Vet Bill ---- holy..!

[BrianR]

They do have a form of pet health insurance...ask your vet.

We utilise a pet credit card with a $3000 limit on it. If it costs more than that to help the critter, well, it's been great knowing you! That has helped with the big bills, allowing our pets to get what they need and we get to pay on timed payments. I think we're down to $2000 now.

Aside: I think our German Shepherd came back from her spaying Tuesday with a few fleas. I found one on a Shih Tzu, and more on each after giving six dogs a bath yesterday. Not too many, but enough to cause my wife to go around spraying Tea Tree Oil on everything. And a vow to get Frontline going on all animals asap. It's too early, but the weather has been in the sixties lately and it may be that fleas have come early. We've never had a problem before but now? In December? Sheesh.

[TheMercenary]

We spent $5000, collectively, on the Thong Eater when he was about 1 1/2 yrs old. I will never do that again.

[Trilby]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

We spent $5000, collectively, on the Thong Eater when he was about 1 1/2 yrs old. I will never do that again.

Is that the critter's nickname as well as proclivity?

[Pie]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

We spent $5000, collectively, on the Thong Eater when he was about 1 1/2 yrs old. I will never do that again.

My parents' dog almost had to have surgically removed: staples. A whole bar of them. (This was years ago.) Thankfully, she ...excreted them, with nary a problem.

Most common surgically removed items:
1. Socks
2. Underwear
3. Pantyhose
4. Rocks
5. Balls
6. Chew toys
7. Corncobs
8. Bones
9. Hair ties / ribbons
10. Sticks
Source: Veterinary Pet Insurance

link

[TheMercenary]

Yea, ours was for one surgery and subsequent treatment, as well as the litney of tests that lead up to figuring out what the problem was. Uggg. He is still around. 7 years old now.

[Nirvana]

I am not a veterinarian and I do not play one on TV but in the future if I can help you save some money with a natural remedy please PM me. I use veterinarians for emergencies like dying otherwise I would be twice as poor!

Fleas are species specific, yes that's right there are cat fleas and dog fleas. Although cat fleas can get on dogs they prefer cats and visa versa. Unless you are killing all the flea eggs on the dogs, cats and in your house and in your yard you will get fleas every year. A cheap fix for your yard is one part bleach to 2 parts water, in a sprayer. Do this twice 3 weeks apart in the spring. In your house if you do not have any toddlers use Ovitrol. $21 a bottle that shit works! Use topical flea killers every month on the critters. They are cheaper online then at your vets. I have not had fleas in 15 years, on my dogs and I do not use any topicals. Roaming cats are what bring the fleas to your house. Once you have killed them on your property you are less likely to have fleas. Just some unasked for advice I can shove if you don't want it. =)

[glatt]

What does pouring bleach on the yard do to your plants?

[Nirvana]

Should not do anything in that dilution, and as long as you are spraying the bleach water solution not "pouring straight bleach, but I am sure there are sensitive flora that you can just avoid spraying.

[Stormieweather]

Reminder to self:

PM Nirvana regarding Gizmo's skin/itching issue.

One flea, Brianna? That totally stinks! How can you possibly avoid having that happen again? Particularly when the other pets go outside??.

[Trilby]

Originally Posted by Stormieweather

Reminder to self:

PM Nirvana regarding Gizmo's skin/itching issue.

One flea, Brianna? That totally stinks! How can you possibly avoid having that happen again? Particularly when the other pets go outside??.

yeah, I'll PM 'vana first, too!

nobody else looks like they have fleas and they aren't scratching - and I certainly don't see any fleas around the house or in cushions, etc. Poor Carly, though. She really suffers with them - gets all allergic. But, honestly, an oral AND topical AND ear RX??? Isn't that massive overkill?? I don't know anything about animal medicine but it just seems like a hell of a lot of Rx. And it's difficult to talk her into taking it - esp. the ear medicine. She puts her ears back and all but shuts them!

[kerosene]

I learned the crocodile method, too.

[chrisinhouston]

Yes, I've seen our vet bills increase over the years. My dogs have always been relatively healthy but I do take them in for an annual exam. Texas passed a law that dogs only need a Rabies re-vaccination every 3 years so I've noticed that all the other costs of the exam have gone up to make up for the loss of revenue.

[TheMercenary]

Other than being strongly acidic I am certain it will kill anything you pour it on in full strength. I have heard that if you add vineger to it it will increase the disinfectant properties so you may be able to kill fungi or other problems in your yard or on your plants when properly diluted. I would suggest looking it up before you took my advice. (on just about anything I say)

[Nirvana]

an addendum to the bleach spraying, cats are very sensitive to bleach so make sure that when you spray it is a sunny day and it has about three hours to dry before you let the cats out.

[Pie]

The '>' or '<' is a comparison. It can only be used in the context of two numbers. If I say,

. . . "The cost of the plan will be > 600M Euros"

I am really comparing
. . . "the cost of the plan" (a symbolic number)
with
. . . "600M Euros" (an actual number)

The croc will eat the larger number, therefore "the cost of the plan" is the larger of the two.

On the other hand, if it was
. . . "The cost of the plan will be < 600M Euros"

then "the cost of the plan" would be the smaller of the two.