I can't afford my vet bill

[oldmind]

My 9 month old cat isn't well. 2 trips to the vets with anti inflammatory meds and she still isn't right. They've told me to bring her back tomorrow for bloods and possible scans and I could be looking at over £1k for treatment.

I'm a single mum of 3 kids with additional needs. I've just gone back to work but only work 12 hours per weeks as I just cannot do anymore.

I did have insurance for her but I cancelled it as the insurance company I chose were terrible and haven't replaced it yet - I only did this a few weeks ago! A random payment came out of my account and I cancelled the whole thing.

Is there anything I can do?

Please don't tell me to not have pets if I can't afford them.

I don't mean to sound like the harbinger of doom OP. But you really shouldn't have cancelled the insurance no matter how shit they were. Or you should have replaced it at least 2 weeks before taking her to the vet.
If her illness turns out to be a chronic condition you'll be stuck paying for it. We had this with our rescue girl, she has feline IBS and requires special food etc which can get quite expensive. As first time cat owners we were naive, luckily we can afford it but won't be making the same mistake with our next one.

You need to decide that max that can be afforded - talk to rescues etc. blood rets for example can be quite expensive at £200 a pop.

@frazzledbutcalm getting a pet is not about feelings of what one 'should' or 'shouldn't' do but simple arithmetic. Treatment is expensive , if you can't pay animals don't get treatment. They get PTS for anything complex as happened 20+ years ago.

It's ridiculous to say that 'poor people shouldn't reproduce, we have benefits etc for children who are human beings. Not animals. And I wouldn't be happy to pay for the latter, so what's the solution?

I’m glad you have managed to get help, PDSA, RSPCA & Blue Cross are all good shouts if on benefits and within a catchment area. As is Animal Trust if you have one nearby. I hope it turns out to be nothing too serious and your kitty can be helped.

Some of the suggestions on this thread are outrageous. All those suggesting asking for payment plans, I have worked in a vets and asking for payment plans just makes it awkward for everyone and as I understand it, from a legal stand point, vets aren’t technically allowed to issue them as it could come under financing regulations which would require them to be registered with the financial ombudsman as a lender etc which they are not and could potentially leave them on dodgy ground. Many who have previously bent the rules to help rather than see an animal suffer have been stung by people not paying as agreed. As a result there are very few out there that will do it these days, I don’t know of any, at best if you are a regular longstanding client with a history of always paying they will sometimes offer a half now the rest in 2-3 weeks grace period for an unexpected big bill. For those suggesting just not paying, it’s things like that that bump up costs for everyone else, not to mention they can and will take you to court / get bailiffs involved which is surely not worth the stress.

That is positive news. I hope your much loved cat makes a good recovery.

If you only cancelled insurance a few weeks ago are you sure it’s not still running til next payment would’ve been due

Oh give it a rest

Thanks for being corrected. I do appreciate you explaining where and why I’m "quite wrong". Your opinion matters.

Oh, bless you! These things always happen when you go to change insurer, don’t they?

I’m so sorry your cat is ill - it’s stressful enough just worrying about the poor thing without worrying about paying for it as well.

Honestly though, this sounds pretty par for the course with vets…I love our vets, they’re amazing and have literally saved both our cats’ lives at some point but 90% of the time they have no clue what’s wrong so they eliminate what isn’t wrong through a series of increasingly expensive tests. Our insurance has taken such a pounding over the last 7 years!

I hope your new vet finds out what’s wrong quickly and can put it right ❤️

OK, it was really just to help rule in/out what might be wrong. Your vet will be aware of that anyway - I hope she recovers soon.

that is an awful lot of money for investigations.
if you cannot afford it then no investigations.

i changed insurers and the procedure wasnt covered.
however it was a procedure, not purely investigations.
you dont have to get yourself into so much debt op.

This.

You mentioned a random payment came out of your account related to insurance - was that before or after you cancelled? Is there any chance it may have been after and be the remainder of the years contract up front (in which case you may still have insurance in place until the end of the policy year?)

No - the company are known for doing it. I googled them and a lot of reviews said the same thing which is why I just cancelled it completely.

I agree with this poster. It is sad but your children come first. 🌷

Good luck for your wee cat, I hope everything works out

Petplan are the only company worth getting insurance with as they are the only ones the pay out without arguing and stalling. They paid for my cat to have a GA and some teeth removed which cost £800 (he's unlucky and has not had very good teeth from birth).

I have always felt that responsibility as a pet owner is to make sure your pet has the best life while living with you and doesn't suffer needlessly. That sometimes means that medical treatment, which may be available but may not be in their best interests, is refused.
You don't have to be prepared to do anything it takes to keep a pet alive to be a good pet owner as long as your pet doesn't suffer.
Pets are not human - they don't worry about dying although they may notice loss. They don't understand that the horrible things that happen to them when unwell are to make them better.
If you cannot afford expensive tests then you have to make the decision which is kindest to your pet.
However you may actually just have a crap vet and I hope the new ones help more.

Put to sleep if no PDSA. If you have no spare money, paying on credit card will adversely affect your children. We love our cat but ffs, it is a cat and not a dc.

Why do you think having it PTS is the only other option?

There are lots of rescues both large and small who would take a kitten in need and try and help it.

FFS, some people really shouldn't ever be allowed to own pets.

Took one on because you feel entitled to one but no means to pay? Never mind, just put the poor thing to sleep.

This thread makes my blood boil.

I've just seen you got her as a rescue...the rescue place we got our cat from offers much reduced fees for those who struggle to pay - worth asking them? Best of luck with your little one x

I used to have a credit card and overdraft for any big vet bills when we had 3 cats

I feel for you. We have a senior dog who is becoming more prone to ailments and in a six week period has undergone surgery, scans, bloods and X-rays. We are insured but due to his age, our premiums are still excessive despite us both on full time wages. We put an X-ray and ongoing treatment down as insurance and currently battling to get them to pay out. We’ve shelled out £700 already. It’s one thing affording the premiums but you have to pay upfront for treatment in nearly all cases which is crippling to any household, it’s so expensive. For the insurers then to play dumb and not pay out makes it even worse and adds to the distress. I would speak to your vets and see if they can do a payment plan. We’ve done it before with a cat we had which we got when we first moved in together. Skint and no idea of animal ownership!

Contact the PDSA. You may be entitled to reduced bills.

My late DBoycat had a battery of tests when he had cancer and it didn't come to this much.

Your poor little cat. You must be worried sick.