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Warning To Those Who Don't Seek Veterinary Care for Sick Pigs

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Am in full agreement with all that has been said,but I wonder who fixes vet fees,they seem to have risen astronomically in recent years. Is it the drug companies?
 
I would rather starve than my pets get ill

I always understand and appreciate how difficult it is for the average earner or non-earner to get money to pay for vets, yet it is so essential to put away just a small amount per week in the event that something does arise and generally for six monthly check ups (even if the cavies appear fine).

Mine were rescued and I was and still am on benefits, yet I do put aside money into a post office savings account for them, to pay for things in a crisis or to treat them when things are too tight. I will never preach moral conduct to anyone with a pet, yet just wanted to add my bit on here really.

I went for two days without food supplies for myself when I first got them - I never want to ever go through that again as I was so hungry! - This is why I now have a separate savings account for my cavies so that they will never have to suffer at the expense of my own lack of budget.

Even a £2 per week in a jar is better than nothing, yet I put away around £30 a month or so and sacrifice luxuries in the process. Being on benefits doesn't give you that freedom to pay for going out socialising; my pets are my luxury and they give me far more in return than a packet of cigarettes or glass of wine.

Just a quick note to anyone financially strapped and on benefits, there is something called the Blue Cross - They are happy to pay for vets fees if it amounts to £40 or more for treatments. These centres are national but you can apply to them for financial help anyway, as well as the RSPCA - They are there precisely for that reason. ?/
 
Sorry, but pets are a luxury, and anyone already struggling financially, in my opinion, should not take them on. I understand that you are still putting money aside for them, but everyone knows vet bills are very expensive, and can run into hundreds of pounds. What if, for instance, you suddenly needed to pay an unexpected household bill? Would you be forced to take money from your piggy savings? Bad things always happen together...if you then had a piggy become sick, what would you do? It's also very unfair to have an attitude of "well, if I can't afford it, the RSPCA or Blue Cross will help out"...they already have a huge financial burden, without people obtaining pets in anticipation of being bailed out by them whenever needed.
I don't mean to offend you, I just hope you can see the "other side" of things, and the risk of keeping pets when already struggling financially. It's one thing to be in a stable job etc, and then for the situation to change (redundancy, illness etc) and then to call upon help from the RSPCA etc, but another to deliberately obtain an animal whilst already struggling...
 
Totally agree. Not a pig but I have just spent nearly £400 on a rabbit and nursed her through endless injections and feeding tube etc. I work 4 days a week on a bare minimum wage with multiple animals and I can do it. I can struggle at times but for my animals I rarely go out, dont drink, dont smoke and they are my hobby. So many people say they cant afford it but there are ways they can. I took out a credit card for the sake of security and it has covered about £750 of vet bills which are later paid of. There is ways around things. I would also like to add I have paid every bill for my pets since 15 years old and I'm 20 now
 
I agree, when you take on a pet you must accept the responsibility, financial and other responsibilities that go with the pet.

When I was 13, I am 51 now, something told me to go check on my horse Paprika. She was waiting at the gate and had a horrible look on her face. Her breathing was fast and shallow and her back was hunched. She refused food, so I knew there was something seriously wrong with her gut.

I told my Mom and she refused to call the vet, stating that it was too late. I reminded her that the vet had come out much later to help deliver a calf. She got furious with me and sent me to bed(she was drunk).

I went to the stable the next morning and found 'Rika dead. I won't go into detail but she died a horrible death. I hated my Mother and felt as tho I had failed 'Rika.

I made a pact with myself and any critter in my care that I would do anything to assure their health and happiness.

Sorry if this is long winded.
 
My piggy needed an operation just before Christmas. It cost me £300. This made my eyes water when they said that, but they made my piggy better, gave excellent care and are a very good team. Therefore George is now pop corning away just like how he used to.

I am aware that over the course of their lifes, I will probably end up spending a lot of money on my piggys. Consider things such as routine Xenot, antibitiotics when theyre poorly, operations if needed....These are all things I considered before i got my little family. I did extensive research before I commited myself to being a proud piggy owner.

At the end of the day, denying your pet medical care is exactly the same as a child breaking their leg and the parent not taking thier child to A&E!
 
Are there insurance companies out there that do small animal insurance?
I insure my welsh mare as she goes out and about, but my retired mare and my foal are uninsured at the moment.
It would be good to know if there were any companies who take on guinea pig/rabbit etc insurance.
Being a farmer, and from a farming family, I do treat minor ailments myself, but I would never hesitate to call a vet or go to a vet if any of my animals were to fall ill.
I have put myself in debt before to treat an animal, and I will do again if it is needed. Money is just paper, a life is sacred.
 
