My bonus mom (who is my aunt) and I figured out the other day that I have had pets since I was 2 years old. Without a break. I have had mostly cats but over the years have had several dogs as well. I have been dealing with veterinarians and animal ailments for a long time.
In South Africa we had a ‘country vet’ in our small town. He dealt with every type of animal from canaries to horses and knew pretty much everything there was to know about general ailments. For specialist surgery you had to drive to the nearest city. I worked at (and still support) animal rescues in poorer areas of South Africa, regularly donating money for sterilisations and emergency surgery. We used to go into poverty stricken areas to educate, deworm, check on animals, as well as dip the dogs for fleas and ticks. With us were vets who donated their time to examine animals and then perform free surgeries at their clinic.
When I moved to Sweden I found a ‘country vet’ equivalent. He has a small shop attached to his clinic and he does routine surgery, vaccinations, sterilisations and also makes house calls. He has euthanised three of my cats at home and he is wonderful. For anything more advanced, I have used a local animal hospital. I have had pet insurance as long as it has been a thing. I used to have pet insurance as an add-on to my home insurance policy. When we got Mollie, we moved all our cats’ insurance to a special pet insurance company, the first of its kind in Sweden..
Covid seemed to bring out many negative aspects regarding pets. Far too many people acquired pets and then found out they got too big, needed too much time, cost a lot, lived a long time, needed walking and cleaning up after etc etc. Once people went back to work, many animals were abandoned or given up for adoption. In addition, dedicated pet insurance companies popped up like mushrooms after rain, as did huge animal hospitals and veterinary chains. The cost of treatment skyrocketed.
Having been a pet owner for many years. I know A LOT about cat ailments. I know what medicine and treatment fixes common ailments. But these new animal hospitals want to charge you through the nose for tests, for overnight visits, for new experimental medicine, and for sometimes unnecessary surgery. Our last two cats that passed (Fluffy and Ziggy) were sent in for unnecessary tests when they should have been allowed just have peace. With Ziggy I actually argued with the vet and refused to try more treatment because he was suffering. Our ‘country vet’ put him down gently in our home and examined him afterwards. He told us that Ziggy would never have survived. But I guess the hospital liked our ‘big’ insurance (as soon as I could afford it, I went for the top cat insurance, with included all dental). I loved my darlings and I wanted desperately to believe that both Ziggy and Fluffy would get well. But I also knew them so well that I knew when it was time. The animal hospital did not know my cats like I did. And I am sure they would not have been pressing for tests that cost thousands of dollars if I had not had insurance.
Recently I have been reading more and more articles about large animal hospital chains exploiting insurance policies and owners’ desperation to perform hugely expensive tests and surgeries. They are forcing small independent practices out of business and making money out of our love for our animals. I have no problem with paying a lot to make a pet better. But at end of life, the best thing for the pet is to let them go gently into that good night.
Our local independent vet practice sold out to IVC just before COVID. Uncle Ian and Auntie Beth – the former retired and the latter eventually left for various reasons. The prices went through the roof and the standard of care went through the floor, especially after Beth (last of the old guard) left. The out of hours cover moved from a local practice to another one half an hour up the motorway. After a quarter of a century with the same independent practice, we lost patience and moved our whole brood – at the time 6 dogs and the same number of cats – to another local independent vet who is vehemently against the corporatisation of veterinary care. The difference is like night and day. Treasure the small vet practices because they’re a dying breed…
It’s awful isn’t it? I regret deeply listening to them when their expensive and unnecessary care needlessly extended the suffering of our two boys. I will never allow that to happen again.
I have had cats almost exclusively (I did have one dog but gave up when it proved impossible to train her because her mother had been kept outside). I knew when something was wrong with all my cats, and when I could treat them myself (in the days before the internet) I did so, otherwise it was a trip to the vet. Now this vet offered a discount for anyone on benefits so, when I was working I didn’t mind paying extra so that someone less well off could have “cheap” or “free” care for their pets. I have noticed that, now that I am retired, the number of firms has dwindled (with many vet practices belonging to chains) and alongside this there is the uptake and price hikes of pet insurance. I no longer have any cats because most of the time I struggle to feed and take care of myself. I do miss having a cat around as they always helped me to deal with stress.
This is horrifying and this is something that scares me a lot. Minou, my current cat is my first “real” cat. I have had another cat who was a stray and we fed him from time to time. He loved sleeping all day at our house and my mother would throw him out at night. Whenever Minou looks a tiny bit off, I trawl through the internet for information but usually by the time I finish searching, she’s doing better. Unexpected visits are the vet are always an ordeal, but fortunately, we haven’t had to do too many of those. I wish I had your knowledge!