How much money to spend on sick pet?

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KarenMarie

Elite Member
Sep 20, 2003
14,372
6
81
If the animal needed treatment that would continue a good standard of living, i would not care what it costs. I have paid over $1,000 on a pet.

But if the animal would not have a good standard of living, I would elect to put it down rather than see it suffer.

The worst experience we had was a cat that we tried to save... to the tune of $500 and she died anyway. So the vet cut it in half cause he saw how distraught i was losing her. But my vet is a special breed, he is in the business for the love of animals, not the $$$.
 

shilala

Lifer
Oct 5, 2004
11,437
1
76
My dog just hurt his foot. I don't know if he has to go to the vet yet.
I'd mortgage the house if that's what it takes. It's because I love him like my kid, and he loves me back.

Cats lack personality. I like them, but they aren't family. They're pretty much dickheads.
They're here to kill things. If they stop killing things, their days are numbered.
 

fanatik

Senior member
Aug 29, 2004
569
0
0
I spent more than 1000 to try and save my dog. It didnt work. She still died. Damn i miss her. WOuld spend twice more in a blink of an eye to have her. Sucks.
 

notfred

Lifer
Feb 12, 2001
38,241
4
0
Originally posted by: jadinolf
Originally posted by: nutxo
If you can afford it and dont spend it then your pretty worthless as a person.

An animal is like a child. You took responsibility for that life when you brought that pet into your home.

Thank you. :thumbsup:

Oh bullsh!t, taking care of an animal at ALL does not obligate you to take care of it for 5 times the length of it's natural lifespan.

If you adopt a cat that would normally survive to the age of 5 on the street, and you take care of it until it's 10 and it gets cancer, you've done well more than what is required of you. If you put down the sick 10 year old cat because it's dieing painfully, rather than spending thousands to keep it alive longer, you've done nothing wrong.
 

Pacfanweb

Lifer
Jan 2, 2000
13,158
59
91
Depends. If the prognosis for recovery and quality of life is good, I haven't seen the limit I'd spend on one of mine yet.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,600
1,005
126
$500 is about my max but you answered incorrectly, the correct answer would have been:

"Well honey that would depend on how old our pet is and the chances of survival after the treatment."
 

jadinolf

Lifer
Oct 12, 1999
20,952
3
81
Originally posted by: notfred
Originally posted by: jadinolf
Originally posted by: nutxo
If you can afford it and dont spend it then your pretty worthless as a person.

An animal is like a child. You took responsibility for that life when you brought that pet into your home.

Thank you. :thumbsup:

Oh bullsh!t, taking care of an animal at ALL does not obligate you to take care of it for 5 times the length of it's natural lifespan.

If you adopt a cat that would normally survive to the age of 5 on the street, and you take care of it until it's 10 and it gets cancer, you've done well more than what is required of you. If you put down the sick 10 year old cat because it's dieing painfully, rather than spending thousands to keep it alive longer, you've done nothing wrong.

Tyler, you have it wrong. If an animal can be saved, I would spend considerable bucks to save it's life. I'm not speaking of bringing a terminally ill pet back to life.

Besides, some of us are different than others.
 

Gurck

Banned
Mar 16, 2004
12,963
1
0
Hrm, never owned a cat, so I can't really say... They tend to be so standoffish and nonaffectionate though. Now my past/current/future dog(s), on the other hand, would get as much money as it took. Dogs are more deserving of oxygen than most people.
 

lokiju

Lifer
May 29, 2003
18,526
5
0
Depends on the attachment to the pet.

When I was young (elementary school) we got a kitten (Ceaser) and I grew up with that cat for 15 years of my life, he was part of our family and the best cat I ever interacted with, he'd come when you'd call him, he'd walk with me if I went for a walk outside, he didn't damage anything and for the most part was really well behaved. So after he lived for 15 years and got cancer, we have it removed, then it got it a second time and again without hesitation we got it removed, once the third time came around and he was 16 years old though we could see it in him that it was his time to go, and at that point in time we decided to have him put to sleep rather than see him in any more pain. I don't care what any of you say/think but that was truly like losing one of my direct family members, I've never once shed a tear for a lost family member or friend but cried my ass off when he was put to sleep.

On the flip side, years later I got a cat from the pound that was a kitten, it got really sick and I took care of him and got him better, had him for 4 or so years then came to a point where I had to move and the only places that were any real options for me didn't allow cats so I found him a home with a lady from my job at the time and haven't looked back.


With all that typing all I'm really saying is it all depends on the attachment to the animal.

 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,600
1,005
126
Originally posted by: jadinolf
Originally posted by: notfred
Originally posted by: jadinolf
Originally posted by: nutxo
If you can afford it and dont spend it then your pretty worthless as a person.

An animal is like a child. You took responsibility for that life when you brought that pet into your home.

Thank you. :thumbsup:

Oh bullsh!t, taking care of an animal at ALL does not obligate you to take care of it for 5 times the length of it's natural lifespan.

