My kitty needs urgent help, but I have no money.

stephenq

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Note that the OP (original poster) posted almost 3 days ago and hasn't posted since and may not be reading this thread anymore....
 

marysmith

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kendalyn,

It's very simple, vets charge way too much for their services. If they charged less, there would not be a problem.

Plumbers charge a hefty price too to unclog the jon. So what if you are poor and know that you could not afford to pay one if your jon plugged up - should you then not have one in the house because you may need a plumber someday?
 

mzjazz2u

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Thank you for giving your cat a home and for caring about it. I can't offer you an answer to your problem but wanted to offer a tiny bit of support. I'm sorry you're feeling frustrated. I really understand since I had a cat that required a lot of medical care. It's frustrating because you want to get your cat the care it needs but to have that much cash on hand is difficult at best. I hope you can find an organization to help you. You've been given some good information to check out on that front.
 

icklemiss21

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Originally Posted by MarySmith

kendalyn,

It's very simple, vets charge way too much for their services. If they charged less, there would not be a problem.

Plumbers charge a hefty price too to unclog the jon. So what if you are poor and know that you could not afford to pay one if your jon plugged up - should you then not have one in the house because you may need a plumber someday?
Vets in Ontario have to adhere to guidelines for pricing. If they are above the allowed costs they can get in serious trouble.

The insurance costs alone are ridiculous for vets, like doctors because there are so many people who are legal-happy and take people to court over nothing. I know quite a few vets and know the discount they give to shelters and they are not making the huge profits some people think they are. Machines and supplies are not cheap either.

Yes they make a decent living, but no where near what the directors of some animal charities make, but they are paying themselves back for years of schooling that they (or their parents) paid for and didn't work a real job at that time.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by MarySmith

The bigger picture is that there is sick pet that needs care now! Money should NOT keep the kitty from getting the care that they need.

What happened to treat now, pay later.
Humans that are in need of care go the ER and are treated, whether or not they can pay. The same should be with vets!

MarySmith
Those human doctors still get paid by the hospital so they don't have to worry whether they can pay their monthly rent, receptionist's salary, vet tech's salary(ies), medications, equipment bills and the list goes on. Not even close to the same thing.

Originally Posted by MarySmith

kendalyn,

It's very simple, vets charge way too much for their services. If they charged less, there would not be a problem.

Plumbers charge a hefty price too to unclog the jon. So what if you are poor and know that you could not afford to pay one if your jon plugged up - should you then not have one in the house because you may need a plumber someday?
SOME vets may charge too much, but overall I believe most are charging around the same fees for the same services. I used to go to a dentist that charged much more than other dentists but the work he and his staff did was far superior to the other dentists so I paid the difference because I wanted that service.

I would be very surprised if you could get a plumber to fix now - pay later unless he was a friend, or a friend of a friend. Most of those folks want payment UP FRONT. Why should vets be any different?

Yes, I'd like to see every sick animal taken care of too, but to expect vets to give out their services free to everyone who cries "I can't afford it", that is totally insane. I don't work for free and neither does anyone else I know. I doubt if you would continue to work for your current employer if he came to you and said he couldn't pay you for awhile because he didn't have any money. How does that help you pay your bills and meet your commitments?

Our natural feeling for a sick or injured animal is that we want them treated but I don't think any of us have the right to expect vets to do this for free.

Perhaps the reason the vet clinics are so expensive is that they need to bring in enough money to cover for the folks that don't pay.
 
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