# Couple spend $25,000 to save family cat



## Fuscus (Sep 10, 2010)

that's a lot of BHPs they could have purchased
Couple spend $25,000 to save family cat | News.com.au


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## Megzz (Sep 10, 2010)

Some people think of their pets like their babies.


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## JAS101 (Sep 10, 2010)

each to there own


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## Vixen (Sep 10, 2010)

If I had that kind of money or if there was a way I could gain that however possible, fundraising, selling, I would certainly spend that much to save my dog or cats life.


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## Helikaon (Sep 10, 2010)

spending 25k at the specialist does not take long. there is just diiferent kinds of ppl, and different circumstances. some will not flinch at a 4-5k estimate to fix their dog, others will euthanase at a few hundred


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## Tikanderoga (Sep 10, 2010)

25k sure is a lot... but irony would strike at it's cruelest if the cat would get run over 2 days after coming hime.


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## cwtiger (Sep 10, 2010)

I wouldn't be letting the little guy out he would be taught toileting real quick.


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## Jay84 (Sep 10, 2010)

My parents spent $19k on our family dog this year.

When you love your animals you will be willing to spend it.


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## sayrahsayrah (Sep 10, 2010)

> When you love your animals you will be willing to spend it.


 
Maybe so. Unless you don't have that kind of money to spare.


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## Dipcdame (Sep 10, 2010)

I seem to remember many threads admonishing some poor souls who asked for help and advice with a sick herp cause they couldn't afford a vet and they got flamed...... now someone is copping the same sort of attitude for taking their pet????? Can't have one rule for one sort of pet, and a different one for another, they are all in our care, and deserve the best we can give them.

It may be 'only a cat' to some, but to others, it's a companion, and from the sounds of it, a much loved ANIMAL.......... whether it be cat, dog, snake or lizard, what's the difference??


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## Jay84 (Sep 10, 2010)

One thing my parents have learnt, insure your pets. I know after this experience i will be insuring any dogs or cats in the future.


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## Jay84 (Sep 10, 2010)

sayrahsayrah said:


> Maybe so. Unless you don't have that kind of money to spare.


 
Obviously if it is within your means. I am not saying you will go and rob a bank for your pet! lol


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## Tegstep (Sep 10, 2010)

The fact that some people cant afford this treatment should not detract from the people who can.
As stated above - get cats and dogs insured. Its not expensive. I only wish you could also get reptiles/rabbits/birds etc insured also!


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## Jay84 (Sep 10, 2010)

lol... i can assure you that my parents are not driving lambos or porches! My mum driveds a 1984 Toyota Corolla, my dad a Toyota Hilux.

One thing is for sure though, my mums dog is like one of her babies. She could not have had her put down without exhausting every available option. Kim means the world to my mum, even though it has been a huge financial outlay, they don't regret it.


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## Jonno from ERD (Sep 10, 2010)

I'd easily drop $5-10,000 to save my pup if it was guaranteed to be successful. But $25,000...I'd struggle to pay that to save my girlfriend


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## Kitah (Sep 10, 2010)

To be totally honest, if it would cost $25,000 to save the life of one of my cats, I would find a way to pay it. I'm a 4th year vet science student so cannot study and work at the same time, so rely soley on centrelink payments. However, if something happened to one of my pets- I would defer and get a full time job just to save them. At the same time though, if someone couldn't afford that large sum to save their pet, even if they loved their pet dearly, I could still understand if they had to resort to euthanasia. What I CANT understand is when people have pets and won't even pay to have their animal wormed, vaccinated, treated for fleas, desexed etc because it 'costs too much' - they shouldn't have taken on the responsibility of a pet to start with. 

No-one has any right to judge other peoples decisions- if they love their pet and are willing to pay to keep them alive, its their choice.


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## Tikanderoga (Sep 10, 2010)

Dipcdame said:


> It may be 'only a cat' to some, but to others, it's a companion, and from the sounds of it, a much loved ANIMAL.......... whether it be cat, dog, snake or lizard, what's the difference??


 I agree - but in every case, it still comes down to: Pay 25 grand just like that isn't for everyone.
I got a mortgage, and at the end of the day (or end of the month), 25 grand still is a big load of cash, that I just couldn't afford to spend.
Every person has a threshold of how much one would spend to save a loved one, be it a pet, a companion or your partner.


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## Chris1 (Sep 10, 2010)

good on them, while it is alot of money i couldnt put a price on my pets either,...id find a way to pay it somehow,....


