I agree if you cant afford the bills done get a pet. I have a goldfish lol it costs me £2 every 3 months or so for food

To those people who do say that "if you can't afford a pet, don't get one", I wish to repeat a question asked that hasn't been answered:

If someone should fall into circumstances beyond their control with their finances, should they be forced to give up their pet?

(its this debate that got me motivated to start a thread on tough love)

It seems as if some posters expect prospective pet owners to be psychic.

As I said earlier, there are many variables that can happen once you have taken on a pet which can then affect your ability to look after them, financially or otherwise. All you can continue to do is your best for the animal under whatever circumstances.

My sister in law has just spent over £200 on a pedigree cat (from a breeder which is an ethical question of its own). She is on benefits and has no intention of ever using a normal vets, she will always use the PDSA for cheap or free treatment. I think that is abusing the system.

She already has a small yappy dog, two other cats and a hamster so I don't think she is showing any consideration to the other animals she has anyway.

EDIT: I have guests now so that's it from me for today so sorry for not responding!
Last edited by Ruby Shoes : 24-12-2007 at 13:00

Circumstances change and it's not always something you can plan for. It's easy to say not to get a pet you can't afford, but who really knows what's around the corner. At least charities like PDSA etc. go a long way to help people who can't afford vet treatment, but of course you have to meet their eligibility criteria first.

I'm not sure what other options are available if you find yourself with a sick animal that you can't afford to treat. Is there even anyone you could sign them over to for treatment/rehoming if it became your only option (besides putting the animal to sleep)?

I would never suggest forcing someone to give up a much loved pet, unless it were the only option available to prevent it suffering.

The great self-opinionated orangebird strikes again.

i could not get insurance for my cat as he had cat flu BEFORE i got him so no insurance will touch him

That kinda bugs me too. I have one dog (Sharpei) and one cat both insured.

My sister in law has a houseful of pets ( gets rid of them when she's bored) between her and my mother in law they are all covered by the PDSA because they are on benefits.

My dog had a swollen eye took her to the vets when he realised she was insured he decided she needed a £850 operation straight away ( he would have done it there and then if i let him)
I wasnt to confident in his diagnosis so i went to see if i could take her to the PDSA for a second un biased opinion. I was willing to pay whatever it cost.
But was told its only for people who can prove they are on a low income.
I found it odd they would turn away business.

Anyway after contacting her breeder i was told i just needed to bathe her eyes everyday - we have never had a problem since.
I dont trust some of these vets when it comes to insurance.

Well, if it's anything like health insurance for people, there's probably a whole heap of exemptions in the small print, that'll mean if you pet gets some that's going to need alot of costly treatment, they'll say "oh, sorry, you're not covered for that."

It seems like some pet cover will just let you down, so what can you do then? Is it your fault for not reading the small print.
Why should only the rich have pets? Some of these posts are saying any pensioner that has a 'lost' pension should feel BAD if their cat/dog gets ill?

I would love to have a dog but I don't have the time, and I think that is more about me not getting one than 20pounds a month.

This is a valid point. However - you CAN still insure your cat as long as you declare the cat flu bit. If he/she were to have an accident, i.e breaka leg - that would be nothing to do with cat flu and you would be covered - just not covered for anything linked to cat flu.

A broken leg to be sorted can still cost you hundreds so it IS still worth trying to get insurance for everything else - you just need to shop around but I have found that most companies will be happy to insure for everything else.

My cat has an existing condition that is excluded from insurance. But I still insure her for everything else plus I put aside a small amount each month in case she needs treatment for her existing condition.

(I know not everyone can afford this though.)

Just a quick tip - if your pet needs ongoing medication you can now get it from some chemists CHEAPER.

You just need a vet's prescription which they have to give you - that costs nothing.

Shop around people!

http://www.petmeds.co.uk/

Is a good one for getting flea/worming treatment and various prescription medications cheaper than at the vets. We used to get Taz's Rimadyl painkillers etc from here.

I'm firmly in the former camp- not only would I go without food to make sure my Sheena was okay, I'd actually go without booze, and that's something I wouldn't do for ANYONE else.

I'm kind of lucky, though, in that the nurse at our local vet's is a friend (I walk her dog for her when she's at work) and if there's an emergency she'll always let me pay later.

That said, the REASON she's a friend is that I always used to take my previous dog, Biscuits, to that vet's, and they got to know me over the years, so they trust me.

Mind you, my mum just got me pet insurance for my birthday, so it should no longer even be an issue. But if it was- yes, I'd go without so my dog could be made better. She improves my life so much just by being there that any price would be worth paying.

So someone who happens not to have £1,000 for vets treatment going spare there and then when needed is considered poor?
I can understand the reasoning when talking about £50 or so for treatment, so it sometimes runs into £100s or more.

As for comparing to a car, running a car is comletely different to having to pay for unexpected problems. Running a car is the tax, insurance, MOT petrol and minor problems. Can you honestly say someone should not have a car if they cannot afford to replace the engine at £1,000 if it packs up?

I certainly didn't trust our previous one. When our cat first got diabetes, they kept treating him with too low a dose of insulin, and saying he must be insulin-resistant. I found a fantastic website about diabetic cats, also I know a fair bit myself about drugs, so eventually I asked them what was the big deal about upping his insulin dose and seeing what happened? If he was insulin-resistant, no harm would be done, if he wasn't, there was a good chance he might recover. Eventually they agreed - cat started to recover from that day. I reckon I saved his life, because if I'd accepted what the vet said, he'd probably have been put down. Current vet is great, though, so always worth getting a second opinion.