Self-indulgent pet thread
- Thread starter ShiftyBagLady
- Start date
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
Buttons having a lurk under the bed this morning:
fredfelt
Mostly unknown member
Okay, not strictly a pet but let me tell you about Flo. Flo the goat was the star of the acoustic tent at a festival last weekend. During a performance, and in the small hours she wondered into the tent, through the crowd, and sat next to the stage. The pictures are a bit rubbish but here's where flow sat (look for the white stripe along the nose and the white ears)
And here's a close up of Flo taking a prime spot next to the stage
Flo also provided for hours of entrainment in the bar. While sitting on the hay bales supping your cider you could watch the 'Flo Cam'. Genius!
And here's a close up of Flo taking a prime spot next to the stage
Flo also provided for hours of entrainment in the bar. While sitting on the hay bales supping your cider you could watch the 'Flo Cam'. Genius!
renegadechicken
Live and don't learn, that's me.
My Jessie developed a lump near her tail, and we had booked her in for an operation today after being quoted £346. Went to collect her and the price had jumped to £448 - apparently the operation, instead of taking 20 mins (@£93) it took another 10 mins, and this bumped it by £93, plus additional anesthetic, for that additional 10 mins, and then charged for an injection of antibiotics and a follow up course of antibiotics because the vet who provided the initial quote 'forgot' to include antibiotics.
I refused to pay above the quote, not least of all because i received no phone call or explanation of why until i refused to pay. We have now told them that we want to deregister all of our animals we have with them, and we will be moving to new vets.
Both my wife and her friend are in agreement with me refusing to pay, i have told them to take me to court if they want the extra payment - am i being unreasonable?
I refused to pay above the quote, not least of all because i received no phone call or explanation of why until i refused to pay. We have now told them that we want to deregister all of our animals we have with them, and we will be moving to new vets.
Both my wife and her friend are in agreement with me refusing to pay, i have told them to take me to court if they want the extra payment - am i being unreasonable?
Libertad
Sparking up a rollie in the Reichstag
This is not a pet of ours but it's so incredibly squee making that I thought that it would be appreciated here.
It's a short video of an orphaned porcupine, turn your sound up for it.
http://www.themostamazingvideos.com/2013/07/kemosabes-tree-fort.html
It's a short video of an orphaned porcupine, turn your sound up for it.
http://www.themostamazingvideos.com/2013/07/kemosabes-tree-fort.html
CRI
Registered Chooser
Absolutely not reasonable! When I've had quotes before for operations or treatment, they generally give an upper figure (worst case scenario) and lower so you've got a genuine idea what you're up against. "Forgetting" to include something isn't good enough. Vets aren't regulated for their fees so can charge what they damned well please (and many do!)
My worst experience was with a vet college, both in terms of charging like 3 times what I pay at the vets now and the vets seeming to know less about guinea pig health than I know about quantum mechanics. Griff went through investigations and treatments that he didn't need, didn't work and cost into 4 figures. Now have a cavy savvy vet who's the bollox really, thankfully.
Keep all the paper work. Good luck.
CRI
Registered Chooser
Oh those blue eyes. Gorgeous!
Urbanz pet folk, can you recommend me some pet insurance for Breeze? Reading lots of reviews but still not sure and I've not taken it out before (pot luck with pigs.) Obviously don't want to pay a mint, but probably something with lifetime cover (to avoid being excluded for a condition if the animal gets treated for it once and you file a claim,) but without a ridiculous premium, and preferably one where the premiums don't shoot up massively each year. Yes, I want the moon on a stick, but willing to settle for recommendations from you kind folks! Ta muchly.
Urbanz pet folk, can you recommend me some pet insurance for Breeze? Reading lots of reviews but still not sure and I've not taken it out before (pot luck with pigs.) Obviously don't want to pay a mint, but probably something with lifetime cover (to avoid being excluded for a condition if the animal gets treated for it once and you file a claim,) but without a ridiculous premium, and preferably one where the premiums don't shoot up massively each year. Yes, I want the moon on a stick, but willing to settle for recommendations from you kind folks!
Ta muchly.
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
Oh those blue eyes. Gorgeous!
Urbanz pet folk, can you recommend me some pet insurance for Breeze? Reading lots of reviews but still not sure and I've not taken it out before (pot luck with pigs.) Obviously don't want to pay a mint, but probably something with lifetime cover (to avoid being excluded for a condition if the animal gets treated for it once and you file a claim,) but without a ridiculous premium, and preferably one where the premiums don't shoot up massively each year. Yes, I want the moon on a stick, but willing to settle for recommendations from you kind folks!
We've got Buttons insured with Pet Plan - in that time we've only had one really serious incident which involved a stay in pet hospital over X-mas. This was at a time when we could least afford the £500 or so that it cost so it was worth the £10 per month. Yep the premium goes up as she gets older (she's nearly 14) but I think all these plans are much of a muchness. I know the insurance company are quids in with regard to how much they've actually had to pay out for Buttons. The only alternative is to put an amount away each month for any eventualities and hope it's enough. As a cat, she's much less likely to need attention than a dog since cats tend to be both more careful in their behaviour and incredibly stoic if there's anything up with them. A dog-owning mate of mine has really got his money's worth from his policy as his pooch keeps getting into expensive scrapes costing 1000s.
CRI
Registered Chooser
Oh thanks! The best reviews I've seen so far are Petplan (which I know alot of vets promote, which either means they find it good, or they bung alot to vets to advertise it
,) and strangely enough, the Argos one. I've done the "putting money aside" for the pigs as pragmatically speaking, they rarely have anything wrong with them and if they do, it's often too late to do alot to fix it. But, there have been exceptions - 2 of the 8 I've had had to have eye surgery, and then Griff and his bladder . . . anyhow, I'm thinking it's probably better to have some kind of cover for a cat, as the treatments are likely to be more expensive (although yes, I hadn't thought about how dogs are likely to be more accident prone!)