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## hypochondroac (Sep 10, 2010)

For me it doesn't have as much to do with cost as it does with the actual circumstances, i've paid out over $500 on one of my female beardeds to have her eggs removed. She was only about four at the time and i caught it early so i knew her chances were good. She's approaching seven but she's developed a lump on the side of her belly, it's grown but i'm not going to do anything about it because of A. her age and the fact that it doesn't appear to be causing her any discomfort and B. She's already been cut open once, if it gets to the stage where i think it's too large, causing pain or making her daily routine in life difficult i may reconsider and have it operated on.

Another beardie of mine had a tumor above her eye, the position of the tumor made it hard to tell how much tissue would be able to be left after attempting to remove it, the operation would have cost me around $800 and i probably would have spent it had i felt sure of a positive outcome but instead i chose to have her euthanized.

I'm sort of against people who try and prolong an older animals life, my mother being a perfect example. Her fifteen year old poodle was completely senile and defecating bloody faeces for atleast a year before i finally convinced her that Lulu's kidneys were trying to shut down and that she needed to be put to sleep.

I personally don't and probably never will keep a cat but i think operating on a dog over the age of about eleven is a bit of a lost cause.


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## Kitah (Sep 10, 2010)

hypochondroac said:


> I'm sort of against people who try and prolong an older animals life, my mother being a perfect example. Her fifteen year old poodle was completely senile and defecating bloody faeces for atleast a year before i finally convinced her that Lulu's kidneys were trying to shut down and that she needed to be put to sleep.


 

I do strongly agree with this. One of my cats in Brisbane is about 16yo- if something were to happen with him, and the treatment would seriously affect his quality of life, I wouldn't put him through treatment. It depends on the age, prognosis, and quality of life that animal will have (amongst other factors)


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## slim6y (Sep 10, 2010)

A life is a life... if you can save one - why not?

I am reminded of a favourite story of mine....

A man was walking down a beach after a particularly nasty storm. On the beach there were thousands (literally) of starfish that must have washed up. As he walked along seeing these dying starfish unable to make their way back to the ocean he noticed a man picking up a starfish and throwing it in the water. Then the man went back, got another starfish and threw it in the water, then again and again. The onlooker was quite moved by this guys motivation and went up to him.

He said, "Excuse me - but what are you doing?"

The man throwing the starfish in the water replied "I'm saving a starfish..."

"But..." replied the onlooker "You can't save them all, there's 1000s."

"I know." Said the starfish man. "But I just saved this one....."


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## Dipcdame (Sep 10, 2010)

Tikanderoga said:


> I agree - but in every case, it still comes down to: Pay 25 grand just like that isn't for everyone.
> I got a mortgage, and at the end of the day (or end of the month), 25 grand still is a big load of cash, that I just couldn't afford to spend.
> Every person has a threshold of how much one would spend to save a loved one, be it a pet, a companion or your partner.


 
Absolutely, everyone has a limit of how much they can spend, hubby and I are on pensions, and so huge vets bills are punishing, we just spent $500 on Arthur, our beautiful boofy ShepherdxEnglish Mastiff. That 500 probably left as huge a hole in our finances as the $25000 for the cat owners, but it's what we do. Luckily, Arthur's complaint came about at a time when we could afford to pay it from savings, but there will come a time when the only recourse left to us is to euthenaise an animal rather than see it suffer because we won't be able to afford the surgery, especially if it runs to thousands!
I am also a believer in not allowing an old animal to suffer, and if nothing more can be done, allowing the animal the dignity of a quick relatively painless passing, is the kindest thing we can do for them.


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## LadyJ (Sep 10, 2010)

God, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Good on them for actually commiting to an animals life they've taken into their hands.


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## xxMelissaxx (Sep 10, 2010)

Some people derive happiness from having money in the bank, and some people derive happiness from spending money on things they love/enjoy.

These people obviously derive happiness from their pet, and they were more than willing to part with some money to save it.

If this is what has made them happy - good for them. Not everyone is the same, and it makes no sense to be critical of their choice.


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## -Matt- (Sep 10, 2010)

When I was younger my parents spent around $5000 on our dog so he could have an operation on his spine. They did everything they could to scape together the cash in an attempt to save his life... Our dog then died two days later and they were still stuck with a $5000 bill and no dog.


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## FusionMorelia (Sep 10, 2010)

i would like to point out the donations and sacrifice they made for basically a dead cat... when 12% of Australian kids live under the poverty belt...

http://www.savethechildren.org.au/where-we-work/australia.html
http://www.abc.net.au/sundaynights/stories/s1238274.htm
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/sp/poverty.htm


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## PhilK (Sep 10, 2010)

Dipcdame said:


> .... whether it be cat, dog, snake or lizard, what's the difference??


 Snakes don't have legs.


