Having a cat while in school

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Originally Posted by Tatiana3325

For the love of god do not get a pet right now!!!

If that thing gets sick, it's going to run you at least $ 250. Your cat will get sick at the time you can least afford it, and it will probably be on the weekend. So then you'll have to go to the urgent care vet who is literally going to rob you blind by charging you about $750 for "diagnostics."

You might think that your young cat won't get sick. This is sound. But what your cat WILL do is eat random crap causing obstructions that your vet will, again, rob you blind to fix by charging you $3000 for the surgery.

If your cat gets really sick-- thousands of dollars sick-- and you can't pay, you're looking at euthanasia. I'm dead serious. Vets do not mess around when it comes to getting paid.

Then there's the barfing and the hair and the fact that they live for 20 years. Oh my god don't do it.

This is a wee bit of an overstatement. It's true that you need to have a contingency plan if your cat gets sick, but many cats live into old age before needing any expensive medical treatment. It's a risk analysis--if you get a young cat without any preexisting health condition you have reasonable odds that during your tenure as a med student, there won't be too many expensive crises.

As to vet bills, it probably does make sense to get a sense of the going rate in your area before getting a pet, and also which vets (if any) offer payment plans. The one time I remember in my family's 20+ years of life with cats one of our cats got "thousands of dollars sick," a payment plan was available.

Originally Posted by jdh71

$3000 for a cat surgery?



Find how much it costs to put the animal down and call a mulligan.

$150... And there are ways to accomplish that first part fo' free

Originally Posted by jdh71

$3000 for a cat surgery?



Find how much it costs to put the animal down and call a mulligan.

Yeah... I have two cats (one of whom eats EVERYTHING, and it's a small miracle that he hasn't electrocuted himself) that I love to pieces, but...

My solution to a cat that needs a $3000 surgery is New Cat.

Originally Posted by jdh71

$3000 for a cat surgery?



Find how much it costs to put the animal down and call a mulligan.

Euthanasia is free.

Originally Posted by AMH0505

This is a wee bit of an overstatement. It's true that you need to have a contingency plan if your cat gets sick, but many cats live into old age before needing any expensive medical treatment. It's a risk analysis--if you get a young cat without any preexisting health condition you have reasonable odds that during your tenure as a med student, there won't be too many expensive crises.

As to vet bills, it probably does make sense to get a sense of the going rate in your area before getting a pet, and also which vets (if any) offer payment plans. The one time I remember in my family's 20+ years of life with cats one of our cats got "thousands of dollars sick," a payment plan was available.

Actually, what I said is more of an understatement. I have vet invoices to back this up. My friends who have pets have had similar experiences.

One of them spent $8900 on their golden retriever puppy when it was 5 months old. Fido ate grapes on the table and a gym sock on the same day. They maxed out two credit cards paying for this otherwise they would have had to euthanize their dog. Vets are surprisingly cold when it comes down to things like this. I certainly didn't know this. I thought there was no way the vet would let an animal stay sick or die, and that they would treat and figure out financing later. Nope. They have no problem killing your pet for you if you can't or don't want to pay.

I think the take home message is to kitty proof my apartment. The place is small enough where it shouldn't be hard to train the cat to stay away from non edibles. If you can potty train a cat, surely to god you can train it not to eat socks

but **** happens, and i know the risks involved. I would have some support from my parents, but not to the tune of thousands of dollars, which is why I'm still thinking about pet insurance as an option

Are you responsible enough that, when you're faced with a change in your life (e.g., having to move, wanting to go away for summer, etc.) you'll figure out a way to make it work for your pet instead of tossing it back in a shelter (yes, unfortunately I've seen this happen)?

Yea. U of I is requiring me to move cities before M2 so if I get a cat, it's not like I would throw it out the door the second it becomes inconvenient lol

Originally Posted by dr zaius

A few months ago I had to take in my family cat. My parents were moving and were stuck in an apartment with a dog until they sold the old house/found a new one and thought it would be too crowded. Cats are generally low maintenance. Many of my classmates have cats and never complain about them. My cat is a bit clingy and is very vocal, which can get annoying at times. He's almost 18 though so I humor him as if he were an elderly relative. Bless his Siamese heart.

