I wish I had more readers on my blog so I could gather even more advice on this issue. But since my two most devoted readers, my very good friends Olga and Nic, both have pets that they love I hope to gather some information on the subject.
So my cat, Ms. MaryJane, had been acting pretty bizarre lately. She wasn't cleaning herself, she was being more lax than usual and, in general, she just looked downright uncomfortable.
Then I came home yesterday to find that she had leaked some sort of goo all over my bed and I was instantly hit with a wave of panic; not only for my sheets, but for the girl that I have loved for almost 6 years. Sorry Boyfriend, but she came first.
So of course I called the vet and made an appointment; but it wouldn't be until the following day (that's today in case you were wondering) Then I took her down to the basement and set her up with her bed (as seen HERE) and her litter box and I would have given her a tv, a magazine and a chocolate bar if she would have been into it; because for real you guys! my cat was not feeling well!
In all seriousness though, any animal parent knows that it breaks your heart to see your baby in pain. For me, I hate knowng that she shut off in the basement. So I went down to pet her and love her and give her some cuddling and then BOOM! I started balling my eyes. I mean really! she is the one thing that I have left from my days of independence. She is MY pet. She is MY baby. And I was NOT prepared for anything to be wrong with her.
And my wonderful, wonderful Boyfriend agreed to go with me to the emergency ER at 11:30 at night so that we could make sure that she was ok.
After a 10 minute assessment of her situation by the vet, we came to find that she was massively constipated. And instantly all my thoughts of cancer and tumors and kidney failure and all the bad things melted out of my mind and I started to breath again.
But then we got our estimate and I almost had a heart attack...
$1,300
Followed by a "well we can't be sure, it will probably cost even more depending on the length of her stay".
Whaaaaaat? That is almost as much as my mortgage payment! And believe me, I LOVE my cat. But, eh eh. NO go.
So the salesmen, I mean the vet, at the ER goes on and on about IV fluids and enemas and her 2 day stay (as if it was a spa or something) and yada, yada, DOLLAR SIGNS. That was all I heard.
Then they tell me that we can pay about $500 and they'll give her under the skin fluids and she'll get one enema and then I could pick her up the following morning. Followed by a, "you can take her to vet whenever they open, but if you come back here you'll have to pay another examination fee". Really?!
After talking it over with Andrew we paid our $250 for the visit and the X-rays, thanked the vet and took Ms. Fat Cat home. Because we knew, we just knew, that our vet would never cost that much money.
So today I took her to OUR vet and it turns out that she has a blockage of the colon. Sidnote: I know this is all really gross; please bare with me. Well, my vet tells me that they're going to set her up with IV fluids, sedate her so he can remove the blockage and that she'll be there until Saturday.
Get this; $700.
Am I missing something?
I will never recommend that anyone go to Gywnedd Animal Hospital. I will, however, recommend my vet at Montgomery Animal Hospital.
But thank you Gwynedd for your recommendation that I sign up for a line of credit to pay your exuberant hospital bill. AWESOME.
Well then my vet tells me that he's not happy, actually he's really quite annoyed, because he doesn't feel like they performed Ms. Fat Cat a service at all. The first thing they should have done was shave her bottom to assess the situation. He also tells me that there was absolutely no way the $500 enema would have worked.
Worse yet; he says "the vet would have known that".
For real? I'm getting ripped off by an ER vet?! Are you kidding?
Now I'm wondering if I should sign the pets up for health care coverage because for starters, I don't think Obama's plan well cover my animals (damn). It will cost us about $80 a month for both pets, but it will cover all accidents and regular routine work.
What are your thoughts?
Do you have health care coverage on your pets?
What would you recommend?
So my cat, Ms. MaryJane, had been acting pretty bizarre lately. She wasn't cleaning herself, she was being more lax than usual and, in general, she just looked downright uncomfortable.
Then I came home yesterday to find that she had leaked some sort of goo all over my bed and I was instantly hit with a wave of panic; not only for my sheets, but for the girl that I have loved for almost 6 years. Sorry Boyfriend, but she came first.
So of course I called the vet and made an appointment; but it wouldn't be until the following day (that's today in case you were wondering) Then I took her down to the basement and set her up with her bed (as seen HERE) and her litter box and I would have given her a tv, a magazine and a chocolate bar if she would have been into it; because for real you guys! my cat was not feeling well!
