I adopted a cat 6 weeks ago. No pet insurance. Yesterday he seemed very low energy and not eating. I took him to the vet and they wanted to run $1000 worth of tests. I said no and only picked out the ones that made sense. Brought it down to $450. After the tests they still didn’t really know what was going on besides that he had a fever and was dehydrated. They then gave him fluids, antibiotics, anti nausea, probiotics, and some sort of stomach acid reducer. That was another $400. How can I give my pet the care he needs without going broke everytime?
Update: for all the a holes in the comments, I can afford this, it just hurts to spend this much and I was curious if I was getting ripped off. You’re really telling me to let him die? What’s wrong with these people
Those with pets, how do you not break the bank when it comes to medical expenses?
byu/Tenet_Bull inFrugal
Posted by Tenet_Bull
39 Comments
Save up your money? I mean, pets and vet care can be expensive. Were you not aware of this before you adopted?
You just said it yourself. Get pet insurance.
New pet with unknown medical problem? Spend a lot of money to get a diagnosis and a treatment plan. Then things settle down and you have regular monthly maintainance costs, maybe a prescription or special food, and it’s more predictable.
I really want pets but haven’t had one for ten years. The kenneling costs alone for when I’m away are unaffordable.
It can be tricky, especially with senior cats. My old girl is 16 and had kidney disease. A good chunk of my disposable income goes for her special food and biannual vet tests.
But for the first 14 years of her life, the only expenses were yearly vet visits and regular food and litter. I added those costs to my monthly budget. Now, I also have a special savings category for extra cat expenses like the vet. That helps but I also had to set a hard limit on emergency cat expenses. It’s hard dto do because we all want to do everything to help our pets but I knew I couldn’t bankrupt myself doing so
I had nearly 3k in ER vet bills in 8 days with 2 dogs. I could’ve potentially declined about $700 of it or at least waited to have info from the first couple of tests before agreeing to the next 2 – but now I have information I didn’t have before so that I can confidently decline if the same issue pops up again.
I suck it up and pay for pet insurance with 90% reimbursement. Cut a $2k ER bill for bee sting anaphylaxis to something more manageable. There are emergencies I know I won’t always have cash in the bank to cover.
Make these decisions before you get an animal. Either you’re fully in for thousands, or you let nature take its course.
Pets are very expensive to care for especially later in their lives. It’s just a part of being a responsible owner. Once the acute illness passes make sure they’re seen routinely for preventative care and maintaining their health will (ideally) lead to less instances of sickness.
Frugality isn’t being Mr. Scrooge.
I have an emergency fund set aside for emergencies.
Pet insurance is on average a losing investment (for buyers). However, if you can’t afford vet expenses, then don’t skip pet insurance. That’s largely the point of getting insurance in general — pay a relatively small fee to avoid the risk of a big expense that you can’t afford.
Regarding what I do, I choose do not have insurance, but I also have enough in short-term to cover this type of expense. Fortunately I haven’t needed to do so, as my dog has never had a serious medical issue.
Pet insurance, having monthly savings for my animals, and having years at a time when I had no animals at all. Pets aren’t a right and if I can’t afford them I don’t have them. It’s the one area of life where I refuse to be frugal.
Honestly you have to save for it, get pet insurance, and talk to your vet about payment plans. Medical expenses will happen with any animal and you need to be figuring that into budget.
You accept that medical costs for pet care are rising beyond your ability to afford and you acquire pet insurance, accept that you will likely lose your animal to financial euthanasia, or accept that you will regularly be spending a large amount out of pocket. Anorexia in cats becomes a medical emergency within 24 hours and I would expect anywhere from 1-5k for diagnostics and treatment.
Pet ownership is often *exceedingly* expensive. We do not do a good enough job educating potential owners of how devastatingly expensive it can be. Being able to do it at all without pet insurance is a huge privilege. If you have a male cat, I would get pet insurance immediately because urinary blockages are eye wateringly expensive.
In Cincinnati there is an office that’s not in the most upscale part of town but not the worst either. They have a sliding scale to help people who are not affluent ( doesn’t take much in this economy) with paying. The vets volunteer. It’s how I got my rescue spayed. You might look for something similar in your area. It’s worth a drive. Interesting note, by being nosy I looked at their volunteer vet list for a few months. They were all female. Not making a statement, just interesting.