My Siamese cat Sylvester lives to be 22! I've gotten kittens and cats, honestly, just like people it depends on the animal. I've had demon kittens and lovers, same with teen/adult cats I've adopted. Biggest thing I'd like to stress is spay/neutering your animal. If you get them from the humane society or similar, the older ones are usually done and the little ones come with a voucher. Also, not a big fan on declawing, especially four claw declawing.

Originally Posted by Rumalum

I think the take home message is to kitty proof my apartment. The place is small enough where it shouldn't be hard to train the cat to stay away from non edibles. If you can potty train a cat, surely to god you can train it not to eat socks

but **** happens, and i know the risks involved. I would have some support from my parents, but not to the tune of thousands of dollars, which is why I'm still thinking about pet insurance as an option



Yea. U of I is requiring me to move cities before M2 so if I get a cat, it's not like I would throw it out the door the second it becomes inconvenient lol

The other take home message is not to look at the invoice from the vets office. Just pay it, fold it in half, and walk away. Stuff like, $120 for an X-ray on a cat and $30 to read the X-ray will make you want to strangle your vet. The X-ray machine at the vet is almost certainly old and cranked up too so plan on being back in about 6 years paying for tumor removal.

Originally Posted by Rumalum

I think the take home message is to kitty proof my apartment. The place is small enough where it shouldn't be hard to train the cat to stay away from non edibles. If you can potty train a cat, surely to god you can train it not to eat socks

but **** happens, and i know the risks involved. I would have some support from my parents, but not to the tune of thousands of dollars, which is why I'm still thinking about pet insurance as an option



Yea. U of I is requiring me to move cities before M2 so if I get a cat, it's not like I would throw it out the door the second it becomes inconvenient lol

You sound responsible enough you'll be fine getting a kitty. I don't know what's up with the posts from above, perhaps bad experiences. I know what cats can and can't eat. My cats don't like chocolate, but I always cover it up and put it away just in case. Any time I brought in a plant I wasn't sure was toxic to cats, I'd look it up first. You'd be surprised at the things they do chew on - oh which reminds me. They like grass, so you know that 'cat' grass you see at the store or live catnip plants? You can get that for your kitty every once in a while. One thing I cannot have because I have cats is the silver tinsel on Christmas trees - they treat that like grass and start pooping up silver strands...

This is also why it's a great thing you'll be spending time with your cat in the beginning 24-7. You can SEE what he/she gets into, so you'll know what additional things to kitty-proof if you miss anything.

I don't have experience with pet insurance to tell you to get it or not. I haven't had it at all and it hasn't been an issue (yet). But thousands of dollars on a cat? In a majority of cases that's when the cat gets to be older (i.e. when you're in residency + beyond, probably a doctor at that point). And honestly if you're considering spending thousands of dollars on a super sick old cat, it might be kinder to put it down at that point.

And the animal shelter I went to automatically neutered any cat that you brought back.

No one can tell you what will happen, but you sound like you have your head on straight and responsible enough that a little cat is going to be just fine for you during med school. Some of these posters sound like they would say !!! don't have kids!! cause they can cost lots of money and have accidents and require care/bills! Sorry, but I don't have sympathy for irresponsible pet owners that leave things like grapes on the table for Fido to eat, knowing that they're poisonous.

It's your own choice, and if you've weighed pros and cons, and found pros to outweigh it, go for it.

Originally Posted by Tatiana3325

Actually, what I said is more of an understatement. I have vet invoices to back this up. My friends who have pets have had similar experiences.

One of them spent $8900 on their golden retriever puppy when it was 5 months old. Fido ate grapes on the table and a gym sock on the same day. They maxed out two credit cards paying for this otherwise they would have had to euthanize their dog. Vets are surprisingly cold when it comes down to things like this. I certainly didn't know this. I thought there was no way the vet would let an animal stay sick or die, and that they would treat and figure out financing later. Nope. They have no problem killing your pet for you if you can't or don't want to pay.

A good example of why always to research your vets (before getting a pet, if possible, though I admit I've never thought that far in advance). I've dealt with vets who couldn't care less and vets who have gone out of their way to be accommodating.

Vets are like all other professionals. Some really care about what they do and others don't and some are capable of being more flexible than others. I don't mean most vets will treat an animal for free--they have overhead to pay--but I wouldn't make sweeping generalizations about their willingness/ability to work with pet owners.

