being selfish

following on from another thread yesturday ive been asking myself a few questions on my capability of looking after my buns, im £500 in debt and live by myself i asked my self last night if one of my buns got seriously ill at night could i promise them an emergancy appointment + the treatment to make them better on top ofthat my answer.... no ive been crying most of today because ive become extremely attached to both Crystal and Misty and cant imagine them in another home... yes im very selfish but i would never fogive myself if one of them got ill and died because i couldnt afford their treatment my heart is breaking at the thought of it, it doesnt help when im spending £100 a month on dentals for my Guinea Pig.

im just feeling extreamly depressed about all this Crystal and Misty are my babies and words cant describe how much i love them but im the worst bun mum ever if i cant promise them vet treatment when their ill

argh what to do

What to do? Cross your bridges when you get to them! :no: In other words, don't let what may never happen worry you - hope for the best rather than dreading the worst, as no-one can see into the future

I agree with Elve! I know money needs to be a consideration when owning pets but it certainly shouldn't mean you get rid of them JUST IN CASE. I am sure you are a great bunny mum. Stop worrying about it and concentrate on taking steps to improve your situation.
Talk to your bank about paying off the debt.
Ask your vet if you can pay in parts instead of one big chunk?

Crystal butterfly said:

following on from another thread yesturday ive been asking myself a few questions on my capability of looking after my buns, im £500 in debt and live by myself i asked my self last night if one of my buns got seriously ill at night could i promise them an emergancy appointment + the treatment to make them better on top ofthat my answer.... no ive been crying most of today because ive become extremely attached to both Crystal and Misty and cant imagine them in another home... yes im very selfish but i would never fogive myself if one of them got ill and died because i couldnt afford their treatment my heart is breaking at the thought of it, it doesnt help when im spending £100 a month on dentals for my Guinea Pig.

im just feeling extreamly depressed about all this Crystal and Misty are my babies and words cant describe how much i love them but im the worst bun mum ever if i cant promise them vet treatment when their ill

argh what to do

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hunny dont stress yourself..... money can be found if its needed.... and £500 in debt is nothink... im well on my way to £10,000 just on loans and cards.... you will find them treatment should they need it cus thats what mums do xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

elve said:

What to do? Cross your bridges when you get to them! :no: In other words, don't let what may never happen worry you - hope for the best rather than dreading the worst, as no-one can see into the future

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Great advice! :thumb: Why get yourself into a state about something that you can't predict and I am sure you would do what I did and find the money from somewhere. Hugs and a big squeeze and a slap on the hand for being so silly. Now dry your tears and get back to being a happy bunny mummy!

I agree Im sure lots of us dont have enough saved up to pay for the highest vet bill in the world if we ever needed to :lol: Also most vets will let you pay a bit at a time rather than a huge bill You could always ask your vet if thats a possibility should your buns ever need an emergency appointment or anything? Just to put your mind at rest

When I took one of our ratties to the vets in the middle of the night they said they dont usually expect emergency appointments to be paid there and then anyway, I think they give you a few months to pay the whole thing or you can pay like £10 or whatever a month until its paid

And if anything does ever happen you may have paid off your debt by that time anyway x

Even putting £5 away a month will help build up some sort of savings for an unexpected appointment

well.... right now, today if one of my buns fell ill i would be in the ! But its like with most things. when my dog cut his paw last week, my parents didnt have the money at the time and had 2 put it on a credit card.
We all get into financial difficulty with pets, children etc, its life. You may be going through a rough patch right now but that doesnt mind youre not doing your best. I have four rabbits and i dread tot hink what would happen if more than one fell sick at a time!xxxxxxx

Imagine if you did decide to give them up "just in case" - you would never know whether they had gone to people who were better off than you. even if their new owners were more financially secure theres no guarantee that they would be as loving or dedicated as your rabbits deserve - at least while they are with you, you know you are doing everything you can to give them a good life, and no bun can ask for more than that.

i dont think anyone can ever guarantee the future - even someone with a good job and plenty saved up could have a run of bad luck which meant they then couldnt afford a sudden vet bill. have you considered getting them insured?

I hope my thread didn't cause you to feel like that? I am sure you are a terrific bunny mummy and as the others have said, to me and to you, what would happen if we did give the buns up? We are not sure where they would go and if new owners would provide proper vet treatment... Most vets will let you pay in installments if you cant pay in full... and I think (I may be wrong so please dont shoot me down!!) that most rabbits get ill when they haven't been correctly looked after in the first case.. I know there are genetic problems, but as Elve quite rightly said... we dont know whats in the future, so there really is no point in worrying about something that may never happen! Hope you keep the buns, cos its obvious you love them loads!!

Whilst I agree you don't want to live the whole time thinking about just incases I think you have a valid concern. It's all very well people suggesting you don't worry about it now but it's much better to think it through now that in an emergency at 2am!

