Vets bills. Do you have an upper limit?

Enfys

Enfys

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Do you get to a point where you say no more, I just cannot afford it?
Not just horses but other animals as well?

Would you pay upwards of $1000 for surgery for a cat? (Fortunately said cat didn't have to have surgery, but I would have had to think very hard about it if she did)
 
Yes dependent on various criteria.

Having said that I've just gone over my previously existing limit for a cat - and he's not even my own just a stray that's been hanging around and seems to have had his head kicked hard enough (by a human) to give him permanent brain damage.
 
Horse and cats are insured for this very reason.

Old horse is now un-insurable and he has many health issues already so any biggies and I'm afraid that for him it will be night night. Mind you I'm a soft touch so I can say that now but should the worst happen......well I don't know.
 
Well as insurance for animals isn't readily available here like in the UK, yes obviously I have limits on what I will pay for any of my animals. It was a little odd getting my head around this to begin with, having always had all of my animals in the UK insured.

Each horse, dog, cat has an individual value which is not based on their monetary value (which I wouldn't know until the situation arose) and it would definitely depend on whether the outcome would have a great chance of being successful or not.

I have paid more than a £1000 for a cat, but this was only because I was misled by the attending vet and had already paid a significant amount which would have been thrown down the drain had I not continued with treatment.

Under normal circumstances no I wouldn't pay that sort of money for a cat. I would, without question, for any of my dogs. I would have to consider the horse in question as to whether I would pay this amount for a horse.
 
How much I'm willing to pay depends on so many things - the prognosis, the suffering involved, future difficulties in management which may reduce quality of life, the age of the animal, the temperament of the animal etc.
It is never a simple decision, unfortunately.
THis year I've had a £4k vet bill for colic surgery, but it was a young horse with a future.
S
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I wouldnt pay more than 5 or 6 k in vets bills for a horse.

We have a kitten who has cost us more in vets bills than we ever expected. We won't have him pTS unless he;s in pain though, as he's a family pet as opposed to a horse that has a purpose.
 
My horse has had two 'incidents' that involved a trip to Liphook each time and fortunately both bills came in just under the insurers limit - phew!
My cat however wasn't insured when he ended up with a shattered back leg. That cost me £2,000 to have put right - thank god I had a lodger at the time cos that's where her rent money went!
 
I don't think I could get over the guilt if my horse was killed, just because I couldn't/wouldn't pay a bill. So I guess there would be no upper limit. That doesn't mean I'd continue treatment with a very poor prognosis though. I'm expecting large vet bills in the future, comes with having an golden oldie I guess
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I'm presently expecting a bill for about 1200 to come through after my dressage horse fractured his splint bone badly, he is likely to need an op in 6-8 weeks which will set me back another 2-3K on top of the first bill, plus endless robert jones bandages in the meantime (every 2-3 days at 85+ each!). This is on a horse with a good prognosis to return to competitive work and a value of approximately 20K so ok, it isn't nice now but it is justifiable. I don't insure my horses because it costs so much I find it better to stash some cash away each month for emergencies such as this. To insure my two competition horses for considerably less than their market value was over 1k each per year last time I got a quote. Last time I had a big vets bill was 3 years ago and that was only 650 so (touching wood!!!) at the moment it is working out in my advantage. Ok, by not insuring if my horses get stolen I would get nothing back then but to me they are irreplaceable anyway and any amount of money wouldn't be enough to compensate me for the loss of my horses. Bit of the thread I know!
 
i would pay what ever i had to 4 all my animals dogs cats and horses they are all insured but would pay the rest if was over the limit, OH and myself have always said they get what they need we couldnt put a price on them.
 
Just intreagead you'r looking at a £3200 bill plus all the £85 bandages. You've had three years vets free.
Insurance for that time would have been £3000 and you'd still have to pay the excess on the current bills.
So yes infact you win! Blimey might look at my insurance again now then.
It is just a gamble though isn't it as to how many vet free years you get.
 
The added perk in my situation is that I have actually got 8 horses in total, none of which are insured so yes, I am definitely up on the insurance company at the moment! Probably by a few thousand pounds. Anyone that does take my approach and not insure really should stash their monthly premiums away in an emergency fund though or you could get caught out. Def have public liability insurance whatever your situation, that could get far too expensive!

Sorry, I really have gone completely off this thread on to a whole new topic now - slapped wrists!
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No upper limit. But it would depend on the chance of success and also if I wanted to put my horse / cat etc. through such treatment (the more expensive, the more invasive IMO!). You're asking a person who has just forked out £340 for a vaccine for one of my horses who is allergic to grass, dustmites and hay mould! It might work, it might not. But Im willing to try.

We were going to fork out a fortune for one of our cats last year who was in an accident - although heartbrakingly complications meant we lost him before it.

My animals mean a hell of a lot to me and I think as their owner then it's my responsibility to do my best for them.
 
No upper limit, but I would try to consider the quality of life for the animal involved. Hope I'd make the right decision, but it would not depend on money.
 
after my uninsured horse was injured, vet said she would need an operation £1000+ or a cheaper option, she could have wound flushed for about £200 then a weeks stay at the vets at £50 a day. The bill for the week was nearer £2600 and if i had been told it would be this much by the vet i would of had the horse PTS as id only had her a week and the treatment wasnt guaranteed to work. She is still resting and i may be able to ride her again.
 
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