Most pet parents consider their pets invaluable, and rightfully so. They bring immense joy, companionship, and mental comfort. Hence, pet owners often overlook pet expenses, even if it means stretching their budget a little.
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They find ways to ensure their pets have food, treats, toys, and harnesses for long walks. However, veterinary care is one key expense they often underestimate in their budget. This can be highly problematic, especially if your pet requires emergency pet care.
Of course, other factors like pet age, breed, and genetic predisposition all come into play. However, nearly one out of three pets require emergency care each year. Since emergency pet care may cost anywhere between $3,000 and $5,000, you need to be prepared for such an eventuality.
Pet insurance can help you out. Unlike health insurance for humans, pet insurance is slightly different and a bit inconvenient.
Let’s discuss some of the most costly vet bills, their average costs, and why pet insurance may not be enough to help you in an emergency situation.
Most Costly Vet Bills
Here are some of the most costly vet bills (in no particular order) and their average costs. We hope this information helps you prepare for emergency pet care.
Foreign Object Ingestion
It isn’t uncommon for pets to consume foreign objects, and this results in some serious health risks and vet bills. If the object manages to reach the intestinal tract before your pet can spit it out, it may cause severe pain, vomiting, bloating, and exhaustion.
The best solution is immediate emergency surgery before the foreign object causes intestinal blockage and eventual death. The total cost of blood tests, x-rays, imaging, other diagnostic tests, and emergency surgery can easily reach up to $6,000 or more.
Disc Disease
The medical term for disc disease is degenerating invertebrate disease, and it means that a disc in your pet’s spine has broken or slipped. It is mostly very painful for pets and can happen for different reasons.
Some minor disc slips may self-correct over time. However, if the problem persists, your pet may need immediate surgery to prevent severe paralysis. Treatment can range anywhere between $2,000 and $5,000.
Kneecap Dislocation
If your dog dislocates their kneecap for any reason, it can result in pain, limping, and other behavioral symptoms. If you think that treatment for a dislocated kneecap would not cost much, you would be wrong. The total cost of x-rays, tests, and treatment can go up to $5,000.
Complete Hip Replacement
Similarly, if your pet accidentally breaks their hip and needs a complete hip replacement, you can expect to pay anywhere between $6,000 and $7,000 for surgery, tests, x-rays, and more.
Bile Duct Issues
Your pet can develop bile duct issues or tears in the bile duct for several reasons, including infection, trauma, and disease. It can upset the gallbladder and result in symptoms like loss of appetite, vomiting, fever, digestion issues, and weight loss in your pet.
The diagnosis alone can be costly, requiring blood tests and broad imaging of internal organs. However, if surgery is required, which is often the case, you can expect to pay anywhere between $4,000 and $7,000.
Why Pet Insurance May Not Be Enough
Pet insurance can help you pay off some or all of the mentioned costly vet bills. However, it isn’t always convenient. Most pet insurance is paid out to the pet owner, not the healthcare professional or establishment.
Hence, there are no “vet networks” with pet insurance, and you can take your pet to any vet in an emergency, but it also means that you may have to pay out of pocket upfront before the insurance reimburses you.
Pet owners may need to have around $3,000 to $5,000 in emergency pet care funds to get emergency surgery for their pets. Many pet owners find same-day cash loans or “loans for today” as an easy solution.
These loans are nearly instant and are also given out to people with bad credit. Pet owners often use these quick cash loans to pay off costly vet bills for emergency pet care.
How Much Is A Vet Bill For A Dog
Keeping your pet healthy is always a top priority, but a trip to the vet can be prohibitively expensive for many pet owners. Your CareCredit credit card can be used to help pay for everything from routine vet visits to emergency pet care and life-saving treatments for your pet*. More information about the average costs for additional veterinary treatments that can be paid for with the CareCredit credit card at locations in the CareCredit network can be found below.
| Grooming | $30 – $500 annually |
| Flea and Tick Control | $40 – $200 annually |
| Spay | $100 – $200 |
| Neuter | $50 – $100 |
| Cat or Dog teeth cleaning | $50 – $300 |
| Cat or Dog vaccinations | $10 – $100 |
| Routine vet checkup | $45 – $55 |
| Cat or Dog allergy test | $195 – $300 (skin test), $80-$200 (blood test) |
| Heartworm test | $45 – $50 |
| Ear Infection | $40 – $149.30 |
| Non-cancerous skin mass | $180 – $375 (simple skin), $1000 – $2000+ (complex) |
| Diarrhea/Intestinal Upset | $203 – $385 |
Conclusion
Your pets are like your family, which is why no expense is high enough when it comes to their health. However, you should consider the mentioned costly vet bills when you budget pet expenses. You should ideally get pet insurance to help cover your vet bills.
Apart from emergencies, pet insurance can also help cover expensive ongoing treatments, like skin allergies, arthritis, and cancer, costing up to $6,000 overtime. Moreover, having an emergency pet care fund goes a long way when something bad happens.
If you are strapped for cash, remember that you could always foot the bill through instant, same-day cash loans in an emergency as well.
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