Yeah, OP, sounds like you are ready for a kitty. Congrats.

I did have to spend $75 last fall when the meowzer got conjunctivitis. That wasn't fun, but I love that damn cat.

Originally Posted by Tatiana3325

For the love of god do not get a pet right now!!!

If that thing gets sick, it's going to run you at least $ 250. Your cat will get sick at the time you can least afford it, and it will probably be on the weekend. So then you'll have to go to the urgent care vet who is literally going to rob you blind by charging you about $750 for "diagnostics."

You might think that your young cat won't get sick. This is sound. But what your cat WILL do is eat random crap causing obstructions that your vet will, again, rob you blind to fix by charging you $3000 for the surgery.

If your cat gets really sick-- thousands of dollars sick-- and you can't pay, you're looking at euthanasia. I'm dead serious. Vets do not mess around when it comes to getting paid.

Then there's the barfing and the hair and the fact that they live for 20 years. Oh my god don't do it.

I have to agree with this. Indoor cats typically live 12-15 years. That's a huge committment. Even if it "only" lives 12 years, that's still ~60 Kim Kardashian marriages worth of time.

Also, use the $$ figures that NickNaylor provided and extrapolate that over 12 years. It comes out to $7500, not to mention the work that money could have been doing during that time. If you want a "pet project," I suggest a financial endeavor: invest a small amount of money and every month add to it what you would be spending on a cat.

Oh, I just checked what you could earn. If you put $150 down and added $50 a month, at 8% APY you would have well over $12,000 after 12 years, which would make for a great down payment on a new/used car or help knock out a chunk of your student loans. Is that how much a cat is worth to you?

Originally Posted by HipChick

My Siamese cat Sylvester lives to be 22! .

This is exactly what I'm talking about.

Originally Posted by HipChick

My Siamese cat Sylvester lives to be 22! I've gotten kittens and cats, honestly, just like people it depends on the animal. I've had demon kittens and lovers, same with teen/adult cats I've adopted. Biggest thing I'd like to stress is spay/neutering your animal. If you get them from the humane society or similar, the older ones are usually done and the little ones come with a voucher. Also, not a big fan on declawing, especially four claw declawing.

I read somewhere that they generally have longer lifespans as far as cats go. I have a feeling that he will be with me for quite a while.

That being said he lived most of his life until recently as a primarily outdoor cat in the country. He came in when it was raining or cold, but he was outside most of the time. He has never had any health problems (knock on wood). My parents paid ~$80/yr for immunizations and a check up and whatever amount for flea/tick/heartworm meds. It all comes down to the genes of the cat and dumb luck I suppose. A friend of mine had an indoor cat that had constant ear infections and some other random thing that ended up costing a fortune. Buyer beware.

Originally Posted by Tatiana3325

Euthanasia is free.

Oh.

In that case, problem solved.

Originally Posted by Marge

I have to agree with this. Indoor cats typically live 12-15 years. That's a huge committment. Even if it "only" lives 12 years, that's still ~60 Kim Kardashian marriages worth of time.

Also, use the $$ figures that NickNaylor provided and extrapolate that over 12 years. It comes out to $7500, not to mention the work that money could have been doing during that time. If you want a "pet project," I suggest a financial endeavor: invest a small amount of money and every month add to it what you would be spending on a cat.

Oh, I just checked what you could earn. If you put $150 down and added $50 a month, at 8% APY you would have well over $12,000 after 12 years, which would make for a great down payment on a new/used car or help knock out a chunk of your student loans. Is that how much a cat is worth to you?

If I wanted something cold and lifeless, I'd try to get back with my ex

Originally Posted by Rumalum

If I wanted something cold and lifeless, I'd try to get back with my ex

Or find a new significant other to satisfy your carnal urges, and still save the money ...

Originally Posted by Tatiana3325

Vets are surprisingly cold when it comes down to things like this. I certainly didn't know this. I thought there was no way the vet would let an animal stay sick or die, and that they would treat and figure out financing later. Nope. They have no problem killing your pet for you if you can't or don't want to pay.