So, plan now but don't panic Speak to your vet, what's their policy on payment of emergency bills - do they have payment plans. Do you qualify for discount treatment at the RSPCA or PDSA - if so where are they and have you got their numbers to hand incase you need them. Do you drive - how are you going to get there. Pop £20 in an envelope and label it emergency taxi fair. consider having a credit card that you only use for emergency vets bills - you'll need to be disciplined - again seal it in an envelope if you need to.

Start putting money away - even if it's only £5 a month. Get quotes on insurance incase of big bills and work out if that's a good idea.

Get advice on how to deal with your debt.

Dealing with the issues is much better than ignoring it until you're in an emergency and don't have a clue what to do.

Tamsin

my main problem is im only given a £500 limit on my credit card which i kept for vet bills but my Guinea Pig has just about used that all up with his 2 week dentals. my mum is starting to demand rent money because shes about £15,000 in debt her self :shock: so i need to pay £300 at least every month to her that doesnt include electric and gas and i earn roughly £500 a month :? i feel like im standing against a brick wall, at this moment in time i wish i could move in with my mum or my dad but my mum doesnt have space and my dad's made it clear that he wants no pets at his house.

my vets give me 4 weeks to pay off a vets bill or they bombard me with letters and basically have a go at me when im in the vets next :roll: grrrr life is so complicated im glad to say though that during december il be working between 40-50 hours a week so i could then start putting money away towards vet bills. i dont drive but my vets isnt to far so its easy to get to by foot.

if things do go from bad to worse by next year i may have to consider whats best for my buns no matter how hard it will be i feel horrible as it is for Misty as hes lonely and i cant even get him a girlfriend and Crystal just bullies him.

thanks for all your replies

xx

Crystal butterfly said:

my main problem is im only given a £500 limit on my credit card which i kept for vet bills but my Guinea Pig has just about used that all up with his 2 week dentals. my mum is starting to demand rent money because shes about £15,000 in debt her self :shock: so i need to pay £300 at least every month to her that doesnt include electric and gas and i earn roughly £500 a month :? i feel like im standing against a brick wall, at this moment in time i wish i could move in with my mum or my dad but my mum doesnt have space and my dad's made it clear that he wants no pets at his house.

my vets give me 4 weeks to pay off a vets bill or they bombard me with letters and basically have a go at me when im in the vets next :roll: grrrr life is so complicated im glad to say though that during december il be working between 40-50 hours a week so i could then start putting money away towards vet bills. i dont drive but my vets isnt to far so its easy to get to by foot.

xx

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Reading your thread I am not sure of your circumstances. You are obviously on a low wage but have the potential to earn extra at certain periods ech year. I am guessing you are a student and can increase your hours out of termtime. Can you increase slightly the hours you work to give your income a slight boost which will assist you.

For me, if I was in your position I would get money put by to get you to and from a vet in an emergency. I would then start trying to pay off some of your credit card which is costing you more money at the end of the day than putting money away in an emergency. Then you have the spare capacity on your card to pay something towards an emergency bill. Once you have paid off your card do try and start putting a small amount each month to put towards an emergency fund.

This is a very good website http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ which may help you get your self turned around money wise.

EDIT -- Can you move your credit card debt to one with a 0% interest rate which will give you a breather.

yeah i dont earn much where i work i was meant to be full time but im still waiting for the full time hours :roll: i have asked my boss for more hours and managed to get an extra 9 hours this week wihich isnt much but its still money. i got my credit card statement today and i now have a £1000 credit limit which gives me £500 for an emergancy appointment when its needed and ive decided to pay for my Guinea pigs dentals £25 a week from my pay instead of my credit card. so you could say im ok and i had nothing really to worry and panic about lol all i had to do was sit down witha pen and paper and work everything out.

thanks for the link jrn1310

Being short of cash does not make you a bad bunny mum! If they have all the things they need in their day to day life (food, toys,love etc.) then you are giving them a better life than many buns have. If vet bills weren't so astronomical it wouldn't be so bad. Someone told me that the PDSA vets are alot cheaper than regular vets (you don't have to be on benefits, you can be a 'private' client & it's still cheaper) maybe you could find out if you have one in your area? They might be able to offer cheaper treatments for your gp,freeing up some money for your buns

you say you live alone....is there any possibility of getting a loger to help pay rent/mortgage? Also some temp agencies can get you days here and there, just tell them when you can't work. If your boss wont give you full time hours he can't expect you to sit on your but all day. Also run up to christmas lots of stores need extra pairs of hands.

awww hun, I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier. your not a bad bunny mummy. I don't have money readly availabel for vet bills, but I have taken insurance on my two buns and will put as much away in a seperate account for the guinea pigs vet bills.

you seem abit more sorted out now, but next time why not take insurance out? I pay about £8 a month to pet plan for my insurance and its given me peace of mind that should there be any problems I can ake them too the vet without worrying where to get the money from. I'm lucky at the moment as I know a few people who will take me to the vet in the middle of the night and I also have a vet 100 yards up the road (not the best vet in the world, but one I'd use if something I need seeing to quickly).