Is there a limit to what you would pay to save a beloved pet?

[bright.ton42]

I know of people who choose euthanasia rather than be faced with a life time of costs for, say, diabetes treatment. And these are people who could easily afford it.   

I also have read of where people  have gone into debt to save a pet. 

Me, i would pay what i could afford as i love my pets like children. 

Someone asked earlier if would work in a massage parlour to pay such a bill and the sad answer is i,m not 16 and cute enough     but i would work at just abt anything to save my pet.  

This is not intended to be judgemental,   no response is wrong, i've just got time on my hands and  am really  interested.  

[zanadoo_56]

My first few cats were moggies then I also had Burmese.  I spent some time breeding and showing them before they were all desexed.  Crazy demanding cats - very people oriented....and very stubborn.  Also adopted a couple of strays at the same time, later I had an Aby (she was wonderful) and another moggie from RSPCA.  My current puss is also from the RSPCA.  She is a very sweet torbie girl.

These days I am getting too decrept to ever go back to the pedigree cat world and also to looking after kittens.  Myself and my cat....we like a simple life.  If I have any regrets, it is that I wish I had been able to afford a cat run (even a small one) when I had the Burmese.  They'd have loved it.  I think Scottish Folds have very sweet faces.  I also like the Australian Mist - you can clearly see their Burmese, tabby and Abysinnian origins in their faces and coat patterns.  I've never owned one though.

I also believe in not letting cats run around the streets.  They have no road sense for starters.  My cats have also had regular vaccinations, flea treatment, worming etc.  However years ago I came across a vet who said that cats did not need to be vaccinated every year but every two years was OK.  Now (depending on what the vaccination is for and if the cat lives indoors) not vaccinating every year is gaining traction in some areas....thought not with any of my local vets!  Here's a Choice article: https://www.choice.com.au/outdoor/pets/health/articles/pet-vaccination.  Because boarding catteries insist on current annual vaccinations though, that's what my cat has got (rather a necessary evil if I take sick, end up in hospital and the cat has to go into a cattery at short notice).

[cat_mioux]

So far I've managed to find the money required to seek expensive medical treatment for my cats, knock on wood.

A few months ago both my elderly cats stopped eating within a day of each other. They both needed teeth extractions (I felt so bad I didn't know they had bad teeth but like my vet says 'they don't smile at us') at the cost of $2000 for a total of 8 teeth. Luckily my vet was happy to give me a couple of months to pay it off.

I wouldn't pay for anything hugely expensive to prolong an elderly animals life for just a few months. The trauma of the surgery etc isn't fair for them.

[bright.ton42]

So many of the responses here brought tears to my eyes and I pretty well agree with most of them. I love the tale about Chameleon's dear old sheep dog and how he he lets him round up a few sheep just to stay in practice, that is true love  .  .But I love all the tales too and it's so good to see the love of our pets here.

I do agree that one of the hardest things is knowing when to let them rest from their struggle and how to separate our need for them from what must be done,  for me anyway, and to cuddle them in the clinic while they pass and our hearts are shattering  into pieces.

Vet costs ......there's the crunch, and what we would pay for our pets'  recovery. It seems most of us would pay what we could.   But if it is just to prolong a painful life for a short time that is another story. 

I read of someone who started a Gofund Me page for  their  dog to pay for its transport to a cross- country hospital in the US for more treatment when to me and many others it was pretty clear that that aged  dog with a severe heart condition and other ailments was past saving as was proven as it only survived for about another week in that hospital. Tens of thousands were raised, and a lot of it went to that hospital and I have to wonder.      I suppose it just showed how many kind ppl there are out there.

Right now my Chis are middle aged and healthy and after a series of Goodbyes to those that went before I hope they and yours  live forever.  

[enigmabear]

I saw this on Facebook this morning and thought of this thread

http://www.australiandoglover.com/2018/03/the-new-cancer-treatment-saving-dogs.html

They did not have this treatment here back then, but the ARH is where my Stiggy was being treated 

[davidc4430]

perhaps with the advances in available cures for pet ailments, and the costs involved pet insurance is making better sense.

i dont know if pet insurance has limitations.

[icyfroth]

It would depend on the age of the animal and the quality of life it would have after the procedure.