OP if you really want advice about cat ownership feel free to come over to the pre-vet/vet forums. we're not exactly as horrible and heartless as some of you on this forum make us out to be....because god forbid we actually charge our clients for the services we provide after the 8+ years of education we go through and upwards of $300,000 of student loan debt. don't worry, our staff will work for free and the hospital rent, electricity, and equipment bills will pay themselves.

Originally Posted by Marge

Or find a new significant other to satisfy your carnal urges, and still save the money ...

Erm... people require a LOT more $ than a kitten. Unless you find a suga momma/daddy.

I'm not so sure why you're clinging to your $ so much. Students drop tons of money every week on booze. People could have way less debt if they cut back on going out, not drinking, not partying, not buying new clothes, not traveling to see family/friends, and not eating come to think of it. Happiness and living are way overrated anyways amirite?

Originally Posted by squeegee

OP if you really want advice about cat ownership feel free to come over to the pre-vet/vet forums. we're not exactly as horrible and heartless as some of you on this forum make us out to be....because god forbid we actually charge our clients for the services we provide after the 8+ years of education we go through and upwards of $300,000 of student loan debt. don't worry, our staff will work for free and the hospital rent, electricity, and equipment bills will pay themselves.

Originally Posted by squeegee

OP if you really want advice about cat ownership feel free to come over to the pre-vet/vet forums. we're not exactly as horrible and heartless as some of you on this forum make us out to be....because god forbid we actually charge our clients for the services we provide after the 8+ years of education we go through and upwards of $300,000 of student loan debt. don't worry, our staff will work for free and the hospital rent, electricity, and equipment bills will pay themselves.

:P I think he/she was shocked that you actually charged for services, because they were planning on practicing medicine pro bono after hundreds of thousands of dollar of debt and years of slaving away.

Originally Posted by squeegee

OP if you really want advice about cat ownership feel free to come over to the pre-vet/vet forums. we're not exactly as horrible and heartless as some of you on this forum make us out to be....because god forbid we actually charge our clients for the services we provide after the 8+ years of education we go through and upwards of $300,000 of student loan debt. don't worry, our staff will work for free and the hospital rent, electricity, and equipment bills will pay themselves.

Funny, I always thought my vet's x-ray machine ran on good will alone. You mean it's like a people x-ray machine and has real operational costs??

(In all seriousness, though, 90% of the vets I've encountered have been AMAZING when one of the pets has gotten sick and even though I perennial paranoid about finances, it never occurred to me to be resentful when I saw the bill.)

I don't know why people are telling you not to buy pet insurance. It is a very smart idea of a pet owner who A. would like to spend money fixing their animal's health issues but B. doesn't have cash sitting around. It's a gamble. You might pay for the insurance and have a perfectly healthy cat (consider that a win!) or you might have a sick cat who needs tons of treatment and you wish you could go back and get the insurance.

If you don't buy insurance, I would put away at least $1000 for emergencies. You will likely never touch this money, but it's essential to have in case of emergency.

Call your local vet and ask what insurance companies they accept, and then look into a cost comparison.

Pets are awesome!!! I would recommend a rabbit instead of a cat, but I'm biased. They're better at using the litter box, quiet, and have way more personality than any other pet.

Originally Posted by SnowyRox

I don't know why people are telling you not to buy pet insurance. It is a very smart idea of a pet owner who A. would like to spend money fixing their animal's health issues but B. doesn't have cash sitting around. It's a gamble. You might pay for the insurance and have a perfectly healthy cat (consider that a win!) or you might have a sick cat who needs tons of treatment and you wish you could go back and get the insurance.

If you don't buy insurance, I would put away at least $1000 for emergencies. You will likely never touch this money, but it's essential to have in case of emergency.

Call your local vet and ask what insurance companies they accept, and then look into a cost comparison.

Pets are awesome!!! I would recommend a rabbit instead of a cat, but I'm biased. They're better at using the litter box, quiet, and have way more personality than any other pet.

Definitely on the pet insurance, but do realize that most plans require you pay for the treatment up front, then have it reimbursed. So you actually do have to have some money laying around in a lot of the instances, or a credit card with a reasonable limit. You also do need to be rather proactive about figuring out what is and isn't covered.

I have ferrets, personally, but you can't go wrong with a cat imo. Just have some money stashed aside for them, and enjoy the company and stress relief.