So here’s the thing.
A. Get insurance. It pays for itself.
B. If thats too much, don’t worry. Know your pet. The first year we got our pup, we went to the vet for every minor things. It was always us worrying too much.
Low energy for a day? Skipped a meal? So what? People have those days too. Unless you suspect something is wrong, give it some time to resolve. Of course, if they are low energy AND struggling to walk, that’s a problem. But remember they aren’t going to follow the same script every day.
If they come with known issues, then you need tk plan accordingly.
C. Build up a pet emergency fund and out it in a HYSA.
And always remember, the love they give back is priceless.
All part of the plan by private equity. They own the vets the insurance and the food companies and the medicine. Like 50/50 chance poopsy gets diabetes from the dry food they make. Also when terminally ill gonna keep hem alive as lo ng as possible.
It costs $500 a year for vet care and vaccine on a healthy pet where I live. Plus license and registration, microchips, food, toys, grooming/claw clips, and ongoing meds if they need it.
Then you have emergencies and illnesses that cost hundreds or thousands.
I saved up so I had a year of pet expenses in the bank before I got my dog so I had an emergency fund.
Your choices are to get pet insurance and hope ir covers what your pet needs, save up, work more, or don’t accept responsibility to care for an animal. It sucks that it costs so much, but they deserve the care
I know if I’m adopting from a Humane Society that I’m literally saving an animals life by taking it in. They have to put a lot of animals to sleep because there aren’t enough homes for all of them. So I would always just do my best, but I knew that there was a limit for me on what I could spend that maybe it wasn’t the same as other people. I was never willing to hurt myself financially because of a pet. for me that meant knowing certain medical issues that are technically treatable, but outside of my budget would be not done. At the end of the day pets are still animals and medical treatment isn’t something that’s naturally available for animals on this planet. Maybe some people don’t agree with that but everyone is gonna have their own limit. I don’t think anyone should go into debt or hurt themselves in other ways financially because of a pet‘s medical issue. But I also don’t think that only people who are well off should be allowed to have pets because we need homes for them or they will get killed otherwise.
I have found that on the occasion I’ve been in the vets office where my dog had a medical problem that they suggest very expensive treatments …however when you tell them that you can’t afford it, suddenly they have an alternative option in your price range. Go figure!
My vet has a plan that you can pay monthly or annually for which includes all regular vaccinations, a number of checkups, one or maybe two emergency visits, an xray, stuff like that. Price depends on the age of the dog (I think the cat plans are all the same) but one of my dogs got a dental cleaning with it. (They did have to charge me extra for anesthesia because he was fucking giant.)
So that’s how I do it.
I don’t know. The vet (and thankfully I still have a small business reasonably priced vet) tells me how much things are and I just write a check. I got my pet rats for 10$ each and we easily spent 2k on all their health stuff over the years. Dog needs his teeth cleaned? There’s another thousand. I’d get pet insurance but we adopt senior dogs and by then the monthly payments aren’t really worth it. Some things you can’t be frugal on
I’m a huge fan of pet insurance. It seems like a big upfront cost but has saved me a lot of money over the past few years!
We have 5 rescue dogs. They are currently about 12, 9, 8, 7, and 6.
One has recently had about 600 dollars worth of veterinary care and honestly that’s about as much as we can do per year.
We have decided to give them excellent lives while they are here and not spend thousands to extend their lives. We are at peace with this.
I think you are getting ripped off. Nothing obvious from the first test run so your cat is being a CAT. They are a complex mystery. Put his symptoms and test results in Gemini, and you might have solved the mystery. Vets are doing same. But they know that AI is going to cost them money. they have to pay the bills
Pet insurance. That said, I have 3 dogs,one is a senior, and decent pet insurance is almost $400 a month. So instead I got accident insurance that costs me under $50 and I put $300 a month into a pet savings… at this point I have almost 9k in there. I have had vet bills.., I had regular visits and flea/tick meds I expected and paid for (not from
Savings), I had a $600 emergency vet (the big guy got into a secured trash can and ate bones), and the old one needed a dental that cost almost $1,000. My original goal was 10k
We used to have multiple pets. Today we have one dog and one cat. Yes, we have had some expensive vet bills. When needed, we spend what is necessary.
Idk I just buy food and litter for my cat and she’s doing alright after 11 years. Spay might have been 200, rabies shot 10. Some amazon boxes and she’s in heaven.
