Pet Owners Facing Unexpected Veterinary Costs

“Hi! I'm a vet student from italy and i adopted this stray cat. So before letting it inside my house we ran some tests for parasites and we found out that it was positive for Microsporum canis (aka the most common species of ringworm in cats). So this happened about at the end of july. We treated him with treoconazole x Os for one week, then stopper for another, and restarted the treatment for one week. For all this time it was in our vet hospital, i went there only to pet him (gloves on). So”

“I wish I could attach a video but I'll do my best to describe what's happening. My house has 2 cats, two sphynx's, one completely bald, one with fuzzy hair. The completely bald one, Yoda, has had a couple of coughing incidents. He grooms the fuzzy cat, George, who has not had any coughing incidents. My parents think it's just a hairball, but Yoda has not excreted anything from his mouth/nose. What happens is you can hear him breathing, then he leans his neck forward to cough for”

“Hi everyone, I have a semi-indoor cat (male) for about 3-4 years now. He was super good for 2 years or so but recently in the last 6 months he has started roaming around in the long range...he has also got himself injured last time and stayed sick for 7-10 days. It happened 3 months ago... Fast forward to now, he has injured himself again and within 24-48 hours his wound was infested with maggots etc (I don't know much about it). Took it to the vet on 2nd day he asked to bring him back tomor”

“I have tylan sol powder for my cat he gets cronic diarreah. It expired in Feb of 2026. I've had it stored in air tight container in a dark cupboard. The powder looks just like it did when I first got it. Also my house is air-conditioned. Is it safe to use still? He is a male 4 year old domestic short hair. 20 lb cat. Additionally I do have the proper dosage for him. This was previously given to me by the vet. We are from Canada submitted by /u/Background_Ad_3634 [link] [com”

“My kitten has ringworm and I've already spent so much money at the vet on tests, medicine, supplies etc. I need two negative PCR tests and they are charing me $300 each including the vet visit. I'm considering doing the Kedi Labs at home mail in PCR test to save money because an extra $600 for just tests is wild. Has anyone used them before?? Any reviews or thoughts on if this is a good idea? https://kedilabs.com/products/ringworm-pcr-test-for-pets submitted by /u/g-c-o-o-p [”

“I wanted to get other people’s opinions. I got two young cats in November, and a few months later one of them ended up with ring worms. I got it treated immediately, and they no longer have it. The vet said they most likely have had it for a while and it was dormant as they are indoor cats. I have been using revolution plus monthly because I’m afraid of it happening again. My fiancé and his dog recently moved in as well, but the dog was not living with us when the cat got worms. The dog obviousl”

“I have a 5 year old girl cat (no breed, just a little girl we got off the shelter when she was a month old) who's been balding ever since she was 2. The balding starts from the points above her back legs/ slightly in front of her tail and progresses forward. At her worst points she only had hair above her throat, on her belly, legs and then just a thin line across her spine. It seems like the balding comes and goes in waves, with no correlation to the weather, although she never had full hai”

“She ate one of those silicone gel packets that comes in packages. I didn’t see her do it, but I found the ripped open packet. She threw up what I’m guessing was everything in her stomach. Is she ok now? Do I need to take her to the vet? submitted by /u/wildetberry [link] [comments]”

“Just to get it out of the way I’m calling the vet tomorrow anyway I just worry so I’m also posting lol. My 2 year old indoor cat has never had any problems using the litter box before today, this morning he was acting totally normal until he just randomly peed on a towel that was hanging on the drying wrack. I was already planning on taking him to the vet just to be sure from that along but we also just got a new dog so I thought maybe he was just mad. Just now though he came into the living roo”

“Hello all My boy cat had a runny stomach for around 10 days off and on recently. The vet advised to put him on gastro wet food for a while with two tubes of prokolin probiotic paste to mix in daily- as he was playful and had a good appetite she didn’t seem concerned. So, I did that for around a week and he seems better. However, I’ve noticed his fur has a sort of sour smell. Before it was a nice or somewhat neutral smell, but now it’s this quite distinct sour smell. He’s a moggie just under 2 ye”