Just bumping this up. There definatly are a few companys that do piggies, but i cant remember what they are, so hopefully someone will name them for you! :)
 
Rosehip said:
Are there insurance companies out there that do small animal insurance?
I insure my welsh mare as she goes out and about, but my retired mare and my foal are uninsured at the moment.
It would be good to know if there were any companies who take on guinea pig/rabbit etc insurance.
Being a farmer, and from a farming family, I do treat minor ailments myself, but I would never hesitate to call a vet or go to a vet if any of my animals were to fall ill.
I have put myself in debt before to treat an animal, and I will do again if it is needed. Money is just paper, a life is sacred.
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I had been looking for years for guinea pig insurance and couldnt find anything other than rabbit, cat and dog insurance UNTIL......
I found an advert in Guinea Pig Magazine EVERYBODY TAKE NOTE:

www.exoticdirect.co.uk (£2,000 vet fee cover and they also cover more than one guiena pig too!)
0800 626012
 
I have an animal fund. There would be a limit to my spend, £100 here and there is not a problem, several hundred would start to cause issues and id have to consider PTS especially if the animal was elderly and suffering other health issues, as much as it would break my heart

I know I am not meant to have favourites with my animals but there is one hamster who is 1 year old who I just havent bonded with, id likely spend less on him than the one who I have really bonded with and who gives me cuddles .. yes its bad I know
 
Bekki2308 said:
I have an animal fund. There would be a limit to my spend, £100 here and there is not a problem, several hundred would start to cause issues and id have to consider PTS especially if the animal was elderly and suffering other health issues, as much as it would break my heart

I know I am not meant to have favourites with my animals but there is one hamster who is 1 year old who I just havent bonded with, id likely spend less on him than the one who I have really bonded with and who gives me cuddles .. yes its bad I know
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Just my opinion... but how can you put a price on your pets life?

I completely appreciate that sometimes PTS is a better option than spending out £100s for a procedure where ultimately the prognosis is still not good, but something relatively straight forward with a good prognosis afterwards can still be incredibly expensive.

If you had 2 sick animals, and a price limit, how do you decide who gets treatment and who gets PTS? If money is tight, maybe you should limit the number of animals that you have?

Don't get me wrong, I'm on an incredibly low income. I'm still paying off vets bills since August, infact my account hasn't been at £0 since February last year. One of my pigs had investigations which cost a couple of hundred £££s, then about 2 weeks later, I had another sick pig - money never came into it though, but maybe that's just me...
 
I have to echo most of the comments on here. We recently lost 2 of our piggies. Sunshine was 3 and a half years old, she had suddenly started going quiet, contacted the vet who advised could book an appointment the following day, I sat up with her during the night, had enough and made a 5 am drive to emergency vet. Was told that she had an agressive tumour (sunshine was our first VIP) and was allowed to feel tumour. Euthanasia was recommended and the look I had off sunshine confirmed this. She looked at me and it was in her eyes that she wanted to say goodbye. This visit was not cheap. Junior had picked up a URI and we got her on anti biotics but she suddenly went in a space of 15 minutes. She was on Baytril and the vet had never had a reaction.

We have spent somewhat near £300 this month but have not regrets. Some would say we could have had 20 new babies from a pet store for this, but that is not the point.

When you commit to having a pet you commit to loving then unconditionally as you would a child. You must therefore do everything to make your pets life as happy and content as possible. Those that say they cant aford vet fees, have they never heard of the PDSA. They are no less qualified vets.

We miss our piggys, I especially miss Sunshine as she had a cheeky game of trying to french kiss you when being cuddled and especially loved curling on my mother in laws lap to watch coronation street.

Link to photo of sunshine

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.p...47439156.85480.100000052399102&type=1&theater
 
I completely agree with all of this. We had a guinea, Arnold, who kept getting ill and losing weight. He had an intestinal infection which it turns out went a lot deeper, and our efforts to help were never really going to cure him. We didn't know that, and that never stopped us taking him to the vets. We went 3 times for the same thing and in the end he passed away on his own rather than being PTS. I can't imagine anyone who would just leave them there to suffer.

