbursed at 80% of all charges less my deductible.

It doesn't take away the issue of treating the pet and having a partnership with a vet, but it does help 'a bit' with the cost of care.

I am speaking of major medical health insurance plans (Trupanion, Healthy Paws, Nationwide, etc - do a search on pet insurance) - not plans offered by a vet clinic which is basically prepaid vet care and non-cancellable if your pet passes away.

- Rita

 

[tmm99]

Yes, vet bills, especially ER vets, can be expensive. But, what can you do? You bring your pets into the household who bring you joy and contentment.

Our 12 yr old dog is spendy on a monthly basis. He now needs specialty food, and needs to be seen every month for treatment. But he is part of the family and has been my "therapy" dog after some traumatic dog episodes. We feel blessed we can afford his vet bills. If we couldn't, it would make for some very difficult decisions.

The OP is not arguing about paying money for his cat being treated, but he is questioning the role of emergency services that told him that they cannot perform regular services on weekends, yet they're charging him $2,500 to perform just "z" (whatever the "z" is...) He doesn't want to pay $2,500 for a simple kennel-type stay at an emergency hospital, which is quite understandable IMO.

 

[Midpack]

We spent $1400 to keep a dog alive overnight once, only to have her put down the next morning when her situation was clearer. What we spent was the least of our thoughts the next day. You can only act on what you know at the time...and not every experience is a learning experience.

 

[tmm99]

It wasn't an emergency hospital - it was my regular pet hospital, but my cat was hospitalized one night for bladder blockage. They sedated him, put a catheter in and did some kind of cleaning of his bladder for crystals and gave him IV to hydrate him. He was given a urine test before and after the treatment and was given three meds to take home (antibiotics, pain killer and a drug to clear crystals) All for $1,200 CAD. I believe he was treated even better than a human. The bill was high, but with all they have done, it wasn't expensive at all. It's not clear as to what the emergency hospital is doing for the OP, however, so I cannot comment much on that at this point, but I hope he's getting his money's worth.

One time, I took another cat into a regular pet clinic (his hind legs quit working) and they did tons of diagnostics like X-rays and blood tests, and IV (for no reason) and a B12 injection (for no reason) and charged me around $1,000 and said they had no idea what was wrong and recommended that we take the cat to a vet university hospital 30 minutes away. I think this vet basically decided to milk me for some extra money as he couldn't even suggest any probable causes of my cat's problem before or after all the tests, etc. Sh*t like that ticks me off big time. We took him to an emergency hospital the next day, and they diagnosed his problem right away from his symptoms and gave us possible treatment options and the likely outcomes of each treatment.

Some vets are good enough to give pets vaccines, but that's about it. We shouldn't confuse our love for our pets with the competency of the vets. Just because we spend a lot of money doesn't mean we will get good care.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

It's very difficult, vets never seem to have a clear answer with cats, could be this, could be that, even the specialists seem to flip flop a lot on cat diagnosis.
My daughter is going thorough a similar time with 17 year old cat which possibly has cancer and is being treated as such and has had a feeding tube for over 3 months now which surprisingly has resolved a lot of problems. Cat is fine with it, I had to learn how to feed him since they were gone over Thanksgiving, the feeding routine is very easy and he seems to enjoy it. I used to call him the $10,000 cat, now I'm estimating a lot closer to $25K or more but they refuse to tell me how much they've spent on that darn cat who used up at least 7 of his lives so far. They just won't give up on this spoiled pampered old man and he always pulls though, I've lost count of the number of times I've said my final goodbye to him.
If they're not doing much for him over the weekend, I'd ask if you can take him home with fluids to save some money.
Good luck, I hope all goes well.

