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How much would you spend to save your cat?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by fadeaway, Mar 4, 2019.

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How much would you spend to save your cat?

  1. $0

    16 vote(s)
    32.0%
  2. No more than $500

    10 vote(s)
    20.0%
  3. $500 - $1,000

    11 vote(s)
    22.0%
  4. $1,000 - $3,000

    4 vote(s)
    8.0%
  5. $3,000 - $5,000

    1 vote(s)
    2.0%
  6. $5,000 - $10,000

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  7. Whatever it takes

    8 vote(s)
    16.0%
  1. fadeaway

    fadeaway Contributing Member

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    God damn cat has urinary crystals. Already in the $1k-$3k range and needs surgery now.
     
    #1 fadeaway, Mar 4, 2019
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2019
  2. SuraGotMadHops

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    My personal philosophy is: when an animal needs an expensive surgery to stay alive...end of animal.
     
  3. fadeaway

    fadeaway Contributing Member

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    My wife does not agree.
     
    #3 fadeaway, Mar 4, 2019
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2019
  4. Falcons Talon

    Falcons Talon Contributing Member

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    Sorry to hear that. When I was about 16 years old, my cat had the exact same thing. My parent's spent $700 at the vet to treat him. After the IV's and all the treatment, the doc said it would cost much more to keep trying, but in the end, the odds were not good that he would survive much longer. My parents left the decision to me and I had them humanely put him down. Hardest decision of my young life.
     
  5. Os Trigonum

    Os Trigonum Contributing Member
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    We have had dozens of cats over the years and about a dozen dogs. We do treat cats and dogs differently in terms of vet care. Where we might spend a good amount of money for surgery etc. for one of the dogs, we have not done this for the cats. Fortunately our vets have been of a similar mind as far as the cats go. Depends on how close you are to your specific pet, your financial circumstances, and what you feel you "owe" your pet in terms of care versus what might be thought of as "letting that animal down." Everyone will be different on all of this and make different decisions. Not easy at times either. I wish you luck with your situation here.
     
    TheresTheDagger and Nook like this.
  6. LosPollosHermanos

    LosPollosHermanos Houston only fan
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    Don’t want to get into cat vs dog, but for my dogs I would , unless it would cause them more to suffer
     
  7. JeeberD

    JeeberD Contributing Member

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    My wife and I have a 16 year old cat and we agree that we're willing to spend about $100 to save his life, if necessary. He's had a good, long life, and we're not going to spend a lot of money to temporarily extend it.
     
  8. donkeypunch

    donkeypunch Contributing Member

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    Thats a tough question. Emotions are so high at the moment. I spent 2k on an emergency surgery for my dog and it still died. I was sad, I was pissed and i was distraught. In hindsight, I should have weighed out how much longer he would have lived versus shelling out the money but in the heat of it, I dropped my credit card asap. Dude lived a great life.

    Dont wish this on anyone but personally its your choice and your choice only. Hope everything works out.
     
  9. PhiSlammaJamma

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    My kitten dipper ate a large spatula. Yep. I paid for the afterhours endoscope to get it out of the stomach, and thought it worth it. That was about 1k. He's still here 4 years later. I basically said this kitten isn't going to die on my watch.
     
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  10. ThatBoyNick

    ThatBoyNick Member

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    I don't have a cat, but I would spend anything to save my dog.

    She is only 5 though, it becomes a tougher question down the road - when the animal is around 15 years old or near the end of its life expectancy. Expensive surgeries and medicines might only keep it alive (and potentially suffering) for just another few months or so. I wouldn't know how much I'd spend in that situation, but if I had the means I would do the best I could.
     
  11. tallanvor

    tallanvor Contributing Member

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    a cat? nothing. a dog? $10k
     
    droxford likes this.
  12. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Contributing Member

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    Its sad some would value one kind of animal over another. Ive come across good and bad in both.

    I would consider the age and condition before I put any money down. Im also not putting any money down on an animal that is too stupid for its own good. A friends dog had to go through 3 different surgeries because it kept eating their clothes.
     
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  13. Fyreball

    Fyreball Contributing Member

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    For me, it has nothing to do with the monetary amount. It has everything to do with whether my animal's quality of life will significantly increase after the procedure. If that's the case, then I will do whatever it takes to ensure that my pet is leading a happy and healthy life. I'm of the belief that my pet is a member of my family, and with that belief comes everything associated with saving a family member's life. With that being said, I've been in the position of having to put a pet down because quality of life for my animal was NOT going to increase significantly after a very risky procedure. It's never an easy decision to make.
     
    AXG, Deckard, B-Bob and 2 others like this.
  14. leroy

    leroy Contributing Member

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    We have a cat that is now going on 19. When she was 1, she had a bad reaction to vaccinations that actually caused cancer. The surgery to get the cancer out was about $2k. Had the vaccination manufacturer not paid for the surgery, she wouldn't have made it to 2.
     
  15. ThatBoyNick

    ThatBoyNick Member

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    U some type of vegan bruh?
     
  16. Ottomaton

    Ottomaton Contributing Member
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    Urinary crystals usually means your cat isn't drinking enough water.

    I spent $3k on hospital bills for a cat once, only for the Houston Animal Hospital to switch vets on me and the new vet tell me that it was the worse case he'd ever seen and the cat needed to be euthanized. That was... difficult to reconcile.

    Get a clear prognosis for your cat and the surgery. I had cats with urinary crystals in the past that never required surgery, so I don't know. But if you get them healed and home, you need to get them to start drinking a lot more water. Consider one of those "pet fountains" that continually pumps water and filters it, or something else that will encourage them to drink more. I have a cat where If I go to bet with a cup of ice water, he is up on my nightstand drinking it down. For a while I used to get two cups of ice water before bed every night - one for the cat and one for me.
     
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  17. fadeaway

    fadeaway Contributing Member

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    Yes this cat has a problem not drinking enough which likely contributed to the issue. He's on an all wet diet now. We already have a fountain. I also think that switching them to an all fish diet about a year ago (due to their taste preference) helped create this too. I had no idea previously but fish cat food is very rich in magnesium which can apparently cause crystals in cats.

    The surgery essentially removes the penis and widens the urethra to make it more like a female opening. This lessens the chance of a blockage, which is the issue here (he can't pee). Cat is only 4 yrs old and otherwise fine.
     
  18. MystikArkitect

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    I have a Boston and a Frenchie.

    They’re life is worth more to me than any potential dollar amount for a surgery.
     
    Asian Sensation likes this.
  19. Buck Turgidson

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    How much does a .22 shell cost?

    Dogs and horses and cattle are a different story.
     
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  20. UTAllTheWay

    UTAllTheWay Member

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    We spent well over $5k on surgeries for our dog. He jumped down off our bed one night thinking the step was there but it wasnt and he ended up breaking his jaw.

    We took him to the vet and they wired his jaw shut but after a week it fell. So we took him to the vet again and they said it would be better to take him to the small animal hospital at Texas A&M. So we did. The doctor there said the vet probably didnt set the wire correctly so they did surgery on him again... except that one didnt take either.

    So finally we decided to use the last resort and take his bottom jaw out. The surgery went well and for two days he seemed to be so much better... and then one morning he had a seizure and passed away.

    It was the hardest month of our life. He was nothing like his old self. He went through 3 surgeries and eventually his body just gave up.

    Looking back on it, though, we would have still done the same thing. We were willing to do whatever it took to make him better, no matter the cost.
     

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