Saving For Your Cat

[kalebkat]

I'm interested in what everyone else has in savings for emergency vet visits. I've been looking at my budget, which looks good, all in all. I've been on social security for 5 years, and now have two jobs in the career of my dreams. I'll still get social security for another 6 months which will help pay for furniture. My budget includes rent, car, and all the other expenses that go along with living ( my food, cat food, etc.) I also included a small amount for credit card bills. I put an unrealistic amount at 30 dollars. I know I'll wind up having a credit card bill of 2,000 atleast. Which left me with 150 for saving for emergencies with anything else. I want to put most of it in for Kaleb, but I do need to be ready to fix anything that goes wrong with my car. Kaleb is still young, so if all goes right, I'll have plenty of time to save up.

How about some other people here? How much do you put aside for emergency situations with your cat?

 

[Furballsmom]

I am absolutely awful at saving and/or budgeting, but I do have one account that is sort of a catch-all - car repair, the cat, that sort of thing that gets a deposit into it every now and then. Right at the moment I'm not even sure how much is in there (not all that much, really), s'pose I ought to look.

...thought I'd post this just in case you need it, and for any other readers/lurkers;
No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat's Life

 

[kalebkat]

Hi! Do you know if there are any expense lists that tell you what the costs are for the various veterinary procedures and treatments?

 

[Daisy6]

Hi! Do you know if there are any expense lists that tell you what the costs are for the various veterinary procedures and treatments?

Do you mean the cost of each surgery, medication, etc.or a combined estimate?

 

[Furballsmom]

I don't know, but would the American veterinary medical association have anything? Well, maybe not, I looked under their Economics and Practice tab, I didn't see anything...

 

[kalebkat]

Do you mean the cost of each surgery, medication, etc.or a combined estimate?

Each one and it's cost, plus how much for daily treatments, like iv fluids..I'm not sure if there's any other s thank you

 

[kalebkat]

I don't know, but would the American veterinary medical association have anything? Well, maybe not, I looked under their Economics and Practice tab, I didn't see anything...

thank you for looking.

I really want to be prepared for the worst but hope for the best.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
kalebkat - There are cost overviews here:

http://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Estimated-Cost-of-Procedures.pdf

and here:

Cost of Veterinary Care - Veterinarian Cost, Prices of Vet Treatments

but as noted in each, veterinary care costs are widely varying, depending upon geographic location.
.

 

[Furballsmom]

very smart!
I did find some numbers on petcarerx but I'm not seeing a complete date as to when it was posted, although I think within the last 2-3 years, so maybe 2015 possibly.

As an example, the cost for dental work (which I'm more familiar with), as with anything, varies upwards depending on what-all needs to happen.

You could also look into pet insurance or a prescription plan for pet, maybe...

also there are discount veterinarians, low-income clinics and sometimes shelters will offer discounts for fosters

 

[Furballsmom]

If your local vets have websites, do they post any prices, by chance? Or you could contact them and see if they'll provide you with a price list...it's worth a shot, anyway

 

[kalebkat]

.
kalebkat - There are cost overviews here:

http://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Estimated-Cost-of-Procedures.pdf

and here:

Cost of Veterinary Care - Veterinarian Cost, Prices of Vet Treatments

but as noted in each, veterinary care costs are widely varying, depending upon geographic location.
.

You are awesome! Thanks for finding them.

I know it will vary. I'm sure there are some things that aren't listed. I didn't see iv fluids or blood tests for certain things like dermatology. Some blood tests can run over $1500.

Plus sometimes they have to perform more than one procedure.

I am glad that the second article had information on pet insurance. I know my work offers it, so I'll be looking into that.

These guys deserve so much from us. And it really is about giving back , after all they give to us!

 

[Daisy6]

As Furballs pointed out, old data may be inaccurate.

The cost of an iV treatment depends on various factors, including whether only fluid goes in the cat's body (many cats get B12 and medications at the same time). The cost is also affected by frequency and dosages. Some cats need it every day; other cats only once a week. So it is not just A at this vet and B at that vet.

 

[MeganLLB]

I have a longterm savings account that gets $50 every paycheck, a short-term savings which gets $25 every pay check and a separate savings account for all the pets which gets $25 every paycheck, and I get paid every two weeks. I also have a credit card that I try emphasis on the try not to ever use and save it for emergencies. Right now there is a small balance on it, but once it's paid off, I connect it to my Netflix account to keep it active, so there is a charge on it every month that gets automatically paid off and I don't have to worry about it. I just save it for emergencies.

I know that's not a whole lot of money being put away but its something. I just had to get my dog all his vaccines and took $160 out of the account to pay for it. I need to put more away, but I just can't afford to.

 

[wealthy1]

I have two kittens and I plan to put away at least $50 each check for them.

 

[MRG2018]

I'm interested in what everyone else has in savings for emergency vet visits. I've been looking at my budget, which looks good, all in all. I've been on social security for 5 years, and now have two jobs in the career of my dreams. I'll still get social security for another 6 months which will help pay for furniture. My budget includes rent, car, and all the other expenses that go along with living ( my food, cat food, etc.) I also included a small amount for credit card bills. I put an unrealistic amount at 30 dollars. I know I'll wind up having a credit card bill of 2,000 atleast. Which left me with 150 for saving for emergencies with anything else. I want to put most of it in for Kaleb, but I do need to be ready to fix anything that goes wrong with my car. Kaleb is still young, so if all goes right, I'll have plenty of time to save up.

How about some other people here? How much do you put aside for emergency situations with your cat?

Before I adopted my cat, I made sure that I could afford pet insurance, among other things. So I have been paying for pet insurance every month- and I have a catch all savings that can help. But with the insurance, you end up paying much much less.

 

[weebeasties]

I have a longterm savings account that gets $50 every paycheck, a short-term savings which gets $25 every pay check and a separate savings account for all the pets which gets $25 every paycheck, and I get paid every two weeks. I also have a credit card that I try emphasis on the try not to ever use and save it for emergencies. Right now there is a small balance on it, but once it's paid off, I connect it to my Netflix account to keep it active, so there is a charge on it every month that gets automatically paid off and I don't have to worry about it. I just save it for emergencies.

I know that's not a whole lot of money being put away but its something. I just had to get my dog all his vaccines and took $160 out of the account to pay for it. I need to put more away, but I just can't afford to.

Good point about keeping a credit account active. We had an "emergency" care credit card for years but never used it. They closed out the account for inactivity. We opened another through our bank ( with better interest rates) and I keep a small balance on it so it remains active.

 

[kalebkat]

If your local vets have websites, do they post any prices, by chance? Or you could contact them and see if they'll provide you with a price list...it's worth a shot, anyway

That's good thinking. I don't know, I'll have to see.

I've emailed someone at work about the pet insurance, but I think I'll have to call them myself. I've seen some plans not cover chronic illnesses because they would had to sign up for the insurance before the illness started, and at an early age for the pet. He's under 2 years, so I may still be safe.

Yeah. We'll see.

 

[Furballsmom]

I love your avatar picture by the way

 

[kalebkat]

As Furballs pointed out, old data may be inaccurate.

The cost of an iV treatment depends on various factors, including whether only fluid goes in the cat's body (many cats get B12 and medications at the same time). The cost is also affected by frequency and dosages. Some cats need it every day; other cats only once a week. So it is not just A at this vet and B at that vet.

Am I right in saying they cost something around $30 per treatment? At least that's what I remember from the cat I had before

 

[kalebkat]

I love your avatar picture by the way

Yeah! Haha . He's got that "crazed cat" look. Or like he really wants to have a talk with me about something I did wrong. Hehe

Thanks!