Posted on 07/25/2008 8:10:11 PM PDT by Coffee200am
A British woman said she spent $15,000 to have her cat's face rebuilt after it was hit by a car and disfigured.
Tanya Dickson said her cat, Hetty, was in a coma when she found him by the side of the road and veterinarians told her one of his eyes had collapsed and his nasal cavity was shunted among other injuries following the accident, The Telegraph reported Friday.
Dickson said Hetty underwent a number of operations while being kept alive in an incubator and six days after his injury, he was able to meow again. She said he was eating on his own within six weeks.
She said the money she used to pay for the 18-month-old feline's treatment had been set aside to buy a new car.
Money is only money. It comes and goes. I had wanted to get a new car -- I drive a long way. But I think that if people have pets they should do all they can for them, she said. The bill just went up and up and up but without the specialist care there was no chance he would've made it.
Dickson said Hetty is now recovering at home.
He is deaf in one ear and blind in one eye and he isn't as feisty as he used to be, she said. He is quite dopey and loves sitting on my lap. But he still has a good quality of life so it was all worth it.
I could care less about her money or her cat.
It’s long been my opinion that vets are scam artists...they know people will pay big bucks to have their pets worked on and they charge overinflated prices..
“It’s her money and her cat...Glad she has her friend back”
You said it all. Her choice...
If this were my tomcat: ‘Goodbye, cat.’
Animals are animals and people are lunatics.
her choice....yes....but its paganism just the same...
I love cats. But that woman is an idiot.
I say that, and if this thread gets noticed by a good number of FReepers who I’ve seen on other threads....
They will come over here and flame on me. Like I care.
But believe me, folks. There are far too many people who would spend their last retirement dollar to save Mr. Whiskers.
Or their dog - for that matter.
I love my kitties but could not afford to spend that much!
Paganism? Maybe she just likes her cat.
And yet, because you have no life, you post here to tell us you don't care.
Last year our old fella hit rock bottom. He had been chronically ill for a year. The vet said he could treat him but recommended putting him to sleep; he was 17 years old.
The treatment would have been a lot more expensive.
We ended his suffering. If he hadn't been so old we might have gone with the treatment.
Okay, so what's the difference between a scam artist and any person who is willing to provide any service for the market rate?
Vet school is difficult. Student loans are costly to pay back, and few of your patients have insurance to cover the costs.
Try getting similar medical procedures and paying out of pocket, and you'll find that these rates are not unreasonable for a skilled professional.
You might think that, but you could say that about every profession that charges high amounts of money for specific procedures, especially when you actually need something (water heater goes, car doesn’t work, need files off failing computer, etc).
Plus vet school is an additional 4 years of school, very competitive because only 38 universities in the US have programs, and it is not cheap.
Who said anything about a skilled professional? I thought the discussion was about Veterinarians...
So this woman spends money on a cat...as something that gives her pleasure.
Like some people pay for cable TV. Or movie rentals/tickets. Or computer games. Or collectibles. Or clothes. Or recreational vehicles. Or makeup. Or scented oils. Etc.
I don't see how you call it paganism.
What the hell is wrong with you people?
Well, it is her money, she can piddle it wherever she wishes.
“Idiot” is kind of harsh. She actually took responsibility for her cat, paid for the best treatment she could get, all on her own. The cat has a good quality of life, and so does she.
Many people would not outlay that much money. But she didn’t make a big deal about it. She didn’t b1tch about paying vet bills or complain she now couldn’t get a car. She made choices and backed them up with her own money.
Vets are not swindlers; they will tell people that pouring money into an animal that has no or very little chance may not be the way to go. Vets are animal lovers and do not want an animal alive but in constant pain and suffering. They wouldn’t want to put their own animals through that. At least the ones I know are like this.
How in the hell can you see paganism in this??
My first female kitty was diagnosed with cancer at 4 years of age. It would have cost so much money for treatment and she wouldn’t have lived very long anyway. I thanked the doctor for suggesting I put her to sleep - he could have said anything and I would have believed him. If he had said do the treatment, I probably would have and spend lots of bucks. Last year, my new female kitty got extremely ill (she, too, was 4 years old). The hospital took tons of tests and to this day, we don’t know what happened. They had to take out about a lot of her intestines because it was inflamed and kinda rotting in a few places. I really thought this one also had cancer but thank God she didn’t. After about a week in and out of the hospital, she came home, very skinny, and has been great since. My vet said we’ll never know what happened - she, perhaps, ingested something that really f**ked up her insides and that the hospital saved her life. The total bill was a little over $6,000.
I think you've 'let the cat out of the bag".
Poor kitty.
TV stinks, we want to know what’s going on (generally called listening to the gossip), and so many of those who post here are absolutely hysterical. I get to LOL at least twice a day. Thanks Freepers!