If you can't afford a vet or refuse to take them, you don't deserve to have a pet. It's harsh but it's true. It's like someone refusing to take you to the doctors when you can't get out of bed. These lovely little creatures have given us so much love and happy times, they deserve the best x
 
I know this is a sticky, but feel like a lot of people recently are not taking their pigs to the vets in emergency situations, so wanted to bump this to the top of the today's post section.
 
Little Pig said:
I know this is a sticky, but feel like a lot of people recently are not taking their pigs to the vets in emergency situations, so wanted to bump this to the top of the today's post section.
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I think it's half £££ motivated and half not knowing how serious things can be and animals are suffering, even dying because of it :(
 
I agree with this post to an extent but every case is different, I had a job and was living with my ex when I got my boys, now I'm a single mum who is now out of work. I always take them to the vets still and had 3 animals have to go to the vets in the last 5 months, 2 of them sadly died with treatment, Ive had to borrow the money off my parents or present boyfriend and pay back in instalments. So even though I cant afford it I borrow the money and pay it back if that makes sense, so does this mean I shouldn't have pets?

I love my boys dearly and would never ever make them suffer, a few months ago cookie had to be PTS at the emergency vets which cost over 100 pounds, I know people who have kept piggies in sheds and hardly bothered with them and in terrible conditions but they have fancy cars and lifestyles, I can see where this thread is coming from as Id hate to see a piggy suffering. But I think people are in different circumstances than they were a few years ago, Id rather not put petrol in my car and pay for a vets bill just so they don't suffer. Hope this makes sense
 
I dont think anyone is saying people who struggle with money are bad owners, You are lucky in that you have people you can borrow from :) But if you knew, that if something came up you would have no way of ever getting the money, it would be a different sittuation.

Also, as previously said, In england we always have the PDSA. So there truely is no excuse for not seeking vetenary care.
 
Yeah I used PSDA for my rabbit I'm not in the catchment area so couldn't take her to a PDSA vets so had to send a claim form off in order to get help which they did and it helped a lot.

I think though if vets wasn't so expensive then maybe people wouldnt say I cant afford it so much, I mean to charge what they do for just looking at the animal which could take 5 minutes its shocking, I can understand them charging a lot for surgery and treatment but not just to look at the animal, I hope that makes sense, the amount of pet owners I hear complaining about consultation charges rather than complaining about the treatment itself.
 
piggieboys said:
Yeah I used PSDA for my rabbit I'm not in the catchment area so couldn't take her to a PDSA vets so had to send a claim form off in order to get help which they did and it helped a lot.

I think though if vets wasn't so expensive then maybe people wouldnt say I cant afford it so much, I mean to charge what they do for just looking at the animal which could take 5 minutes its shocking, I can understand them charging a lot for surgery and treatment but not just to look at the animal, I hope that makes sense, the amount of pet owners I hear complaining about consultation charges rather than complaining about the treatment itself.
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The consultation charge is always there. People should find all this info out BEFORE getting an animal. It also varies hugely between vets. I use two surgeries for my pigs, depending on circumstances. One charges £13 for a consult, the other £32!

Like you little pig, I don't have much £££ coming in but I know without a doubt that if my pets need treatment, I can get the money. That doesn't make you a bad owner, because you're not denying them medical treatment :)

What really makes me angry is people who say they can't afford vets fees, then go out and get loads more pets ?/
 
I have to say, i too dont understand the variation in consultation charges! My local vet up the road charges about £20 to see both guinea pigs at once, which i think is fair to be honest, then the exotics specialist in town charges £40 to see one! and i have to pay double, to get the other one in! I was shocked, obviouslt i will pay it if i need too, but i was still shocked.

Like i said, i dont mind paying it, but i would love to understand why its so much more in some places than others.
 
Connie said:
Also, as previously said, In england we always have the PDSA. So there truely is no excuse for not seeking vetenary care.
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The PDSA wont help people even if low earners because of their eligibility requirements. Some people need real help but cant get it from there.
 
Unfortunatly, the reality is that if you know you dont qualify for PDSA help, and you know you have no way of paying for vet treatment if your animal (any animal) needs it, then perhaps people should think about what the best thing is for their animal.

The law states that it is illegal to withhold vetenary care for a sick animal. As far as i am concerned... thats it.

That is not to say i may not struggle if both piggies became seriously ill at the same time! I have aprox £650 pounds in my piggy account, and its growing each month, but i also know i could borrow more from my parents if i needed too. When the account was lower, when i first started earning it used to keep me awake at night, what i would do if anything happened.
 
