Ill cat, costly....

[PA5COR]

One of our cats developed a problem the day before yesterday, so off to the vet we went.
Kidney stones blocking the urine tract, so Tara ( one of our 3 cats) had to stay.
Picked him up today, happy we have her back, but € 419 was the bill or almost 600 dollars.

15 years old, and one of the 2 that decided living with us was better as their old home 10 years back.( abandoned)

Oh well, no steak for a fortnight then...:cry:;)

[NQ6U]

That sort of thing is always a tough call, Cor. I've spent thousands on cat repairs over the years.

[K7SGJ]

We're the same way with all of our dogs. When the one got bit by the rattlesnake a few years back, it happened to be on a weekend. That required a trip to the emergency vet, and it cost a fortune. The regular vet gets over $600.00 a pop just for the anti-serum, so you can guess what the er vet got for it plus an overnite stay, O2, etc..

[kf0rt]

What, no universal health care for pets there, Cor? Color me disappointed. (Joking when I shouldn't, sorry...)

The cost sounds about right (by US standards), though. We've been through a few expensive vet bills here and are always happy to get the animal back in good health. Once had a dog with a cancerous tumor -- they cured it in a weekend for under $1,000 (surgery) and the dog lived another 8 years with no related problems. If we could only give ourselves the care we give our pets, the whole health care thing would be a non-issue. Imagine curing a kidney stone in an elderly human for $600 with no insurance. The doctor would have a permanent place on my Christmas card list at the very least.

Glad to hear that Tara is doing well.

[kf0rt]

That sort of thing is always a tough call, Cor. I've spent thousands on cat repairs over the years.

As bizarre as it seems, "cat repairs" is superb terminology.

[kc7jty]

Famous lawyer advertising slogan:
No recovery, no fee.
My slogan:
No cat, no furdanderpeevetfeesfoodbillsallergies

[K7SGJ]

no friendwithunconditionallovenomatterwhatyoudo.

[kf0rt]

Famous lawyer advertising slogan:
No recovery, no fee.
My slogan:
No cat, no furdanderpeevetfeesfoodbillsallergies

That's easy for YOU to say. :)
Seems like I've always had pets. A number of cats, a few dogs. Wife and I decided "no more" when we had our Shep/Lab put down almost three years ago. Now, we have the daughter's cat here as a permanent fixture (due to an apartment lease issue) and my Dad uses us to babysit his Greyhound when he travels (about 100 days a year). Lemme tell ya about Greyhounds....

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

That is the cost of keeping kittie.
My adopted parents had a cat for a good 5 or 6 years and she developed diabetes.
They wanted to keep that cat alive but it clearly was in pain.
Finally the cat started to bit herself.
They tried everything but the cat would just bite through the bandages.
The last day that cat bit the shit out of the old lady, down to the bone.
The old lady bitched for months about how they spent so much money to keep the cat alive and that was the reward.

[w0aew]

We have a "free" cat from the Dumb Friends League. It was actually a "sick" cat, so $1400 later....

[PA5COR]

Lol nope...
There are insurance schemes for pets, but the small letters always are put up so that you get nada.
We have an emergency fund for just this 5 K euro, when the washingmachine goes poof etc.
Just got paid for one of the business fairs, so that took care of it, and some left over for the hobby.

Paid some in my life on vet bills, but that comes with the keeping of pets.
If you can't pay the price, don't take pets ;)


What, no universal health care for pets there, Cor? Color me disappointed. (Joking when I shouldn't, sorry...)

The cost sounds about right (by US standards), though. We've been through a few expensive vet bills here and are always happy to get the animal back in good health. Once had a dog with a cancerous tumor -- they cured it in a weekend for under $1,000 (surgery) and the dog lived another 8 years with no related problems. If we could only give ourselves the care we give our pets, the whole health care thing would be a non-issue. Imagine curing a kidney stone in an elderly human for $600 with no insurance. The doctor would have a permanent place on my Christmas card list at the very least.

Glad to hear that Tara is doing well.

[w3bny]

Sorry you went thru that....but what are you feeding them? Canned tuna? something else. For the most part, FUS is diet related. I had a cat that got it and yep...500 USD to fix him (FUS is a medical emergency for cats) so all the cats ar on the special fudz. Royal Cannin US I do believe.