Originally Posted by squeegee

OP if you really want advice about cat ownership feel free to come over to the pre-vet/vet forums. we're not exactly as horrible and heartless as some of you on this forum make us out to be....because god forbid we actually charge our clients for the services we provide after the 8+ years of education we go through and upwards of $300,000 of student loan debt. don't worry, our staff will work for free and the hospital rent, electricity, and equipment bills will pay themselves.

Oh come on! When was I suggesting that you work for free?

A vet would be naive and foolish to work for free or perform procedures without getting paid. Your profession is based on the emotional connection between humans and animals that makes people willing to cough up their extra income. When I said vets are cold, I should have said matter of fact.

I can imagine its difficult to be a vet and love animals. Ultimately you're not responsible for their lives and have to provide treatment according to what an owner can afford and wants to do.

Originally Posted by Tatiana3325

Oh come on! When was I suggesting that you work for free?

A vet would be naive and foolish to work for free or perform procedures without getting paid. Your profession is based on the emotional connection between humans and animals that makes people willing to cough up their extra income. When I said vets are cold, I should have said matter of fact.

I can imagine its difficult to be a vet and love animals. Ultimately you're not responsible for their lives and have to provide treatment according to what an owner can afford and wants to do.

oh, my apologies. you didn't say we work for free, just that we should be strangled for what we charge, and we have old jacked up equipment that will give animals cancer down the line that we will also charge you a fortune to remove. oh and don't forget robbing you blind!! with (quote) "diagnostics" that are apparently fake...must be old junk machinery like that xray machine. good thing we "don't mess around!" with getting paid. luckily for me i'm so good at manipulating that human animal bond to make those poor pet owners cough up that extra income.

again, OP, feel free to come over to our forums anytime.

Originally Posted by squeegee

oh, my apologies. you didn't say we work for free, just that we should be strangled for what we charge, and we have old jacked up equipment that will give animals cancer down the line that we will also charge you a fortune to remove. oh and don't forget robbing you blind!! with (quote) "diagnostics" that are apparently fake...must be old junk machinery like that xray machine. good thing we "don't mess around!" with getting paid. luckily for me i'm so good at manipulating that human animal bond to make those poor pet owners cough up that extra income.

Agreed

Originally Posted by Tatiana3325

Your profession is based on the emotional connection between humans and animals that makes people willing to cough up their extra income. When I said vets are cold, I should have said matter of fact.

And pediatricians make their money based on the emotional connection between people and their offspring.

Most professions capitalize on people liking things. It doesn't mean the people in those fields are cold, calculating bastards. Most professionals I know appreciate earning money, but if asked what motivates them will say the like [insert something about what they do]. We can try to reduce everything down to bare, self-serving interests but even economists admit that that doesn't explain the whole range of human behavior (see: doting grandfather paradox).

Originally Posted by squeegee

oh, my apologies. you didn't say we work for free, just that we should be strangled for what we charge, and we have old jacked up equipment that will give animals cancer down the line that we will also charge you a fortune to remove.

Yes, because you guys totally prefer unsafe x-ray machines, as you and/or your tech has to remain in the room, often holding the patient.

My kitteh just brought in a half eaten rabbit. Good kitteh!! Sucha killer. Me luvsemlongtimesuchacutie.

My cat rocks.

(and I'm still not fixing her for 3 grand - ever)

Originally Posted by Rumalum

I think the take home message is to kitty proof my apartment. The place is small enough where it shouldn't be hard to train the cat to stay away from non edibles. If you can potty train a cat, surely to god you can train it not to eat socks

but **** happens, and i know the risks involved. I would have some support from my parents, but not to the tune of thousands of dollars, which is why I'm still thinking about pet insurance as an option

I think you have a great outlook, and I wish you the best of luck in finding a kitty companion for med school.

As for kitty proofing, make sure you don't leave any kind of string (esp. dental floss) lying around. And if you see a piece of string coming out your cat's butt DO NOT PULL. If you do... that WILL likely result in a surgery that will cost you more than you can afford (without guarantees to your cat's survival).

Make sure you know that the plants around your house are non-toxic to cats. Lily toxicities are probably some of the saddest cases ever.