In all seriousness though, any animal parent knows that it breaks your heart to see your baby in pain. For me, I hate knowng that she shut off in the basement. So I went down to pet her and love her and give her some cuddling and then BOOM! I started balling my eyes. I mean really! she is the one thing that I have left from my days of independence. She is MY pet. She is MY baby. And I was NOT prepared for anything to be wrong with her.
And my wonderful, wonderful Boyfriend agreed to go with me to the emergency ER at 11:30 at night so that we could make sure that she was ok.
After a 10 minute assessment of her situation by the vet, we came to find that she was massively constipated. And instantly all my thoughts of cancer and tumors and kidney failure and all the bad things melted out of my mind and I started to breath again.
But then we got our estimate and I almost had a heart attack...
$1,300
Followed by a "well we can't be sure, it will probably cost even more depending on the length of her stay".
Whaaaaaat? That is almost as much as my mortgage payment! And believe me, I LOVE my cat. But, eh eh. NO go.
So the salesmen, I mean the vet, at the ER goes on and on about IV fluids and enemas and her 2 day stay (as if it was a spa or something) and yada, yada, DOLLAR SIGNS. That was all I heard.
Then they tell me that we can pay about $500 and they'll give her under the skin fluids and she'll get one enema and then I could pick her up the following morning. Followed by a, "you can take her to vet whenever they open, but if you come back here you'll have to pay another examination fee". Really?!
After talking it over with Andrew we paid our $250 for the visit and the X-rays, thanked the vet and took Ms. Fat Cat home. Because we knew, we just knew, that our vet would never cost that much money.
So today I took her to OUR vet and it turns out that she has a blockage of the colon. Sidnote: I know this is all really gross; please bare with me. Well, my vet tells me that they're going to set her up with IV fluids, sedate her so he can remove the blockage and that she'll be there until Saturday.
Get this; $700.
Am I missing something?
I will never recommend that anyone go to Gywnedd Animal Hospital. I will, however, recommend my vet at Montgomery Animal Hospital.
But thank you Gwynedd for your recommendation that I sign up for a line of credit to pay your exuberant hospital bill. AWESOME.
Well then my vet tells me that he's not happy, actually he's really quite annoyed, because he doesn't feel like they performed Ms. Fat Cat a service at all. The first thing they should have done was shave her bottom to assess the situation. He also tells me that there was absolutely no way the $500 enema would have worked.
Worse yet; he says "the vet would have known that".
For real? I'm getting ripped off by an ER vet?! Are you kidding?
Now I'm wondering if I should sign the pets up for health care coverage because for starters, I don't think Obama's plan well cover my animals (damn). It will cost us about $80 a month for both pets, but it will cover all accidents and regular routine work.
What are your thoughts?
Do you have health care coverage on your pets?
What would you recommend?
2 comments:
Remember the time my roommate left out chocolate covered espresso beans and I had to have Oscar's stomach pumped? $600 and I was a junior in college. It's really awful because they have you a tight spot, "Oh, you don't love your pet enough to pay whatever we feel like charging you?" It's absurd and the ER places are even worse bc they know you're in a bad place. I love Oscar more than anything, through thick and thin, he's always there. I don't have pet insurance (it typically still doesn't cover emergency situations and things they deem "elective" which is most of things you'd want it to cover) but I have learned lots of tricks. Like hydrogen peroxide will make your pet throw up anything they ate. It's gross but it saves $598 on stomach pumping. So, if Harry ever runs into issues, be sure to give me a call, I could write a book on secret home solutions for dog care. As far as MJ, I'd start reading up on cat care as that's how I learned most of the dog things. Knowledge is power... and cheaper vet bills.
Awww, pooor MJ! I am sorry to hear, that is absolutely ridiculous though $1300! Oh my god!
No i don't have pet insurance, I did recently hear i can get it through my work, but I didn't read up on it. Luckily my pets have been fairly easy going, except little miss bulldog and our respiratory scares, but i havent had to go to a er vet yet. Good to know.
But nic's advice sounds good. I know it's hard b/c when you are in a situation like that you are scared and sad you want to save your baby, but that is just lame they charged you so much for nothing! I would def. read all about the pet insurance b4 you get if thats what you think, or learnhome remedy tricks like NIc said!
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