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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask what you would do for your pets?

107 replies

Whenwillthesnowendzzz · 10/01/2025 12:15

Would you get into debt to pay their treatment?
Would you sacrifice your own health needs to pay for theirs?
Would you use up your savings?
If insurance couldn't cover, or couldn't cover much, would you happily pay the rest?
Hundreds, thousands?
Just curious to know as it's so different for everyone.

OP posts:
Whaleandsnail6 · 10/01/2025 15:36

I'd use savings if I had them

I would get into manageable debt... My dog needed an operation for 1300 that insurance would not cover. I was able to put this on a credit card and can realistically pay it off unless I have very unforseen circumstances.

I would basically do anything reasonable that wouldnt have massive negative impact on my children's lives. I adore my dog but not above my kids.

torreli · 10/01/2025 15:38

I'd walk over hot coals, lose a limb, throw my friend over niagra falls, go into witness protection, sell the house.... I mean what kind of answer were you looking for OP 🤣

rrrrrreatt · 10/01/2025 15:39

We took a 0% loan through the vets for £1.7k of surgery on our cats last year. We have two good incomes coming in so paid it off early in the end.

Both our rescue cats needed extensive dental work and they were only about 12/13 months old so they would have had a long life of pain if we didn’t fund treatment. our insurance didn’t cover it because the vet had picked up symptoms before we got insurance (we took them in temporarily and kept them when no one came forward).

I have no regrets about it, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I adore them and their company brings me a huge amount of joy. I can see why others don’t pay for expensive treatments though - we’re very privileged to be financially stable and able to afford big bills.

Whaleandsnail6 · 10/01/2025 15:41

Turophilic · 10/01/2025 12:40

Is the treatment to make the animal’s life better, or to keep her alive because I love her and want her to live? These are often very different things.

If my pet had cancer I’d probably put her to sleep rather than treat the cancer. I believe for an animal who lives in the Now, with no understanding of a future, decisions should bear that in mind. Your dog or cat can’t understand awfulness for a couple of months buying a couple of years of good health; they are in distress now. With people, we can bear chemo and surgery and side effects because of the hope of recovery. A Labrador cannot.

So for me, prolonged suffering and pain of treatment in the present for a future without the disease isn’t a fair bargain. I would choose not to go down the expensive treatment route and PTS.

For £2k dental work allowing the dog or cat to eat normally and resume a happy life, yes, I would raid the savings or discuss a repayment plan.

So it’s not a straightforward money Vs treatment decision.

I very much agree with this

W0tnow · 10/01/2025 15:41

No to everything. I mean, hundreds, yes. A thousand? Two? Probably. More? Hmm not sure. Absolutely not would I go in to debt.

Sharptonguedwoman · 10/01/2025 15:45

Turophilic · 10/01/2025 12:40

Is the treatment to make the animal’s life better, or to keep her alive because I love her and want her to live? These are often very different things.

If my pet had cancer I’d probably put her to sleep rather than treat the cancer. I believe for an animal who lives in the Now, with no understanding of a future, decisions should bear that in mind. Your dog or cat can’t understand awfulness for a couple of months buying a couple of years of good health; they are in distress now. With people, we can bear chemo and surgery and side effects because of the hope of recovery. A Labrador cannot.

So for me, prolonged suffering and pain of treatment in the present for a future without the disease isn’t a fair bargain. I would choose not to go down the expensive treatment route and PTS.

For £2k dental work allowing the dog or cat to eat normally and resume a happy life, yes, I would raid the savings or discuss a repayment plan.

So it’s not a straightforward money Vs treatment decision.

Thank you for this, I agree entirely. I'd never do that to a pet. It's always insurance/savings for us. Cat insurance £10 pm. Friend put £10 pm in savings pot, cat needed thousand for operation which friends than had to find. It's that dilemma.
Or the animal with a long term, expensive illness such as diabetes.

JaceLancs · 10/01/2025 15:53

I would go into debt or use savings up to £5k ish if it was for a young previously healthy animal with a good prognosis
If older or would only prolong for a short time I would probably not consider much more than £1k same
I do have good pet insurance which I needed last year when my 5 month old kitten fractured his pelvis and spine - with ongoing therapy costs the insurance has paid out nearly £10k in last 12 months

hattie43 · 10/01/2025 15:54

Medically I'd do whatever is in their interests . I don't have insurance as it was silly money particularly if I never needed it so I looked on Noel Fitzpatricks website and saw that the most expensive treatment was neurological treatment at £30,000. So each dog has a savings account with this sum in it if needs be . Chances are it won't be needed but you never know .

DinosaurMunch · 10/01/2025 15:56

The important thing with pets is to make sure that they don't suffer. I wouldn't get a large breed pedigree dog if I was on a small budget but a cat or a small crossbreed dog is a sensible choice as most of these will live many years in good health (as long as they get vaccinated and wormed etc).

If they get ill, go to the vet but if it turns out to be something expensive then euthanasia is a valid option. Animals don't have any fear of dying and can't comprehend the future.

I don't believe the joys of pet ownership should be reserved for the rich, vet prices have rocketed beyond all proportion, pet insurance is hugely problematic too though, I suggest saving a couple of hundred pounds in a separate account before getting a pet then add the cost of a decent pet insurance policy to the account each month. Don't touch this money except for an emergency and you should be able to cover basic things and ensure your pet doesn't suffer.

Sunnyflow · 10/01/2025 16:01

OP you’ve not answered any of the questions from PPs about the medical situation of your pet

I wonder if the op is a journalist...?

4legsgood39 · 10/01/2025 16:43

Sunnyflow · 10/01/2025 16:01

OP you’ve not answered any of the questions from PPs about the medical situation of your pet

I wonder if the op is a journalist...?