PS This lady could have put the cat down, and adopted 10 more.
As the invisible hand so eloquently stated, and this is a direct quote: "I could care less about her money or her cat."
Do you speak Dane ish too?
“her choice....yes....but its paganism just the same...”
I don’t know anything about this woman or her history.
Perhaps she is alone and the cat is her only companion.
I won’t judge her choice..
You and I may not have made the choice she did…..but to call her a pagan is extreme.
I’m with you. I love my dog but there is a point where you say goodbye, they aren’t people.
Explain how having specialized vet care for your animals is paganism.
She is not worshipping the cat by trying to get its quality of life back and paying a lot for medical care. She is not worshipping ‘the created’ by having the vet save her cat and trying to repair medical problems.
Lost (put down) my 18 year old kitty last April..
5 years ago...kitty sick...lots of $$..lot of tests...blood work .. vet could find nothing wrong...special food..IV fluids...vet says...”Off the cat”....
Well.. I brought him home...took him off meds and special food..gave him all the d@mmed canned tuna he wanted..
The sucker lived for another 5 years... go figure
I have a point as well. But not everyone’s point is the same. So yours is different than hers. She used her own money and prioritized where her money would go. She didn’t whine or ask for handouts. I believe the vet would have told her if she was just flushing her money down the toilet because the cat would never be out of pain and have a crappy quality of life. They love animals too, but they understand not everyone can afford all expensive options.
Please tell me that my comment, dripping with sarcasm, didn’t need a </sarc tag at the end........if it did, then I give up.
Good for you. I am glad you had that additional 5 years. I am sure your cat did as well.
And very expensive. We've sent two. I love their passion for animals, as far as costs, I love their passion for saving animals.
If one can afford it, so be it. I've heard stories, oye!
Wow, I’m so glad you didn’t take the vet’s advice and you got to spend more time with the kitty. It seems the most expensive part of the bill was the hospitalization. Thank God for CareCredit. I use it at the vet hospital and my dentist!!
I like you!
To your PS point. The fact you don’t understand that it is not about ‘replacement’ or ‘volume’ says everything.
Besides, how do you know she doesn’t already donate to animal shelters or volunteer time there? What does she have to do in order for you to approve of her level of care for her cat she wants to give it? Let me know, because I really want to email it to her and see if she gives a d@mn about what you think about this.
$15,000???
Obviously this womans taxes aren’t high enough if she can shell out that kind of money.
Think of all the social programs that would benefit from it!
Jihadist Abu Qatada is only recieving $2000 a month in welfare payments in the UK..show some compassion and give him more money!
How is this any different than people who get plastic surgery for no good reason, except ego?
Besides, I thought everyone knew, God is a cat.
nah i lol’d. didn’t even mention the donation link o_0
:)
Sad that some people insist we can't treat people so humanely as to allow the same choice for themselves!
Lately, on FR...what do you think?
My point is if an individual doesn't care about a topic, they shouldn't post about the topic. There are plenty of topics on FR that don't interest me. Guess what, I don't read or post on them.
If an individual has an overpowering urge to throw a turd in a punchbowl, they should go somewhere and do it in person. Perhaps the nice people in attendence will teach them some manners.
Thanks...
He was one spoiled...demanding kitty.
When the vet said “he is dying...let go...”
I thought... what the hell...
kitty HATES the hospital food... and if he is dying anyway...why not give him what he likes to eat.. ;-)
My mom and her husband rescued an abused dog who ended up having one leg amputated. The vet bill was high but they were allowed to set up payments. Word got out. Donations poured in and the bill was paid in full.
</sarc tag is required....
Really, aren’t the ALL spoiled, demanding kitties?
I mean, cripes, have you heard Rush talk about his cat Punkin? I keep telling my buds he would have been way better off with cats than any of his three wives.
I just love hearing him when Punkin wakes him up at 5 in the morning by head-butting him until he gets up. All the woman he needs is right there in that cat.
A human is a human, made by God's hand, in God's image. An animal is a created thing, descended from that which was spoken into being.
Unfortunately, too many people don't know the difference between humanity and animals.
Ah, yes, Friday night; happy hour stretched until midnight and hostility directed at cat lovers.
Wonder why it’s called ‘happy hour,’ no one seems very happy.
Thank you for mentioning the fact about payment plans with vets. A LOT of vets will do payment plans for people who can’t pay everything at once. Most vets do not want to deprive animals care and will try to work with people. A lot of people don’t think to ask about this kind of thing.
Good for her. Loyalty is becoming a rare commodity these days. Today, people will dump their “pets” by the roadside or at the pound just so they can move up into a nicer apartment. It is sickening.
I wouldn’t part with my dogs if I had a chance to move into the playboy mansion, and will spend all I can afford to have them treated if they get ill.
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