This is an issue that I´ve often bothered myself with. What of poor people with not much money? Living here in the country is torture for me because most of the times people treat their pets extremely poorly, beat them, shoot at other´s animals for sport or out of revenge (and the law is too busy endorsing money illegaly through drug scandals). But even when animals are being treated well, what about when someone with not so much money has an animal that gets hurt? My next door neighbor has a cat that very obviously fractured his front paw a few months ago. Its healed up quite fine (and crooked) since then, and he shows no signs of pain at all, but they couldn´t even BEGIN to afford a trip to the vet. Especially around here, all hospital care, animal or humans, is very unsatisfactory. But even so, I´ve had a dog that go mysteriously sick. We brougth her to the vet, spent a couple hundred trying to fix her, and then had to put her down because the surgery was too expensive and not even a sure fix. So what are you guy´s side on this issue? Should people with no money not own pets if they can´t afford veterinary care? Is it ethical or unethical to put an animals down because you don´t have the money to get them taken care of at the vet? Should our government make insurance on animals cheaper? God knows it´s hundreds of dollars just to get all my animals vaccinated. I´d like to hear some different poitns of view and maybe even a few stories.

Thank you

I am from UK, so I don´t know how it is in US. Here you can get pet insurance. So for example I pay about £10 ($18 dollars) a month per cat (I have two) and that gives me treatments upto £5000 ($9000). Which of course is a relief to know something like that is there.

Oh wow. That´s not bad at all. Insurance for cats in where I live in NC cost thousands of dollars a year.

We have the PDSA in the UK too, who offer free treatment to people on certain state benefits. PDSA

Insurance here for my dog and 2 cats is just over £30 a month for lifetime cover.

Man I should move to the UK lol. Thats where my fiance is originally from actually

well this is always a bad subject. I am one of them people who is poor... I live off of disability and let me tell you, it barely pays the rent and bills and I do pray nothing happens to my kitties... Sure, they MIGHT be better off without me, BUT they could also be out on the street trying to find food or they could be in a house with people who abuse them, or stuck in a cage waiting for someone to adopt them. Here they have LOTS of love, food, toys etc. they are happy cats and to me that´s more important then money... They could be in much, much worse situations....

Yes they could And Ibet they would rather be no place else in the world than beside you Our love is what counts right? That and our responsibilty of feeding them

I was told by my vet, that here, i.e. France, people who have no money, can get treatment for their animals for lower prices - but they have to prove the fact that they are poor. Besides, some vets treat homeless cats (I found some) for free. That probably doesn´t include some very expensive treatment, only life saving for the wild ones and vaccination for the poor.

Like many Americans, I am on a very tight budget, but not poor. I have Mimmi and my two dogs and it does cost us a lot to keep them healthy. Thank God, nothing major has happened to them; only a infected ear and a broken leg has happened. I´m also lucky to have found a vet who has low prices, a visit to her office is $20.00. I know here in California there are a couple of programs that help out the disable, the low income and the elderly pet owners with spay/ neutering, shots and vet visits. It would be a blessing if the government would make pet insurance cheap, but sadly health insurance for humans are just as terrible and costly!

I just hate seeing them in the local shelter, grant it they have all the medical attention they need but that´s all they have. Their lives are stuck in a cage... NO cat needs to live like that. A few years back I had a cat who I loved more then anything, she was my baby... I was in a financial situation where at the time I couldn´t afford to care for her. She had a bladder infection that needed more treatment and I just couldn´t afford it. So, I contacted a local no kill shelter where it was run by a few girls in the area who housed the cats and got them fixed up and they kept them in their homes until they found homes for them. Trust me, giving her up was so hard... I couldn´t even be home when they came for her, I had to leave the house and have a friend do it for me. I couldn´t say good bye to her. Not being able to afford a pet is very heart breaking. But, I had to put my selfishness aside and do what was best for her. I have Booboo who is HIV+ and so far thankfully he is a healthy boy.... Our situation is getting better slowly so hopefully all will work out for when he eventually shows signs of being HIV+

Here in NZ you can get pet insurance for around $20 per month and that gives $5000 a year cover so I guess we are lucky But I agree even the poorest people give their pets lots and lots of love and often find a way

I am poor poor poor. I can provide food, love, water, clean home but vet care is ify. I can make payments on something major.

but if I didnt have them they would be on the streets so they are better off with a poor person. I buy their food before mine.

I am one of those on a very limited budget (don´t like the term poor - but that´s just me) I have a great vet. So if there is an accident or a critical incident, they will let me pay it off. As to the rest they let me make payments in advance. So that when the time comes around for vaccinations it´s all ready paid for.