 

[tmm99]

It's very difficult, vets never seem to have a clear answer with cats, could be this, could be that, even the specialists seem to flip flop a lot on cat diagnosis.
My daughter is going thorough a similar time with 17 year old cat which possibly has cancer and is being treated as such and has had a feeding tube for over 3 months now which surprisingly has resolved a lot of problems. Cat is fine with it, I had to learn how to feed him since they were gone over Thanksgiving, the feeding routine is very easy and he seems to enjoy it. I used to call him the $10,000 cat, now I'm estimating a lot closer to $25K or more but they refuse to tell me how much they've spent on that darn cat who used up at least 7 of his lives so far. They just won't give up on this spoiled pampered old man and he always pulls though, I've lost count of the number of times I've said my final goodbye to him.
If they're not doing much for him over the weekend, I'd ask if you can take him home with fluids to save some money.
Good luck, I hope all goes well.

I let one of my cats live way too long just because I was too afraid to let him go. People told me, "You'll know when he's ready. As long as he's not in pain..." I don't think I'm the type who would know... He was so frail and so thin - skin and bones and could hardly walk, but I just couldn't let him go... He was my very first pet and I was so attached to him... I wish I had the courage to let him go sooner.... And one day, he had a seizure and I finally decided to put him down and while my friend was driving me to the vet with him in my arms, he had another seizure and passed away. I will never ever do that to another cat. I've decided that I will let my cat go as soon as I see an extreme decline in the quality of their life with a poor prognosis. I will no longer go with the "He's not in pain" argument. But this is just me.

 

[rodi]

I had a 16 year old cat that the regular vet detected a tumor in the belly. Referred to a specialty MRI facility to confirm. They sent the results back to my regular vet. At my regular vet it was confirmed my beloved cat had a tumor but they didn't know the type/cause. The MRI place wanted to do an mri guided needle biopsy to determine if it was cancerous or benign. (More $$$) I asked my vet what info would be gotten, and what that would mean. He said the tumor was one of 3 things - 1) terminal - no treatment would change that. 2) treatable with steroids. 3) would resolve on it's own, no treatment needed. I asked what would happen if it was option 1 or 3 and we treated with steroids. Obviously option 1, no difference.... Option 3 would have typical steroid side effects, but not terminal. I opted for skipping the expensive biopsy and started treatment with steroids. 6 months later the tumor was resolved... Unfortunately, a year after that the cat had to be put down with typical old age issues (She was now 18.) I think with pets (like with humans who have HDHPs) you have to weigh the cost benefit issues. What is the quality of life? What is the expected outcome of the treatment? Will the expensive diagnostics make a difference in the treatment? Will the treatment have a super negative impact on quality of life?

 

[badatmath]

They just called and it sounds like they are doing SOME things so I feel much better. Well except that he might be worse than I thought. Diuretics, oxygen tent, x-rays, blood work. They said he is stable. As to why I took him in he wasn't eating and just lethargic. He just had complete blood/urine panel in Oct. so IDK what changed so quick but he is 13 and has (controlled) HCM. They plan to do some more blood tests. They can't check with his cardiologist until Monday but his echo in Oct was actually good, slightly improved even. They can't do CT scans on the weekend apparently

 

[rodi]

Positive thoughts that they can figure out the issue and treat it. So sorry you are going through this.

 

[Gumby]

Over 37 years and 5 cats, we've been to various feline neurologists, radiologists, oncologists and cardiologists, all of whom are incredibly expensive. The last cat we lost developed Hodgins-like lyphoma in 2020, which required surgery and chemotherapy, but she recovered and was in remission. This year, she developed cardiomyopathy/congestive heart failure. The fluid build up around her heart and lungs was drained several times and she went on several medications, but ultimately it was fruitless.

Part of the deal with all our cats has always been that they will be our loyal and loving companions and we will take care of them for the rest of their lives, without regard to cost. And we have.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I let one of my cats live way too long just because I was too afraid to let him go. People told me, "You'll know when he's ready. As long as he's not in pain..." I don't think I'm the type who would know... He was so frail and so thin - skin and bones and could hardly walk, but I just couldn't let him go... He was my very first pet and I was so attached to him... I wish I had the courage to let him go sooner.... And one day, he had a seizure and I finally decided to put him down and while my friend was driving me to the vet with him in my arms, he had another seizure and passed away. I will never ever do that to another cat. I've decided that I will let my cat go as soon as I see an extreme decline in the quality of their life with a poor prognosis. I will no longer go with the "He's not in pain" argument. But this is just me.