Bekki2308 said:
The PDSA wont help people even if low earners because of their eligibility requirements. Some people need real help but cant get it from there.
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Owning pets is a luxury, not a right. I'd like a range river but I can't afford it so I'll stick to my falling apart fiesta.

Why should people be able to get loads of pets and then expect a charity to pay for their treatment?
Granted, peoples situations change, but that's why there's pet insurance.

There is no excuse for denying an animal veterinary treatment and doing so is a criminal offense.
 
That part wasnt about me but its true that in some situations peoples lives may change and the PDSA wont help. Housing benefit and council tax benefit are not easy to get even if you barely earn anything due to a sudden change in circumstances.

I agree a charity shouldnt be relied upon but it really drives me insane when mr and mrs pop out as many sprogs as possible and not bother working can have their 50 staffies treat by the charity but geunine people who through no fault of their own come to have very little cash cant.
 
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Bekki2308 said:
That part wasnt about me but its true that in some situations peoples lives may change and the PDSA wont help. Housing benefit and council tax benefit are not easy to get even if you barely earn anything due to a sudden change in circumstances.
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I'm not entitled to anything, I earn £200 a month, I'm
Not exactly rich, but I pay my pet Insurance religiously and therefore sleep soundly at night
 
Bekki2308 said:
That part wasnt about me but its true that in some situations peoples lives may change and the PDSA wont help. Housing benefit and council tax benefit are not easy to get even if you barely earn anything due to a sudden change in circumstances.

I agree a charity shouldnt be relied upon but it really drives me insane when mr and mrs pop out as many sprogs as possible and not bother working can have their 50 staffies treat by the charity but geunine people who through no fault of their own come to have very little cash cant.
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The pdsa have I trounced limits to the number of animals people can have registered
 
I'm not entitile either, however i wouldnt want to be. I agree though, its annoying that people can take on an animal in a bad sittuation, but people who suddenly find themselves in a bad sittuation find it much harder to get help.
 
I'm tired of hearing the same excuses over and over again. You can't afford it? Get in touch with a rescue and rehome your pigs. It is 4 in the morning and my vet doesn't have an emergency service? If you live in the UK then I don't believe it, most vets offer some out of hours cover, and if yours doesn't, call other vets. The drive will stress the pig out? Not as much as being left without proper medical treatment will. We have a legal and moral obligation to take our animals to the vets when they need it. Excuses are just that and I'm fed up with it.
 
I am quoting the original post once again as the message that vet treatment is an essential part of responsible pet ownership seems to be getting lost once again in the many responses to this thread.

Laura-CCC4 said:
I have become increasingly concerned at the number of posts where new members in particular are stating that their pig is sick, but that they cannot afford or cannot persuade their parents to take the pig to the vet. I would like to aim this message towards those people and I will be requesting that it is made a sticky.

Ideally, before acquiring your guinea pigs, you will have researched whether the are the right pet for you. However if you have not, and even if you have, I request that you have a read through this thread to see if guinea pigs are suitable for you after all: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=36801

Now, regarding poorly piggies. If your animal is sick, it is illegal to deny it medical care. No ifs, no buts, and I know it is really not what you want to hear, but it is your responsibility to seek medical care for your animal. You are failing your pig by not being able to afford or get to a vet. If you love your pig yet cannot afford vet care, you simply cannot be a responsible owner.

I should add here that I am not referring to those who have been back and forth to vets many times and have amassed bills into the hundreds, that is an entirely different situation. In this thread I am talking about those who simply say: I cannot afford to take my sick pig to the vet.

I genuinely do feel for those who clearly want to seek vet care but are facing resistance from parents. I can empathise with those who say their parents will not take the pig to the vet. I feel for those who so adore their pigs and even depend on them to some degree, who love their pigs so much they cannot bear to let them go even if they cannot afford vet fees.

However, there are only two responsible things I can say to this:
Number one, I must point out that if you are under 16, then it is your parents legal obligation to seek medical care.

Number two, if you cannot afford to take your pig to the vet, or if your parents are denying you to take the pig to the vet, you are failing your pig. As such can you please - for your pigs sake - surrender the pig to someone who can provide everything that is needed.

If you truly love your pig, you will allow him or her to go somewhere that will ensure he or she gets the necessary treatment.

It is not an act of love to withhold veterinary treatment when you know the animal needs it. Your feelings have to come behind the basic needs of the animal - it is what being an owner is about. At times like this, I am sorry to say, love is NOT all that is needed.
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