When do you draw the line and put your cat to sleep (huge vets bills)?

[Marne]

Looks like Iggy will need his tail removed after his accident , it has already cost me £200 in vets bills, he's due back at the vets tomorrow but his tail is still limp and is anoying him so i suspect they will sugest amputation. Looking on the net it looks like it could cost anything up to £360 , we can't afford that kind of money, i am gutted as he's such a lovely cat but i cant deprive my family of food to keep the cat alive.

What should i do?

We dont qualify for help from PDSA as we are not on HB (even though we should be).

I feel so guilty as Iggy could lead a happy life without his tail but i just cant afford the huge vet bill on top of what we have already payed.

That sounds pretty expensive for a tail amputation - I don't know for sure, but I don't think it's a terribly complex op.

Speak to the vet, get a quote, tell them the situation you're in. I'm sure they can work something out for you - even a payment plan or something.

Thank you Suzi, we have just got back from holiday (so first time i have seen the cat in a week), he has been licking the tail and has a huge bold patch, theres no movemont in the lower part so i suspect the vet will sugest amputation when i take him in this evening.Just taking him in today will be £30, anistetic will be £55, plus the op itself. To put him to sleep would be £80 (which i really dont want to do). I will see what they say tonight i guess and go from there.

Please discuss this with your vet and get an accurate estimate. Would be able to pay it off in installments help you? I have to up £600 we find people pay off by installments over this is when euthanasia enters the mix. It is also worth talking to your local branch RSPCA they often are more flexible in who they help also your local Cats Protection League.

Thanks Liz, from what i have said do you think the tail will have to come off? It looks like (from what i can make out) it has been peeing on its tail so keeps licking it, it has a horrid smell to it (almost like cooked bacon), when i pinch the end of its tail if feels nothing , the poor thing is so desperate to go outside but i cant let it out with a floppy tail. I'm thinking it would be beter for the cat if the tail is amputated as its getting so upset being indoors.

Our nearest RSPCA is 40 miles away , dh'd step mum works for Cats protection but we can't get much sense out of her, she believes all cats should be kept indoors so they don't get injured (so she thinks its our fault this has happened and we should find the money to pay for it).

Does any one know how much a tail amputation should cost?

It does sound like the tail will need to come off I am afraid. By the local RSPCA branch I do not mean a hospital just about every area has a local branch that has funds to help local pet owners etc. There is no standard price for any veterinary procedures as we are all private businesses only local vets that you could get to would be able to give you a quote. You are most likely to get a payment plan from your own vet who you have been seeing.

Thank you. I'm hoping they will remove the tail in a way as the poor cat is getting rather fed up dragging it around and he really wants to go outside, am i right in thinking 'recovery is quite quick after amputation'? Will he still be able to fully function (jump and play) without his tail?

I am hoping the bill wont be too high, i dont think i could go through with having him put to sleep, the dog would be gutted if i got rid of his best friend.

I will see what the vet says at 6pm when i take him in, hopfully if he needs if off they will do it tomorrow morning, i will be sorting insurance out before he goes out again.

We seem to have been very unlucky with this cat, he has cost me over £800 in vets bills and we have only had him for 18 months .

Recovery from amputation is really good and yes he will have a normal life. I am waiting for a beautiful new cat to arrive who I treated as a cruelty case whose tail I amputated. I have been sucked in again I foresee no problems for my beautiful girl's life.

Iggy is booked in for tail amputation on wed, vet quoted me £190 plus the £40 i payed today for check up and antibiotics.

He now has a splint and bandage to stop him licking at it and to maybe save a bit more of the tail. The vet showed me his x-ray and the tail is broken very close to his bottom and the vet said its quite a bad break, he's now feeling sorry for himself but has eaten, i'm sure he will feel much better after the surgery.

Glad the cost isn't too horrific and I hope he doesn't try and use up any more of those 9 lives :-D

I have had two tail-less cats and neither of them seemed bothered about the lack, so please don't worry about that. Both had lost their whole tails.

I hope Iggy makes a quick recovery and gives you no more grief!

Good news that's it's relatively inexpensive, it is worth speaking to the Vet whether you could make weekly payment over 6 weeks if it would make a significant difference to your finances.

Lizcat- a quick question if you are abount, Iggy is begging to go outside, would it be ok to let him out in the back garden? garden has 6ft high fence apart from a small section at the bottom which is 3ft, would he be able to jump 3ft with a bandage on his tail? he doesn't seem to be jumping much in the house (can manage to get onto a chair). If i cant let him out do you think it would be ok to put his cage outside with him in it just so he can get some fresh air? (will keep him in the shade).

At the moment he is shut in the bathroom as the dd's are in and out of the garden, i feel sad for him as the weather is lovely and he loves being outside .

I would put his cage in the garden to get some air.

Well i kept him in all day ,shut him in the bathroom as it was extra cool in there then dh decided he wanted to have a bath so let the cat out, told the dd's not to open the back door, i then put the cat in the living room whilt i washed up, come back and the cat was gone, spent half an hour moaning at the dd's and then i realise that dh had left the window open so now Iggy is missing, i can't find him in the garden so he must have cleared the fence, i just hope he hasn't gone far and he finds his way back. I will be sending dh out to look for him.

Is he back yet? Much harder to get them in when it's mild.

Just found him (after a sleepless night worrying), thought i would check the main road and found nothing, got home and found him sat outside a house 4 doors up, i thionk the neighbour is feeding him and probably shut him in last night. He's fine though, has been licking the tip of his tail which is now bold but seems fine in himself and is now eating.

Do you not have insurance?

No insurance (my fault), we will be insuring the cat before it returns outside, 2 days to go into surgery, poor cat is really fed up with dragging its tail around.

Cat is home after surgery and seems happy (but not liking the collar), the bill came to a lot more than i was quoted buy hey ho, the cat is on the mend.

Glad he is ok, I would question the cost. Tell them you were overcharged?

I have to take him back tomorrow to be checked, i'm tempted to phone and tell them he's fine and doesn't need a check up (he is fine and i dont see the point in taking him to be chared £25 just to walk through the door), vets bills have now mounted up to £500 sinse i first took him in , he still needs one more check up (tomorrow) and then his stitches out next week. I have spent more money on vets bills then i would on a car .

Aren't the follow ups included in the overall bill? I would definitely question why they keep adding on additional costs. Slightly different but when my cat had dental surgery all the antibiotics, surgery and 2 follow up consults were included in the overall bill so no hidden charges.

Hope all is well with iggy's recovery

I'm not sure Venus, i hope i dont have to pay anymore , hopfully they wont give him anymore pain killers or antibiotics, before he went in for amputation (3 days before) they gave him an antibiotic which lasts for 2 weeks, they then gave him another antibiotic on the day of the op (so why would he need another if he was given one that last's 2 weeks just 3 days before?). I think i will change vets to the one accross the road (thers 2 along the same road, i obviously chose the wrong one).

Iggy's doing great (begging to go out), i will be pleased when the stitches come out and we don't have to go back, he's now insured so anything else that happens to him will be payed for (wont make that mistake again).