Much to Bitter’s dismay, I am a cat lover, rather than a dog lover. She’s trying to convince me of the merits of having a small dog. I actually have no real problem with dogs, I just prefer cats. A small dog would be fine, as long as it’s not a foo foo dog. If Bitter wants a foo foo dog, she has to walk it :) But despite my preference for felines, I’m not this crazy:
I recently paid $11,000 in veterinary bills for my cat, Fritz. I’ve been hesitant to tell friends about this expenditure, which I know seems extravagant. But after hearing a radio financial guru answer questions from two callers about tapping their 401(k) accounts for veterinary bills, I realized I am not alone.
Read the whole thing. If you’re my cat, and the vet estimates 11 grand, it was nice knowing ya cat! I can always get another one that looks just like it. But seriously, people understand why they have to suffer to get medical treatment. Animals don’t. That why we don’t put them through prolonged pain.
I could not help wondering how poor families with fixed budgets and work schedules cope with such matters. How do parents tell their children that they cannot afford to treat a beloved pet? And how do vets deal with clients who refuse to pay much of anything for a sick pet, perhaps requesting euthanasia for an otherwise healthy animal?
Having a pet die is part of growing up, and actually, I think a pretty important lesson for kids. I had more than a few pets growing up, all dead now, the small ones buried in the back yard after my mother vacuum sealed them, so dogs wouldn’t dig them up. Every once in a while, I would dig them up, and see what they looked like. I have to wonder if the new owners of the house have done any landscaping yet, and wondered why there are bags of goo buried in the yard.
Hat tip to Rand Simberg
My last outing with my cat ended up costing $900 for a blocked urinary tract. Most unfortunately, the next time it happens, I’m having him put down.
I love my cats, but I rather love being able to feed my kids more.
We have put a $ limit on all our pets. Up to that, they’re good. Over that, we will sadly see them go, and help another younger, healthier, unwanted animal have a chance at a long, happy and healthy life.
Sometimes it seems a little cold-hearted, but as long as they stay relatively healthy, we will give them the best life we possibly can.
I wonder if the emergence of vetinary insurance (health insurance for pets) will drive up the costs of vetinary medicine to uninsured
My cat swallowed a piece of Christmas ribbon that got lodged in his intestines. This required $3000 of surgery of which my wife was willing to pay, but I was not.
Of course, she won out, and the cat’s been fine since. However, once he’s gone, if it doesn’t live in a tank or a cage, it’s not coming into my house. I’m done with pets.
Eh, I probably would have blown 3 grand if the cat was otherwise healthy, and you know the 3 grand will fix the problem. But that’s about as high as I go.
When I love something or someone, I love hard. I don’t know if animals have a soul, but I do. I am currently paying a big bill for a dog that was shot. He isn’t my dog, but damn, is he ever sweet and gentle. Although he isn’t my dog, he has decided I am his human. Dammit! I didn’t even want him.
If I had to choose between an animal and my responsibility to a person the animal loses, otherwise, I will do what I can.
Just my $.02, not even sure I’m not a little deranged, so I don’t have any heartburn with others who see it differently.