To ask what you would do for your pets?

Like PPs it depends what it's for. I wouldn't put an animal through some treatments, I'd have to weigh it up properly.

No I wouldn't get into debt to fund veterinary treatment. I have insurance & understand what is & isn't included
I consider euthanasia to be a very valuable & important option in veterinary care.
It's a difficult but brave decision to prevent suffering by having a beloved pet put to sleep before there is suffering.
Better a week (or even a month or year) too early than a day too late.

I also got a second job to help pay it off when we were in that situation.

We have been when younger, when we didn’t have much. There’s no way I couldn’t have given our animals a chance, providing treatment was fair on them, recommended by our trusted vet and they could live a good life afterwards. That’s just how I am.

That’s a tricky issue. If you can give us some idea of what the medical issue/expected outcome/age of animal then we’d be able to advise you further. Basically if it’s a young-ish animal that is suffering and a good outcome is expected then I really think you need to find a solution. That might be credit card, could be seeking help from an animal charity, selling some items (only works if you’re in the fortunate position to do this), or even agreeing a low or interest free loan with the friend who says you are being selfish. I don’t think it would be unreasonable to ask them, they can always say no.

I believe I would put my own safety at risk to save my pets in an emergency situation, but with serious, expensive health problems, how much I would spend would depend on several things, including the age and general health of the pet, the chances of full recovery, and the pain and difficulty associated with the treatment. In some cases, the kindest thing is to make the difficult decision to say goodbye. I wouldn't go into debt to pay for a pet's medical or surgical care, no.

We truly adore our 14 year old rescue cat, he is.our baby. He has cost us at least 15k in vet bills over the last 3 years (and that was above what the insurance paid.out) We have just had to find a way.

Fortunately this isn't an issue for me because I quality for free insurance. But no, I don't think I would pay endless amounts of money to keep a pet alive. I love and have loved all my pets, but if their health was so poor that they needed lots and lots of expensive treatment, I'd rather let them go.

I'm not sure I'd want my owner spending all their savings on me if I was a cat either.

We took two of our dogs to the vet the other day. One had a sore eye, the other a urine infection.

They went in together, we spoke to the vet, who briefly examined them (less than 5 minutes for both). The consultation fee was just under £100.

With meds, it came to £211.

I understand that vets are highly trained, but that’s fucking extortionate.

But I would try my very best to cover any medical costs they incurred, if I thought it would save them, or improve their quality of life. My animals have saved me in my darkest moments.

I believe having a pet is a huge responsibility and I take the health of my pet seriously.

i have a cat who is insured and on the vet plan for vaccinations, annual check ups etc.

i wouldn’t destroy myself financially or get into considerable debt, however i would be willing to pay a few thousand above the insurance covered expenses.

pets are expensive - good quality food and healthcare add up. That’s why I only have one.

Yes, I would do all of those
My Westie is as important to me as DC.. but I treat him like a dog
I would do anything to sustain his quality of life, but not quantity
For example if he developed cancer, I would not put him through Chemotherapy.

My cat got run over twenty years ago and it cost me £2500-£3000. Because of the way the bills were structured only part of it was covered by insurance, and excess.
she was young with a good expected outcome.

I’ve also spent hundreds if not thousands on a guinea pig with a recurring issue.

I wouldn’t let my child suffer and it’s the same for anything I’m responsible for

Would you get into debt to pay their treatment? no
Would you sacrifice your own health needs to pay for theirs? absolutely not
Would you use up your savings? id used some savings but not deplete them
If insurance couldn't cover, or couldn't cover much, would you happily pay the rest?
Hundreds, thousands? hundreds

Would try and rescue them from a fire, eg if I was in LA, but if for whatever reason I couldn’t just chuck them in the car, I wouldn’t spend time searching for them etc at the risk of my own life/delaying my kids getting to safety etc.

Saw video of some horses trying to escape the LA fires - super super sad but not surprised they’d been left tbh.

Can you tell I don’t have any animals 😆

I'd be comfortable paying up to 4k, i'd put it on a credit card if i didnt have it and would be ok to pay that in a reasonable timeframe. Any more than that its a no. I wpuld not go into impossible debt or leave myself without savings.

Yes I've got into debt and used savings to pay for vet treatment and other care.

My quality of life and mental health has definitely been impacted by this.

I've also made decisions about their treatment due to cost which I've later regretted.

I’m so sorry you had to make that decision.

i agree. Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should. Quality of life during treatment, and age of the animal should always be part of your consideration. Keeping them at all cost is not always in their best interest

Yes to all your questions. They are my dogs and my responsibility. I would do anything at all, providing it was in their best interests. I wouldn’t prolong their life if they were suffering but I would spend whatever it took to give them a good quality of life. If I couldn’t afford adequate insurance (I used to have £12k per annum cover) or to pay for treatment myself, I wouldn’t have them.

Would you get into debt to pay their treatment?
yes and I have
Would you sacrifice your own health needs to pay for theirs?
of course, stayed in an abusive relationship for the dog before.
Would you use up your savings?
yes
If insurance couldn't cover, or couldn't cover much, would you happily pay the rest?
of course and I have
Hundreds, thousands?
no, only because he’s old so I wouldn’t put them through that level of treatment. I have paid thousands for a run over young cat though. .

Yes my friend. She spent £7k on a credit card for spinal surgery for her dog. I wouldn't have, but it was her choice.

What's the treatment your animal needs and why? I think it matters hugely as to what it is, the effect on the animal and the consequences of not undertaking the treatment.

We turned down hugely expensive diagnostic work on our dog when she was dying of sudden liver failure. It wouldn't have changed the outcome. So we put her to sleep.

No to everything. It's why I don't own a pet. I'm not prepared to spend ridiculous amounts of money on them.

I have put pet treatment on a credit card to split it over a few months, but I would only do this for a few hundred pounds at most. I would not sacrifice my own health. But I also have a middle-aged, arthritic rescue dog who is terrified of being at the vets or anywhere without me, so I am extremely unlikely to ever to put him through surgery. We are discussing the possibility of Librela at some point, and I’m not sure insurance will cover that, so we’ll see.