DO NOT try to medicate your kitty cat with any newfound knowledge from med school. Cats especially have poor liver metabolism of many drugs. Even one tablet of ibuprofen can do baaaad baaaaaad things to your cat. Cat's are not little people. They're not even little dogs. Take your kitty to a vet earlier rather than later. Seriously, a few diagnostic tests here and there might come to a couple hundred bucks... but that sure beats the cost of a full blown crisis.

As for diet/nutrition... really... i'm not even going to open up that can of worms, but general rule of thumb is not to trust any heavily opinionated person about what to feed your cat.

Originally Posted by AMH0505

A good example of why always to research your vets (before getting a pet, if possible, though I admit I've never thought that far in advance). I've dealt with vets who couldn't care less and vets who have gone out of their way to be accommodating.

Vets are like all other professionals. Some really care about what they do and others don't and some are capable of being more flexible than others. I don't mean most vets will treat an animal for free--they have overhead to pay--but I wouldn't make sweeping generalizations about their willingness/ability to work with pet owners.

Very true that vets are like all other professionals, and there are a lot of individual differences between different vet practices. Some will match your needs better than others. HOWEVER, I will say that vet med is generally not a profession people go into unless they really are passionate about caring for animals. It's also important to realize that vets cannot care more for the animal than the owner does. If the owner is unwilling to care for their pet, why should the vet? As much as it sucks, kitty bodies are not any less complex than a human body, and medical equipment/services/consumables are freaking expensive. The prices you get in vet med are actually quite the bargain compared to human med. Sometimes, it's totally the stupid owners fault that the animal ended up with a huge vet bill. I have no sympathy in those cases. I feel bad for the animal... but if I pay out of my own pocket for a charity case when I'm barely able to make student loan payments (and why do I have to pay, I'm not even the owner's friend?), I certainly don't want to waste it on an animal that's just going to go back to the horrors of a stupid owner. Offering to euthanize doesn't mean "oh, so you won't pay me? i'ma kill your pet." Quite the contrary, it's "your pet is suffering and you are unable/unwilling to provide treatment. i do not want to let your pet continue to suffer because of your inability/unwillingness to treat."

Sometimes it really is pure dumb luck that an animal all of the sudden becomes a huge financial burden on the owner, no matter how much they love their pets and have done all the right things. I would want to bend over and backwards for these types of cases. And if money does end up being a deciding factor, I would never say that someone is a horrible person because they can't afford $5000 for a treatment for their pet. Or because they elected to euthanize their pet for a chronic illness that costs a ton to treat and monitor. But I would be more than a little peeved if they blamed their inability/unwillingness to pay on me.

Originally Posted by SnowyRox

I don't know why people are telling you not to buy pet insurance. It is a very smart idea of a pet owner who A. would like to spend money fixing their animal's health issues but B. doesn't have cash sitting around. It's a gamble. You might pay for the insurance and have a perfectly healthy cat (consider that a win!) or you might have a sick cat who needs tons of treatment and you wish you could go back and get the insurance.

I think it really depends on the insurance company. Some really are worthless. It really is a buyer beware industry. I personally wish I'd gotten a good insurance policy for my cat though. I decided against it because she's such a young healthy cat, and I figured with the discounts I get from being a vet student, I should be able to ride out my vet student years without insurance. No such luck. I know first hand how much it SUCKS to have a pet you love with expensive medical problems.

Spent 6 hours and $650 at the Vet ER last night with a sick pet (my dog in this case), got 2 hours of sleep and took a 4 hour exam. I wasn't sure half the time I was reading real words on the questions...oh well. Got to do what you got to do. Pets become like your kids (well, until you have kids) and once you get attached you do just about anything for them. And pets will choose the worst times to get sick.

Originally Posted by jdh71

$3000 for a cat surgery?



Find how much it costs to put the animal down and call a mulligan.

But I luv teh kitty.

So many memes I want to add with this vid. Oh well, this is enough to enjoy for now.:

that thing is scary looking...

EDIT: the kitten... the gator is fine

.

Originally Posted by squeegee

oh, my apologies. you didn't say we work for free, just that we should be strangled for what we charge, and we have old jacked up equipment that will give animals cancer down the line that we will also charge you a fortune to remove. oh and don't forget robbing you blind!! with (quote) "diagnostics" that are apparently fake...must be old junk machinery like that xray machine. good thing we "don't mess around!" with getting paid. luckily for me i'm so good at manipulating that human animal bond to make those poor pet owners cough up that extra income.

again, OP, feel free to come over to our forums anytime.

