Pet Surgery: How much is too much?

[Mike K]

We've got a cat that started throwing up Monday night and stopped eating and drinking. Worried, my wife took him to the vet today. $500, an X-ray and some fluids later and they're telling my wife he appears to have a bowel obstruction (fucker eats plastic wrappers) and that he needs exploratory surgery. The cost of the surgery is $3000 - $4300 depending on the extent of the work needed. Being we're in Hollywood and that in the history of estimates, nobody ends up completing a job on the low end of the range, I'm assuming it would cost about $4000 on top of the $500 we've already spent.

My wife's 17 year old purebred just died and this cat is a descendant of that one so it means a lot to her. We're both on the fence about what to do though. My initial inclination is not to spend $4000 on an animal, especially when it can just chew on another wrapper a few months from now and we'll be in the same boat. My wife is also thinking along the same lines. On the other hand, $4000 is cheap enough that it's relatively affordable.

Would you spend $4000 on an animal? Should I? I don't know.

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[Chester Copperpot]

Would you spend $4000 on an animal? Should I? I don't know.

Absolutely the fuck not.

 

[Tight Lines]

We spent $150 on X-rays and $600 on a removal of cancer surgery. I would do it again for that much. The costs you are stating I would be hesitant as it sounds a little bit like over charging. However, pets are like family members and these decisions can only be made by you and your family. It's easy for an outsider to look at your animal as an animal and not a pet and say no.

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

Nope. As much as I love my animals, I couldn't justify the cost.

You could buy 10 cats and still have money left over and they will love you just as much. And maybe won't be eating shit they shouldn't.

Say some nice goodbyes and move on. It sucks but it's​ life.

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

Anything under 500, no hesitation.

Under 1.5k...eh... Maybe depending on what the surgery is and recovery costs etc...

Over 1.5k...goodbye, it's been a lovely time together.

 

[VenomousDSG]

If it's a loving pet, and there's not a high chance of death related to the sickness or surgery, no amount of money would matter to me.

I had my dog put to sleep some years ago and i would of paid anything if i could of gotten a guarantee of him being around at least a couple years more. Best personality for a dog and best pet i've ever had. But given the condition he had, and him already being 12 (12 is the average age a lab usually lives), and the $10K they wanted to operate on him, i said it would be better and more humane to just put him down.

I guess it all depends on the situation. But if it's a good cat and he has a great chance of recovering and being normal, $4000 is nothing....

 

[Mike K]

Anything under 500, no hesitation.

Under 1.5k...eh... Maybe depending on what the surgery is and recovery costs etc...

Over 1.5k...goodbye, it's been a lovely time together.

lol... That's basically where I'm at. I told my wife that it's in this gray area where it's not so high that I can say I would never in a million years consider it and it's not cheap enough that I could just green light it. If it was under 2k I'd reluctantly do it but $4000. Fuck.

 

[Mike K]

If it's a loving pet, and there's not a high chance of death related to the sickness or surgery, no amount of money would matter to me.

I had my dog put to sleep some years ago and i would of paid anything to if i could of gotten a guarantee of him being around at least a couple years more. Best personality for a dog and best pet i've ever had. But given the condition he had, and him already being 12 (12 is the average age a lab usually lives), and the $10K they wanted to operate on him, i said it would be better and more humane to just put him down.

I guess it all depends on the situation. But if it's a good cat and he has a great chance of recovering and being normal, $4000 is nothing....

Yeah I see what you're saying and maybe pre-kids I'd be right there with you but where I'm sitting now I just feel like it's absurd to spend that kind of money on a pet when I have two children. He's young and the risks are apparently minimal at this point. And that makes the decision harder. Now my wife is looking at financing and I'm like, it's not the financing that's the problem. We're still spending $4000 whether we finance it or not.

 

[willizm]

I think $1k would be my general cutoff limit although I ain't gonna lie that I'd set that threshold lower for some pets of mine.

