Vet Wankages for the Ages
I had thought I'd seen all sorts of wank, but never before have I seen wank about pet care. Yes, you read that right ladies and gentlemen. People are actually arguing about how much proper veterinary care costs and what is required to take care of an animal well.


Cottonmanifesto, who remains innocent throughout the wank, but she gives the wanking a home when she posts some link I didn't bother to follow.

Wank is begun when mschlock comments that someone unwilling to pay $80 to adopt a pet probably shouldn't buy one.

"In one of the cat communities, someone posted that they wanted to adopt a cat but couldn't afford the $80 adoption fee at the shelter. So they were looking around for free kittens.

*flail*

Several people thankfully chimed in and said, um, if you don't have $80 in the bank, exactly why is it a good idea to take on the responsibility of a living, breathing, vet-needing pet?

YE GODS."

Marveen (a frequenter of these things, it seems) quickly assumes this is buying a pet (in which case the money is gone) as opposed to adopting a pet (in which case the pet is already neutered and vetted) and adds that she's never had a vet bill over $80 (something I find unlikely, since my yearly cat-checkup tends to run around $100).

"How about, they couldn't afford the $80 in ADDITION to the vet fees and food bills? That's a lot for a kitten when people advertise free kittens in the newspaper all the time and that $80 could be put toward more practical applications for both you and your new pet.

All our cats have turned up on the doorstep. We pay for their food and vet costs, but I have never yet had a vet bill that came to $80."

In a later post she comments that she cannot be blamed for the care she takes of her animals because she is poor!

"It's called being poor--your income either doesn't cover or just covers rent, food, utilities and incidentals. Sure, we've saved up several hundred dollars (never as much as $500) at times in the past....but our savings were always quickly consumed by car repairs, raises in the rent (don't get me started on the topic of landlords), raises in utility fees, or medical bills--either my own or the animals'.

My husband is permanently disabled, and we live on what is amusingly known as a "fixed" income (if it were only 'fixed' at a little more, living on it might be easier). Saving is difficult to impossible.

The point above about vets accepting time payments is a good one--if your vet is a good one. I have a good vet currently, but have had some bad ones in the past (not only inflexible financially, but dismissive of the pets' problems that you specifically brought in for him to see)."

Missysedai (another seeming regular to wankage around the world) one-ups Marveen because she's never paid more that $30 for a vet visit, a fact I find rather disturbing since that doesn't even cover regular shots.

"My feline owners were also "free kittens". I think I have had a vet bill come to $85 or $90 - it was the neuter/declaw/shots visit for each. In 16 years, I've not had any others above $30.

I understand that the shelters need to recoup costs and deal with overhead, but holy hell! $80 for what amounts to a stray is a bit much."

One of the best responses comes from a vet, Rex_bunny:

"Wow.. you must have had your cats taken to some shed in some crazy Dr's yard. 85-90!!! Does he pay his staff? Or does he just cut corners on the care of your animals?? I mean seriously.... Does anyone watch the animals in the recovery room, or are they just tossed into a kennel? Just seems a little iffy... it's like everything else.. you get what you pay for.. and discount surgery is not my ticket... Good luck on all future surgeries."

Which prompts Missysedai to get a little defensive (in a later post she claims that she's been "owned by cats longer than she's [Res has] been around" as her qualifications for declaring Rex to be wrong).

"Wow, ignorant bitchiness much? Do you always go off half-cocked about things you know nothing about?

My vet is very, very good, fuck-you-very-much. He's been a vet for 35 years, and he and his wife are the staff. They have a very small practice, and treat the animals as if they were their own children.

Given that my elder cat is now 16 years old, healthy as a horse, and has never had anything but the best of care, I think I'll continue to trust the vet who has cared for him his entire life, instead of some random screeching 'tard on the internet."

Cookiecashe chimes in with a reference to certain expensive pet illnesses...

"Well, first off, 35 years of experience doesn't mean shit... Many quacks stay in business longer. On another note, one of our neighbors shoved his declawed cat outside when she was 9 for harsh 6 years with no shelter, and dry, cheap food that was being eaten by strays. Needless to say, she's 15-years-old now and living with us... Just because your cat's old doesn't necessarily signify she received the best care. It means she's lucky and never needed serious medical care. What would have happened if your cat had allergies or diabetes and an additional $30-$70 was needed per month to take care of her? She probably wouldn't be alive today for you to tell about it."

...and is told off by Missysedai who mistakes her for Rex_bunny.

"Lemme get this straight: because you work for a vet, you know everything there is to know about every single vet extant, and can tell, just from someone's internet posts what kind of care their pet has received?

Where did you go to veterinary school? How long have you been a vet? More to the point, how long have you been my cat's vet, that you're qualified to jump to such stunningly wrong conclusions about the quality of his care? What gives you the right to imply that my cat is not well taken care of, just because his vet doesn't charge enough to feed a third world nation?

I'm amazed at people who sound off about things they know precisely jack shit about. You don't know a single thing about my cat or his vet. What makes you the goddessbedamned expert, at the ripe old age of 20?"

Sknnydppr tries to be a voice of reason, but the wank is too far gone.

"Hey now,

I said Rex worked at one, not Cookie.

Those two went to bed,.. but I think I can give you a basic synapse of what they are thinking, and if its wrong they can correct me in the morning.

One thing they do know about your vet is the fact that he barely charges enough to cover clean drapes and new surgical packs. That alone may make one think hes reusing them. A lot of doctors do it, especially ones that have been in the business before certain laws were implemented. (although those for the most part go by state, so maybe washington state has laws more lax on surgical procedures on animals) They just don't want to change the way they do things. Thats not to say that a surgery can't be successfully performed by using unclean things, but you are taking a risk with your pets health.

Not to be a dick, but if thats all he's really charging and he's doing things to code hes not making much money.(practically none) That in itself raises a few eyebrows. Just being around vets and hearing them talk to each other i know that there are vets who do take short cuts to keep prices low. Yours may not do that. I personally don't know how he could have prices like that and not do it, but i don't know everything. I think you may have taken Rexs advice wrong, she just wants you to be aware of what lower prices can mean, so maybe you can poke your nose around to make sure everything is up to par. Even if you think shes a bitch... It can't hurt to double check things.


Don't think just because someone is younger than you they don't know what they are talking about. That girls grandfather was a vet, and her father is still one, shes been raised around the whole thing, and lives for the love of animals. Here she is trying to give you free advice and you have to call people names and use age as a reason for not knowing anything. You seem to be much older than both of them, but yet you are the one immaturely calling people names and using profane language... If you are going to use age as a leverage to make a point that probably isn't a good idea."

The wank keeps on going from here, but I'll leave you to enjoy the rest without meta-commentary.