.

Originally Posted by Tatiana3325

Unless a vet is adjusting the machine for every animal that goes in it, which I doubt happens, a cat is getting the same level as a lab. Which is unnecessary.

this is the last time i'm going to even bother replying, since you are just going to continually assume you know everything about the veterinary profession. where i am we have a digital xray machine that is 3 years old. it is adjustable for canine, feline, and avian patients which changes the kVp and mAs accordingly. it is also adjustable for a variety of different images (AXR, CXR, extremity, skull, etc) which will also automatically adjust the kVp and mAs. it would be stupid to give a cat the "same level" as a lab for many reasons, the first of which being it would not provide a diagnostic image. at all.

i am aware that this is only one person's experience and not a reflection of the profession as a whole. then again, i could be like you and start ranting about the medical profession being all jacked up awful when all i have are the few instances i was treated like **** in the ED, waited 8 hours for essentially nothing and received a $6000 bill for the pleasure...but i won't. feel free to stop bashing the veterinary profession with your generalized statements and asshattery any time.

best of luck to you and your pre-medical and medical studies.

Originally Posted by Tatiana3325

There is NO SAFE X-ray machine. It's ionizing radiation. None of its safe. Older X-ray machines use more radiation than newer ones. Even one that is only 7 years old or so. Unless a vet is adjusting the machine for every animal that goes in it, which I doubt happens, a cat is getting the same level as a lab. Which is unnecessary.

Comparing vets to pediatricians is crazy. For one, pediatricians can't refuse treatment due to nonpayment. They also cannot euthanize their patients. I could go on and on.

You do know how x-ray machines work, right? Like, how to get an image? For different tissue densities, you need to adjust the kv and the ma and the time otherwise you will get a sh!tty picture. So sure you could blast a cat with the same amount of radiation as a labrador... but you sure wouldn't get an image that was diagnostic. WTH?!

So yes, we DO measure the tissue depth and change the kv and MaS for EVERY IMAGE we take. We even change the kv and MaS in between a DV and a lateral on the SAME PATIENT. I don't know what kind of dark ages you think we're operating in but many, many vet clinics these days are equiped with digital or computerised xray, don't know where you get this idea that we're all operating with 20yo machinery comes from.

Also, the average veterinarian wage is roughly 60,000-80,000pa. If we wanted to make money, TRUST ME, we would NOT have gone into this field! We go into veterinary medicine because we are passionate about animals, animal health and welfare, and the human animal bond. However that does not mean we should not get paid for what we do, and since most US veterinary students have student loans in the range of $100,000-300,000, that salary is mediocre at best. We constantly struggle, day in, day out, with the financial side of things - people who get pets and are not prepared to pay for the costs associated. That is not OUR fault. That fault is strictly the owner of the pet. In reality, we exhibit great value for money.

I'll run a scenario by you:
Dog comes in with a bleeding spleenic mass: total costs amount to ~$5000. Common scenario, especially in emergency practice (typically the most expensive area of vet med)
What are you getting for that:

Consultation and surgery performed by a vet with 8+ years of university based training, and atleast 5+ years in emergency medicine resulting in "fellowship" qualifications.
Ultrasound, x-rays (to check for mets), CBC, Biochem, electrolytes, blood typing.
Stabilisation including aggressive crystalloid therapy, colloids and blood transfusions if required.
Anaesthesia performed using the safest drugs avaliable (induction with propofol/alfaxalone and maintanence with isoflurane/sevoflurane inhalation, with a CRI of fentanyl). Monitored by a highly qualified nurse or vet, using ECG, constant BP, capnography, temperature etc. Constant warming provided via baer hugger.
Surgery going for around 1 hour in most cases. Surgery itself is the same - completely sterile environment, using the same instruments, suction, autoclaving techniques etc. Just the same as a human hospital.
Constant post-op monitoring and around the clock ICU care for 2-3 days, depending on the individual. Animals are far more resiliant to surgery than humans are, so they tend to go home sooner.

Go on... how much would that cost in a human hospital? $5000 may seem like a lot - but in reality its a BARGIN!