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

And here is the kicker.

You could spend 4k and it could die the next week from a cold.

Story time!

I found a kitten in my front yard, had a fractured leg. They wanted 2500 for surgery or I could wait and see what happens. I waited and it healed perfectly. Saved 2.5k!

A year later, it dies from pneumonia. Nothing is guaranteed and you have to factor that into your decision unfortunately.

 

[Mike K]

And here is the kicker.

You could spend 4k and it could die the next week from a cold.

Story time!

I found a kitten in my front yard, had a fractured leg. They wanted 2500 for surgery or I could wait and see what happens. I waited and it healed perfectly. Saved 2.5k!

A year later, it dies from pneumonia. Nothing is guaranteed and you have to factor that into your decision unfortunately.

Well that's what we were talking about. He chews on (and presumably swallows) wrappers and plastic and we have two kids that leave stuff around. It's an impossible ask for there not to be something around that he'll chew on and my concern is that even if we do do it, a year from now he chews on something else and we're back to square one.

It just sucks. I'm trying to look for justification to end an otherwise healthy pet's life but at $4000 I'm not sure why I should have to justify that. I don't know what the threshold is in terms of dollars where I go from being an easy person to sympathize with to a complete asshole.

 

[VenomousDSG]

Well that's what we were talking about. He chews on (and presumably swallows) wrappers and plastic and we have two kids that leave stuff around. It's an impossible ask for there not to be something around that he'll chew on and my concern is that even if we do do it, a year from now he chews on something else and we're back to square one.

It just sucks. I'm trying to look for justification to end an otherwise healthy pet's life but at $4000 I'm not sure why I should have to justify that. I don't know what the threshold is in terms of dollars where I go from being an easy person to sympathize with to a complete asshole.

Chews on wrappers, haha. It sounds like you have a "special" cat, that doesn't have a full functioning brain. Is he a little fucker too and destroys shit, bites, not really friendly? If so, i'd say it's off to the next life for him too.... lol

 

[Flyn]

1. How old is the cat?
2. Shop around. If the choices are $4K surgery vs. death it's tough. If you can find a cheaper vet it could be $2,000 vs. death giving the cat a chance even if it's with a lesser surgeon.

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

I always forget about shopping around for vets. It's not a bad idea. Go 2 hours out to a smaller town or another state and it could be drastically cheaper.

 

[Knowklew]

Nope.

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

Nottachance.

Adopt another cat that's in need of a home

 

[MuffHugger]

I regularly threaten my Maine Coon, George Cooney, that I will shoot him in the fucking head. The other two are cool.

 

[VenomousDSG]

George Cooney

 

[MuffHugger]

I also have Dick Kickass and it's hilarious when I take either of them to the vet. Then there's Bort. Bort's just there.

 

[cap42]

15 years ago I thought my stepmom was crazy spending 2k on a surgery for their dog. Now that I've had dogs that were my own they are part of the family to me.

I won't embarrass myself with how much I've spent on my dogs over the years, as VenomousDSG said if it's a loving pet and it can save them I will spend whatever it takes as long as it's the humane thing to do.

No judgement but it sounds like you and your wife don't have the same relationship with this cat.

Shop around till you find a price you feel is fair or go with the other alternative you have already identified.

 

[Marko]

Does anybody have veterinarian insurance for their cat or dog ?

 

[cacicgtp7]

My dog is my kid and part of my life. Granted he's 10 now, but I don't know if I have a specific number. Too many variables on what's going on in your life, how much longer the surgery gets the pet, financial stability, etc. Also good point on anything could happen next. I'm not a cat person so hard for me on this one, but some people love a goldfish to death so it's up to each individual.

GL on the decision mike.

 

[Mook]

I've spent 1500 a pop on 4 surgeries for my cat. Would spend that 4 times again in a heartbeat.

 

[Bob Kazamakis]

$4k sounds insane to me for that surgery.



I'd do it though

 

[EmersonHart13]