How Much Are You Willing to Spend on Your Pet?
Posted by admin in Finance
If your pet gets sick, are you willing to do everything possible to keep them alive, or do you factor in the financial impact when making the decision as to how much medical care to give? It's an icky question, I know, but it's one that pet owners are faced with all the time.
In most cases, we do everything possible to keep people alive, and none of us would want the responsibility of deciding when another human being should die. But in most cases we are forced to decide this about our pets, and in some cases the decision could be influenced by the amount of money it takes to keep a pet alive.
Veterinary medicine is getting more sophisticated all the time. It used to be that your vet could pretty much tell you whether your pet had any chance of recovery from an illness or physical problem. But today you can give your cat chemotherapy, you can have your dog's tumor operated on and feed it through a tube for the rest of its life—in short, you can keep animals alive in the same way that most of us people will do whatever it takes to get even one extra breath of life.
But of course our insurance isn't picking up the tab for our dog's radiation treatments like it would if we were the ones having the treatments. (Although you can buy pet health insurance these days, another expense to consider.) So, especially as our pets near the ends of their life spans, in many cases we are forced to decide between going all out financially for them, or feeling like a jerk and deciding we can't afford to pay beyond X dollars to keep the pet alive.
I hope I'm not coming across as heartless. There are few things in life I have enjoyed less than the times I've had to decide it was time for a pet to die. Yes, they may have been dying, but ultimately I decided the exact minute they would die. It's very hard to play God with an animal's life, and, to be honest, it's made me less likely to want to have pets in the future. But I bring the subject up because it's a reality. Decisions have to be made, and sometimes people have to say, "am I willing to not have enogh money for the mortgage/rent payment this month in order to pay for a long-shot surgery for Rex?"
I titled this post "How Much Are You Willing to Spend on Your Pet?" But I don't really want an answer to that question. I guess I just wanted to acknowledge that sometimes it has to be answered, and I hope if you read this you'll see that other people have had to answer that question, too.
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I live in Bangladesh; an under-developed country. Here people’s lives are cheaper compared to the pets of USA. What people in USA spend after their pets can feed hundreds and thousands of people in our country for months. Sometimes I really feel that god is very cruel with us.
I so related to this post. I just went through this experience with my 18 year old beloved min pin. I know EXACTLY how you feel. This one is so, so hard.
I have no idea what the right amount is. We have 4 cats and one of them is diabetic and needs incilin shots 2x a day. He also needs strips for taking his blood. We have to be home in the morning and at night everyday unless we her mother comes over or we pay for a friend to cat sit. He was diagnosed over 4 years ago and i have been really tolerable to understanding her love to this cat that absolutly loves no one but her. I am now stuck with half of the costs (my half $60/mo) + some of the multipul vet bills. Today I will have to pay almost $300 in vet bills and it will now be on anti-depresents costing $30/month. What advice can anyione give me on what to do? How should I react? I am very upset that this cat is costing us our quality of life as well as the arguments. When is my enough actualy enough?
Jay
We have a cat that is very high maintenance. My wife has had this cat for 4 years before we got together. We have been living together for 5 years now and it has been diagnosed with diabetes for the last 4 years. So we have had to be home in the morning and at night for the last 4 years to get the blood readings and administer the insulin shots to keep him alive. The cat likes NO ONE by the way except her. She had taken primary responsibility for the cat and the bills that it racked up 5-6k+. I have been worked in to take care of half the monthly cost (about $60 my half). We have 3 other cats and I have said yes to them being a part of our lives. My question is “When is Enough Enough”? I am going to pick him up at the vet today and look to spend about $300 and the cat will now a have a recurring fee of $30/month for anti-depressants. What would anyone do in my situation to keep the piece and lower our expenses? Does anyone have advice for me? JD