“The kitten has an URI, and I thought it was getting better, but today got worse. I got the appt first thing in the morning, but I’m afraid that she’s not doing well. She doesn’t want to put her head down. She has a fair amount of fluid coming out of her eyes and nose now. I have been wiping her eyes with a warm cloth. And she is breathing out of her mouth. She looks rough. Is there any major indicator that this is an ER level emergency that can’t wait six hours? Thanks in advance. submitte”

“So my cat (12?F) has been having some recent medical issues, mainly coughing, we have already taken her to the vet a few weeks ago they found no issues but they still gave us medicine which is now done and while that did actually help for a while, when she was on it reducing her hacking into the cat equivalent of clearing your throat but the day after she got off the medication she was throwing up what looks to be part of a plastic bag, she also coughed up what seems to be a mixture of bile and”

“Hello all, I am an adult in the US with vet access, my cat is 1 month 1 month and i’ve had her since 6 months old. She was spayed when we adopted her and she has pet insurance. At the end of June, she was in the counter and was trying to drink water (she loves faucet) when I accidentally splashed her and she jumped off. About an hour later, I noticed she was not sitting normally, keeping her legs up and almost kicking or stomping the back legs, while making a weird noise. She stopped playing lik”

“We will be going to the vet at 10am EST!!! I’m just freaking out and need someone to tell me that my cat is going to get some meds and be okay. We moved to a new place at the beginning of the month and he was fine. But the past dayish he’s barely eating and keeps burping? I thought he was having a hairball but it went on a half day too long and I just know in my gut something is wrong. I’m going to try pieces of boiled chicken so maybe he will eat SOMETHING before I ruin his day with the vet. &#”

“We had specialist do a CT scan and endoscopy with debridement of fungal plaques last year, and we’ve been treating her with Posaconazol (7.5 months) and Terbinafine (2 months). I’m looking for recommendations of treatment as it’s not the most common thing where I live and our vets aren’t greatly experienced in this area here. Please don’t tell me stories of how your animal had this condition and didn’t make it, I’m looking for hope . 🙏💛 Thanks everyone! submitted by /u/CatCatMcGee”

“https://imgur.com/a/C6xxOMV Vet can’t get us in until Tuesday morning (Sunday here in USA). Not thinking this warrants emergency vet but wanted to check. Pollen counts have been very high here, it has also been very dry so the dirt, dust, pollen, grass etc gets kicked up pretty easily. Has also been holding his right ear at a slight angle which he usually does with allergies. He is a flame point Siamese, which are pretty sensitive to allergens. He is 8 and now in my room with the air purifier. E”

“I am in the process of moving and gave my 12 year old male cat (14 lbs) 100mg of gabapentin he was prescribed a couple months ago after a bladder inflammation scare. He was getting anxious watching me pack all my things so I wanted to ease his anxiety. I have OCD which is very flared up now due to moving and having lots of fears that he is going to die as he is very sedated right now. He has stage 1 heart disease but still google / reddit is saying 100mg of gabapentin is completely safe even wit”

“I’m looking for some advice because I’ve gotten a lot of conflicting information. I recently adopted a kitten (just shy of 4 months). I was not told from the rescue that someone in her litter tested positive for coccidia. I was told upon pickup - when I had already paid the adoption fees and arranged to bring the kitten home that I should get another stool test but the kitten “should be fine”. Later learned that the kitten was exposed, treated, and never retested. After the second day we noticed”

“We noticed the fleas late last night, went to the vet first thing this morning. The staff advised keeping an eye on the others and, sure enough, we noticed them itching like mad before long. We've got one buff colored boy and I have been able to pick out and crush a few over the past couple of hours. Our vet doesn't open up again until Monday morning, so... we're in MacGyver mode. I don't think fleas really constitute an emergency , so I don't want to pester him on his emerge”