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## Vixen (Sep 10, 2010)

Liamb561 said:


> deleted


 
Omg you're a hero, good job! *sarcasm


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## xxMelissaxx (Sep 10, 2010)

NatoRey said:


> i would like to point out the donations and sacrifice they made for basically a dead cat... when 12% of Australian kids live under the poverty belt...
> 
> Australia
> Poverty and Australian Children :: Sunday Nights
> The Poor in Australia: Who Are They and How Many Are There?


 
That is ridiculous.

Let's test that logic of yours, shall we?

Do you ever go out for dinner? Do you ever go on holidays? Do you own a car worth more than 10k?

If so, refer to your above links and sacrifice those luxuries of yours and donate the money to charity.


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## PhilK (Sep 11, 2010)

xxMelissaxx said:


> That is ridiculous.
> 
> Let's test that logic of yours, shall we?
> 
> ...


100% agree, what a silly comparison to draw.


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## hypochondroac (Sep 11, 2010)

xxMelissaxx said:


> That is ridiculous.
> 
> Let's test that logic of yours, shall we?
> 
> ...



+ 1


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## Australis (Sep 11, 2010)

Should of cloned it, way cheaper.


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## Lewy (Sep 11, 2010)

_[/QUOTE]i would like to point out the donations and sacrifice they made for basically a dead cat... when 12% of Australian kids live under the poverty belt..._

_http://www.savethechildren.org.au/wh...australia.html_
_http://www.abc.net.au/sundaynights/stories/s1238274.htm_
_http://www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/sp/poverty.htm_


> So your trying to say that we should save some one else's kid instead of one of our own pets yer right.. There is no limit to how much I would spend on any of my pets whether it be my cat to my goat
> 
> We had a 3 year old dog (Angus) that we loved very much. He ended up getting cancer it costed us close to $10,000 and he didn't make it. But we did give him the best 6 months a dog could ask for took time off work and took him camping swimming on the beach 4wding.. He was a wicked dog!!!!!
> 
> Like others have said you better go sell your car give up take away and stop having fun and give all your money to the children


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## slim6y (Sep 11, 2010)

NatoRey said:


> i would like to point out the donations and sacrifice they made for basically a dead cat... when 12% of Australian kids live under the poverty belt...
> 
> Australia
> Poverty and Australian Children :: Sunday Nights
> The Poor in Australia: Who Are They and How Many Are There?


 
It's a shame that you've used this statistic in this case - because I can see all the good intentions - unfortunately they're misdirected.

It is very true that much of the world's population (not Australian) live well below the poverty line - but unfortunately the comment is best reserved for that when dealing with humans.

If I was to go t the poverty stricken area to the east of Cairns (although one of the most beautiful places on earth) you'll see not only humans living in terrible conditions but a multitude of animals.

It's one of those things - when humans are in poverty so are the animals that we so readily domesticated. And then just look at the amount that found out they were better on their own and became feral. 

So - if I was to pose an opinion, it probably does follow the majority rule in this case. Our own pets are bound with no limits... As are my own children... I'd even give up a kidney for my own child... And besides the horrible things cats do by their very nature, they're a magnificent creature, and fully deserving their rights on this planet as one of the apex species.

On the same token, the unnatural prolonging of a pets life can sometimes be more devastating to the poor animal.


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## Jay84 (Sep 11, 2010)

NatoRey said:


> i would like to point out the donations and sacrifice they made for basically a dead cat... when 12% of Australian kids live under the poverty belt...
> 
> Australia
> Poverty and Australian Children :: Sunday Nights
> The Poor in Australia: Who Are They and How Many Are There?



You can NOT be serious?!

As everyone else has stated, what a stupid comparison. What animals do you keep? If one of them gets sick and the vet bill is estimated to cost around $500, would you euthenase and then drive round the corner to the local opp shop and donate the $500 for the kids? I think not! pffft

So i only just read the article in full. They took the cat to the same vet that my dog was referred to (Southpaws Vets, Moorabbin). Can i just say that they are second to none in their dedication and determination to do anything they can to save your animals life. They are the best vet i have ever had dealings with. They have a 24 hour ICU where your animal is monitored around the clock. This alone cost my parents over $1000 per day!

My mum suffers from depression, her little dog has been her rock. She did not fall sick but was subject to an accident (an otherwise healthy dog with years ahead of her). Initially the vets quoted $5k, then there were complications boosting the bill. A couple of months later there were complications........ where do you pull the line???

Seeing her today, a few months after her ordeal she is back to being the happiest little dog. She is my mothers shadow. Just talking about the saga and almost loosing her god my mum is reduced to tears. THAT is enough to tell my dad he did the right thing in agreeing to do whatever it took to save her life.


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