Save Money on Vet Bills

Everyone wants to save money on vet bills. Here are 21 suggestions that will help you take care of your pet so that it needs less veteriniary care:

1. Preventive maintenance with acupuncture and herbs helps prevent or delay onset of chronic diseases like arthritis and dry eye.

2. Choose a mixed-bred dog or cat. Mixed breed dogs and cats don’t inherit the same number of genetic diseases that purebreds inherit.

3. Get a genetic consult if choosing a purebred pet. Learn which diseases your purebred is most likely to inherit, whether screening tests are available, and what to ask the breeder.

4. Meet the pet’s parents. Don’t select pets whose parents are shy, anxious, or aggressive as these behaviors are, in part, inherited.

5. If you’re interested in a puppy, ensure the pup’s dam eats bones. The pup will learn from its mom to gnaw bones safely. Pups that don’t learn this often attack bones with such enthusiasm they can break teeth or chew off such large hunks that bone hunks block the intestine. Gnawing bones benefits the teeth, decreases the need for dental surgery, and keeps pets playfully occupied.

6. Spay and neuter your pet before it becomes sexually mature. Spaying when a female is in heat is a more expensive procedure because uterine blood vessels are engorged and the procedure is more delicate. Spayed and neutered dogs are easier to adopt if you cannot care for your pet. Neutered males are less likely to spray or mark—behaviors that cause pets to be relinquished.

7. Feed foods high in antioxidants. Antioxidants help prevent DNA damage that leads to cancer.

8. Roll up the bag if feeding dry foods. Open bags and food left out allows sunlight & air to combine with antioxidants. Your pet receives a lower concentration of antioxidants, which are the most expensive ingredients in food.

9. Get an annual exam to recognize problems in their initial stages.

10. Be aware of your pet’s habits and let your veterinarian know when there are changes: stools, urine, water consumption, coughing, odor, lumps, and ability to settle down at night.

11. Come in early when you find something rather than waiting to see if it is significant. For example, surgery times are shorter if masses are smaller.

12. Get to know the staff and befriend the technicians. If the techs & receptionists remember your pet, it is easier for them to give you proper advice when you call with questions. For example, if your pet is easy to handle and has never minded when the techs cut its nails and suddenly won’t let you touch the feet, the technician will recognize that your pet may have an infection or grass awn in its foot and suggest that you should be seen quickly.

13. Teach your pet to be handled when it’s young. Pets that are easily handled don’t need sedation for x-rays and simple procedures. Your pet will have a better time when it’s at the clinic.

14. Don’t let your pet get fat as obesity predisposes to the development of arthritis and metabolic syndrome, which can lead to cancer & diabetes.

15. Care for your pet’s teeth from the first day it’s in your home. Some pets can actually go an entire lifetime without needing anesthesia for dental care if teeth are well taken care of.

16. Trim the nails yourself. If worried, ask the techs for time when you can sit down with them and learn how professionals trim nails.

17. Have anal sac problems handled by your vet and not the groomer. If your pet is scooting or is not emptying its anal sacs on its own, it needs vet care, not grooming. Together you’ll work out a diet and therapy routine that will increase the likelihood your pet will express its glands in a normal manner.

18. Treat diarrhea immediately by having probiotics on hand and by knowing what diet your pet should have if diarrhea develops.

19. Treat bruising and bleeding immediately by using first aid herbal formula Yunnan Paiyao and the homeopathic Traumeel.

20. Prevent anxiety by using Feliway for cats and DAP for dogs. Anxiety causes release of cortisol and cortisol prevents white blood cells from leaving the blood vessels and traveling out through the cells to kill bacteria. Since all pets have a small population of potentially infectious bacteria and viruses in their systems that are kept at bay by WBC, preventing WBC from entering tissues allows infections to blossom. This is one reason that pets stressed by kenneling, changes in family membership, or travel come down with infection. Often anxiety is the biggest factor in cats developing urinary tract problems.

21. Get pet insurance. Get quotes from all companies: Petcare,Petsecure & Trupanion. Call the companies and ask specific questions about coverage. Read the policy wording.