“I took my cat to the vet and they injected him with diclofenac. However, he also sent me home with meloxicam oral use to give him ever 24 hours but the vet did not say if to give him one time or how long to wait since they injected him already, wouldn’t want to mix it too soon. I also have antibiotics to give him. Please help thanks My cat is 4, I’m posting from st Lucia, my cat got into a fight, he’s a male and yes I been to a vet already. submitted by /u/zeus12345678900 [link] &#32”

“Hello, I desperately need advice with what to do with medicine for my cat. My cat is 15 years old male, weighs about 4.6kg. He has recently been struggling with dental disease for the past 3 ish weeks, and is awaiting surgery to have all his back teeth removed on the 28th Aug (he was meant to have it on the 12th but the vets cancelled the surgery after he had been there for 5 hours dosed up on gabapentin as part of the dental machine snapped). On his first vet visit before the surgery was planne”

“Okay, i need help, my cat is 5 months old, today just like 2 hours ago me gave her a medicine that our vet gave us for kittie worms, it was all normal until like 10 minutes ago, my kittie just climbed the stair like a crazy with something large coming from her hole, apparently she used her litter box like any day until that thing started to get out from her, she liked that thing off and i don´t know what that could be ´cause is fucking large, she also got a bit of blood out. She looked a bit anx”

“I took in a stray kitten two nights ago. Found by someone else. She has been to the vet 3 times now. The first time was by the person who found her and the vet just did a quick look over because the kittens eye is infected. But vet wouldn’t do anything more. I got the kitten a few hours after the first vet quick once over. Besides the eye I didn’t see anything else wrong. It was late & nothing else was mentioned to me besides the eye so I stupidly didn’t check her body for anything else. Fig”

“Hi, this is my first time ever posting on Reddit so I’m sorry if this is in the wrong area. I have a 12 year old kitty who has pretty bad arthritis. He’s also terrified of the vet, and has to be sedated anytime he goes (which is one or twice a year). I’ve been looking into medicines or anything that might help his osteoarthritis without having to go to the vet. My vet gave me this medicine to rub into his ear flap for the arthritis, but I’m worried about the effects on his kidneys. He also had a”

“Hello all. I’ve had my two cats (siblings 1.5 YO. Indoor only) for almost a year. They are my first pets ever! I did lots of research of course, but seem to have overlooked total parasite protection. I’ve been using Advantage 2 monthly for the time I’ve had them. Recently, I discovered that I am only protecting them from fleas, their larva, and their eggs. Other brands have protection from worms as well. I read that you should have the vet conduct stool samples prior to administering worm preven”

“My cat is 17f fixed, american domestic shorthair (tortie) and about 11lbs. She has a tumor on her right pancreas that is inoperable as well as thickening of the bowel and arthritis. She is on cerenia (anti nausea) and a Trans dermal appetite stimulant for the tumor and weight loss. Shes also on flea meds and solensia for the arthritis. This morning I woke up and her ear looked a little curved. Its normally very straight and pointy. I thought it might be from the appetite stimulant as that goes i”

“My vets office usually gives me a liquid gabapentin that is flavorless for my cat. This time it has a sweet candy smell to it. Since it seemed different I called and my vet tech said that they were using a new bottle and sometimes their pharmacy sends them flavored ones but to not worry bc it’s human grade and that’s why it might be a cherry flavored one. I’ve read to avoid getting your Gabapetin petRx filled by a human pharmacy, even if they offer to fill pet medication’s because of the xylitol”

“hi guys so my cat was given pain medicine doses because he got neutered and when I gave him some he instantly started foaming it out I was wondering if he got some or should I give it to him in his food now? I asked a vet and they told me to wait a couple hours so I did and he had the same reaction but it seems like he did get some doses and I'm scared that I could've overdosed him since it looks like he did get some the first time and the original time I had to wait was 12 hours before”

“So my cat is 9 months old and it's my first time when I saw worms in her poop. I want advice which dewormer i should purchase. Please let me know price and dose. Coz I want to purchase it immediately submitted by /u/Buddha_in_disguise [link] [comments]”

