Saving For Your Cat

kalebkat · Jul 12, 2018

MeganLLB said:
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.

I think that's a decent amount! It's more than I put away. But I don't know how many cats you have.

It's just me and Kaleb !

kalebkat · Jul 12, 2018

Furballsmom said:
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.

I'm not sure. I have to read all the articles and do my research later. I have more computer availability at work!

Do you know where I could look for low income clinics and shelters that offer more affordable prices?

Furballsmom · Jul 12, 2018

There is a website you could look at, bestfriends.org - I don't know if the information will be helpful to you or not, but one possibility is that some veterinary schools will treat pets at a reduced cost.

Daisy6 · Jul 12, 2018

kalebkat said:
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.

Meaning when you take your cat to the ER and a veterinary technician does it that will cost $30? I was talking about home treatments over the life of a cat with CRF.

NewYork1303 · Jul 12, 2018

I put aside $50 every paycheck for pet health savings. I plan to just continue putting the money in continually.

MeganLLB · Jul 13, 2018

kalebkat said:
I think that's a decent amount! It's more than I put away. But I don't know how many cats you have.

It's just me and Kaleb !

That's what I put away for all my pets which is two cats and a dog. So i don't think that's enough. Maybe if I only had one pet. I tried insurance before but the deductible was so high, by the time I met the deductible I would never get anything paid for. So I basically rely on a credit card because that savings account fills up slow and emptys fast.

Hugospal · Jul 13, 2018

I try to have 1k per cat aside at all times, so that's 2k for one emergency...it's not a lot when you consider emergency care. I can reasonably put $500 or so additional on care credit that I am able to pay off before the grace period. A cost more than that at once would be hard/not possible for me financially which hurts to think about.

kalebkat · Jul 13, 2018

Furballsmom said:
There is a website you could look at, bestfriends.org - I don't know if the information will be helpful to you or not, but one possibility is that some veterinary schools will treat pets at a reduced cost.

Oh , thank you so much! If I ever need resources I know who to ask!

basschick · Jul 13, 2018

we used to have something set aside, but after six months of chest taps and monthly exams for our heart patient in 2010 and 2011, we spent more than we saved - about $8000 beyond normal vet checks, which we couldn't really afford. he also had tummy issues that resulted in several middle of the night vet visits at $500 to $1200 each.

our senior cat is now on an average of $150 of medications per month (some months just over $100, others over $200), and with his wellness checks, thyroid and kidney checks ($400 to $700 per visit every 6 months) plus an occasional other medication or vet visit, we haven't been able to save up lately.

kalebkat · Jul 14, 2018

basschick said:
we used to have something set aside, but after six months of chest taps and monthly exams for our heart patient in 2010 and 2011, we spent more than we saved - about $8000 beyond normal vet checks, which we couldn't really afford. he also had tummy issues that resulted in several middle of the night vet visits at $500 to $1200 each.

our senior cat is now on an average of $150 of medications per month (some months just over $100, others over $200), and with his wellness checks, thyroid and kidney checks ($400 to $700 per visit every 6 months) plus an occasional other medication or vet visit, we haven't been able to save up lately.

I would be out of options in your situation. All I can really afford is $50 a month. It breaks my heart, but I know I'm giving him the best I can. And giving him up is not an option. I know how he'd feel!

himawari · Jul 15, 2018

I tend to stash $50-$100 of each paycheck away in his very own savings account. Though I wish it was more, that's all I can afford right now.

basschick · Jul 16, 2018

kalebkat said:
I would be out of options in your situation. All I can really afford is $50 a month. It breaks my heart, but I know I'm giving him the best I can. And giving him up is not an option. I know how he'd feel!

your cat is lucky to have you - and vise versa. hopefully your cat will stay healthy or have less expensive issues. i've had several cats and a dog who never had an expensive thing happen to them in their long lives. till jeep and his congestive heart failure, and i was in my fifties and had cats all my life, so with any luck, $50 a month will be fine.

we had to go into money my family co-inherited to pay for jeep's heart condition - now we do without so that HK gets what he needs to stay well. it's been a lifestyle changer for us, but HK needs, loves and trusts us - we can't let him down.

kalebkat · Jul 16, 2018

basschick said:
your cat is lucky to have you - and vise versa. hopefully your cat will stay healthy or have less expensive issues. i've had several cats and a dog who never had an expensive thing happen to them in their long lives. till jeep and his congestive heart failure, and i was in my fifties and had cats all my life, so with any luck, $50 a month will be fine.

we had to go into money my family co-inherited to pay for jeep's heart condition - now we do without so that HK gets what he needs to stay well. it's been a lifestyle changer for us, but HK needs, loves and trusts us - we can't let him down.

Oh, I just love him. … despite his little mean streak.
thanks for saying so.

you got lucky with jeep. how long did he make it ?

I had ferrets that I thought would not have problems but it turned out one had a tumor (too big to be removed but would have been a pretty penny) and one had insulinoma. I was mad when someone chose to put that one down for me, .. though I wouldn't have been able to pay for it myself. With Kaleb I am not sure, but if it came down to it AND I had to sacrifice driving a car for taking a bus, if IT would save his life I'd do it.

I mean dang...I pretty much stated working just for him anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sheesh

kalebkat · Jul 16, 2018

himawari said:
I tend to stash $50-$100 of each paycheck away in his very own savings account. Though I wish it

weebeasties said:
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.

Does the estimated due payment come out high for care credit?

pipperoo · Jul 16, 2018

I have pet insurance - its only about $22/month. While it doesn't cover annual checkups, it does cover just about everything else (after a deductible and small co-pay of course). I'm really happy with this plan.
Insurance is cheaper to get when your cat is young. I had it with my last cat, and for the first 10 years of her life, never used it. Then from age 10 to 13 years old her vet bills probably totalled $12,000 due to some serious illnesses and surgery.
Not all cats get so sick or need that kind of money. I commend you and all the other contributors to this thread for being so thoughtful and diligent about saving for cat care. xoxo

Saving For Your Cat

kalebkat

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kalebkat

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Furballsmom

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Daisy6

A cat's best friend

NewYork1303

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MeganLLB

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Hugospal

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kalebkat

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basschick

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kalebkat

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himawari

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basschick

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kalebkat

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kalebkat

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pipperoo

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