I really hope not. I think if they are that’s really off

Sprogonthetyne · 10/01/2025 17:17

It would depend, a younger pet who was injured or had a condition that could be cured, I'd find the money or set up a payment plan. An older pet or a condition that would require multiple long-term treatments to manage not cure, would take a lot more though.

Zanatdy · 10/01/2025 17:19

Yes to all. Likely to be unexpectedly taking friend’s dog too as she has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Her dog is her life, I can hardly say no, but not too convenient for a few reasons. But i’ll have to make it work.

tailinthejam · 10/01/2025 17:20

If the treatment was going to save them and give them a good quality of life afterwards, then yes, I'd pay.

But then I'd probably run into a burning building to rescue them if I could.

Planesmistakenforstars · 10/01/2025 17:39

It depends what the treatment is for. For cancer treatment to prolong life but it's already terminal, no. For life saving treatment e.g after an accident, with a good quality of life following that, I would do anything I could to pay for that. Although right now if my cat rubs her bum in my face one more time I'm going to turn her into gloves.

EilonwyWithRedGoldHair · 10/01/2025 17:43

It would depend on the medical condition, the cost, risks/benefits and age.

I had an elderly cat with thyroid problem, he could take daily medication for the rest of his life, an operation that may have cured it permanently but not guaranteed, or they're was treatment guaranteed to cure it but he'd have to be away from us for two weeks. After discussing options with the vet we went for the daily medication, we didn't have insurance for that car, but having it wouldn't have changed our decision. For a younger, less clingy cat we may have chosen differently.

We have insurance for our current cat. He needed surgery for a urinary blockage a few years ago, I'd have done everything I could to get the money if insurance hadn't covered most of the £1,600. But he was 7, and the surgery had a good chance of success.

YeOldeGreyhound · 10/01/2025 18:01

Yes, I would get into debt, and I would go without if it meant my dog could get treatment.
She is no longer insured (stopped it at 9 when it was getting to over £110 per month. I am on UC and that is a huge chunk).
She is a large breed that is 14.5 years old so I would not put her through anything extensive and expensive anyway.
As dogs get older, it seems to be lot of less expensive things that need treatment that insurance excess would be more than anyway. Those things add up.
I do have £650 specifically set aside for when it is her time to cross the bridge. That is what it will cost for her to pass at home, and to be cremated individually.

barcodescanner · 10/01/2025 18:07

We had £8k on a credit card. Total bill was around £12k insurance paid £4k. We have £2k left to pay. He was young when we found out what the problem was (rare condition) and 3 years later he's still going strong with regular checks and extra medication when he has a flare up. If he had been old, i probably would have just medicated for as long as we could and not operated

Headingtowardsdivorce · 10/01/2025 18:11

Whaleandsnail6 · 10/01/2025 15:41

I very much agree with this

Show quote history

So do I.

Please don't feel bad OP, you can only do what you can do.

4pawdrive · 10/01/2025 19:19

Yes to all your questions. They are totally helpless and it is our responsibility to look after them properly.

So my dog an older lad has been to see a specialist vet this year (cost 3K) as he had very low albumin levels and stomach imflamation. I got told it might be lymphoma. It turned out he didn't have this and had PLE (protein losing ent) and is now hopefully on the mend. If he had lymphoma I would have had to weigh up treatment v how long it would give him. My understanding was it would only prolong his life for a max of a year (and probably less) and so I would not want him to have to go through chemo as he would hate it for just a little bit more time. That would be my head speaking though (my heart might want to go through it but that would be for me).

Anything that can be fixed or cured - yes get it done

Anything that is a maybe - yes get it investigated

Anything which requires chemo/surgery for only a little bit more time with them (less than a year) then probably not (but really because not fair to put animal through it for so little time back). I'd have a head v heart battle though

4pawdrive · 10/01/2025 19:21

p.s. no insurance so I had to pay that 3K

TomatoSandwiches · 10/01/2025 19:28

Not trying to be a twat but we waited over 10yrs to get out family pets, we researched for a long time to decide which type would suit out family and what we could afford and what we could afford if things went south, made sure we were in our forever home and looked at the cost of the best insurance packages, that the children were of an age to be responsible with them.

We essentially did a really detailed risk assessment because we take the responsibility of looking after them extremely seriously.

To me having animals or pets is an absolute privilege.

motherofonegirl · 10/01/2025 19:37

I would do whatever I could (and have done so), other than negatively affecting my own health needs or negatively affecting my children. If you choose to have a pet then you are responsible for them. You should do whatever is in your pets best interest. If you aren't able or prepared to do so then you shouldn't get a pet. We had our dog insured but his health issues meant the monthly insurance fees was more expensive than his ongoing treatment so we now pay everything ourselves. He is on 4 different medications daily, has had 5 joint operations, has monthly injections and hydrotherapy weekly and has also had acupuncture and has been for years now. We have missed family holidays and home improvements to pay for his care and used savings, but we didn't take on having a dog lightly - we made sure we were financially able to care for a dog before we got one.

Tara336 · 10/01/2025 19:37

We spent thousands having cataracts removed so my dog could see again, injected insulin twice a day which meant we had to plan our days out. Evenings out etc to fit with his schedule, it wasn't cheap and we didn't have much freedom but we chose to get him and he was our responsibility to care for as best we could. He was deeply loved and I don't regret doing that for him.

DaftyLass · 10/01/2025 19:38

Our cats have costs us thousands and thousands , not because they've been sickly really, but to be able to move them with us when we got new postings,.
Between cat boarding, vet checks, flight costs, extra pet deposits, new licenses, new vet fees, it all adds up.
Wouldn't have taken them on without a plan to be there until the end. I wouldn't bankrupt my family, but I make sure to budget for the crazy costs