“My cat is 12 years old. About a month ago, he developed a pretty bad fungal skin infection on the back of his neck. The area became quite ulcerated, so we took him to the vet. The vet recommended keeping him at the animal hospital for 1–2 weeks for treatment, so we agreed. During those two weeks, he was kept in a pretty small cage and didn’t have much room to walk around or move. When we brought him home, the wound on his neck was almost completely healed, but then we noticed a different problem”

“Left my vet appointment today feeling defeated and stressed and worried. My kitten has ringworm with a 3rd lesion popping up last night. She’s been on topical medication for about a week and the vet now is recommending oral medication which is totally fine by me. He scared me a lot stating it’s going to be months process that it’s extremely hard to treat and get rid of and that it might end up being chronic or not going away. I just need one ounce of positive thinking because right now I’m freak”

“We took our cat to a vet for an ear infection June 30th . We were told by the vet that after they cleaned the ear and gave her the medication that she would be fine after this with zero mention of needing to come back. She still has the ear infection here in August . They said it would take up to a month to work but it’s been almost 6 weeks and absolutely nothing has changed . I called up and they told me I would need to book another appointment and that it takes multiple appointments for an ear”

“hi, I wanted some advice as this is my first cat. we kept him overnight at emergency hosp due to worrying if he ate medicinal Lilium (he had no symptoms and blood results seemed fine) then we transferred to a local vet due to the costs. has anyone experienced any issues keeping cat at a general vet clinic overnight? just not sure how common this is as general clinics provide it and I'm very worried submitted by /u/sleepingctea [link] [comments]”

“hi! my cats been on 1 ml of clavamox every 12 hr for the past week w tomorrow mornings dose being the last one. it seems that the dose will be slightly short. the vet office is closed & wont be open when i have to give her the last dose tomorrow. should i just give her whatevers left and then call the vet when they open? submitted by /u/CameraLongjumping861 [link] [comments]”

“UPDATE: Talked to my primary vet where he has prescribed Gabapentin for her. She has fallen for the bait and is eating it (I am sprinkling the liquid over a little bit of tuna water and tuna chunks) since they suspect cats will show aggression if in pain. I have an appointment scheduled for her Wed August 12th where they are going to do a full work up! Labs that include checking her thyroid and for diabetes, xrays, catheter to check her urine infection, crystals or stones, and a dental & phy”

“my friends found a stray kitten in their car 2 weeks ago and me and my bf decided to take him in. the vet only said he had some fleas and the scabs on him were from the fleas so we put him on medicine and got him up to date on his shots. the fleas went away but the scabs didn’t. they continued to worsen so we took him back and of course he tested positive for ringworm. he is now on oral medicine, ringworm spray, and we are giving him ringworm shampoo baths once a week. he had full access to our”

“He swallowed a tiny cap meant for his medicine and I’m worried submitted by /u/1Bassethoundlover [link] [comments]”

“https://imgur.com/a/YbZgKsK He is otherwise healthy and seemingly happy & clean. I can't access my vet since it's the weekend -- any advice/comment is appreciated. 2 years old, neutered, male, no chronic issues. Sorry for the picture quality, he won't stand still for a moment. Should I be worried? submitted by /u/caput-ferreum [link] [comments]”

“My 2.5 year old boy may have eaten a 1-1.5 inch piece of black string today. I’ve read horror stories and now I’m freakin out. There’s just no physical way for me to get him to the vet today and idk if the thing vets prescribe to get him to throw up is even something they WOULD prescribe over the phone without having seen him. I genuinely don’t know what to do. submitted by /u/OvernightSiren [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone, my sweet girl Mindy is currently 12 years old. She is an indoor cat. We're trying to decide our best path forward. For a few years she has had problems with her tummy and her poop. She can't have any human food, otherwise she throws up almost immediately, and repeatedly, even an errant piece of shredded cheese dropped by one of my kids. She also couldn't have certain wet foods we tried, she would throw those up too. For her poop, it's usually pretty loose, like a pas”

