Many families are feeling the squeeze of tight budgets these days, and the rising prices on essential items like gasoline and food are making tight budgets even tighter by the day. As we find that our dollars are not able to stretch nearly as far as they used to, many of us are confronted with difficult financial choices. While the exact choices that your family faces are sure to be different than those experienced by me or by the people next door, you are not alone in having to make decisions that you never thought that you would have to struggle with.
For example, last night I noticed that my cat was acting strangely. He spends a lot of time outdoors, and as my son and I played in the year I noticed that the cat was squatting constantly. While my cat is generally silly, I had never seen him do anything like that before so I called the vet this morning. The vet was very concerned, and asked me to bring him in right away. Before I hung up the phone, I did something that made me feel like a jerk – I asked her how much the appointment would cost.
Unfortunately, she was unable to give me an exact amount because she did not know exactly what was going on with the cat. It could be a urinary tract infection which could be cured with antibiotics and nutritional support, or it could be a blocked urinary tract which may require surgery. I did a quick check of my finances and found that I could afford to bring him in to be seen, and then I would proceed from there.
Fortunately, upon examining Patrick, the vet told me that he would not require any surgery and could be treated with antibiotics and nutritional support. He has a urinary tract infection, and she said that since I acted quickly and brought him in before his urinary tract became blocked, he requires much less in the way of treatment than he would have if I had waited. I was able to afford his treatment, but this incident really made me think about financial decisions. What if I were not able to afford the treatment that my sweet, loving kitty needed? Would I ask my husband to max out a credit card or two to save him? Would I ask my parents for the money? What would I have done? I do not even like to admit that I had to ask the vet how much it would cost to have him examined, but with our budget as tight as it is, there is little room for unplanned spending. My heart goes out to all families that are struggling to get by, and who have to make choices even more difficult than the situation that I narrowly avoided having to deal with today.