Originally Posted by Tatiana3325

There is NO SAFE X-ray machine. It's ionizing radiation. None of its safe. Older X-ray machines use more radiation than newer ones. Even one that is only 7 years old or so. Unless a vet is adjusting the machine for every animal that goes in it, which I doubt happens, a cat is getting the same level as a lab. Which is unnecessary.

Comparing vets to pediatricians is crazy. For one, pediatricians can't refuse treatment due to nonpayment. They also cannot euthanize their patients. I could go on and on.

I'm really hoping your ignorance is due to the fact that you're only a pre-med....if you didn't adjust the machine kVp and mAs for each individual patient, you wouldn't get the proper images needed, and would have overexposure/underexposure. Also, since there is a doctor/tech in the room restraining each patient during rads (unlike human medicine), we of course want the radiation dose needed to be as low as possible.
Unlike many human doctors, veterinarians take all their own radiographs, and we know exactly how to adjust the machine for a bird, dog, cat, cow, horse, or skull, extremity, thorax, abdomen, etc.

.

Originally Posted by Rumalum

Is pet insurance worth looking into? I think I can handle the food, litter, toys, etc but I'm not entirely sure if I could handle a cardiomyopathy and beta blockers lol

Not reaaaaally ... it's a complicated question. If you anticipate big bills (such as cancer, etc.), then yes. Otherwise definitely not worth it. You might, however, want to look into veterinary discount programs - Personally I use Pet Assure, I don't think I need pet insurance.

gotta love premeds

Originally Posted by SpecterGT260

gotta love premeds

I would have never thought a thread about getting a cat could slide so far sideways into heated debate...leave it to the internet

Originally Posted by rugbychick16

I'm really hoping your ignorance is due to the fact that you're only a pre-med....if you didn't adjust the machine kVp and mAs for each individual patient, you wouldn't get the proper images needed, and would have overexposure/underexposure. Also, since there is a doctor/tech in the room restraining each patient during rads (unlike human medicine), we of course want the radiation dose needed to be as low as possible.
Unlike many human doctors, veterinarians take all their own radiographs, and we know exactly how to adjust the machine for a bird, dog, cat, cow, horse, or skull, extremity, thorax, abdomen, etc.

Look you're right in that obviously it would be nevessary to make adjustments depending on what you're looking for. I do not actually believe thag vet X-rays directly cause cancer in pets. This was an exaggeration. I was being cynical and joking around about the cost of vet care. It's not that big of a deal. I complain about the cost of lots of things.......

I find it interesting that you're being so condescending "only a premed" as though im an 18 year old bio major. Just funny the assumptions that are made here.

Originally Posted by Tatiana3325

Look you're right in that obviously it would be nevessary to make adjustments depending on what you're looking for. I do not actually believe thag vet X-rays directly cause cancer in pets. This was an exaggeration. I was being cynical and joking around about the cost of vet care. It's not that big of a deal. I complain about the cost of lots of things.......

I find it interesting that you're being so condescending "only a premed" as though im an 18 year old bio major. Just funny the assumptions that are made here.

lemme guess... 21 year old bio major?

Originally Posted by SpecterGT260

lemme guess... 21 year old bio major?

22 super senior.

Not sure what happened to this thread (and I honestly don't care), but I'll just throw in my support for getting a cat. I have an amazing indoor cat who single-handedly kept my sane during board studying when he was my only interaction for the 8-9 hours that I was studying a day.

As a total aside: if you have them in your area, Costco brand (Kirkland Signature) cat food is surprisingly healthy and good dry food. And it's cheap!

Originally Posted by sanityonleave

Not sure what happened to this thread (and I honestly don't care), but I'll just throw in my support for getting a cat. I have an amazing indoor cat who single-handedly kept my sane during board studying when he was my only interaction for the 8-9 hours that I was studying a day.

As a total aside: if you have them in your area, Costco brand (Kirkland Signature) cat food is surprisingly healthy and good dry food. And it's cheap!

that brand is my designated backup food if I ever end up having financial problems. rightnow i feed my cat taste of the wild from amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Taste-Wild-Mou...5920700&sr=8-3

its very healthy, and it is good values too; one 15 pound bag last my a year old cat almost 3 month and amazon delivers it free without tax