Am I a bad rat mom?

[bruxxy]

As I'm sure most of you know...I love my ratties very much but lately I have been really of worried about vet bills. In the last year I have spent more money on vet bills than I ever have in 7 years of owning rats. Thats mostly due to the fact that I didn't take my rats to the vet when I was younger(I didn't know better at the time)....and then the last 4 years I was blessed with extremely healthy ratties who never had problems.

But now I'm realizing the reality of responsible pet care and how expensive rats can be. I'm alright with paying for vet bills that aren't outragously expensive but what about the vet bills that end up leaving you pennyless? I'm talking about $400+. I'm a student with a crappy job and sometimes I only make $650 a month.

I just can't really afford that and its really bothering me that there will probably come a time when I will have to choose between paying for rent and food...or paying for vet bills.

I'm sure most of deal with this problem....especially those of you who have 10 or more ratties. How do you deal with it? Has there ever been times when you simply couldn't afford the vet bills? What did you do about it?

Would I be a bad rat mom if I said NO to one of my babies? I know just thinking of it makes my heart ache. :cry4:

 

[jorats]

bruxxy, I think you know the answer to that already. When a rat is sick, it's the owner's responsibility to take that rat to a vet. In the last 3 months, I've spent over $3000 in vet bills. But for now, I can afford it. If I'm ever in a position where I can't afford vet bills, that will be the day I no longer take in rats.

 

[lilspaz68]

Are you talking about illness or elective surgeries?

 

[bruxxy]

oh I guess I forgot to mention that... I'm talking more about surguries than anything else. Meds and check ups are never that expensive.

bruxxy, I think you know the answer to that already. When a rat is sick, it's the owner's responsibility to take that rat to a vet. In the last 3 months, I've spent over $3000 in vet bills. But for now, I can afford it. If I'm ever in a position where I can't afford vet bills, that will be the day I no longer take in rats.

Well luckily I'm still in the position to afford their vet bills. I'm just looking at the future more than anything. I guess I'll have to lower my numbers quite dramatically in the next few years until I'm finished college. I just have problems with saying no the ratties who need a home...Its a huge weakness of mine

 

[jorats]

Well luckily I'm still in the position to afford their vet bills. I'm just looking at the future more than anything. I guess I'll have to lower my numbers quite dramatically in the next few years until I'm finished college. I just have problems with saying no the ratties who need a home...Its a huge weakness of mine

I'm in the same boat. I really need to bring down my numbers. With a son going to University in September, I need to stop borrowing from his education fund for the rats. :sad3: But like you... how do we say no to all the ratties in need. It's soooo hard.

 

[bruxxy]

I know. Especially when I hear of a rattie who is in a horrible home. Sometims I think its better that I take them out of there, even if I can't afford the best medical care...atleast they get a chance at a loving home with other ratties.

I guess in that type of situation, its better to take the rat and rehome it, instead of just keeping it. But with so many homeless rats, rehoming can be nearly impossible...especially if they are "plain" looking or have issues.

 

[twitch]

i was once in the position when i did not have the money to pay for medications. i had just spent a butt load on an emergency amputation and was completely broke. i couldn't borrow, i could nothing more then end the suffering my dear was in while she waiting for me to gather the funds that weren't coming fast enough. it was heart wrenching and i vowed then to learn my leason hard taught and never let something like that happen again. this is when i started on my cans.

i'm on welfare, i'm a mother of a 5 year old and a university student. i also have 13 rats. this is how i do it. every check i get is already spent before it reaches my hand. i have a portion that goes to family living bills (rent, food, utilties), i have a portion that goes into the vet can and i have a portion that goes in the needs/emergency can. vet bills don't happen everyday. you don't need clothes everyday. you don't spend the same ammount on groceries every time. the left overs of the groceries can goes into the needs and the vet. even small change goes in to those cans. down to the last penny. it all adds up. normally i can keep a balance of $500 in the vet can though i am for more. at $500 minimum it can cover and emergency or some meds. of course i never have a cap to how much money i put in there. if i can get more in there the better.

it is the cans, and only the cans, that i can afford all the animals that i have and the lifestyle that i live in. we're not high on the horse by any means but we are comfortable. securely sheltered and always fed. we even have enough to see a movie or eat out from time to time.