[PA5COR]

2 cats are 14 and 15 one maine coon is 6 years, the older ones get special food now.
Even then it can happen, we were early this time, i always keep an good eye on their condition every day.

Tara is a cat that never complains, it will take something serious before he shows discomfort.
Now sleeping on the bench on a fluffy towel for the night, the other 2 curled up on my bench next to me.
Force 9 gale out here, rain, no time to be out ;)

[w3bny]

if you havent figured out...kittehs...NEVER complain. they will suffer to the end and never tell you anything is wrong. That is just how kittehs are...

[n2ize]

After 16 cats and 5 dogs i have a firm policy in place. No pets. been there, done that, even have thousands of dollars worth of asthma treatments and medications to back it up. No pets, except for maybe tropical fish.

[kc7jty]

no friendwithunconditionallovenomatterwhatyoudo.

I'd rather be able to say I knew a great man than be loved by a cat.

http://www.catcemetery.org/

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/413B36XSYML._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[NQ6U]

After our last cat got squashed by a car, I said "no mas," I'm done with cats. I was adamant about it too, but my XYL argued that we should get another one for the sake of my semi-invallid mother-in-law, who lives in the other half of the little duplex we own. And, wouldn't you know it, the one we ended up with has turned out to be the finest kitteh I've ever had the pleasure to be around--smart, affectionate and with a demonstrable sense of humor. She's a hoot and I wouldn't trade her for anything. Well, anything short of an IC-7800, a 60 foot retractable tower and a tri-band yagi, anyhow.

[kc7jty]

Crank up or push button?

[WX7P]

Sorry to hear about your cat, Cor.

Loaf, my avatar, cost me approx $3000 US last year when he got sick. It bought him an extra 6 months of life, which was well worth it. My daughter got to see him one more time before he wandered off and died somewhere. We never found him. He was an extraordinary cat.

Chairman Mao, aka Ho Chi Minh Kitty, in my sig line pic is an extremely cool cat. He purrs the second you touch him. He doesn't whine for food like my Maine Coon does. He also plays fetch! I've never seen a cat do that before.

[PA5COR]

Our main coon loves to play, rough and brings back toys we use to play with her.
Also she loves th "chat" with us, answering to her nam or if we dirct our words to her.
always looking for teasing us to play with her, or use one of us as soft warm bed...

I don't hate dogs, we just are more cat people, more independant kind of pets/people.
Though with most our cats i had a special bond, must come natural i suppose.
Sad to see you spend so much money, good cause, but i always was there when my cats took the final nap, euthanised or not.
Mostly holding them till the last.

All of the cats can roam free here in the gardens and the block of houses, but stay close.
never had one killed by traffic, luckily.

Thanks to all for their good wishes and concern.
Always helps ;)

[WX7P]

Our main coon loves to play, rough and brings back toys we use to play with her.
Also she loves th "chat" with us, answering to her nam or if we dirct our words to her.
always looking for teasing us to play with her, or use one of us as soft warm bed...

I don't hate dogs, we just are more cat people, more independant kind of pets/people.
Though with most our cats i had a special bond, must come natural i suppose.
Sad to see you spend so much money, good cause, but i always was there when my cats took the final nap, euthanised or not.
Mostly holding them till the last.

All of the cats can roam free here in the gardens and the block of houses, but stay close.
never had one killed by traffic, luckily.

Thanks to all for their good wishes and concern.
Always helps ;)

I don't hate dogs either. They just aren't the same as cats. Every cat is unique, whereas, you've experienced one Labrador retriever, you've experienced them all. Cats are FAR more independent and will tell you to blank off if you're doing something they don't like. It can be annoying at times, but they are much more entertaining.

The Loaf snuck out the cat door, which is typical for a dying cat. They always want to go somewhere isolated to die. It was unfortunate, but it happened.

Dog people like the slavish loyalty that dogs give to humans. Cats don't do that. That's what makes them cool.

Here's my Maine Coon:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q275/nx6d/SANY0723.jpg

[KC2UGV]

What, no universal health care for pets there, Cor? Color me disappointed. (Joking when I shouldn't, sorry...)

