This diary isn't particularly political, but it does pose what I consider a moral question I'd like to get feedback on. If you have a beloved pet, follow me across the fold...
Over the past weekend my 14 yr old cat became very ill. We had noticed him not acting quite himself over the last day or so, but didn't think it was anything critical and it could wait until Monday. Well, we were wrong. As Sunday morning continued on he got worse by the minute. Eventually I was forced to take him into a 24hr emergency vet clinic because our regular vet was closed. When we got him there he was barely still with us. They immediately took him into ICU and got him on fluids while taking blood samples. The doctor then came out and informed us that he was very dehydrated and that he was diabetic. The diabetes was new to us. He was so bad off when he got in that his glucose was around 567 (should be 100-200) and there were ketones in his blood indicating he had gone into
Ketoacidosis. Not good at all, but they did a good job of getting him stable.
After that we had to take him into our regular vet Monday afternoon for continued treatment. The doctor (whom we've had wonderful success with in the past) indicated that the cat was, in fact, diabetic and prescribed insulin as the norm. We were a bit concerned, but we knew he would be just fine after reading hundreds of reports from cat owners who had gone through the same thing. We figured we would probably get a good few more years out of him still. He is 14, but even with diabetes he could live to 20. Especially considering he's strictly an indoor cat.
So all that together really got the ball rolling and the bills were adding up fast:
Emergency Vet - $1100 (only 24hr vet around)
Regular Vet - $180
2nd Visit to Regular Vet - $300 (x-rays as well)
Insulin - $175
(This doesn't include another $1000 we spent 5 years ago to give him a Perineal Urethrostomy to deal with constant crystal blockage in his urinary tract.)
Got that? So far we've spent about $1800 on this cat in this latest round. The trick here is that we aren't exactly rolling in cash. All of this had to be put on a Visa card. Unfortunately it wasn't on MY Visa card. No it was my (and this is embarrassing) mother's card. Not my wife's, not mine, but my mother's. She provided me the card after I had blown my credit out the door about 10 years ago when I was having other issues. So to help me and the wife cope with our medical costs, she was generous enough to set me up with a card on her credit and I would make payments as if it was mine. It was a good deal and I can't imagine what my wife would have done without it when trying to pay $300+ per month on prescriptions and doctor's bills.
Now to move things forward a bit please bare in mind that I'm in Texas. Down here a pet is generally considered a luxury item and if they break they rarely get fixed. Especially cats. My mother for example has owned 4-5 cats and I believe she has taken them all to the vet a total of twice. Both times to put them down. Was it their time? She wasn't too concerned because, to her, it's just a cat.
She knows how much we love our cats. We would do anything for them. Neither of us is inclined to have our own children (health issues) and these cats are the closest we are likely to get. They are our family and we love them with every bone in our bodies. Taking care of them and giving the best life we can is all that really matters to us. If we have to pawn half our house to save them, then we would.
So here we are after all the visits knowing that we have at least a couple more visits coming soon. Maybe another $300 still coming. Well, mom is beside herself. She just can't believe that we would be willing to spend that kind of money on a "damn cat". She just sees him as a nice buddy to have around, but spending money on more than food and cat litter is pretty much out of the question. This is the same woman who explained to me how they used to take care of cats where she grew up in Mississippi. It's called a potato sack and the river. I'll just leave it at that.
That puts me in the worst possible position. She's got us over a barrel because she knows we never would have been able to pay for the cat if it hadn't been for her card. Though in her view that card was designated for my wife's health costs and nothing else. So because of what happened with the cat we've sent the balance through the roof and she's freaking out. I imagine it's just a matter of time before she takes the card back. (God I feel like I'm 10yrs old again getting grounded from the TV! ACK!)
So the question I have for all of my buddies out there is where do you draw the line? How far would you go to save your pet? Is it wrong of me to view this animal as a member of the family? Is it wrong of me to place his health at almost the same priority as my own human family? Or am I just some kind of PETA whack job with completely out of line priorities?
I see these as moral questions, though of course my mother sees them as strictly financial questions. But where do you draw the line between the two? I mean, if I had a child that got sick I know I'd do everything in my power to make sure they were taken care of. Is it wrong of us to do the same thing for an animal that we love as dearly as others may love their offspring?
Please tell me I'm not crazy and there actually are people out there that can sympathize with this situation.