as for if its ok to say no to rats and their medical needs? i think its ok in certain circumstances depending on that particular rat. i believe i have told you the story of my snicketts before. her personalty was such that she would have been miserable on meds and not done well with surgery when a tumor was discovered. though the tumor was small and did not physically impede her movement it was enough for her to feel lousy. i had the money for the surgery. we could have done the meds. but she would have been miserable. for her continuing as is or fighting was not something she would have wanted and so at 20 months we helped her cross the bridge and free herself from her faulty body. in the long run it was the financially cheaper option but that was not my deciding factor. it was what snicketts would have wanted.

as for saying no to bringing in more rats? its something i think we all need to work on. we have to remind ourselves we cannot save them all and that our first priority is to the rats we already have in our care. we need to remind ourselves and keep realistic to our financial situations and abilites. we do no one any good if we cannot afford to care for them properly. it is an injustice to our current babes and a dishonor to those we want to help.

having said all that, i'm just as guilty about accepting rats, chancey is the most recent example. things would be MUCH easier if i were to only have say 5 or 6 rather then the 13 i do have. and i do intend to actually get to that number eventually. but i'm just as guilty as to letting my heart melt when i hear the sob stories. i too need to work on my will power. GGMR is a very nasty but virulent disease among the rat fanicers. i'm not sure to answer on how to harden our hearts even though we have the logical part of our mind saying no. perhaps its one of those things that just has to be practiced to be learned.

 

[Shelley]

I'm in a similar boat, I'm hoping to go back to University and/or college next year, and the jobs I'm working only pay me minimum wage at best. They've cut back on hours, and for the past two months was lucky to get a day or two a week. Fortunately it's started to pick up, since my money was getting extremely stretched between paying for my pets. Every single penny of my paychecks has been going towards my pets... no money left to spend on anything else. That has to change, I need to be able to save for school and my own future.

I've had to make the hard decision that I will be getting no more rats. I cannot take anymore in, and will not be getting anymore in the future. Not until I have more stability and the extra money available to actually afford saving for their vet bills. I'm lucky that right now I have enough saved up, and don't have to worry about paying for my own food, clothes, or rent... but that will be changing. I'm worried that if multiple rats of mine get ill around the same time that I won't be able to afford it in the future. I'm saving for it right now, but saving for education is very important as well.

I've had to give certain things up that I love doing or buying (video games, movies, collecting dragons, art supplies), just so that I can keep up with the cost of pets. When you are in a tight spot financially, elective/optional surgeries should be thought about very carefully. If I went ahead and spayed all my females... that would be like $1800. How many vet visits, food, meds, emergencies could that cover? Lots.

My other concern is - what will occur if something suddenly happens and I find myself in a spot where I can't afford meds or vet care, but can cover food and basics... Obviously you wouldn't take anymore in... but what would you do with my current rats? Would they be better going to someone else? How likely are you to find a new caretaker that will spend the money on vet care? So many things run through your head at times... I'm kind of losing my train of thought and don't know where I'm going with this. It's just that this has all been on my mind lately.

 

[bruxxy]

Yea its really been on my mind too. Fortunately I still live with my parents so rent and food is covered but I know thats going to change, and when it does I know I won't have the luxury of spending all my money on the rats.

I've actually talked to my mom and my boyfriend about this because they know how important the rats are to me. They have helped me to come to the decision that in reality, I just can't care for large numbers. Its too expensive. Unfortunately this means I will no longer be able to take part in rescue for atleast the next 4 years.

I know its the right thing to do even though its going to be soooooo hard. I have to keep telling myself though....I can't save them all and the rats I already have need me too....they are my first priority. Maybe once my current ratties are gone I'll look into having a pair or something. Two rats are much more managable on a tight budget and I can still have ratties in my life without being overwelmed with the cost of caring for them.

Twich: I really like the idea of the can. It seems to make this easier and that way you know exactly how much money you have for vet care. I think I'm going to do that too :wink2:

 

[Dewi]

I'm in the same boat too as far as having trouble saying no to rats and other animals in need. You do have a point in that some rats are in such a bad situation that they would be better in a safe, comfy and loving home (with good food), even if there aren't enough funds for expensive vet bills. It's definately not ideal but IMO it's better than leaving them there in danger and having a horrible time.

I'm fostering 3 rats at the moment (my first time to foster anything) in hopes that I can still help without keeping them all. Is there any chance you could foster or do something like that and work along with a rescue group rather than doing it on your own?

Having said that I want to reduce my rat numbers down to less than 10 mainly because my husband is getting grumpy about it and it's hard to find someone to look after them when we go away. I wish money weren't an issue. I'd have 100's of rats and employ staff to help me care for them.