If you adopt a cat that would normally survive to the age of 5 on the street, and you take care of it until it's 10 and it gets cancer, you've done well more than what is required of you. If you put down the sick 10 year old cat because it's dieing painfully, rather than spending thousands to keep it alive longer, you've done nothing wrong.

Tyler, you have it wrong. If an animal can be saved, I would spend considerable bucks to save it's life. I'm not speaking of bringing a terminally ill pet back to life.

Besides, some of us are different than others.

I've been in this situation actually. We had a cat that had his liver fail. The vet wanted to put in a feeding tube and have us feed the cat through the tube a few times daily for countless months on end to the tune of about $1000. I asked what his chances for survival were and she said about 10%. We put him to sleep. I feel we did the right thing even though it sucked.

Pets are not people.
 

flot

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2000
3,197
0
0
Originally posted by: CDC Mail Guy
My wife just asked "if our cat was sick, would you spend $600.00 to treat her?" I said "No", now I'm an a$$hole! Just out of curiosity, how much would you pay to have a pet treated if it was sick.

P.S.- Our cat is not sick, and does not require this...yet

$600 is nothing... every time I take my dog to the vet for something stupid somehow the bill is at least $150. If something actually HAPPENED to the dog, I'm sure I'd pay it - as others have pointed out, the bad thing is when it will cost a lot and the animal either has a very low chance of surviving, or worse would be stuck in some sort of incapicated state..
 

tami

Lifer
Nov 14, 2004
11,588
3
81
Originally posted by: xaguynamedguyx
my parents adopted a cat that was "my" cat and he was the coolest cat ever and he ate a lot of string that he found in my mom's sewing kit and it like knotted around his colon and we had to pay like 1000 dollars for the operation

interesting story.
 

SilentZero

Diamond Member
Apr 8, 2003
5,158
0
76
My dog has been medicated (he has hypothyroidism and other skin problems) since he was a puppy and I spend $300 a month on him for the past 5 years ( upwards of $18,000 thus far) for medicine and vet bills, and will keep doing so. I see it not as a pet issue, but a life issue. He is part of my family and I would gladly spend any amount to make sure he has a pain free long and happy life. So in my opinion $600 is not a lot to spend for the health of your pet. I would even go so far as to say if my dog required a $50,000 treatment to survive, he would get it. But you also have to consider the age of the pet. If the pet is a year or two shy of his life expectancy, then of course things would be different. But if its mid-life or lower, then money isn't a object.
 

We just put down the family cat.
It was only 1.5 years old.

It broke its leg badly and would have needed to see a specialist to fix it and it would never heal properly.
Would have cost a few grand. Love the cat and miss it, but it's not worth a few grand.
 

sjetexas

Senior member
Oct 21, 2004
222
0
0
I wouldn't even blink spending a few grand on my dog....IF the prognosis was good. If it becomes evident the treatment would be futile and just cause further pain, I would put her down.

I spent $500 once cause she ran into a wall and got a gash under her eye. Was just a few stitches, but it was a 24 hour emergency vet and they had to put her under for it :roll:
 

sp80

Golden Member
Jul 3, 2003
1,863
0
71
Most of you people are pathetic.

If you dont love your pet you are an a$$hole and you dont deserve the privilige to have one.

For my dog, I would spend upwards of $5000+ to save him...
 

ThisIsMatt

Banned
Aug 4, 2000
11,820
1
0
Originally posted by: KarenMarie
If the animal needed treatment that would continue a good standard of living, i would not care what it costs. I have paid over $1,000 on a pet.

But if the animal would not have a good standard of living, I would elect to put it down rather than see it suffer.

The worst experience we had was a cat that we tried to save... to the tune of $500 and she died anyway. So the vet cut it in half cause he saw how distraught i was losing her. But my vet is a special breed, he is in the business for the love of animals, not the $$$.
LMAO...I didn't read that the way you intended the first time :D

 

Brutuskend

Lifer
Apr 2, 2001
26,558
4
0
For my dog?

As much as it takes.

And yes, I would go into debt.

(Well, if it was more that $100 or so, I would HAVE to go into debt... :( )
 

Excelsior

Lifer
May 30, 2002
19,047
18
81
Originally posted by: sp80
Most of you people are pathetic.

If you dont love your pet you are an a$$hole and you dont deserve the privilige to have one.

For my dog, I would spend upwards of $5000+ to save him...

I disagree. Spending that much on a dog is just crazy. Don't get me wrong, I love my dogs very much, but I highly doubt my parents would spend anywhere near that much on them.

My last dog, a siberian husky, suffered from kidney failure. Sure, we could have gotten him a kidney transplant, but that is fvcking insnae. It would've cost a LOT, and then he wouldve lived just another 3-6 years.

I myself might would spend up to 1000, maybe more, it would just depend on the age, health-otherwise, the condition, and how much I loved the dog. This may sound harsh, but I could always go pick up another dog from the pound or the shelter.