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$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
$3000 for a cat surgery?
Find how much it costs to put the animal down and call a mulligan.
$3000 for a cat surgery?
Find how much it costs to put the animal down and call a mulligan.
$3000 for a cat surgery?
Find how much it costs to put the animal down and call a mulligan.
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.
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)?
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.
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
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
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.
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.
My Siamese cat Sylvester lives to be 22! .
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 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
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.
Or find a new significant other to satisfy your carnal urges, and still save the money ...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
$3000 for a cat surgery?
Find how much it costs to put the animal down and call a mulligan.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
I would have never thought a thread about getting a cat could slide so far sideways into heated debate...leave it to the internetgotta love premeds
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.
lemme guess... 21 year old bio major?
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!
lemme guess... 21 year old bio major?
22 super senior.