Pet medical costs: what is your squeeze point?

[katlady]

My cat Charlie has been in and out of the vet a lot lately. He's 23, which is pretty old for a semi-outside cat. I love him like my own child and would spend any amount of money to keep him well.

Lately my friends have been gently criticizing me for how much I'm spending on him. $200-$300 a month might not be a lot for other people, but that's a small chunk out of my finances. I'm willing to keep paying that per month, but I wonder if there will be a day when I'll be so overwhelmed by the expenses that I would consider not paying.

How do you feel about pet medical bills? Should we set limits or do we do whatever it takes to keep our pets alive and well?

[sassyfras]

Wow! Let me first say how impressed I am that you have a 23-year-old cat! You obviously take very, very good care of him for him to have reached that age.

To answer your question, my stopping point reet medical costs has more to do w/ the 'personal' aspect of personal finance than the purely financial aspect. Like you, I am very attached to my kittas and have gone to great lengths to provide some of them w/ needed medical care. Provided the animal can go on having a good quality of life, I would spend quite a chunk of change to help them. I wouldn't seriously consider stopping treatment unless I was sure that the subsequent cost of therapy for me would be significantly less than the cost of medical care for the cat, as I would feel quite guilty putting an animal down just so I could eat sushi or have another latte. I get a lot of emotional enjoyment and stress relief from my animals and feel olbigated to repay the favor by giving them the best life that I can.

Let me emphasize, however, that this is all dependent on the cat achieving a good quality of life and not merely existing. Also, I am fortunate enough to have a decent income. If it came down to our health insurance or the cat's treatment, well, I'm afraid that's the point at which the cat would lose. But, if I could provide needed treatment by cutting out a couple luxuries, then I wouldn't hesitate to do so. I consider my cats my big luxuries/hobbies.

Good luck w/ your decision. You are obviously a very conscientious pet owner, and I'm sure you'll make the right decision for Charlie.

[Emily]

I wouldn't feel comfortable setting an arbitrary cutoff point. Factors such as your pet's quality of life, degenerative disease, and your willingness to avoid bankruptcy in the face of excessive vet bills.

[Livingalmostlarge]

I have two dogs and I am not putting a number on it. More like a quality of life. I would not keep our older dog (he's 12) alive if he were suffering even for $20. But if could allow him a longer, healthier life for an extended period moeny wouldn't matter. But my DH is a total dog lover. And we've both grown up with dogs who hit 20. So it's hard to just kill an animal for a couple of bucks.

[katlady]

Thank you for your support. It is good to hear that everyone is using quality of the pet's life as the main criteria.

After being basically called a fool by many of my friends, I really needed to hear that.

[will1363]

If your cat means that much to you, there should be no price limit on keeping him well. Subjective value is very real, and I sometimes feel bad for people who make decisions to not spend on emotionally important costs just becuase people on the outside criticize them because they can't envisioin spending their own money the same way. If money can buy happiness, even for a short time, why save? As long as you aren't spending borrowed money, of course

[Myscha Theriault]

In fact, I'm seriously thinking of changing our oldest dog's name from Beauty to Mercedes! She still is able to interact, and is responding well to her own personal pharmaceutical spread sheet of daily med passes. It is a chunk of change to keep her cared for, and the younger one is getting along in age too. (The oldest is in her mid to late teens and the youngest is about 8 1/2)

I am putting off several things for my own health care, and both my husband and I believe that we shouldn't just put her down because she is getting older and inconvenient. However, much more per month and it will take a lot more financial creativity than I'm already practicing, to say the least.

Good luck with your decision. I think like someone mentioned above, there would be a certain point at which we'd have to stop financially, but I don't like to think about it being a specific number so much as whether or not we will be in a position to continue doing it.

[khorrell]

Great post, and excellent thoughts everyone. We're rather in the opposite position. We have two 12 year old cats and one is clearly not enjoying her life so much. She has arthritis, kidney stones, and possibly something with her pancreas, and is rarely happy. Our vet has not yet suggested euthanasia but we have slowly been coming to the realization that when the vet suggests it, she might be right. We consider our current care to be "kitty hospice," as we're focused on keeping her comfortable and happy. I don't want to be the person who makes the decision based upon financial considerations, I just don't see how putting her through kidney stone surgery will make her considerably happier, and I also don't see regular ultrasounds to keep an eye on her other issues.

[lilac]

As long as you can afford it, I say you should continue to spend what you are spending on your cat, that is, as long Charlie doesn't mind going to the vet a whole lot.

You really can't put a price on health be it your own or another member of your family's, and I'm sure that those vet bills are going a long way to give him a high quality of life and care even in such old age.

[hermione]

This is a very difficult decision and I think you should always go with your own feelings and assessment of the situation. Your friends may think they are helping you by criticizing your decision to pay for his vet care, but in my opinion they are not being considerate your feelings. This is my experience with non-animal lovers who do not understand the bond between people and their pets. We would pay anything for the health and comfort of our pets, even to the extent of going into debt, as they are our only close family. If any of our friends called us fools for doing it, we wouldn't consider them friends anymore.

Good luck to both of you katlady and Myscha. Charlie and Beauty are very lucky to have you for owners.