Has anyone ever decided against treatment for their pet based on the cost?

[midnightmoomoo]

I ask because my husband thinks spending hundreds on a rabbit to find out the cause of something, followed by whatever op/treatment etc afterwards is too much to spend. I see his point but I would like to know what we're dealing with. Been to a rabbit expert vet today which was £96 for the five min consult, he wants to have him in for X-rays etc at a minimum of £300 plus VAT to determine cause. Then refer us back to our vet for treatment. Theory is something to do with eye duct not functioning (it's been flushed through already which wasn't cheap) so build up forcing its way through the skin causing bald patch and sores.
DH wants to leave it and see what happens. No insurance because he'd had conjunctivitis before we adopted him and when I tried to insure was told any future eye problems wouldn't be covered.
What do I do for the best???

[Tagetes]

Eventually yes - but it's hard to know when enough is enough. Mine was a cat - not a small pet - but he had had years of treatment (not all expensive but no insurance) and was quite old. We had an option to potentially prolong his life by a few months (his quality of life was still quite good) but the cost combined with his age made us decide to have him PTS. I think it was the right decision but it still makes me well up thinking about it (and indulge in a bit of whatiffery)

[Wolfiefan]

No. I haven't.
You can't wait and see. That would mean the animal was left suffering.
Treat or PTS.
One eye?

[Tagetes]

Sorry - I realise that doesn't help your decision. If he's in pain or his quality of life is impaired I would consider it. That way you will know you did the right thing by him. Just leaving it to see what happens sounds cruel to me, particularly with his medical history.

[sleepy2grumpy]

Vets, IMHO, are only after one thing....your money. And it is mainly guess work with animals because they can't tell you whats wrong. So you rely on a vet, who is supposed to be qualified, to advise you, and then it's only their opinion. You could always get a second opinion. How about the PDSA?

[midnightmoomoo]

wolfie, yes one eye.

He doesn't seem to be suffering, there's no issues with eating, drinking, playing, being with his wife, no inflammation in or around the eye, he doesn't seem bothered about it at all, no rubbing at it or similar.

I feel like I need to know what's what first and then yes, treat or PTS. DH would PTS now, he's not sentimental about animals at all (his Dad was a master butcher, no sentimentality allowed in their house!)

Thanks for replying, I appreciate your thoughts.

[midnightmoomoo]

sleepy this was the second opinion, my vet wasn't sure what it was so referred us to this bunny expert. I was a bit miffed that today I spent nearly a hundred quid for him to tell me he needs to see him at his own practice an hour away before he could do anything! We were only in the room ten minutes and it was a half hour drive away!

[cherrypepsimax]

No, you need to decide if you're going to spend the money or put to sleep. You can't leave it to see what happens.

They've suggested an X-ray because tooth roots can cause eye problems. Tooth roots are excruciatingly painful. Rabbits are prey animals so they hide pain.
I don't know why the X-ray is so expensive but your vet should have done that before they sent you to a specialist, because they'll need that to decide what to do next.

[SlinkyVagabond]

I had this this week. Luckily the vet was (unusually) pragmatic in saying "look I could send off samples for test, but I don't think the outcome is going to be any different"
However, I did spend a fecking fortune when the other cat got knocked over. Dh still doesn't know how much.

[drinkyourmilk]

We spent well over £500 on a hysterectomy for our chameleon. Reptile insurance doesn't cover reproductive system. She then sadly died a few weeks later as the op hadn't been a success. If I'd known she would suffer and die anyway I'd have had her pts in the first place.
I'd always give the best care I could, because I see that as being a responsible pet owner, but you do need to balance cost vs outcome sometimes.

[MyNewBearTotoro]

If it's not impacting on the rabbit's quality of life and you know you can't really afford it I would leave it. It might be something minor he can live with without a problem. But in that case I'd be vigilant in checking the problem didn't progress and start causing the bunny pain.

If it got worse and was impacting on quality of life I would then PTS if I couldn't afford the treatment.

[Stripyhoglets]

I would pts if I couldn't afford to treat. And I also think that if our GP got a respiratory infection like his brother did, I would ask the vet to put him to sleep as all that treating his brother did imo, was prolong his suffering. I don't think treating is always in an animals best interest as they don't know what's happening.