So, pets are expensive. $500 for an annual checkup and base bloodwork. Minimum1k in the fund for emergency visits, bump that up to 2-5k should any chronic medical issue arise. $50 a month for preventative meds. Plus food, toys, grooming and other sundries. Plan to spend more, and be happy when you come in under.
Private equity has been buying up small veterinarian offices, and jacking the prices. It is getting harder and harder to find independent vets. Try to find one that you like and trust, and then just be specific about pricing when you go there. Don’t do any services without knowing the prices first. Sadly, this is just a state of pet ownership right now. That said, I think it’s a pretty brutal industry to be a veterinarian. Their costs are going up all the time. It was a perfect storm, everybody got animals during Covid and then the pricing has gone up significantly. I often wonder how many of those people were able to keep their animals.
To try and keep vet bills down, I give my cat only wet food. (If she sleeps inside some nights, I put out some crunchies for a snack.)
She is an indoor/outdoor cat and will soon be 9 years old. She’s only been to the vet once. Now, I know a lot of people will scream bloody murder that she needs yearly exams, but my way has worked out so far.
She eats well and drinks. Her coat is shiny, her eyes are clear, her gums are pink. She has no problem taking a poo or pee.
If something is wrong with her, I will KNOW after living with her for nine years. And I will take her to the vet.
I give her herbal parasite medicine from time to time and I have a fine tooth comb and I use that to comb her and remove loose hair and any fleas. I haven’t found any ticks on her yet. I comb her several times a week and get from 1-4 fleas. (Her favorite thing is to lie in a pile of leaves.)
So this is my plan. She is thriving and happy! And I hope she stays that way.
Dutch can help. Unlimited virtual vet visits along with prescriptions. For either a monthly or yearly charge. Yearly charge is less than the cost of a single vet trip.
Did the vet actually find anything wrong?
I think starting with educating yourself on when it’s vet time vs giving them a bit of time to see what happens. I’ve got a cat that like to act like he’s dying of lethargy and no appetite and then as soon as I walk through the vet’s door with him, he’s back to normal. Part of it’s going to be learning your animal and the other learning when it’s actually vet time.
Cats tend to hide when they’re sick and act dramatic when they’re not. It’s a fine line of figuring out which one you’re encountering. :/
So, pet insurance or putting money in a savings account each month.
I set money aside every month for food and vet bills. I normally have a $1000 cushion which has served me well.
Oh hell my dog had puppies last August(Pointadors). Medical bills and food currently at $5k and climbing for 3 remaining pups and Momma(she had complications that led to long term medical issues). Pups almost 90 lbs at 9 months old. They are eating 5 bags of puppy food a month, literally eating me out of house and home. They are huge, they are super high energy. they are destructive….But I love em, so worth it. Spending on something you love has no price tag.
I’ve had my present cat since she was a kitten. I did get pet insurance but only for emergency services. It is less expensive. Yearly visits I can handle.
I also keep my cat indoors. She has never been outside unless in her carrier. She is a bit a shy cat and won’t rush a door and will often hide in her safe spot when someone is at my house.
I found a vet that is reasonably priced and no-frills. I stay in the exam room with my pet (no whisking it away to god-knows-where) and he can pretty much rule out a lot of illnesses with his thirty-plus years of experience. He does have the modern equipment in case we need to get fancy but he understands that not everyone can afford those tests. I trust him to tell us which tests are actually needed.
This is what we would call a country doctor in my youth. There are still some good ones out there that don’t charge you $100 just to walk in the door. Do not go to any chain veterinarian. Good luck and thanks for saving this kitty!
Save.
Every paycheck, I put money away into a separate fund for her medical expenses.
Pets are expensive. Giving them medical treatment is a given, so you need to plan ahead for it.
My dog lived to be nearly 18 years old. The last 2.5 years, I spent $300-500/mo on her medicines, supplements, vet visits to manage her conditions due to age.
Thats what an emergency fund is for. I’ve got four dogs, aged 15, 12, 5, and 2, all strays. Only issue was the 5 year old had heart worms but we were technically “fostering” him at the time so the rescue handled it. Other than that its about 40 bucks worth of food a month and I get their flea/tick/heartworm meds from the city so its super cheap. We have friends or family come over to watch them if we leave town.