Cat injured - WWYD

[IfYoureHappyAndYouKnowIt]

Our young cat has been injured. Possibly fallen on a stake. Currently at vet being looked at. Vet says wound is deep - awaiting full info but may be 800 quid. WWYD?

If you can't afford it then try the PDSA or have it put to sleep. Sorry

id stick it on credit card. i love my moggies and i couldnt upset DD...but i could understand if you couldnt and chose to pts. depends on how bad it is i guess.

Forgive me if I have this wrong but...are you asking "if the vet comes back and says it is bad and will be about £800 to sort should I tell them to just have the cat PTS"? I just want to be clear before I reply porperly!

hmm, or even properly - goodness knows what porperly is!

Well I guess I'm thinking it's a lot of money.

DCs and me will be horrified if we have to PTS but I'm just not sure whether its a reasonable amount to spend and where I should draw the line.

I would pay it if I had it in that situation.

Can you afford £800? There have been times in my life when I simply couldn't - nor did I have credit cards to fall back on. Right at the moment, I could afford it, so I'd pay it. But I wouldn't get into debt for it, sorry.

Ask the vet to permit you a repayment plan if you cannot afford it or have no credit card. AFAIK most will allow this for large bills.

If you are in receipt of certain benefits the RSPCA or PDSA might contribute to the bill - check their website for which ones as I don't know the details.

There is imho no such thing as an unreasonable amount of money to pay if an animal can be saved and won't suffer thereafter. My personal motto is "No kill, no excuses, no limits, no fear". My recommendation is that in future you take out pet insurance too.

good idea val. my vet is lovely and would always allow a plan to pay back something unaffordable at the time.

What did you decide when you decided to take on the cat? Did you put a monetary limit on the amount you were prepared to pay out in vet bills? Did you look into insurance?

I am sitting on my hands, biting my tounge and all sorts to stay calm here, I really really want to slam you big time for thinking of having a healthy pet PTS because you don't want to pay for its care when you decided to take this creature into your lives. (Just to be honest with you!) But I am honestly trying not to!

My own feeling is, there is no reasonable this is your cat, your responsibilty, you choose to have the cat and therefore you pay to look after the cat and next time you get a pet get insurance.

It is a lot of money but vet bills are expensive when big things happen, surely you realised that when you got the cat?

Sorry to hear about your poor mog but this is just what pet insurance is for :(

i would pay it.

and after 3 cats hit by cars when younger, i would've paid for pet insurence.

I think everyone that has a pet should have insurance for situations like this.

It would be awful to have to choose between pts or pay a huge bill. I personally would have to find a way to pay the bill, but thats me and my circumstances.

Has the vet said if there be any long term effect to the cat or will cat make a full recovery?

This may be of help too

At the risk of causing one hell of a row I can only ask this, as tbh I feel as Bella does - can you have the death of an animal who you are responsible for on your conscience, especially as it appears to be the case that you are merely of the opinion that it's a lot of money?

I couldn't.

Right still a bit in shock but cat out of theatre and seems ok. Have had a number of pets before but none recently and years ago insurance wasn't so popular so just didn't occur to me tbh.

So now had better get some.

Vall, that link is great and I hope its helpful to OP

Yes, do...hopefully the injuries from this incident won't cause too many exclusions - your vet may be able to give you some idea of this.

Sorry if I have been harsh, I really was trying to be helpful not nasty but I am not very good at it sometimes

I really hope you cat is ok and it does not cost you too much - and you don't have to make any tough decisions on this one.

Sometimes pet insurance isn't available; it isn't for the pet that has cost me most in vet's fees, because he was a near-death feral kitten when he was found at the side of the road, and now any problems he has are "pre-existing". I paid his vet's fees to save his life because I could afford them at the time (and still can). If I hadn't had the money when he was found, the vet would have PTS, for free, I guess.

PTS yes, Lady . For free, no.

Sadly, vets charge quite a lot to PTS. My cousin had to pay £80 for her rat to be PTS.

When my puppy died at the vets during an operation, I half expected them to charge me for the operation plus a fee to dispose of the body

Thanks for all of your comments.

I don't think I could have made the decision to PTS. But I was shocked by op costs and just unsure really how much people are prepared to pay out in a situation like that.

Ridiculous also but immediately panicked about what STBXH will say. He definitely wouldn't have paid so actually a good job he's a STBXH isn't it

It certainly is IYHAYKI.

I'm so very glad that your cat appears to be okay and hope for a full recovery. I hope too that you'll remember to give him/her a hug from me because I'm a daft moo like that.

I'm really pleased the cat will be fine. :)

Val, my DS (15 yo at the time, rural area, many feral cats) found the kitten on the verge, near dead. We phoned the nearest vet (Saturday teatime) and were told to bring him in; I explained the situation fully to the vet, who said, "Are you going to keep him?" (The kitten, not DS.)

I couldn't say "No", so the vet said he'd keep the costs down as much as possible in the circumstances, and I think he probably did. But the cat has many physical problems, and is uninsurable. There may come a time I simply have to say, PTS.

What puzzles me is that you seem to suggest that if I'd gone for PTS when he was first found, the vet would/could have charged me for this?

The vet wouldn't have charged you ime as the cat was a feral and found rather than your own, Lady. (Hey, that's better than calling you Old Lady, which I just have! ).

Likewise I haven't ever been charged when I have taken injured wildlife to various vets over the years.

I will say though that vets' attitudes to wildlife and found animals vary considerably. The vet I used for my pets in the town I recently moved from would either PTS or hand over to the RSPCA, who aren't exactly respected by rescue for their policies and behaviour in such situations. I quickly learned to use Comapnion Care vets in the next town who would go out of their way to treat injured wildlife and had contacts in rescue, to whom they passed the treated animal or bird for rehabilitation or sanctuary.

Likewise my friend, a city dog warden, knows exactly which vets he will take an injured dog to and which he will avoid.

Moral - if you find an injured animal, check what the vet will do and whether he/she will refer on to rescue. :)