The cost sounds about right (by US standards), though. We've been through a few expensive vet bills here and are always happy to get the animal back in good health. Once had a dog with a cancerous tumor -- they cured it in a weekend for under $1,000 (surgery) and the dog lived another 8 years with no related problems. If we could only give ourselves the care we give our pets, the whole health care thing would be a non-issue. Imagine curing a kidney stone in an elderly human for $600 with no insurance. The doctor would have a permanent place on my Christmas card list at the very least.

Glad to hear that Tara is doing well.

The funny thing?

All the materials used during veterinary care are the same ones used in person care. Some of the drug names are different, but all in all, they use the exact same things.

So, why does human care costs so much?

[PA5COR]

Our human care costs 1/2 of yours.

For the same results and maybe better, question is then what causes these extra costs?
Paperwork?, bureaucratic system? insurers not looking for better deals with medicine makers? too much profit taking for the insurers?, lack of universal health care in where everybody pays in ill or healthy?, insurers not making the best deals with hospitals?

NX6D Cute cat ;)

[WX7P]

NX6D Cute cat ;)

Thanks for that. Tarja is pretty cool, except she whines a lot, especially when we run out of "Temptations" which is a cat treat. Tarja thinks it should be her main food.

The photo is over a year old. She's actually about 1/3 bigger now. She weighs 16 pounds. That's why it's funny to watch The Chairman chase her around. She could pound The Chairman into dust if she put her mind to it.

[PA5COR]

Our Coon is feline, we love her to bits, but rather small for a Coon.
Bit easy scared, though after a minute she overcomes that by her curiosity.
She's just under 10 pounds now, while the father was a brute big cat and the mother smaller, we don't mind, we have cats for fun and play, we had a birmane before and didn't use it for shows, while the former owner won lots of prizes with him.

All 3 cats now in the "out" mode, sleeping and rethinking their strategy of world domination ;)
Some piccies of a much younger Coon Tara and the other cat Sunny

[KC2UGV]

All 3 cats now in the "out" mode, sleeping and rethinking their strategy of world domination ;)
Some piccies of a much younger Coon Tara and the other cat Sunny

That's why I'm a firm believer in being nice to cats. We will eventually be conquered by the Feline Domesticus, and I plan on being a "favored pet", so I'm extra nice to every cat I come across.

[n2ize]

Many years ago a girl friend of mine and her sister who lived in Manhattan found a kitten in the middle of one of the coldest and most brutal winters we had in ages. They found it in the street next to some garbage cans on a frigid windy night. It was practically frozen to death. It could barely move. They brought it inside and after a couple days he was as good as new.

[PA5COR]

Getting better now, even was outside a few times, drinking and eating regularly.
On Royal Canin urinary diet though.
Seems to like the new food, so our hope is up.

[n6hcm]

So, why does human care costs so much?

because not so many kitties end up suing their vet for malpractice.

[n6hcm]

Here's my Maine Coon:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q275/nx6d/SANY0723.jpg

very handsome. reminds me of my marcus when he was a kitten ...

[KC2UGV]

Getting better now, even was outside a few times, drinking and eating regularly.
On Royal Canin urinary diet though.
Seems to like the new food, so our hope is up.

Cats, thankfully, heal quickly. Sadly, they get sick just as quickly.


because not so many kitties end up suing their vet for malpractice.

Not meaning to "bend this topic" even more, but malpractice in human-care only adds about 1% to overall health care costs. It's hardly a huge chunk. Overhead is where the biggest chunk gets wasted on. Most insurance carriers have a 20% overhead. And then, Hospitals, with about 15% overhead. Overhead = High salaries and Profits.

[KG4CGC]

It is hard sometimes when our little furry friends get sick. I had a really nice male tabby who was susceptible to urinary tract infections and blockages until we changed his diet and the type of cat litter we used. Part of the problem was that he wanted some of anything that I was eating and this was back in day when I still ate things like packaged processed meats. He wasn't quite 4 years old when he died of a genetic defect. A floating sternum, best way to describe it. One of his sons had the same thing.
It was a very sad day for me as it was unforeseen and when his time came, it was very sudden.