They come first, I am able to do this coz I don´t have human kids. I buy their stuff first, and plan and save for the expensive stuff. I think it is important to remember that some people simply cannot afford the vet, so I always try to give advice that isn´t simply "see your vet". My vet will also give me unlimited advice over the phone. We have a great relationship, and I trust him implicitly. He also knows I am on the very restricted budget, so he never does tests just for the sake of tests.

My take on this is, at least we are all giving them a chance to live again more than the animal shelters can afford most of the time, which they´d end up being euthanized. I cannot afford to have too many cats myself so I take what I can handle. If they ever come down to needing medical cares, I´m still able to afford most of it, but I know how expensive they can get, it is outrageous. Seriously, if I had enough money, I´d have an animal shelter myself, and it would be a no-kill animal shelter.

I help support a youth emergency assistance hostel with clothing, blankets, books and gift cards for pet care. The kids get a clean, warm, SAFE place to sleep and a good meal. They also get the social services that they need so that they can get off the streets. The young people who use this shelter somethimes have pets that they are allowed to keep with them at the shelter. The kids get to see a doctor if they need to and so do the pets. The closest vet to the shelter gives the group a discounted rate.
My level of giving varies depending on my monetary situation at the time. Right now I am keeping every penny I earn for me and Midge till our income situation improves. I also have collected my van full of stuff to donate when the shelter opens again when the winter weather sets in. They are open only 5 months of the year.. When animal food is on sale I will pick up an extra bag or flat of cans and add it to the back seats of the van.
M and M

I am the same as you Terri, I make sure my cats have everything they need before I worry about Michael and Myself, it can be hard with Gizmo who is a particularly sick kitten but Im lucky to work at a vet clinic so I can just pay my vet bills off but I often wonder what would happen if I didnt have that luxury- I think I would only have Molly!

I am one of those on a very limited budget (don´t like the term poor - but that´s just me) I have a great vet. So if there is an accident or a critical incident, they will let me pay it off. As to the rest they let me make payments in advance. So that when the time comes around for vaccinations it´s all ready paid for.

They come first, I am able to do this coz I don´t have human kids. I buy their stuff first, and plan and save for the expensive stuff. I think it is important to remember that some people simply cannot afford the vet, so I always try to give advice that isn´t simply "see your vet". My vet will also give me unlimited advice over the phone. We have a great relationship, and I trust him implicitly. He also knows I am on the very restricted budget, so he never does tests just for the sake of tests.
I say im poor because I am unemployed and a full-time student. I am job hunting but its bad in this town. but my cats come first. they have shelter, love and food. I plucked lou off the street being this poor. the poor guy was eating lizards and had infections and scars all over him. he is better off with me.

I am the same as you Terri, I make sure my cats have everything they need before I worry about Michael and Myself, it can be hard with Gizmo who is a particularly sick kitten but Im lucky to work at a vet clinic so I can just pay my vet bills off but I often wonder what would happen if I didnt have that luxury- I think I would only have Molly!
you gave me an idea. our only vet clinic is across the street. I am going to go give them my resume. that would solve the poor problem and the vet problem.

Great idea, Teri!

We have the PDSA in the UK too, who offer free treatment to people on certain state benefits. PDSA

Insurance here for my dog and 2 cats is just over £30 a month for lifetime cover.
Daftdog it is true about the PDSA in the UK but sadly they are a charity too and are very strapped for cash with the demands made on them. In theory an unwaged person can ask a vet to do the work as a PDSA patient and the vet would claim the money back from the PDSA. The reality is that most vets won´t do this as the PDSA gives them something like £1 (don´t quote me,I forget the figure! I think it is less than £1) for treatment that may cost far more so for a vet it is not worth it financially. Think dentists in the UK not doing NHS work! A PDSA vet will only do the very basics like putting a pet to sleep or helping take away the pain or some stitching but anything else might be too costly. So many people do tend to think that if their pet gets sick they can get free help.

Some animal shelters will do free spaying or neutering if you can prove you need it or will charge just £10 but again that is charity and they sometimes are too broke. All pets got from a rescue centre will be vaccinated.

The truth is that unless you are very comfortably off you should have pet insurance and pray you don´t need it. It doesn´t cover everything but is valuable if your pet gets an on going illness or has a major accident. Mine costs £10 a month - 2 drinks in a bar. The RSPCA do their own and you can shop around for the best or the cheapest depending on your needs.

The local Mayhew home helps some people I know who have animals and due to financial reasons can´t afford a vet. They have done a lot of veterinary work on their pets.