Manter
Lunch Mob
pedigree cats can cost a fortune if something goes wrong.... My friend who is a vet says petplan all the way- and def lifetime as pedigrees tend to get long term conditions if they get anything. One of the reasons pets promote it is that it is easy to claim and they pay out quickly and completely- better for everyone if the animal is in pain or needs complex treatment
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
The Royal Kitty:
CRI
Registered Chooser
Oh, must be Breeze's cousin!The fat one doing what he does best
Lovely eyes and fat paw!
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
I'm not well up on grooming as my lot don't need much - 2 ultra-shorthairs and a shorthair who has mostly crinkly undercoat rather than guard hairs (he's half Cornish Rex) so I just occasionally use a rubber brush on them when they are moulting, and they like the massage it provides - but a friend who has a Persian once said to me don't ever use a Furminator on a shorthair and don't overgroom a longhair with it - apparently it is possible to overdo it and end up with the cat looking as though it has alopecia
Best thing to use to remove small tangles in a longhair is a metal comb.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Oh those blue eyes. Gorgeous!
Urbanz pet folk, can you recommend me some pet insurance for Breeze? Reading lots of reviews but still not sure and I've not taken it out before (pot luck with pigs.) Obviously don't want to pay a mint, but probably something with lifetime cover (to avoid being excluded for a condition if the animal gets treated for it once and you file a claim,) but without a ridiculous premium, and preferably one where the premiums don't shoot up massively each year. Yes, I want the moon on a stick, but willing to settle for recommendations from you kind folks!
Oh just saw this - I'm with Petplan - my vet deals direct with them, so I don't have to pay the vet up front and then claim it back - that's something that can make all the difference in an emergency. I also have lifetime cover, as cats are prone to some medical conditions that require daily treatment for years, such as diabetes, or thyroid treatment (which is either daily pills or expensive surgery or radiation therapy), or cycstitis/bladder stones whick can require regular treatment. Also if your cat is allowed out then if it meets another cat it may fight, which can result in expensive treatment for infected scratches and abscesses. You don't need 3rd party liability cover for a cat though, cat owners are not deemed liable for damage their cat may cause!
If you can't decide which insurance to go with, then ask your vet about it - they deal with loads of claims and should be able to give you good advice, or may be able to deal direct with a particular company so that no burden falls on you in the event of illness or accident.
CRI
Registered Chooser
Breeze is shedding more at the moment after being neutered (I hadn't thought about it, but it makes sense due to the hormone changes,) so lots of fur comes out just with an ordinary brush, but I will be careful with the Furminator! I did opt for PetPlan Classic (I think it is) so at least she is "covered." Most of the reviews said the same things as you and seeformiles. There were some good reviews for John Lewis, then a couple suggesting they weren't so good after recently changing underwriters, so I decided not to go that route.
Breeze is still registered with her old vet, who's about 45 minutes away, as is Griff and Mal's vet, so plan to register her with the local one who used to be Herbie's and seems quite good on kitty things. She just had a check up week before she came to us, so will wait until I get her harness/vest, get her used to it, get her used to the car and finally get her used to travelling in the car (although this vet is close enough I could almost carry her there on my shoulder!) This process, I think, will take time.
I did opt for PetPlan Classic (I think it is) so at least she is "covered." Most of the reviews said the same things as you and seeformiles. There were some good reviews for John Lewis, then a couple suggesting they weren't so good after recently changing underwriters, so I decided not to go that route. Breeze is still registered with her old vet, who's about 45 minutes away, as is Griff and Mal's vet, so plan to register her with the local one who used to be Herbie's and seems quite good on kitty things. She just had a check up week before she came to us, so will wait until I get her harness/vest, get her used to it, get her used to the car and finally get her used to travelling in the car (although this vet is close enough I could almost carry her there on my shoulder!) This process, I think, will take time.
Puddy_Tat
naturally fluffy
Treacle Toes
Time
Treacle Toes
Time
Treacle Toes
Time
She is a little stunner that is true, lovely temprament too, so apart from scaring me half to death last night all is well.
She is an avid sleeper but gets up now and again for a stretch and a cuddle.
She is an avid sleeper but gets up now and again for a stretch and a cuddle.
Poppy has grown quite a lot since last week
Looby
Well-Known Member
We found a lump on Alberts throat last night which was pretty big. It had gone down a bit this morning but our vets are open 7 days so we took him today. It's all fine and probably a bite reaction.
Anyway, we had to take Lucy too as she freaks out at home without Albert and were happily sat in reception waiting and weighed the dogs.
Then the receptionist asks us which dog is more stupid so I joke that Lucy is because she looks dumb.
She then says she can't see the point of bearded collies or OES breeds as they're no good for anything and no use like border collies etc
Tried not to get arsey and explained that bearded collies are still used by shepherds especially in Scotland and they're very intelligent blah blah blah
What the fuck, how rude! She doesn't say anything about the morbidly obese Labrador that was sat there, no just our beautiful dogs. : D
This is a useless dog ; )
Anyway, we had to take Lucy too as she freaks out at home without Albert and were happily sat in reception waiting and weighed the dogs.
Then the receptionist asks us which dog is more stupid so I joke that Lucy is because she looks dumb.
She then says she can't see the point of bearded collies or OES breeds as they're no good for anything and no use like border collies etc
Tried not to get arsey and explained that bearded collies are still used by shepherds especially in Scotland and they're very intelligent blah blah blah
What the fuck, how rude! She doesn't say anything about the morbidly obese Labrador that was sat there, no just our beautiful dogs. : D
This is a useless dog ; )