“Hi there! I adopted my kitten Spud about a month ago. He is 4 months old, indoor only cat, DSH, fully vetted and dewormed and such. He had to be treated immediately for a URI with antibiotics and such, and a few days after he finished the meds I noticed he had very stinky toots (like, I can smell it across the room and it’s awful if he does it near me and I’m in the “cloud” of it lol) and putrid, squirty, wet poops. The color is the hex code 90783D if anyone wants to investigate lol. A mix of br”

“Hello, I’m back again this time asking about pet coverage. I’m pretty sure my cat now has an ear infection. He’s been shaking his head and itching his ears more than he should. I got him ear drops but then he shakes his head and itches even more, so I have to babysit him for 30 minutes after the drops to make sure he doesn’t scratch a gash into his ears. I’m worried the ear drops are making it worse, and I want to take him to the vet. The only thing is last time I took him they had me pay $500 j”

“DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR ABOUT DEATH CAUSED BY THIS DRUG OR ANYTHING RELATED TO THAT The vet prescribed him Zorbium a single does and said it will last around 72 hours, told us he’d be loopy and very high but he wouldn’t be in pain. He’s not even 2 years old btw. He’s been in a lot of pain when urinating (no blood in urine, just staining) they reported that he has inflammation in his bladder and urethra. They diagnosed him with idiopathic cystitis. He was very quiet at the vet and after”

“Hi, i have a bsh male 7 months old and i noticed he is starting to have bald patch behind his ear last week and a half ... we've went to the vet for his vaccine last Sunday and asked the vet about the bald patch on why its happening and she said its due to earmites, my cat was only given revolution medicine.. Currently i am keeping his ears clean and sprayed nano silver spray on his bald patch everyday but it doesn't seem to get better, today i noticed it became bigger and red, i'm w”

“My baby boy is 19 and he had a vet visit today. He was REALLY sore after putting up a fight with them for a blood draw, so I gave him some of his prescribed Gabapentin. He is very arthritic, so grooming him has been difficult, as he rarely lets anyone touch him. While he was sedated, I was grooming him and trimming some mats on his belly. I was being very gentle and trying not to go too deep. But I noticed a small cut after I finished. It wasn't a slice, but more of a small open circle. Less”

“So I've taken my cat to the vet about 5 or 6 times in the past 4-5 months trying to fix his soft poop issue and they can't seem to figure it out. Wanting to see if anyone here has had a similar experience and maybe found a solution. To start, i adopted my cat 3 years ago and the rescue let me know that he had a UTI previously, which then the vet perscribed him Purina St/Ox food and ive been giving him that (mix of wet and dry but both St/Ox) for the past 3 years. But about 4 months ago,”

“Hi, we recently got a kitten who had a bald patch on her tail. We thought it was from her chewing on the tip because she had been anxiously biting at at according to the foster and the hair grew back after she came into our care. Now she has a few very small suspicious spots on her face. She has already been seen by a vet, had a PCR test done, and we are currently waiting on the results. She is isolated in a separate room, and they sent us home with a medicated shampoo to use in the meantime. Th”

“We took a sick kitten into our local vet to have him treated and he was not doing well and she asked us to leave him at the office with her for the day so we did. She called me a little later that day and said he wasn’t really getting any better but that he was chewing at his paws and she suspected he could have a parasite or leukemia or she couldn’t rule out rabies, but he wasn’t showing any signs of rabies. I ask her if we could wait until the end of the day and see how he was doing and make a”

“I went to the vet for my cats excessive itching plus a suspected uti or urine blockage. They didn’t see fleas on him but they thought it was so they gave me a pill plus 6 months preventative treatment. It’s been a month so far and he’s still itching like crazy. Not sure if I should give him another one or try another brand from the vet? I’m really worried about him. He’s losing so much hair from over grooming, appears to have lost weight, peeing outside the litter box constantly, and eating a lo”

