Author Topic: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids  (Read 8531 times)

dunlar

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How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« on: May 10, 2015, 08:26:13 PM »
Book by Dr. James L. Busby DVM -- excerpt from introduction...

This book started off basically as a result of a conversation with a client who lives 240 miles away in the Twin Cities.  Her family had a summer cabin in the area and she found her way to me by talking to some locals.  In our conversation she complained about the expense of veterinary care in her area.  When I pointed out numerous procedures she had paid for that were, in my opinion, unnecessary, she indicated that putting my knowledge and honest recommendations in book form would be a good idea.  I have tried to do just that.  I have experienced a growing anger with the way the veterinary profession has evolved over the past decade or so and it felt good to put my feelings down on paper.  What follows is my advice.  This is what I tell my clients.  It will give you a second opinion on a menagerie of things concerning your pet and it comes from someone who has been actively and successfully treating dogs and cats for 40 years.  I'm sure that what I have written will greatly upset the rank and file of the profession but I'm 65 years old and really don't feel loyalty to those who I consider to be both unethical and outright fraudulent in the way they practice.  You can judge for your self after reading this book who are the good ones and who aren't.

...Anyway, it's a little book and actually worth the price -- especially if you get it from the library

Kitsune

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #1 on: May 13, 2015, 01:00:14 PM »
Oh, gawd, the vet racket. I'd heard of that book... it doesn't seem to be available as an ebook, though?

Current struggle with the vet: "Oh, your cat gets carsick and you're moving? We can prescribe tranquilizers! Oh, but his blood tests are two months out of date! You'll have to bring him and, and we'll run them again (total cost: 250$), and then you can have some tranquilizers for the cat!" Or, alternative: the cat can be out in a nice waterproof carrier, puke on himself, be washed an hour and a half later on arrival, and not be moved again. An hour and a half of cat misery is NOT worth 250$, wtf.

Also: "Oh, of COURSE your indoor cats who never come into contact with any other animals because they are terrified of the outside world need to be vaccinated every year against illnesses that are spread through contact with infected cats! That'll be 150$" (Yeah, no.)

I've had MUCH better luck with country vets (whose primary business is cows and pigs, and are used to farmer attitudes towards animals) - when they treat cats and dogs, they're typically decently priced and don't recommend useless treatments. City vets used to only treating cats and dogs, though? Ye gods, the mark-up. And all of a sudden thousands of tests are necessary for any small thing.

Le Poisson

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #2 on: May 13, 2015, 01:17:35 PM »
I've been trying to get the dog spayed for 4 years. Every time I go in there is a new barrage of tests they need to run and a reason they need to put it off until her next heat, and then guess what! With so much blood loss, we'll have to start over!! I spend about $500 a year trying to get the dog spayed. When I complain they tell me it would be cheaper if she was a puppy and all this wasn't necessary - like a responsible pet owner would do. Enter the guilt trip to mine more dollars.

Its utter bullshit.

The dog STILL isn't spayed and now I'm looking at the laws of averages for how long she'll live and wondering if its worth it at all. 5 yr old Bernese with a 10 yr life expectancy.

amberfocus

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #3 on: May 14, 2015, 07:12:39 AM »
I'm not sure if it's safe for cats, but I give my dog half of a children's Benadryl before a long road trip. There's no need for a prescribed tranquilizer for her, because the Benadryl settles her down enough that she can nap at least a little.

Benadryl is safe for cats as well, although the one time I tried it on mine, he HATED the taste (it was liquid cherry flavor), bolted in distress, leaving a trail of pink kitty mouth foam throughout the house. He wound up way more riled up than before I tried to dose him, and I don't think I got enough of the drug into him for the desired effect. So, you know. Your results may vary. :P

NCGal

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2015, 08:10:38 AM »
Oh, gawd, the vet racket. I'd heard of that book... it doesn't seem to be available as an ebook, though?

Current struggle with the vet: "Oh, your cat gets carsick and you're moving? We can prescribe tranquilizers! Oh, but his blood tests are two months out of date! You'll have to bring him and, and we'll run them again (total cost: 250$), and then you can have some tranquilizers for the cat!" Or, alternative: the cat can be out in a nice waterproof carrier, puke on himself, be washed an hour and a half later on arrival, and not be moved again. An hour and a half of cat misery is NOT worth 250$, wtf.


I used something called Bach Rescue Remedy when we moved with two cats. I purchased it in a health food store. It comes in a liquid tincture with a dropper. If you can't get a drop or two in the cat's mouth, you can put it at the top of the forehead where the skin is thin. This was recommended by several vets as a safe alternative, no prescription.

