What is the most money you've spent on vet bills?

My record: $2,991.54

In mid August, I noticed my cat Soichiro seemed withdrawn. He was sitting on a chair in the backyard and wouldn’t come inside. I went and picked him up and noticed he was very lethargic. Brought him in, and put food and water in front of him and he wouldn’t eat. Of course, all this shit happens at 3 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon when my normal vet is closed. I search the internet and a find a place that is open on a Sunday. I call ahead and let them know I’m coming since they closed in an hour. I drop $430 on an exam, blood work and xrays. They tell me he’s severely dehydrated and anemic with a red blood cell count at 14; normal being around 40-50 with anything below 35 considered severe. They tell me he needs to go to an emergency room and will likely need a blood transfusion.

Take him to the hospital and the news just got worse from there. He tested positive for feline leukemia using an in-house test which meant he probably wouldn't recover and even if he did, he would likely die within 2 years. To make matters worse, feline leukemia is highly contagious which meant my other cat Buster likely had it too. I get this news shortly after hearing that it would be anywhere from $1,600 to $3,000 to try and save him. That's on top of the $430 I had already spent. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well that night. The news did change for the better. Buster tested negative for leukemia and a lab test for Soichiro came back negative as well. Apparently false positives are not that uncommon for in-house leukemia tests. After several tests, a blood transfusion ($730 alone... ever heard of cat blood bank? Neither have I which is why it costs so damn much ) IV fluids and other stuff, it turns out he had Feline Mycoplasma which is an infection he got either from a flea, mosquito or maybe another cat. About a month of anti-biotics and steroids fixed him of that. He did require a few follow up blood tests to confirm the infection was gone and he's doing well. So, with the initial vet visit, the hospitalization and follow up care, my total came to $2,991.54. At least I kept it under 3 grand. Anybody else take a beating for their pet? I know I'm not the only one who cares about his/her pets!

Here's the big one for the hospitalization...



Here's the lucky bastard himself. Soichiro is named after the founder of Honda Motor Co. Soichiro Honda.

 

I spent 400 on my cat 3 months ago cause he wouldn't shit...

 

Right around $3000 for spinal surgery on a dachshund.

 

My ex's dog came down with Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia, required a week in 24 hour care, three blood transfusions (got the third one free!!), and whole bunch of meds. Was on constant meds for 12 months and weekly blood count checks. Started weening her off the meds and weekly visits for another 8 months. That was four years ago.

Ended up spending about $10k on that dog......and I still have the dog that she left with me when she moved out two years ago.

 

My cat has cost me around $5,000 in the last year and a half due to her diabetes - overnight stays for fluids, emergency visits, repeated blood glucose curves, insulin, potassium, syringes, etc.

Worth every penny. : )

 

Just over $3k on knee surgery for my lab but he's got insurance so it only cost us about $600.

 

my limit is around 300 bucks, other than that it'll be 'bye-bye doggie/kitty'

 

I had one, get some wheelies for it

 

I just dropped $450 on my 8-month old Lab/Border Collie puppy. I came home one day at lunch and she had diarrhea'd all over the house, so I cleaned it up and that night she wouldn't stop throwing up. So I took her to the vet the next morning. X-rays, medicines and tests came out to that. Fortunately, we think it was just a partial blockage. She's fine now.

My girlfriend and I are thinking about getting pet insurance, because we have the dog, a 5 year-old cat and an 8 year-old cat. The older cat has all kinds of sinus problems, and the dog eats EVERYTHING, so we think it might be a smart move...

 

same. I had to have my cat put to sleep about a year and a half ago.

He had feeline luk. and his lungs filled up with fluid and he only had about 15% lung capacity left. Vette said she could try and drain it but its gonna be really expensive and chances are he probably wont make it. So i opted to have him put to sleep. I didnt want to suffer more than he had to and I also could not afford a massive vette bill (we had just had a baby and those are not cheap!)

He was my wifes cat but I made him mine. I named him Nixon, which turned into richard nixon, which then turned into us just calling him dickie...haha

 

Still waiting to hear if my dog Layla needs her ACL replaced. They told me is she didn't improve to 100 in the next couple of months that she will need it replaced at a cost of 3k. She is at about 70% and its been about a month. The vet said that she probably strained it and it would just take time to know if she was going to heal or not. Also read online that after they get an ACL replaced that most likely the second one will also need to be replaced as it is carrying the weight/stress of the other one while its healing. 3k, 6k, 10k, I would spend every penny I had to make it right. My dogs are like my children and mean more to me than some people in my family do.

 

Wow, not that much...but I did spend over $300 when my dog swallowed a needle attatched to a little stretch of thread. It passed all the way through her system and we noticed it when she spent 20mins trying to poop. I went to investigate why her balloon knot wasn't cooperating and the needle had poked through a wrinkle and the thread was holding poop clumps together like little saugsages, just dangling from the needle and o-ring.

Damned Dog....

 

Little over $2,400 for cataract surgery on our Schnauzer a few years ago. That was one visit. That didn't include the first consultation but did include a couple of follow up. But he was on drops for the rest of life. About $8.00 every 3 weeks. HE lived around 6-8 more years plus he was diabetic so he had to have insulin which wasn't too bad and lasted about a month at a time the needles cost more than the insulin.

 

its funny the way you described it but in reaility that had to suck for your pooch

 

oh yah, i play it off but I felt bad for her and got after my wife for leaving the needle and thread out. We think what happened is she sucked it up thread first and the needle fed backwards all the way through.

 

x2. I hate to tell my dog, I love her, but if she has more than a few hundred bucks in vet bills, she's off to dog heaven... maybe I'm a heartless bastard, but she's still a dog, not a person.

 

None...My wife's a vet. She works at an Emergency/Specialty clinic, so she has had people come in and spend well over 12k on their pet before.

 

Some people have spend more on their animals than others. Not judging people who love their dogs more or less, it's kinda where your money is at. I have a 5000$ pitbull and 500$ boxer. They both have had numerous vet bills including 2300$ MRI when her leg suddenly paralyzed. Someone even asked my wife if she would take a 100 thousand dollars to get rid of her dog, and she honestly said no. Contribute these dogs stay inside 99% of the time, and these are the only type of mammals that love their owners more than they do themselves. Can't replace that unconditional love the first day you come home from a shitty day and they are excited to see you regardless!!