How Much Would You spend On Your Pet?

[The_Patriot21]

maybe its time to clean house

[InHeavensService]

I'd pay whatever I had to keep anything I take in, in good health. =) What I can afford, is a differnt story, however.

[fairmaiden]

we have 3 female cats, and it would cost us at least $1500 to have them all spayed. we just don't feel like spending that kind of money on our cats. they're in good health otherwise and don't cause problems if one can put up with a week here and there for meowing because they're in heat. (well, thankfully only one of the three is ever noisy in heat). i don't know how much i'd spend on our cats if they were sick or injured, but i don't think it would be much over a thousand either....i'd rather put it down and out of its misery if it was life threatening....

[Jayyycuuup]

America is spending even more on healthcare ... for Mr. Tabby

Upon adopting a dog a few years ago, a rather churlish acquaintance of ours said, �Well, that�s great. But you should set an amount that you will pay in vet bills for that dog and never go above it. You can go broke keeping them alive.�

Aside from the considerable joy we take in no longer speaking to that person, the dog has proven to be a joy despite some vet bills. And according to a pet supply industry trade group, it seems more people than ever have no problem with paying when the puppy or kitten needs to go to the doc.

My link

My doggie was like a human lol

She got cancer, My parents spent thousands in amputation and treatment

[Jayyycuuup]

we have 3 female cats, and it would cost us at least $1500 to have them all spayed. we just don't feel like spending that kind of money on our cats. they're in good health otherwise and don't cause problems if one can put up with a week here and there for meowing because they're in heat. (well, thankfully only one of the three is ever noisy in heat). i don't know how much i'd spend on our cats if they were sick or injured, but i don't think it would be much over a thousand either....i'd rather put it down and out of its misery if it was life threatening....

Lol my post above corresponds with your post.... kinda humorous

[Omegaman 3.0]

On 8/29/2011 at 2:20 PM, Guest said:

I do not allow the cat in the house. The house is a human habitation, that I prefer to keep nice for humans, that means no cat hair, no litter boxes, no clawed furniture etc, hence, the cat lives outside.

 

We live in a climate where the temps can go below zero degrees F. The coming winter will be our cat''s first full winter with us. I do not know how low a cat can take. I know that there are tigers and leopards that live in frozen places, so I assume fairly low. However, I am not going to research the survival needs of a tabby cat. Neither am I going to leave it to the elements. I figure that comfort is important. I will be making a thermostatically controlled little house for the cat, because I have compassion for it. If such a thing were on the market (maybe it is), I would not pay $100 for it, but since I am handy and have the materials I need, I am willing to devote some effort to the cat's cause.

Well, I recognize my own writing there, I am the "Guest"!

During one of the times that Worthy had a serve failure, or something, all of my threads and posts, lost the name of the author (me).

It was interesting though, to run across this old post, and notice that it was in 2011. So, an update seems in order. My heart changed a bit over time, and that cat is still with me, his name is Underfoot, and he has been allowed into the house, thought he still prefers to spend a lot of time outdoors. Most nights, he sleeps om my lap or chest, or alongside me. He was not initially a lap cat, but my wife wanted a lap cat, lol. I trained him into being a lap cat, and now I am paying the price for that, lol.

Underfoot, on a recent hunting expedition

My wife died in June of 2014, but Underfoot and I are still kicking. We have had a few other cats, but now it is just myself, Underfoot, and MuChi. Muchi was another cat, a short haired tuxedo cat. who was not people friendly at the time. I eventually convinced her, that I was ok, and though she was phobic of people at the time, has come to accept me. These days, she lives in the house, and rarely goes outside - her choice.

Obviously, I relented on my stance of "no cats in the house". I am likely allergic to cats, so that was a bit of a sacrifice, to take cats into my life. As I said, I am somewhat of an animal lover, so, I have compassion for the down trodden of some species. However, it was not the compassion for animals that lead to me accepting cats into the home, it was the love for my wife, who really liked cats more than I did.

Now, I did do as I said I was planning, I built a small "home" for him out of styrofoam (for insulation),  covered in stucco, lined with carpet, with a thermostatically controlled heated floor. It had a cat door on the outside, so he could go in and out as he pleased, and it would keep the weather out, so he could be warm and dry. I put water and food inside, so he got used to going inside, but he never used it as any sort of shelter, or hideaway. The cat door was tinted plastic, so he could see out. Basically, it was a waste of time, and materials. Maybe he was smart enough, to figure out, that if he did not use it, I would take pity on him and let him in. That is, in fact, what happened, since I could not stand to see him living outside when it was 20 degrees F outside, or pouring rain. What he does do though, is go to the back porch, in in-climate weather, were he has adopted the top shelf of a metal rack, that has a blanket on it, and it under the cover or a balcony above, so he is out of the rain, and in the shade, since sun can be brutal here in the desert. The wind in that location, is also reduced compaired to most places on the property.

I do not know how old he is, he was an adult when he came to us. His age is starting to show a bit, and now it is a race to see which one of us dies first. However, he still seems to me in good health. One thing that (I think) has not changed, is my attitude about what I would spend on him, I figure if I ever took him to the vet for something, $100 is probably my limit, beyond that, I consider him "totaled".