I don't know if the shock of a 14 hour drive or if it was the Rescue Remedy, but after a few minutes they were quiet the whole way. I also covered their carriers with a large towel to keep them feeling snug, which was another recommendation I had heard of.

rocksinmyhead

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #5 on: May 14, 2015, 10:53:28 AM »
Quote
Benadryl is safe for cats as well, although the one time I tried it on mine, he HATED the taste (it was liquid cherry flavor), bolted in distress, leaving a trail of pink kitty mouth foam throughout the house. He wound up way more riled up than before I tried to dose him, and I don't think I got enough of the drug into him for the desired effect. So, you know. Your results may vary. :P

I use the chewables, so it's a treat. Downside: Every time I open the medicine cabinet for something, she's right there waiting expectantly.

ha! our younger dog gets occasional Benadryl for allergies and our older dog gets occasional dog glucosamine and aspirin. they both HATE the pills (even the glucosamine which is supposed to be chewable and liver-flavored) so we have to hide them in cheese... now every time they hear a pill bottle rattle, they come running for cheese.

I'll have to check if they have that book at our library (although as I just found out, even if they don't have a book you can get it through some Missouri statewide interlibrary loan system... which is interesting because we don't live in Missouri... but maybe other cities in Oklahoma don't read?). we seem to have gotten pretty lucky with our (city) vet in that they're pretty cheap and don't suggest/force a lot of random shit, although for my boyfriend who views our dogs (particular his dog/our older dog) as basically a human child, I think he actually worries that they aren't suggesting more stuff, like they're not being careful enough or something. I trust them though :)

southern granny

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #6 on: May 14, 2015, 06:39:17 PM »
contact your local humane society to see if they sponsor (or know who does) a low cost spay clinic.  Our humane society sells certificates once  a year for a spay or neuter and the procedure is done at a local vets office. 

pbkmaine

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #7 on: May 14, 2015, 07:07:56 PM »

I've been trying to get the dog spayed for 4 years. Every time I go in there is a new barrage of tests they need to run and a reason they need to put it off until her next heat, and then guess what! With so much blood loss, we'll have to start over!! I spend about $500 a year trying to get the dog spayed. When I complain they tell me it would be cheaper if she was a puppy and all this wasn't necessary - like a responsible pet owner would do. Enter the guilt trip to mine more dollars.

Its utter bullshit.

The dog STILL isn't spayed and now I'm looking at the laws of averages for how long she'll live and wondering if its worth it at all. 5 yr old Bernese with a 10 yr life expectancy.

You really need to find a different vet.

Glenstache

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #8 on: May 15, 2015, 02:49:22 PM »
Also, the author is not a good vet, apparently. Please take his advice with a (hefty) grain of salt. See:

http://mn.gov/health-licensing-boards/images/BusbyJ_3%252E1%252E02.pdf

Clever Name

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #9 on: June 03, 2015, 01:08:42 PM »
Quote
Benadryl is safe for cats as well, although the one time I tried it on mine, he HATED the taste (it was liquid cherry flavor), bolted in distress, leaving a trail of pink kitty mouth foam throughout the house. He wound up way more riled up than before I tried to dose him, and I don't think I got enough of the drug into him for the desired effect. So, you know. Your results may vary. :P

I use the chewables, so it's a treat. Downside: Every time I open the medicine cabinet for something, she's right there waiting expectantly.

I did not know chewable Benadryl existed, but for my dog I crush a tablet and mix it with canned dog food or something similarly tasty. For a cat I would probably use a small amount of tuna.

AJ

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #10 on: June 03, 2015, 01:25:20 PM »
The dog STILL isn't spayed and now I'm looking at the laws of averages for how long she'll live and wondering if its worth it at all. 5 yr old Bernese with a 10 yr life expectancy.

Yes, it is totally worth it!! We thought the same thing for our Yorkie. She was 10 years old when we got her and had never been spayed. We thought, "Why bother now? She's old, and surgery is dangerous, and we aren't going to breed her." One day she started acting very odd, stumbling around, unable to stand still on he own, and nystagmus is her eyes. The emergency vet couldn't figure out what was wrong, and sent us to a neurologist (!). They didn't know what was wrong, but then a routine xray showed her uterus was the size of a golf ball (she was a 5 pound dog). Apparently, 25% of female dogs that are neither spayed nor bred get this kind of infection. It was a high-risk spay at that point and was VERY expensive.

Even if you aren't someone that would take your pet to a fancy doggy neurologist (a very non-mustachian purchase, I admit), the emergency vet bill alone was more than the cost would have been to spay her when we got her. Plus we would have had to put her down.

Have you tried going to a different vet? I've never been asked for expensive tests to do a routine spay.

Le Poisson

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #11 on: June 03, 2015, 01:31:32 PM »
Yes - we've been around the mulberry bush with 3 different clinics now. As soon as they see she came from Montreal (puppy mill central) and have her as a new file the game begins.




1WattLightbulb

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #12 on: June 05, 2015, 01:36:46 PM »
Thanks for the recommendation, OP. I'll have to check it out.

