How Far would you go for your pet?

I own a ferret and a horse and have owned dogs and cats in the past. I've had a lot of housing opportunities say no to me due to my pets, and recently I was working for an abusive boss but would not leave until I got my horse out of there (I was working for a training facility and my horse lived there with me).

That said, I do not believe in going to great lengths while prolonging an animal's suffering. I was a pre vet student volunteering at the large animal hospital and will never forget a dying foal that the vets recommended be put down but the owners insisted on making the 5 hour drive to see it first. It's a horse; it does not care if you're there and all it knows is that it is in pain.

I was reading an article recently on treating leukemia in dogs and it had a couple case studies in it. It was very interesting and talked about the incredible advancements we've made in veterinary care. HOWEVER, the treatment is lengthy, painful, and involves keeping the dog in quarantine for months on end. The dogs get cured.

Do the ends justify the means? Yes, the dog was saved in the end, but in the meantime it was taken to a strange place to have strange and painful things done to it while it could not have much if any social interaction at all. All the while the dog has no idea what's happening or why, all it knows is that life sucks. It's different from treating a person because you can explain to the person that they don't need to be scared and that it will all be worth it in the future. The dog is not thinking about the future, it is thinking about the pain and suffering it is going through now. Now imagine doing the same to a cat that would be even less tolerant of a strange situation.

I recently put my Sheltie down. She went to the vet for other reasons and it was discovered that her liver was failing. She didn't seem to be suffering yet (had some symptoms like weight gain despite eating less, being a little listless, but she wasn't despondent) but I chose to put her down that very day. I would rather stop the suffering before it begins than wait until it would be cruelty not to do it.

So yes, an ear sounds like a minor problem but it is making the cat miserable. If there's nothing that can be done, I'd choose to put it down too. Or, even if there is something that can be done but the friend can't afford it/ won't do it, better that she put it down than let it keep being miserable.

Doing "anything" for your pet is noble and all, but question whether it's really for the pet's sake or to make you feel noble or because you aren't willing to let your pet go.

People in our society fear death too much. There are fates worse than death.

I have even stopped in rush hour traffic to fetch a cat out of the road that had been run over (it was dead) so I could take him to the vets to be identified before he got squished beyond recognition. He was returned to his owners as it was microchipped. .

You know, we've been reading about some really wonderful acts of kindness around this thread, but this is making me totally tear up. I'm not even kidding, I just grabbed a Kleenex before my co-workers saw me! What an incredibly kind, compassionate thing to do - I'm sure his owners were very grateful.

I spent $2,000 on my tea cup yorkie's broken leg. She just turned 1 and she slipped on our wood floor as she was jumping down from my hand and broke her leg in 2 places. She now has a plate and screws in it. I love her more than anything. A lot of people told me that they would have put her down but what sense would that make after only having her for 1 yr and having paid for her and all her vet bills already. I'd have to start all over with a new pup and that would cost me almost the same amount.

Now she's better than ever! I couldn't imagine my life w/out her.

How can you say no to this baby??

I spent $2,000 on my tea cup yorkie's broken leg. She just turned 1 and she slipped on our wood floor as she was jumping down from my hand and broke her leg in 2 places. She now has a plate and screws in it. I love her more than anything. A lot of people told me that they would have put her down but what sense would that make after only having her for 1 yr and having paid for her and all her vet bills already. I'd have to start all over with a new pup and that would cost me almost the same amount.

Now she's better than ever! I couldn't imagine my life w/out her.

How can you say no to this baby??

OMG. I wouldn't say no to that little bubby!! How adorable. I hope she lives forever!

Our pets, and by extension all life, are our babies. Daughter and i BAWL if we accidently hit something on the road. We live out in the country and takes forever to get to town during frog season becasue we'll get out adn move the frogs off the road so we dont hit them. We drive soooo slow so we dont hit the fox, raccoon, possum, muskrat, bird, and the deer.

Our 'bugout bags' are outfitted with cat and ferret pouches and food, so our babies will go with us if we have to leave or 'bugout' in a hurry. they're our babies, life wouldnt be worth it with out them.

but if it comes down to end of life, we also wont prolong it for ourselves. Ferrets are notorious for getting a type of cancer because they're destunk and neutered so young. so we know we will face taht decision one day, but we spoil them rotten until then.

im not an animal person.....which is why i dont understand the money that people spend on animals...i overhear a lady saying she spent $6000 on her dog for surgery....if i had $6k...there are way more things to take care of with than animals...but thats just me.

Would you spend $6000 on a child? well my cats like my child & hes worth more then any amount of money. I would gladly go into debt to keep him healthy & happy, he adds so much happiness to my life everyday so he deserves the best care I can give him.

I would do anything for my cats and my dog. My one cat is very old, around 17 and has had many health issues as of late. She is now a diabetic and must have insulin injections twice a day and needs special food. It was very difficult getting the right dose for her and she has had diabetic shock many times because she will refuse to eat. She goes to the vet every other week and has become quite the regular there. Its very hard to care for her but the bottom line is that she is part of the family, she was born 2 days after my first birthday right in my closet. Her brother died from FIP (he was 14) and her mother died a month ago from cancer (she was 19). She now only has an older sister (Ilsa is very healthy and is at the ripe old age of 18). I would do anything for the humans in the family so why shouldn't I go the extra mile for the felines and canine members too.

We woud do as much as possible for our pets up until the point we can safely know their quality of life would suck. My first cat Toby had a blood clot go up through his brain. At first he showed no long term effects but then after a simple vet visit, hi health plummeted. He spent 5 days in the hospital while someone traveled up to do a heart xray ultrasounds an all sorts. Those 5 days costs us 2600 dollars...and then it was confirmed he had heart disease who knew what his life would be like. We chose to put him down.

I really do understand the frustration you feel but not everyoe views their pets like that or puts them at the same level as humans. It sucks but it is what it is.

Hopefully she will get a second recommendation.

If the chance is great enough that I can save one of my pets, I would do whatever it took as long as I was able. One of my cats had Feline Lipidosis, but the doctor said with the correct care she could pull through. I had to feed her through a tube every three to four hours (I would wake up in the middle of the night) for 6 weeks. A year later, she is very healthy and doing great! Definitely worth the $$ I spent getting her diagnosed/taken care of.

The year before last, one of my dogs stopped eating and was very lethargic. We took him into the vet and they did several stomach x-rays and couldn't find anything. They kept him for a week and fed him through an IV. Finally, at the end of the week they went to do exporatory surgery because he wasn't recovering. It turns out he ate something (they never found out what) that had perforated his intestines. The doctor said that they could try to fix it, but there was less than a 25% chance he would survive. I had to make the decision right then, while they were doing the exploratory surgery. This was the best dog ever, but my husband and I elected to put him to sleep because we didn't want him to suffer if the surgery did not work. That was a hard decision to make, but if the chance of his survival was greater, I think we would have made a different decision.

She might be fearful to travel so far on her own. She could have an issue she hasn't even identified with taking her animal to a hospital like that because you lose control of the situation very quickly with those kind of doctors. How many people wait to get their own issues looked at by a doctor fearing that it could be cancer. There are many feelings a play and you can't guess what they are and she probably doesn't know either.

Can you go to the hospital with her? Does she have to leave the pet overnight or is it just an mri where they go home together the same night with more information and better treatment options? She can clarify these questions with her regular vet when she gets the referral.

ETA: Just saw the post saying kitty has ear infection. Hope all is OK soon!