“I've never posted on reddit before, but I know people get advice on here a lot so here it is. I have a male cat, maybe 4 and a half years old if that, and he's neutered., and he had been throwing up bile for 2 days so I got him to the vet and he had a urinary blockage, this was a little over a week ago over a week ago. They got it out in time and he was there for a few days. He came home and he was tired but he drank some water. He didn't eat but I though maybe it was the anesthetic”

“Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice regarding my cat’s ear issue, as I’m a bit confused about the progression and treatments so far :/ ( 2-year-old female cat weighs ~5 kg no prior health issues ) About one month ago, my cat started showing signs of ear discomfort : head shaking and occasional scratching. At that time, her ear contained a lot of dark brown/black wax, and the ear seemed quite dry. Initially, my vet prescribed an ear cleaner ( Sonotix ). However, after using it, her symptoms got s”

“My 1.5 year old cat got a clean bill of health at the vet yesterday say 3pm. She was very stressed, telling and panting the whole way there and back. The vet said next time I can call ahead and get something to help her for next vet visit. Once we get home, she gets back to normal pretty quickly. This morning around 4am, she threw up all the food she had from a little earlier. Now (5am onwards) every 5 or so minutes, she's throwing up some half white, half yellow foam. Could this be related”

“My cat, 3 year old female, has been itchy and grooming like no other for about 3 months now. I have taken her to the vet multiple times and nothing has helped. She was on steroids for a month which worked awesomely, but it’s not a long term solution my vet said. She grooms in all her free time and focuses on her paws and face. She is on a food trial and has been for 3 months now. The last two weeks have been so bad she has a bald spot on her neck from scratching and the space between her eyes an”

“So… basically what the title says. This just happens about 3 minutes ago. Should I panic or will it end up in the litter box?? [ETA requested information to avoid the post being removed: She is a 3year old black cat/ shorthair -I have to recheck her adoption papers for her exact breed. She has been healthy since I adopted her in November although her medical history was unknown at the time the shelter took her in. She is spayed. We are in Dallas. So far she isn’t showing any symptoms. She just d”

“A culture test isn't exactly cheap, in Australia where i live, it is $300. I did one for my cat to confirm that he has ringworm. Then he was put on Itraconozole as well as anti fungal cream. My 9 years old male cat stopped taking Itraconozole after 3.5 weeks due to some serious side effects, and 4.5 weeks of anti fungal cream up until this point. The vet told me to monitor his situation for a week until the next appointment. A week after getting off it, we went for a vet visit. At this point”

“I'm 19f broke college student in the US with a 4 year old male cat. He's neutered and he's had a urinary blockage in October of 2025, in which he had to get surgery done. He's now on prescription diet c/d. He went to Petco October 11th 2025, I went there regarding him not urinating enough. Which they asked about his rabies shot, i told them he had gotten one but I didn't have the paper with me.. His last rabies shot was September 2nd 2024. I got another at Petco on October 11”

“I’m so frustrated with the experience i had at the vet today. My dog has ringworm for the second time and they wouldn’t approve of an oral prescription until i brought my dog in and so i bring her in. My husband actually. They sent him home with antifungal shampoo which we were already doing and no meds. So i call them and they said they don’t recommend oral medication because it’s hard on the liver. Literally the last time i was there they prescribed oral for my cat?! Since when is oral medicat”

“I have come to this subreddit often and seen many posts similar to mine regarding elderly cats or cats in general with litter box issues, so I know this post will seem very similar. I have read those posts and absolutely empathize with those users. Furthermore, I am sharing my experience in the hope I can receive some kind of aid or advice. I do not post and have always been hesitant to reach out for help on the internet, but I am truly at a point of desperation and feel like I have used all my”

“5 month old cat was accidentally given a vaccine (4 in 1) that has been expired for 3 weeks. that was supposed to be her 2nd (and final shot). we are planning on getting her a 3rd shot. did some research and it said her vaccinations needs to be reseted because the expired 2nd dose, will not count and that since it has already been more than 6 weeks since her 1st dose, her immune system has already ”forgotten” the vaccine. i've read that expired vaccines rarely cause any harm, and only its ef”