I noticed the book is 10 years old, and medicine changes rapidly. Does anyone have any more recent references, including websites, that cover low cost pet care ideas?

Chesterfield

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #13 on: June 05, 2015, 07:21:09 PM »
Go to a cheaper part of town for your vet care. I found a stray cat, unfixed, coming in my cat door. Called vets all over town. The cheapest neuter was on the poor side of town. They neutered him, gave him a rabies shot and I found him a home. It was half the price of my vet's.
My cat is 13 now. I only take him to the vet if he is sick. No geriatric labs for him. If he has kidney failure, I will find out when he gets so sick that he needs to be euthanized.  My dad's elderly cat gets labs every 6 months. The only point of a test is if it will change the treatment.

Tami1982

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #14 on: June 06, 2015, 09:35:11 AM »

I used something called Bach Rescue Remedy when we moved with two cats. I purchased it in a health food store. It comes in a liquid tincture with a dropper. If you can't get a drop or two in the cat's mouth, you can put it at the top of the forehead where the skin is thin. This was recommended by several vets as a safe alternative, no prescription.


Huge fan of Rescue Remedy!!  Does great for dogs/cats.  I use it for nervous dogs in my dog boarding all the time.  Makes a huge impact. 

SnackDog

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #15 on: June 06, 2015, 10:11:50 AM »
Cost of vets varies wildy and it pays to call around until you find the cheapest one. We used to drive half an hour across town to an older vet who would do a teeth cleaning on the dog for like $85 (as compared to as much as $500). He was in his sixties and wore hilarious plaid pants.

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #16 on: June 06, 2015, 12:57:08 PM »
Thanks for the recommendation, OP. I'll have to check it out.

I noticed the book is 10 years old, and medicine changes rapidly. Does anyone have any more recent references, including websites, that cover low cost pet care ideas?

Here is a place to start for information:
https://www.avma.org/public/Pages/default.aspx

I have a slightly different perspective in that my SO is a emergency vet and have a good friend who owns a practice. I hear both the horror stories of pet owners being DIY vets based on what they learned from Google University, and a bit of a peek behind the curtain of the economics both of the individual vets and their businesses. I think that for the level of knowledge that vets bring to the table, they are an incredible bargain compared to many other professions, especially human medicine. New vets will graduate with two to four hundred thousand dollars of student debt and the average vet salary in their first year will be about $65k (about a third of human medicine despite equivalent and possibly more difficult training). They are clearly not in this for the money as no sane person would do this as a strategy to get rich. Given the financial stress many vets are under, that the field attracts caring and compassionate people, and sometimes poor working conditions that are like a retail environment, the suicide rate among vets is higher than the general population. Please be nice to your vet if even if the $$s are a problem for you.

About practices:
- There is variation in cost between practices and it is a good idea to shop around, especially if you are looking at specialty services like orthopedic surgery, etc. Also be aware of the level of training of vets between general practice and board certified for specialties like surgery. General practice vets can do a lot of surgeries, but will hand off to the specialists for complicated things. 
- Not all vets are the same. That old guy doing dental cleanings for $85 probably isn't doing blood work, which can make anesthesia life-threatening if there is an undiagnosed issue. Vet medicine has changed over time and the standard of practice has changed. For example, there are a number of vets who would support Dr Pol (the guy on the Nat Geo channel) losing his license for the standard of care he provides. The word 'mortified' is often used in reference to his practice.
- There is an element of getting what you pay for. Medical supplies cost money, and many of them are sourced from the same places as human medicine, so not necessarily cheaper. The overhead is real.
- Preventative care pays off in the long run. Pet insurance is a good idea.
- If you have an emergency issue, deal with it sooner than later. If you wait longer, the problem will be worse and more expensive. I've heard a lot of stories of people who could have had an outpatient emergency turn into an expensive multi-day hospital stay because they waited 3 days while their pet was bloated and trying to vomit.

Hope this provides some perspective from a different angle. YMMV (of course).

Tami1982

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Re: How to Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging the Kids
« Reply #17 on: June 06, 2015, 06:58:49 PM »

- Preventative care pays off in the long run. Pet insurance is a good idea.


Seconded.  I have VPI for pet insurance and have been super grateful.  They have reimbursed over $5,500 worth of vet care and I have never had to hesitate once about whether I could afford a procedure or not.  It's a betting game.  My best friend has waffled 1,000 times about getting it, and hasn't.  She's been lucky though.  Her dog has cost her maybe $500 total over five years.  It's a roll of the dice.  Mine, unfortunately, has all kinds of weird stuff happen, LOL.  You'll kick yourself if something happens and you don't have insurance.  If you do have it and something happens, you'll think of it as a waste of money. 

People always say, "Just put the money in a savings account so you'll have it if something happens!"  Um.  If I had put every penny that I have paid for insurance, it would be just over 1/3 of what they've reimbursed me.  Nowhere near enough.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!