Are you prepared if your bird gets sick?

[Tiki]

A recent thread brought this idea up. I would like to see what plans everyone has if their bird gets sick and needs vet care.

[CrazyBirdLady]

I was torn on how to answer. We do try to keep an emergency fund but sometimes it's been used on one fid or cat and funds have been drained. Our vet allows payments and she will not refuse service/care.

Many people feel uncomfortable talking to their vets....ask questions, see if they will accept payments. You can even work out "payments" by volunteering your time to clean cages,etc...

[Lisa B]

I urge everyone to have a credit card ready to use in the event thier birds need it, however, Already being there, and back, I can say no one is truely ready when thier bird get sick.
There is another avenue that has not been discussed. Financially ready is one, Emotionally ready is a complete other.
Your Human Family will not ever understand, however, your BirdBoard family would.

[cfulhage]

Well, none of the answers really apply to me...I have cash up to a certain amount, but not enough for a really expensive emergency. Luckily, my parents still pay for most of my stuff, and they love Ollie- or at least they know how much she means to me. I have them to fall back on, at least until I get married! They won't let me get a credit card- they say there is no reason for me to have one.

[Tiki]

I totally agree with Lisa. When I lost Taina last year, I had to deal with my former boss saying "It's just a bird" when I locked myself in my office because I coudn't stop crying. No one else really understands like us Birdboard people.

[Thowraa]

I have an overdraft facility of up to £1000 atm. But if I had a real emergency I would just go overdrawn more than I should and pay the fines. I dont have a credit card, and I dont believe in them. But I could take out a loan if I had to or arrange to further my overdraft on a lower rate.

Once I have been in my new job a couple of months I'm going to open a savings account and put away £200 a month, so hopefully I will always in future have cash to immediate hand should I need it.

[Kristi]

I was torn on how to answer as well. 95% of the time we've got the cash to cover an emergency, but every once in a blue moon my husband's business will have a down month and we have to put the savings back into the business to keep it running, and I don't work so I'm not contributing to the bankroll. I paid for Goliath's vet visit and labs today, but if I didn't have the cash I do have a credit card with a $10,000 limit I could use if I absolutely had no other choice. So I voted for the credit card...that one is a sure bet.

[felisdomesticus]

We have a few different savings accounts and are fortunate to have a comfortable amount of disposable income each week. We also have credit cards.

Of course an expense of $7,000 like Lisa had would have a huge impact on us but we would be able to manage it.

I hope never to have to test our preparedness out.

[svolk]

We have credit cards that can be used, that's what I voted for. We do have a savings account for emergencies but we recently took a bunch out for something for the house so it's still in the process of being built back up. It would most likely cover a small emergency right now but we also like to have at least an emergency mortgage payments worth in there.

[Monica]

I voted for the last one... More so because I'm only 17, without a job or even transportation (need a car to get a job, a job to get a car... ). Because I'm still a "child" many would believe that the care of the animals should be put in my parents care (well, my mothers...). However, my mother and I have different views when it comes to caring for the animals, even when resources are there. So, I am more in the situation that if one of the animals got hurt, I'd have to figure out how to care for them on my own. I could get advice from others... But going to the vet is, for the most, part out of the question... Reasons being because resources aren't there (when I'm sure they are, or the resources needed could be created). Generally speaking though, I am the main care-taker of the birds and dogs... Pretty much because I own the birds, and although the dogs are "family pets", I am the only one who can fully put up with them.

I know many peoples pet peeve is others having pets but not being able to take them to the vet because they have no money, which in turn people then think they SHOULDN'T have a pet to begin with. If they are asking for advice they are AT LEAST asking for help in what to do. THAT in itself is doing something, other than nothing. It's pretty much judging a situation without knowing it. Many people, like myself, may be able to care for the animals as far as food, cleaning up after, etc goes, but they may not be in a position to even be able to get more money for vetting. I'm in a situation where I am too young to apply for many of the things out there such as financial aide. It doesn't really matter for us if we have only one or two pets, or as many as we have now (17), the resources "simply aren't there" to begin with. Or to put simple, if you can do it yourself, do it. If not, figure out a way... (or at least how part of my family thinks... we lost a cat because someone thought that we could neuter him ourselves... because they used to neuter their own horses, I guess???)

I am currently in a position though that I am worrying about the dogs safety as far as their lives go. We didn't really have any problems until two family members came back to live with us, and that's when things went a little downhill. I made rules, said what not to do, and someone still broke them (which resulted in Bullet getting hit by a car, but thankfully not getting any injuries). I am the main care-taker of the majority of our animals for a reason... I don't mind it, I actually rather enjoy it, but I hate it when someone else doesn't listen to me or goes against what I'm saying. And because of this, I am actually looking into rehoming some of the critters for the safety of their lives. The one thing though that most people don't understand is that animals are my life. I love them more than anything, so I can't really imagine living without them.