Would You Spend $13,000 For Life Saving Surgery For Your Pet?

OneEyedDiva

OneEyedDiva

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New Jersey
About 30 years ago, our beloved Audra (cat) started having health issues. She was lethargic, stopped grooming herself and wasn't eating well. I found a very nice vet two towns over who kept her in the hospital to run some tests. The results were not good. She told me Audra would either have surgery or I could have her euthanized. I believe the surgery was $!,000 at that time. I didn't know what to do so I asked the doctor, who was I could tell was a caring person , what she would do if it was her cat. She said she would put her to sleep because keeping her alive would cause her to suffer. My son and I went to the hopsital immediately and I held her until she was gone. Then we both had a good cry.

A friend's nephew has a dog who has health issues. The latest was he needed surgery or he would die. My friend's nephew paid $13,000 but now the dog can't walk, which may or may not be related to treatment he had gotten in the past. But supposedly this dog is a breed known for having health problems.My friend was astonished when she found out (from her brother) that her nephew had spent that kind of money. He's not married, lives alone (in Cali) and is out there with no family members close by. I don't know if he has many friends, so I guess the dog is his best friend.

Would you let the dog go or pay those thousands?
 

I will admit, a few years ago, I spent 2500 on surgery for a dog. He started bleeding internally for no reason I know off, but his belly blew up like he had swallowed a football. This was just not an ordinary dog, he was my husbands chemo dog. They removed his spleen and he was able to come home for a couple of days. Then he started to swell again. The vet said his pancreas was inflamed when he took out the spleen. They could have removed his pancreas but he would have to take insulin and be on a special diet for the rest of his life.

At that point, I let him go, I knew he would not be happy in the long wrong. I do not at all regret spending the money if there was a chance he would be healthy again. The vet could not figure out what happened, I think he got hold of rat poison a neighbor put out.
 
If I had the money, sure. But....

Quality of life would be a huge factor. I have a friend who spends thousands (that she can't really afford) on treatments that will keep her pet alive for a few more months. Meanwhile, the animal's problems sound really horrible, and it must be suffering. I'd have the vet put the poor thing to sleep.
 
ElCastor said:
Itā€™s a decision I would have to share with my wife, and could be influenced by the age and condition of the pet as well as the nature of the surgery, but the answer is yes.
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CallMeKate said:
Without getting into a long explanation that would trigger me to tears, I'll just say that if I'd be assured that the surgery would actually be life saving and not cause suffering, I would pay it in a heartbeat.
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Same here.
 
No, that would be beyond our budget. A vet told us we needed to take our well-loved calico cat Fancy to a vet 8 hours away. She hated having to be in the car, cried all the way to the vets. The problem killed her, but she had several good years after that vet wanted us to take her to a kitty specialist.
 
I agree with others that it depends on the outcome. We had a cat that we loved dearly, but she became thin, had constant diarrhea and was pooping outside the litter box. We took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. The vet recommend radiation treatment to the tune of $3,000. I was happy to pay it because she was a big part of our family. I was also already familiar with the treatment because my mother had the same issue and took radioactive iodine for years. She had to be separated from our other cat for 2 weeks due to the treatment. We took her back home and, unfortunately, her health never improved. She was still in a weakened state and it was difficult to see.
 
It really depends on the age of the pet and prognosis. In 2019 I bought my first puppy and she was 2 months old. 2 weeks later I find out that the valve to her heart didnā€™t close and if she didnā€™t have heart surgery soon she would be dead by 1.

The surgery cost 4K and I did it because her entire life was ahead of her and the prognosis was good. Mandy was an excellent buddy and lived to 15 with no other issues. People thought we were crazy and said to just get another dog.
 
Four years ago Buffy had great difficulty breathing. Our vet told us to take her to the Animal Medical center on the upper East Side. She was placed in an oxygen closed cage. Due to the fact they didn't feed her she developed another life threatening condition that affects overweight cats that don't eat. My son visited her every day. She was there for almost a week. Every day they told my son if he didn't pay she would be removed from her oxygen tank and die a painful death. I didn't like how they did this, it was blackmail, especially since they themselves made her condition worse. When she finally got home, she still needed extreme care for weeks, being fed through a stent tube, etc., lots of meds.

I finally dragged out of my son what he paid: $11,000.00. We love Buffy so much. My grandson was a newborn. In his honor, my son saved Buffy, putting himself in debt. Son said his son should know you never give up on someone you love.
 
My mom spent over $2000 about 25 years ago (that would be about $3500 in today's money) on an operation for one of her cats even though the vet said it probably wouldn't be successful (and it wasn't).

My personal feeling is that if the cat it relatively young and there's a chance a procedure will help, I'd spend a reasonable amount. If the cat is old, suffering and the procedure will only put it though a lot and not cure the problem - then euthanasia. I've been down this road many times. Sometimes vets will set up a payment plan so you wouldn't have to pay all at once if that situation applies.
 
As someone else said the amount I would spend could depend on the age of the animal. I have 2 cats, one very elderly and one a little past middle age. For the older cat I don't think it would be fair to put him through a big surgery. I think I would lean toward keeping him pain free and letting him go, maybe with a little help if he needs it.
 
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CallMeKate said:
Without getting into a long explanation that would trigger me to tears, I'll just say that if I'd be assured that the surgery would actually be life saving and not cause suffering, I would pay it in a heartbeat.
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same here.. the dogs are family.. . The only time I wouldn't spend a load for surgery is if they're already apporaching the end of their natural life.. otherwise I would do whatever I could and spend whatever I need to to make them well. My daughter has spent thousands ..literally Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£'s on the care of her dogs.. which included a lot of pet insurance, and she doesn't regret it one bit !
 
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