I'm with you, I've been preaching quality of life to them for the past few years now but I've been told in no uncertain terms that I'd better watch out or they'll use the same standard on me when I get old
In their defense that darn cat always pulls through, he's putting weight on again, he's jumping up and down off the couch , he's no longer hiding and very sociable again, and he's back to eating kibble and canned as well as what he gets through the tube. It turns out he just pulled the tube out a a couple of days ago and the vet said leave it out, he can put it back easily enough if they need to.
My own cat is 18 and skin and bones and only weighs 4.2 lbs but she's on thyroid medication and eats anything and everything in sight. Her overall demeanor is feisty and where food is concerned she will kill my puppy who's 3 times her size.
I've had to put down my best ever dog a female German Shepherd in 2018, my other shepherd in 2019 ( Christmas Day) and the moment the cat shows any sign of pain, I'll take her to be euthanized but so far she's doing okay.

 

[badatmath]

Positive thoughts that they can figure out the issue and treat it. So sorry you are going through this.

Thank you. My neighbor already jumped my a** about "leaving him alone in a cage". I'd really have felt better with his regular doctors but honestly maybe that is just my being used to them and maybe these are equally good.

 

[tmm99]

They just called and it sounds like they are doing SOME things so I feel much better. Well except that he might be worse than I thought. Diuretics, oxygen tent, x-rays, blood work. They said he is stable. As to why I took him in he wasn't eating and just lethargic. He just had complete blood/urine panel in Oct. so IDK what changed so quick but he is 13 and has (controlled) HCM. They plan to do some more blood tests. They can't check with his cardiologist until Monday but his echo in Oct was actually good, slightly improved even. They can't do CT scans on the weekend apparently

So sorry to hear what you and your cat are going through. It sounds like they're doing all they could with what's available to them. I hope everything turns out all right.

 

[tmm99]

I'm with you, I've been preaching quality of life to them for the past few years now but I've been told in no uncertain terms that I'd better watch out or they'll use the same standard on me when I get old
In their defense that darn cat always pulls through, he's putting weight on again, he's jumping up and down off the couch , he's no longer hiding and very sociable again, and he's back to eating kibble and canned as well as what he gets through the tube. It turns out he just pulled the tube out a a couple of days ago and the vet said leave it out, he can put it back easily enough if they need to.
My own cat is 18 and skin and bones and only weighs 4.2 lbs but she's on thyroid medication and eats anything and everything in sight. Her overall demeanor is feisty and where food is concerned she will kill my puppy who's 3 times her size.
I've had to put down my best ever dog a female German Shepherd in 2018, my other shepherd in 2019 ( Christmas Day) and the moment the cat shows any sign of pain, I'll take her to be euthanized but so far she's doing okay.

Good to hear that your pets are doing well despite some medical issues. Our pets pouncing around happily definitely brings joy to our lives. What your daughter said to you is funny! I'd want to go if the quality of life wasn't there, but don't kill me prematurely!

 

[38Chevy454]

Veterinarians have the toughest jobs, since they have to diagnose just through exam and a few tests. Patient can't tell them what hurts or is wrong. Add in so many of our pets don't show pain much. It is always tough decision trying to determine the proper care and treatment. DW and I have been through it numerous times.


Now add in the specialized veterinarians, who deserve the extra cost, but it makes it very expensive. Hope OP can figure out what is going on with his cat and get a treatment plan figured out.

 

[Amethyst]

A.
That's backwards, and gaslighting to boot.
B.Once you have seen someone old suffer through the end of life, you will be saying "And what is wrong with that?"

I'm with you, I've been preaching quality of life to them for the past few years now but I've been told in no uncertain terms that I'd better watch out or they'll use the same standard on me when I get old .